Nude-o-Scopes on eBay: Buy Your Own Security Theatre at a Deep Discount

The ‘Buy It Now’ price for a Rapiscan backscatter machine, just like they used to use at TSA checkpoints, is $7995.

Just what you need to add realism to the airport security play set (which a reader generously gave me for Christmas in 2005).

These are government surplus, and I love this line from the description:

As you know with most government agencies, when they get a new grant, they have to justify the grant by buying new equipment, leaving good equipment for surplus

I do not think that’s what happened in this case.

(HT: Yahoo! Travel)


About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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  1. Perhaps a buyer might rent it out like folks rent out photobooths and clown moonwalks for parties?

  2. It may be a problem to operate, the company retains ownership of the software to operate the system.

  3. Reading about this, I found Rapiscan could not produce evidence the machines did what they were supposed to so TSA tried to pawn them off on smaller airports and , after that, decided to junk them.

    What’s the big deal about your body being seen without clothes? I stopped sneaking into the big men’s stores because I was worried people would then realize I was fat years ago. Now, the radiation, that’a another story…..and who needs stinkin’ software when the goal is just to make people THINK you are using it.
    That’s worth $8000 for a nightclub any day

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