There is an app for the iPhone called "Burner". It works great. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/burner-disposable-phone-numbers/id505800761?mt=8
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Sold iPhone 5S on eBay - Now Buyer Wants it Unlocked
- Thread starter ckurt25
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
you should have kept to your original listing. there are alot of crappy people on eBay that will buy from you to get it cheaper then request to get it unlocked. You'd be amazed at the stuff people try to pull on there.
I am very detailed and put exactly what IS and ISN'T included.
example below.....
"NEW Oakley Fast Jacket Polished White Frame w/Red Icons and Hinges Only!
You are bidding on a NEW Oakley Fast Jacket Frame. The regular or XL lens styles will fit these frames. All items are 100% genuine authentic Oakley products. Get these while they are still available. Thanks for looking!
Please Note: this auction does not include the original box, lenses, extra lenses, extra nose piece, microfiber cleaning bag, or paperwork.
Included in this auction will be:
Oakley Fast Jacket Polished White Frame
Oakley Soft Vault"
Last edited:
Same thing happened to me when I sold my 5. I told the buyer that it wasn't listed as an unlocked phone when he purchased. He never replied and he never left feedback but then again neither did I. I wait till the whole transaction is finished and I receive feedback till I leave feedback as a seller.
ATT will not unlock the phone for the buyer because he is not the original purchaser. You have nothing to lose by asking att to unlock the phone, it cost you nothing.
Why not just do the guy a favour and not be difficult about it. A good deed might let you sleep better at night.
Even considering looking for more money says more about you than the buyer.
Why not just do the guy a favour and not be difficult about it. A good deed might let you sleep better at night.
Even considering looking for more money says more about you than the buyer.
He could certainly request the phone be unlocked via AT&T. However, he is not obligated to do it.
Both those options are incorrect IMHO.
The only option is :
Do nothing and inform the buyer politely that he can proceed to unlock the phone since he owns it now.
I agree. I don't know why everyone thinks it's the sellers responsibility to unlock a phone that was sold locked.
Throw away number? How are you doing that? I'd been interested in that for some of my Craigslist stuff.
--disregard...missed a post earlier on how to do this.
Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way on ebay. Part of selling on ebay requires you to accept a return regardless of the reason (or they'll rule against you). If you want to wash your hands off it the second you sell something, use CL or something else.
Not true. If he has an att login he can request the unlock. I've done it several times on 2nd hand phones. As long as the phone is not under a contract.
When I tried selling my iPhone 5 on CL I got about 20 of the usual "I'll pay you $100 extra if you send it to my brother/father/sister/uncle in south america" scam messages, then I made 3 "appointments" to meet 3 "I DEFINITELY WANT IT" buyers at the local mall of which 2 never showed and the 3rd offered me 1/2 of what he agreed to pay (it was in A+++ condition) so I wasted probably 4 hours of my time. I REALLY don't see what is so great about CL other than the fact there are no fees. There are as many scams coming from there as anywhere and you have to actually meet up with these people who half the time don't show.
I did sell an iPad Mini 1 via CL and (other than the usual scam emails) the actual mall meet-up went well but it really is just as much of a hassle (other than fees) as with eBay.
Maybe where you live they are more reliable but not around here (NJ/NYC area).
Funny part was, ultimately I sold it here on MacRumors for a fair price but that isn't the point. I've sold numerous iPhones on eBay without issue other than the 15-18% it costs in fees & shipping which aren't much worse then the hassles of the "meetings in the mall" (or wherever) required of CL.
Even in ebay, we have to deal with non-paying bidders and slave through messages from people trying to low ball/buy outside of ebay.
Ebay and CL have their own advantages and drawbacks. You decide which you're more comfortable with.
Looks like the OP already dealt with this, so I'm late to the party, but I'm surprised that I seem to be the only person who would have suggested this:
Why not work out a compromise that becomes a win-win for buyer and seller? The OP screwed up by not unlocking the phone ahead of time, thus costing himself some money. The buyer either screwed up in not buying what he needed, or he was being dishonest and trying to score an unlocked phone at a locked phone price. So, why not meet in the middle somewhere? The OP could have offered to unlock the phone in exchange for $25-50 (or whatever). The buyer still gets a good deal on an unlocked phone, and the seller gets a little extra cash.
