Help

No. Searching, saving searches, favourites, comparing, posting a want-to-buy request and contacting sellers are free.

The seller's make, model, serial number and year match the FAA registry (for N- marks) or the Canadian Civil Aircraft Register (for C- marks) as of our last daily or weekly update. It confirms the listing describes a real, registered aircraft. It is not a title search, a lien search or an inspection.

Use Contact the seller on the listing. Pick what you want (availability, more photos, a call, logbooks, an offer) and add a short note. AvLists passes it on by email. You can send one enquiry per listing; once the seller replies you can answer, one message at a time.

Yes. Search, then choose Save this search. New saved searches send a daily digest; you can switch to instant or weekly, or turn alerts off, in your saved searches.

Tell sellers what you are looking for and your budget. We match it against every new or reduced listing and tell you about matches. Sellers with a match can send you one message; your name and email stay private unless you answer. See the want-to-buy board.

Sellers list in US or Canadian dollars. We convert at the Bank of Canada's daily rate so you can compare; the seller's currency is the price.

Nothing. Listing an aircraft is free for everyone, private seller or dealer. A free listing runs 90 days with up to 5 photos, and you renew it free. Dealers and brokers can add Verified or Pro; every price is on the pricing page. Payment is by card through Stripe; AvLists never sees your card number.

Usually within minutes. A first listing from a new seller, a registry mismatch, photos that appear in another seller's listing, or a price far below the market go to a person for review first, normally the same business day.

Enquiries arrive by email and in your lead inbox. Reply from the inbox; the buyer can answer once, then waits for you. Mark anything that is spam with one tap.

Mark it sold in your listings. It shows a Sold banner for 30 days, then leaves the site. The sale still counts in the market numbers, without your details.

Enter your email and we send a six-digit code that works once and expires after 10 minutes. There is no password to forget or leak.

Each alert email has an unsubscribe link. Push notifications are off until you turn them on for a device, and you can turn them off any time in notifications or in your browser settings.

Go to your account and choose Delete account. We remove your personal details; anonymous listing history (such as a model's past asking prices) stays in the market data.

• Look the registration mark up yourself in the FAA registry or the Canadian Civil Aircraft Register. The registered owner should be the seller, or the seller should be able to show they act for the owner.
• Ask for the data plate photo and compare the serial number with the registry and the logbooks.
• Compare the price with similar aircraft on our market pages. A price far below the market is the most common sign of a scam.

• See the aircraft in person, or send someone you trust. A seller who cannot show it to anyone is a warning sign.
• Hire an independent mechanic who knows the type for a pre-buy inspection: an A&P with Inspection Authorization in the US, or an AME in Canada. Choose them yourself, not from the seller's list.
• Read the complete logbooks: airframe, engines, propellers and avionics. Look for gaps, damage history, unresolved airworthiness directives and the dates of the last annual inspection and engine overhaul.

• Use an aviation title and escrow company. It searches for liens and holds your money until the bill of sale and registration paperwork are ready. For larger aircraft and engines it can also search the International Registry.
• Find the escrow company yourself and call it on a number you looked up. Fake escrow sites are common.
• Never pay by gift card, cryptocurrency, money transfer app or wire to a personal account, and never pay a deposit to “hold” an aircraft you have not seen.
• Put the agreement in writing, including what happens if the inspection finds problems.

• The price is far below similar aircraft, and the seller is in a hurry.
• The seller is overseas, deployed, or otherwise cannot meet or show the aircraft, and offers to ship it to you.
• They want to move the conversation off email to a messaging app right away.
• They insist on a payment method or escrow company you have not heard of.
• The photos appear in other listings, or the details change when you ask questions.

• We check aircraft against the registries and flag mismatches for review.
• We compare photos with every other listing and review reused ones before they go live.
• Listings priced far below the model's recent median, and new accounts listing jets, are reviewed by a person.
• AvLists email links only to avlists.com. We never ask for a payment, a password or a sign-in code by email or phone, and we never take payments between buyers and sellers.

• Stop sending money and call your bank straight away; transfers can sometimes be recalled if you act fast.
• Report the listing on AvLists (below) so we can take it down.
• Report the fraud: in the US to the FTC and the FBI's IC3; in Canada to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and your local police.