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liontamer67

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 27, 2012
42
2
East Coast
Hi everyone. I am posting this for my god-daughter. She is not a mac user yet. She purchased a 4S iphone through Ebay the other day. The carrier is listed as Verizon. She purchased as a guest on paypal and the ebay account was her step father's account. She paid $375 for this phone. When she took it to a Verizon store to get it hooked up they told her that "this serial number came up as stolen." :mad:

She contacted the seller of this phone and he said it was not stolen.

The phone she purchased was listed as a new iphone 4s and the person that sent it mailed it in a 4 box.

Has anyone else had experience with this?
She would like to get her money back (she purchase in NC and the person that sold it to her is in CA) but she would like to find the person that had their iphone stolen.

thanks for any advice.
 

cutienoua

macrumors regular
Sep 30, 2012
128
17
Bad esn could mean a lot of things
She should return the phone and file complain with ebay if the seller doesn t take it back
If was listed on Ebay as Bad Esn than she can t return the phone
 

tymaster50

Suspended
Oct 3, 2012
2,833
58
Oregon
They sent it in an iPhone 4 box... and you thought it was legit? That was step 1. And it was a verizon iPhone 4s for $375. That was step 2. I'd be surprised if you get anything out of this.
 

MuddyPaws1

macrumors 6502
Jul 14, 2012
399
0
Post auction number.

You can file a ebay and paypal claim and get your money back if the ESN is bad. Both have rules that favor the buyer so getting your money back is pretty easy.
 

darster

Suspended
Aug 25, 2011
1,703
1
I feel for you. Always remember before buying, get esn number, call verizon to verify, and if good, then agree to purchase.
 

liontamer67

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 27, 2012
42
2
East Coast
Bad esn could mean a lot of things
She should return the phone and file complain with ebay if the seller doesn t take it back
If was listed on Ebay as Bad Esn than she can t return the phone

It was listed as a New and was listed as a good ESN.

----------

Post auction number.

You can file a ebay and paypal claim and get your money back if the ESN is bad. Both have rules that favor the buyer so getting your money back is pretty easy.

they have taken their stuff off of ebay now. her stepdad posted the last review.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-iPhone-4S-16GB-Black-Verizon-Smartphone-W-EXTRAS-/251200719450
 

liontamer67

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 27, 2012
42
2
East Coast
Bad esn could mean a lot of things
She should return the phone and file complain with ebay if the seller doesn t take it back
If was listed on Ebay as Bad Esn than she can t return the phone

In the store Verizon said it was stolen but when she called Verizon they couldn't confirm or deny.

----------

They sent it in an iPhone 4 box... and you thought it was legit? That was step 1. And it was a verizon iPhone 4s for $375. That was step 2. I'd be surprised if you get anything out of this.

The iphone 4 box was seen after she paid for it and when she received it. She said that $375 all of the other ones that she saw...without signing a 2 year agreement.

----------

So contact paypal and ebay and get your money back.

She is going to try and do this tomorrow. No one open today.
Anyone know of how she can get this phone back to its original owner? I had my macbook stolen earlier this year and it really sucked.
 

taedouni

macrumors 65816
Jun 7, 2011
1,117
29
California
Either the seller stole the phone and sold it on eBay or they are the original owner and had some sort of insurance that covered theft and decided to make some quit and easy cash. File a complaint via Paypal and eBay. They will side with you.
 

Applejuiced

macrumors Westmere
Apr 16, 2008
40,672
6,533
At the iPhone hacks section.
[/COLOR]

She is going to try and do this tomorrow. No one open today.
Anyone know of how she can get this phone back to its original owner? I had my macbook stolen earlier this year and it really sucked.

According to ebay rules she might have to return it back to the seller for a refund.
Its not her responsibility to try to find the original owner that had it lost or stolen. Could be from a different state thousands of miles away, who knows.
Tell her to file a claim with ebay and paypal and she can also dispute the charges with her credit card company.
 

GoCubsGo

macrumors Nehalem
Feb 19, 2005
35,741
153
They sent it in an iPhone 4 box... and you thought it was legit? That was step 1. And it was a verizon iPhone 4s for $375. That was step 2. I'd be surprised if you get anything out of this.

Wrong.
You can't tell what box it is and there's no reason to believe there was anything wrong given the price. It's not a great price but neither of these are "steps" or clues (the word you should have used).

OP, for me, the feedback would have told me to stop and not buy. Now that it has happened though, file a claim and get your money back. I hope it works out.
 

cutienoua

macrumors regular
Sep 30, 2012
128
17
It was listed as a New and was listed as a good ESN.