Whatever dollar value you throw out there, I'd be willing to haggle. But if the buyer complains and says he's not interested in paying any more, it leans me towards thinking that he was being dishonest from the start, so too bad for him.
Why not work out a compromise that becomes a win-win for buyer and seller? The OP screwed up by not unlocking the phone ahead of time, thus costing himself some money. The buyer either screwed up in not buying what he needed, or he was being dishonest and trying to score an unlocked phone at a locked phone price. So, why not meet in the middle somewhere? The OP could have offered to unlock the phone in exchange for $25-50 (or whatever). The buyer still gets a good deal on an unlocked phone, and the seller gets a little extra cash.
Whatever dollar value you throw out there, I'd be willing to haggle. But if the buyer complains and says he's not interested in paying any more, it leans me towards thinking that he was being dishonest from the start, so too bad for him.
You did nothing wrong. Only thing wrong was not making more money for yourself. Your posting was accurate and you didn't scam the buyer in any way. If you don't plan on using eBay to sell who cares. If you are planning to sell tell the buyer you will get it unlocked in turn for a good review.
Take a chill pill. You get so worked up over a point of view. Direct your energy at OP to collect the difference then, no one is stopping you. "get off the internet" LOL, yeah right! Total nonsense.
Meh, if a buyer made a real mistake and I can fix the issue for no cost to myself, then I'll just go ahead and do it. Good will goes a long way
Not trying to diss your area but yes, it does depend on where you live. It doesn't surprise me that the people in your area are like that. So far I haven't had anyone not show up at the meeting time (I live in Texas).
Of course you're right however I've been selling on eBay since 1999 with ZERO issues of non-pay, and never a refund request and rarely a "off eBay deal" email. However 99.9999% of my eBay sales are BIN, immediate payment on purchase so there is no option or chance of non-paying buyers. I have well over 2000 feedback with maybe 2 or 3 "neutrals" over the years (and those for silly things) including quite a number of personally owned "iDevices." It's just the damned average 15% in fees that is a killer. If you post a fair price and FULLY and OVER-DESCRIBE your item usually you'll be OK.
It's not a "diss" you're 100% right. Plus, unlike in TX, we can't carry 6-shooters on our belts or under our 10gallon hats when we do a meet!
Agreed. But we aren't talking about a return in this case, the op stated that the buyer was asking them to unlock the phone and nothing was mentioned about a return.
Treat of a return doesn't mean do whatever the buyer asks.
Craig's list is my first oprtion, then ebay. Sold my unlocked Galaxy s5 today for $400. I listed it for $400. I just rejected low bidders. Other times I will buy on CL and sell on eBay, like a Samsung gear 2 neo someone sold to me for $80 and sold on eBay for 160.
Just received my Oakley's! When should I expect the extra lenses and cleaning cloth's? I know you haven't had time to respond yet, but I opened a buyer protection case anyway and initiated a chargeback.
Please advise.
Oh, and since you can't leave me negative feedback, I left some for you. Neener neener.
Thanks!!!
Nothing wrong with goodwill to a honest mistake, as seems to be the case here based on the OP's subsequent posts. However, what doesn't make sense is why some forum members automatically thought the OP was in the wrong based on the OP alone. They actually think it's fair for a buyer to purposely buy a locked iPhone then try to get it unlocked after the fact, as some unscrupulous buyers are known to do?
Yeah that's fair. I'd probably ask the buyer if it's possible to unlock it before actually committing to buy it, but otherwise I'd just be prepared to spend $40 on an aftermarket unlock.
Guys - you all took my comment the wrong way. What I meant was that the OP made an error by not unlocking the phone BEFORE selling it and getting his extra $100.
I don't think the buyer is acting like a jerk either. He's just asking if the seller would unlock the phone. There is no cost involved, so why not just do it? I didn't see anything about threats of negative feedback from the buyer.
The transaction is complete. I don't why the OP would want money from the buyer to have him unlock the phone, when it doesn't cost the OP anything.
I don't think the buyer is acting like a jerk either. He's just asking if the seller would unlock the phone. There is no cost involved, so why not just do it? I didn't see anything about threats of negative feedback from the buyer.
The transaction is complete. I don't why the OP would want money from the buyer to have him unlock the phone, when it doesn't cost the OP anything.