01 / The source
Real sales, not seller hopes.
Our numbers begin with completed sales from the major ham-radio classifieds, swap boards, and auction sites. These are real sales—the record of what buyers were willing to pay—not the price somebody hopes to get.
Anyone can put a radio online for $2,000. That does not make it a $2,000 radio. The market speaks when a real buyer and a real seller meet on a price. That is the evidence we want.
02 / The calculation
The middle sale carries the most weight.
For each exact model, we line up the genuine sold prices from low to high and take the median—the sale in the middle. With an even number of comps, it is the midpoint between the two middle prices.
Why not the average of every sale? One unusually high or low result can pull that number around. The median is harder for one odd result to distort, which makes it a steadier estimate of the market.
03 / The guardrails
Wrong data is worse than no data.
A comp does not enter the calculation just because a marketplace labels it sold. We check what the listing actually represents.
“Best offer accepted” is dropped
Public results often show the original asking price—not the lower offer the seller accepted. We cannot use a number we know may be wrong.
Parts-only and for-repair units are excluded
A dead radio, donor chassis, or repair project is not a fair comparison to a working radio. Condition has to be comparable.
Outliers are flagged, never quietly buried
Odd sales deserve a second look. We mark them and examine the listing instead of deleting inconvenient numbers behind the scenes.
The model has to match
Close is not close enough when revisions differ in meaningful ways. Comps are grouped by the exact radio model before we calculate the median.
04 / Buying right
The "around 25%" rule came from using it.
When a working radio is priced around 25% below fair market value, there is room for resale costs with profit left over. That margin is what separates a bargain from a radio that is merely cheaper than another listing.
40+ years in the hobby
I learned this by buying, using, and reselling gear—not by building a theory on a spreadsheet. Buying right gave me room to enjoy a radio, then move it along without getting buried in fees or depreciation. In that sense, well-bought gear can act more like an investment than an expense.
The 25% was never magic — it’s a margin of safety. Sell a radio through the big auction sites and about 15% disappears into fees; buy it 25% under market and there’s still room left over, or room to sit on the rig awhile and get your money back. The percent is the beginner-friendly version; the dollars do the real work. On a $600 radio, 24% below still leaves nearly $190 of room. That’s a flip.
We used to hold the line at exactly 25%. Then a dry spell taught us something: strictness is a luxury of abundance. When deals are flowing, tossing a 24% back costs nothing. When they’re scarce, that same strictness just leaves the shelf empty — and the few dollars of theoretical protection never protected anyone. The rule was always “around 25%.” Now we’re honest about it.
05 / Citation
Use the number. Credit the work.
If our fair-market data helps answer a question, settle a discussion, or support an article, link back so the next person can see how the number was built.
Source: HamRadioBargains.com — https://hamradiobargains.com
06 / Honest limits
A fair value is a guide, not a guarantee.
We are measuring past sales. The number is useful, but it cannot inspect the radio in front of you or predict where the market goes next.
- Markets move. A median built from past sales can lag a fast change in demand or supply.
- Condition matters. Cosmetic wear, repairs, smoke exposure, and service history can move a price.
- Accessories matter. A factory box, microphone, filters, cables, or a scarce option can add real value.
- Modifications matter. Some help; others narrow the pool of buyers or make a radio less desirable.
- Always inspect the radio, seller, terms, and shipping risk before buying.
Our promise is simple: use real evidence, apply the rules consistently, and be plain about what the number can—and cannot—tell you.