Okay, you found Grandpa's vintage scanner on the shelf in the garage. Heck, it might be worth something, so you put it on Ebay! The days go by, no bids, and the auction ends with no sale. Dissapointed? Probably so! What went wrong? Here is the probable answer...

Most of the general public has no idea what a scanner is, or how the heck it works! If you aren't a public service person you probably won't know. Basically, it's like this: the older scanners have crystals, the new ones are fully programmable and don't require any crystals. What the heck are crystals you say? They are the little, shiny things that are plugged into the inside of the scanner, they look sort of like a silver Chicklett gum. Each crystal is marked with it's frequency on the outside of it. If someone owns a two way radio they have a frequency, and their are tens of thousands of frequencies in the US today. Years ago a change in frequency by your local police called for a trip to Radio Shack for a new crystal, but that is a thing of the past. Now you just punch in the new frequency on the keyboard and you're ready to roll!!!

What many people don't realize is the older scanners are basically worthless to people, the frequency crystals in it probably aren't the ones their local emergency services use, so the scanner won't pick up their local emergency radio traffic. Many of the original scanner developed problems over time and have become useless, some, but not all. One thing the older scanners need is crystals, and there is the key to a success! If you want a sale you should list if the scanner has crystals or not, and then LIST THE CRYSTALS IN THE SCANNER! There are people who will bid on your auction just to get the crystals in the scanner!!! The old crystals are getting harder and harder to find, so take the time to list the crystals in the scanner. It's easy: open the case, pull the crystals out and write down the frequency listed on the crystal. Then return it to the scanner in the same pattern you pulled it out of!!! Someone may bid on your scanner to get the crystals they need! AND, remember, their are two kinds of crystals, Realistic/Radio Shack/ Regency, the other one is Bearcat. They will NOT work in each other so you should list the kind of scanner they came out of!!!

I hope this review has helped you to make some money!!! Good Luck!!!