Sold iPhone 5S on eBay - Now Buyer Wants it Unlocked

[ckurt25]

So I sold my 5S when I purchased my 6+. This phone was on AT&Ts Next Plan and I originally didn't know if I'd turn it in or sell it on my own. Long story short, I did not ask AT&T to unlock it when I decided to sell it and the eBay listing did not indicate the phone was unlocked. It was listed as being on AT&T. HUGE shame on me for not taking a few minutes to submit an unlock request and list it as unlocked. Anyway, fast forward a few weeks later and now the buyer is asking I unlock the phone. I went on eBay and saw how dumb I was and see that devices listed as unlocked sell for $75-$100 more.

So should I ask (or even can I ask) the buyer to compensate me for unlocking the phone? Also, the buyer has not given any feedback to me for this transaction (or any eBay purchases he's made in the past). Should I ask that he provide positive feedback as well? I don't know if he'd complain to eBay about me asking for more money or not. I like to consider myself a nice guy but don't want to give that away for free, especially to this buyer.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[MattMJB0188]

One of many, many reasons to avoid ebay. Technically, the transaction is done and you are not obligated to do anything. Its not your problem. But if you do that then he'll most likely leave you negative feedback, which eBay won't give two s**** about, as they're all for the buyer. Assuming you still have the IMEI written down, you can just submit the unlock request yourself.

Let him know your doing that, but in the future once a transaction is complete you are not obligated to do anything and that people like him are making eBay a terrible place to buy/sell phones.

 

[deeddawg]

Yep... do it with a smile and no compensation.

He has you by the short hairs as he can poison your feedback score and you have no recourse.

 

[AppleFan360]

This is why I use Craigslist with local cash purchase only and a throwaway phone number. Once the transaction is done, I "burn" the phone number so there is no chance of the buyer ever finding me again.

Go ahead and unlock the phone but consider this a lesson learned and move on.

 

[nburwell]

I'm going to play devil's advocate here... The OP listed the phone completely and accurately on eBay. They made no mention of the phone being unlocked, but rather it was locked to AT&T. If I were a buyer and were using common sense, I would only bid on the phone if I were currently or planned on becoming an AT&T customer.

If no false information was given in the listing, then the OP does not owe the buyer anything, as they should have read the description in it's entirety before deciding whether to place a bid on the phone or not.

Also, it took the buyer a few weeks to decide they just now want the phone unlocked? I ran into this same situation last year when I sold my 5. I just politely told the buyer that it was on them if they wanted the phone unlocked because I had it listed as locked to AT&T. I don't think the OP owes the buyer anything at this point. I would politely tell them that the phone was not listed as unlocked and maybe even direct them to a few sites that will unlock the phone him/her.

 

[Lylyluvda916]

I'd try to contact ebay customer service first before he does. Provide the listing information and they'll see that your phone was indeed listed as an att phone. You transaction is done. Also, I'd advice you to leave feed back on him as the buyer.

 

[CalMin]

You made an error. Learn from it.

I would get it unlocked for him as a good gesture. It won't cost you anything, so why should the buyer pay for it? He got a good deal (eBay contract is binding) so let him be happy. You could get positive feedback that way too.

Remember he would not have bought YOUR phone for $75-100 dollars more. You made a deal. Next time be wiser about it and unlock the phone before selling.

 

[Praesto]

One of many, many reasons to avoid ebay. Technically, the transaction is done and you are not obligated to do anything. Its not your problem. But if you do that then he'll most likely leave you negative feedback, which eBay won't give two s**** about, as they're all for the buyer. Assuming you still have the IMEI written down, you can just submit the unlock request yourself.

Let him know your doing that, but in the future once a transaction is complete you are not obligated to do anything and that people like him are making eBay a terrible place to buy/sell phones.

Not true - Ebay makes no money on the buyer. They will remove false negative feedback. If negative feedback is not warranted then you can easily contact Ebay to have it removed. I use ebay a lot and have 0 negative feedback because I have had all false negative feedback removed.

Yep... do it with a smile and no compensation.

He has you by the short hairs as he can poison your feedback score and you have no recourse.

That is not true. You can easily have negative feedback removed with proof. Since the buyer has not yet left feedback and already sent an e-mail asking for it to be unlocked, his feedback (if negative) would most likely be removed and that would be the end of it.

You made an error. Learn from it.

I would get it unlocked for him as a good gesture. It won't cost you anything, so why should the buyer pay for it? He got a good deal (eBay contract is binding) so let him be happy.Why unlock the phone for him, as you said Ebay contract is binding. You could get positive feedback that way too. His negative feedback would be removed because it would be for something not related to the listing, unless it was listed as unlocked.

Remember he would not have bought YOUR phone for $75-100 dollars more. You made a deal. Next time be wiser about it and unlock the phone before selling. How the hell do you know he would not have bought it????? This is a statement of total ignorance.

You make a LOT of assumptions. Read what I wrote in red.

 

[ckurt25]

I did send a message to eBay and won't do a thing until I hear back from them.

Yes, this buyer may not have paid $100 more for the phone but another probably would have. Maybe I should ask him to return the phone and I'll unlock and re-list it.

 

[deeddawg]

On a completely different angle... there's more time being spent on this HERE than would be invested in submitting an unlock request via AT&T's website, awaiting the unlock, and forwarding it to the buyer.

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That is not true. You can easily have negative feedback removed with proof. Since the buyer has not yet left feedback and already sent an e-mail asking for it to be unlocked, his feedback (if negative) would most likely be removed and that would be the end of it.

If you say so, I've seen others claim different experiences.

Still seems like a lot of hassle in comparison to doing an AT&T unlock.

 

[pete480]

So, your listing didn't say it was unlocked and the buyer is complaining that it's not unlocked? Tough *****. He should definitely pay you if you can still get it unlocked for him if you want to.

