Buying used Unication

[Scannerfanman]

A quick horror story about giving serial numbers out to prospective buyers. In 2010 a friend of mine put a 5-y/o used Fender Thinline Telecaster for sale on eBay. Guy asked him for the serial number, which he provided without question. A few days later the police were at his door and he was arrested for possession of stolen property and the guitar confiscated. The buyer (dumb kid) had manufactured a receipt for the guitar and reported it stolen. It was a nightmare, and he had to go to court to prove his innocence. Long story short - some idiot kid thought he'd be slick and get a free guitar and did not think his plan through. My friend was able to provide original documentation on the guitar and the charges were dropped, the kid was arrested and charged with filing a false police report and theft by deception. Might not sound like much of a big deal, but it was to him because he had to go to jail and the whole ordeal cost him money he didn't have. All because he gave out his serial number. Something to think about. If you're going to put the serial number out there, include a photocopy of the original receipt so dumb criminals out to score get discouraged. Just a thought...

JD
kf4anc

Holy crap! Yea I'm not looking for anything like that. Glad he was able to get out of it Unfortunately it cost him to do it. I was just thinking it would be a safe thing to ask for it and then run it on Unications serial number lookup before I bought it to see if it was stolen or something. Trying to prevent something like your friends situation.

 

[bob550]

If you're going to put the serial number out there, include a photocopy of the original receipt so dumb criminals out to score get discouraged.

If you look at the listings for communication receivers, scanners, and ham radios posted by ebay veteran sellers, you almost always see a photo of the rear panel showing the serial number. If these sellers had the experience you relate to, they'd be blurring out the serial number or just not photographing the rear panel. In many cases, serial numbers are important because they can indicate when a radio was manufactured, and whether it may have included eventual corrections or feature and performance improvements that earlier production models didn't. Anyway, the OP's main concern is that they're not buying actual stolen merchandise, and for that, the absence or presence of a serial number may not help.

 

[TailGator911]

Yeah I'm sure serial number thefts don't happen everyday, and about as rare as RFID theft, but it does happen. My reference was not intended to hijack the thread, sorry to the OP, I just thought the serial number mishap was interesting.

 

[Scannerfanman]

Tailgater your fine, no problem at all. Your story is interesting and concerning. Yea I'm just looking for a honest fair price on a g5 so I can hear my town. Just don't want any issues and just trying to make sure it doesn't happen.

 

[W8RMH]

I would just save up a little more and buy a new one. You will also have the warranty as well.

 

[bob550]

I would just save up a little more and buy a new one. You will also have the warranty as well.

Buying new avoids the worry and uncertainty associated with used electronics. If you're lucky, you may catch a sale around the holidays. Last Christmas, G5's were selling for $100 off the regular price of $565, or the same price as the G4 at that time. (Yes, the price has increased since then.) I was also able to take advantage of an additional one-day 10% discount offered by ebay, and landed a brand new G5 for $508! I purchased from an ebay seller that turned out to be an actual authorized dealer, although I shall not mention his name here.

 

[bob550]

$100 off the regular price of $565

Oops, the "of" should have been an "or". The regular price of the G5 at that time had been $665.

 

[IAmSixNine]

Does the OP need dual band capability?
I asked last week and didnt see an answer.
G4 are cheaper then G5 units. Not to mention the G5 has 1 VHF and 2 UHF bands so if the OP isnt careful he might buy the wrong G5.
This is not a true scanner so keep that in mind. If your wanting to monitor a Trunking system with LSM issues this is the perfect tool.
If your trying to monitor some conventional frequencies there are better options.
You can not monitor trunking and conventional at the same time.
So OP what are you trying to monitor.

 

[K6LEH]

I would consider buying new. My G5 takes a fair amount abuse. With “new” you get a 2 year warranty.
Until the end of this month, you get a “free” 3 year extension for a 5 year total.
Unication replaced a damaged volume control, bent shaft (from too many drops no doubt), the housing, new battery and antenna. Just right before my warranty expired last year.