----------



they have taken their stuff off of ebay now. her stepdad posted the last review.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-iPhone-4S-16GB-Black-Verizon-Smartphone-W-EXTRAS-/251200719450

I look at the listing and the ESN is not mentioned
it says As new,but not new.also was mentioned that didn't come with original box.
I am not siding with the seller but looks like neither the seller or the buyer asked the right questions.
The serial number was posted ,thus a diligent buyer could have called Verizon.
Again ,I am not blaming anyone.
If phone will be returned,ebay will refund the money.
It's not a good situation to be in,but something to learn from. The seller was not very good with phones!
I have over 700 transactions on ebay, 10% was from selling stuff.
 

WOLF COUNSELOR

macrumors newbie
Dec 18, 2012
20
0
Miami, Florida
I know it's already been posted but I also have been scammed a lot on Ebay being that I do most of my shopping there. The positive side to this is that ebay is great at customer service and they have refunded me my money every single time. That being said, it's not an easy process.

You have to prove to them that you in fact did get scammed by the seller and that the seller is not cooperating with you. This is why it's very important to only speak to the seller by ebay messages so Ebay themselves can go over them. Obviously, be careful what you say and always be respectful. I would let them know that if requested, you can provide them with any information they require to help the process. If ebay concludes that you are right, they will refund you your total purchase amount including shipping.

Also, if the phone is in fact stolen, you do not have to return it to the seller. If I am scammed on Ebay, I never go through the trouble of returning the product to them. I simply explain to them that I don't have the time or money to stop by a post office to ship it back. Explain to Ebay that you will return this phone straight to Verizon after you have your money refunded to you.
 

AppleFanatic10

macrumors 68030
Nov 2, 2010
2,801
295
Hawthorne, CA
Hi everyone. I am posting this for my god-daughter. She is not a mac user yet. She purchased a 4S iphone through Ebay the other day. The carrier is listed as Verizon. She purchased as a guest on paypal and the ebay account was her step father's account. She paid $375 for this phone. When she took it to a Verizon store to get it hooked up they told her that "this serial number came up as stolen." :mad:

She contacted the seller of this phone and he said it was not stolen.

The phone she purchased was listed as a new iphone 4s and the person that sent it mailed it in a 4 box.

Has anyone else had experience with this?
She would like to get her money back (she purchase in NC and the person that sold it to her is in CA) but she would like to find the person that had their iphone stolen.

thanks for any advice.

First thing you should've looked at was the feedback ratings. 81% is not good and I wouldn't even think twice If the persons ratings isn't around 98-100%.
 

joshwithachance

macrumors 68000
Dec 11, 2009
1,991
914
Low feedback score, spelled "basically" wrong, and didn't even mention the ESN. This listing has so many red flags right off the bat.
 

617aircav

Suspended
Jul 2, 2012
3,975
818
I hope you return the phone and get your money back. It's going to cost you to return the phone as you must insure and track it. I sell phone on eBay a lot and describe it the best I can because some sellers don't read the entire auction. As in your case, you read Like new as it being new. You missed where he said does not come in original box. An with all CDMA phones you must inquire about the esn status.
 

matttye

macrumors 601
Mar 25, 2009
4,957
32
Lincoln, England
Low feedback score, spelled "basically" wrong, and didn't even mention the ESN. This listing has so many red flags right off the bat.

Spelling mistakes and not mentioning the ESN are not red flags on eBay at all for me. You're dealing with PEOPLE, individual people, most of the time, not companies, so people might not know that they should mention the ESN, and might not care about spelling or be very good at it. That doesn't make them dishonest.

The feedback is the only red flag IMO.
 

tymaster50

Suspended
Oct 3, 2012
2,833
58
Oregon
Wrong.
You can't tell what box it is and there's no reason to believe there was anything wrong given the price. It's not a great price but neither of these are "steps" or clues (the word you should have used).

OP, for me, the feedback would have told me to stop and not buy. Now that it has happened though, file a claim and get your money back. I hope it works out.

It was listed as a new 4S. it came in an iPhone 4 box. It's for verizon (long history of "bad" esn's. It was also $375 when you can just get one for $100 from the store albeit on contract. That doesn't seem the least bit shady to you?
 

Marrakas

macrumors 6502
May 23, 2012
420
122
This is what the ebay buyer protection is for, use it :)
You will have to return the phone to the seller, but atleast ebay will return your money.
 

pooleman

Suspended
Jan 11, 2012
1,769
425
Eastern CT
It was listed as a new 4S. it came in an iPhone 4 box. It's for verizon (long history of "bad" esn's. It was also $375 when you can just get one for $100 from the store albeit on contract. That doesn't seem the least bit shady to you?

The listing said it was "new other" and it said it came with a box but not the original box.
 

Starrbuck

macrumors regular
Jun 8, 2010
171
6
All the red flags I would've needed to pass were in the guy's negative feedback entries. No thanks!!!
 
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