any legitimante reason for missing serial number (ebay UK seller)? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: not1xor1
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2017, 04:26:31 am
content: Hiseveral weeks ago I bought a bench multimeter (Fluke 8842A) from an UK ebay seller.The instrument was in full working order although quite dirty and with a missing rear foot and no serial number.I didn't suspect anything wrong at the moment, but since I'm still looking for some more bench multimeters, I noticed that during the latest weeks that same ebay seller has sold various kinds of bench multimeters all with no serial number.According to your experience, is there any legitimate reason to remove the serial number?Does cleaning the rear panel remove so easily the sticker of HP34401As or Flukes?Aren't those more likely stolen goods?Am I just paranoid?What should I do? Contact ebay? Get in touch with UK police (I'm in Italy)?thanks

author: bitseeker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2017, 05:04:29 am
content: Also, on old equipment, the printing on serial number stickers can fade or rub off. I've seen some HP power supplies where the glue has degraded and the sticker starts peeling off the case.

author: edavid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2017, 05:41:23 am
content: Quote from: not1xor1 on May 31, 2017, 04:26:31 amNo and yes.There is no registry of stolen test equipment, so that is just silly.

author: not1xor1
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2017, 04:52:19 am
content: OK... so I'm just a bit paranoid...good to knowthanks everybody

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2017, 01:39:01 pm
content: The most common reason would be that they are, or the seller thinks they might be, stolen.Without the number it's much harder to prove, so for people handling items from possibly questionable sources it may be a wise precaution.

author: ebclr
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2017, 03:21:16 pm
content: They just burgled an office and sold the instruments and you can be Arrested for Buying Stolen Goods.

author: BMack
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2017, 03:29:49 pm
content: There are also some older people (at least in the USA) that remove serial numbers from items. I don't know why they do it but it's almost always a baby boomer.Some warranty companies want us to remove the serial number sticker when it's bought out, as proof it was destroyed.

author: edavid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2017, 03:58:20 pm
content: There must be a lot more burglary of test equipment in the UK. In the US, it's very rare. It's much more common that the SN sticker was lost when the instrument was repaired. There are also situations where an instrument is used for a tradein and "destroyed" by removing the SN.

author: HighVoltage
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2017, 09:12:42 pm
content: On some Agilent equipment, like the 34410A, the S/N sticker is attached to the read bezel and when that one breaks and is replaced with a new one, the S/N sticker gets lost.I have bought a few items without a S/N sticker and also found it weird but never had any problems.

author: Neomys Sapiens
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2017, 11:10:08 pm
content: I had an interesting experiece with a HP opto-electrical converter I bought on Ebay. It is a nicely built, IEEE488-controlled thing with a high-speed channel and a high precision channel, the detector of the latter sitting in a massive, peltier-cooled block of metal.When I inquired at Agilent - nothing! When I called somone I knew from T&M support I recently had professional contact with, she found out where it once was used. I called the person responsible for the in-house T&M stuff and he was all like :'where the **** did you get that?!'

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2017, 11:53:39 pm
content: I replaced the cracked bottom housing of a laptop once, didn't bother to try to transfer the serial number sticker over so it could be something like that. Lots of reasons it could be gone, some legit, some not. I wouldn't worry about it though, unless you bought it for a suspiciously low price or knowingly purchased stolen goods you're not going to be arrested in any sensible country.