Each Item Flaw halves (rounded up) the piece of equipment’s listed price and improves its Availability by one step. Exotic equipment does not have its Availability modified due to Item Flaws — they are always prohibitively difficult to find, even poor quality examples. In general, if a piece of equipment has more Item Flaws than Qualities, it is regarded as poor quality and may incite derision or insults from others.
Many unscrupulous sellers attempt to conceal flaws in the items they sell. A successful Challenging (+0) Test with an appropriate Skill — such as Logic (INT), Awareness (PER), or Tech (INT)— reveals any Item Flaws a piece of equipment has.