Scan before you buy.

You are standing in a stranger's garage holding something you cannot place, and the person behind you wants it too. Photograph it. Find out what it is and what it honestly sells for, before you decide.

Excited to identify. Honest about price.

Free to try on iPhone and Android. See all download options.

How it works

1. Take a photo One picture of the object, in whatever light the sale has.
2. Get an item read What it appears to be, what era, and what to look for on it. Maker's marks, signatures, colophons, stamps.
3. Check recent comps What comparable items actually sold for, not what sellers are asking.
4. Decide buy, caution, or pass A resale range and a verdict, plus a max bid if you are bidding at auction.

Then keep asking. Add what the camera could not see, a signature on the back, a chip in the glaze, a date on the flyleaf, and the estimate updates in front of you.

What can it scan?

• Books
• Pottery
• Watches
• Art
• Religious items
• Paper ephemera
• Toys
• Collectibles
• Oddities and weird finds

The interesting cases are the ones with no obvious category. If you can photograph it, it is worth asking about.

Who it is for

Estate-sale shoppers, thrift buyers, antique hunters, flea-market regulars, garage-sale pickers, collectors, and resellers. Anyone who has to decide in the ten seconds before someone else picks the thing up.

Field Notes and Guides

Real objects, photographed as found. What it is, what is actually legible on it, what is still unresolved, and what a buyer should ask before paying.

What this is, and what it is not