 

[noobinator]

I'd try through the carrier and if they won't do it then say tough luck. I wouldn't spend an extra dime on this person who can't read. If they win a case against you give them their money back, get your iphone back and resell.

 

[Tough Guy]

You should go above and beyond, if reasonable. You don't have to, but I would.

It's good business and good karma.

 

[KdParker]

You made an error. Learn from it.

I would get it unlocked for him as a good gesture. It won't cost you anything, so why should the buyer pay for it? He got a good deal (eBay contract is binding) so let him be happy. You could get positive feedback that way too.

Remember he would not have bought YOUR phone for $75-100 dollars more. You made a deal. Next time be wiser about it and unlock the phone before selling.

Seems like this buyer is pulling a fast one and trying to get an unlocked phone cheaper.

If this was a few weeks ago the transaction was completed by now. So whether or not this buyer will give negative feedback shouldn't allow him to rip you off.

 

[h4ck]

devils advocate? so far you're the only sane response i've seen here.

OP listed phone, Buyer read what he was bidding on, and bid, and won auction. Transaction ended. If buyer wants it unlocked, buyer can go to https://www.att.com/deviceunlock/client/en_US/ and request it, or can purchase it through whomever is selling unlocks. this is absolutely by no means OPs responsibility. you can reply to feedback. if Buyer gives a negative feedback, simply reply "sold item exactly as listed, buyer wanted unlocked after the fact." i would read that and say "okay, so buyer ****ed up. no problem with the seller."

come on people.

I'm going to play devil's advocate here... The OP listed the phone completely and accurately on eBay. They made no mention of the phone being unlocked, but rather it was locked to AT&T. If I were a buyer and were using common sense, I would only bid on the phone if I were currently or planned on becoming an AT&T customer.

If no false information was given in the listing, then the OP does not owe the buyer anything, as they should have read the description in it's entirety before deciding whether to place a bid on the phone or not.

Also, it took the buyer a few weeks to decide they just now want the phone unlocked? I ran into this same situation last year when I sold my 5. I just politely told the buyer that it was on them if they wanted the phone unlocked because I had it listed as locked to AT&T. I don't think the OP owes the buyer anything at this point. I would politely tell them that the phone was not listed as unlocked and maybe even direct them to a few sites that will unlock the phone him/her.

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losing money is not good business. you go in to business to make money, not give it away. buyer wanted an unlocked phone, should have bought an unlocked phone.

You should go above and beyond, if reasonable. You don't have to, but I would.

It's good business and good karma.

 

[KdParker]

So I sold my 5S when I purchased my 6+. This phone was on AT&Ts Next Plan and I originally didn't know if I'd turn it in or sell it on my own. Long story short, I did not ask AT&T to unlock it when I decided to sell it and the eBay listing did not indicate the phone was unlocked. It was listed as being on AT&T. HUGE shame on me for not taking a few minutes to submit an unlock request and list it as unlocked. Anyway, fast forward a few weeks later and now the buyer is asking I unlock the phone. I went on eBay and saw how dumb I was and see that devices listed as unlocked sell for $75-$100 more.

So should I ask (or even can I ask) the buyer to compensate me for unlocking the phone? Also, the buyer has not given any feedback to me for this transaction (or any eBay purchases he's made in the past). Should I ask that he provide positive feedback as well? I don't know if he'd complain to eBay about me asking for more money or not. I like to consider myself a nice guy but don't want to give that away for free, especially to this buyer.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Seems like the buyer is trying to rip you off and is going to turnaround and sell the phone as unlocked.

IMHO, the buyer knew the phone was locked when they bought it and two weeks seems like a long to time to suddenly realize you need the phone unlocked.

Isn't the transaction already completed?

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

You made an error. Learn from it.

The OP didn't make any technical error. He didn't advertise it as unlocked and isn't obligated to do it. The buyer is trying to take advantage of him.

 

[h4ck]

same. I sell a completely working device advertised accurately. we meet at a starbucks, give buyer an opportunity to check it out, then that is it. we're done. i have the money, you have the phone, i need nothing more to do with the person after that point.

This is why I use Craigslist with local cash purchase only and a throwaway phone number. Once the transaction is done, I "burn" the phone number so there is no chance of the buyer ever finding me again.

Go ahead and unlock the phone but consider this a lesson learned and move on.

 

[themyst]

Your other option is to offer a full refund and eat the shipping.

Then you can resell the thing after you unlock it for more money. win win.

Just take a video of you unboxing the return package because this buyer sounds like the type who may be willing to send you an empty box back.


I sold car stereo equipment for 800 dollars recently, and the buyer said "it's not compatible with his car". He tried sending me a different serial # back which was different than what was sent. I video documented both the send and receive. He eventually went to eBay for dispute and lost after I sent the videos to eBay. It's not he said, she said when you have clear proof.

For smaller stuff, it's not worth going through all that hassle, but when you're a regular joe trying to sell expensive items on eBay, cover your ass.

 

[h4ck]

uhhhhhhhhhh.......how did he make an error? he advertised a device accurately, the buyer bought it.

people here amaze me.

You made an error. Learn from it.

I would get it unlocked for him as a good gesture. It won't cost you anything, so why should the buyer pay for it? He got a good deal (eBay contract is binding) so let him be happy. You could get positive feedback that way too.

Remember he would not have bought YOUR phone for $75-100 dollars more. You made a deal. Next time be wiser about it and unlock the phone before selling.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

I did send a message to eBay and won't do a thing until I hear back from them.

Yes, this buyer may not have paid $100 more for the phone but another probably would have. Maybe I should ask him to return the phone and I'll unlock and re-list it.

Yes tell him to return the phone for a full refund. Prices are creeping up for unlocked iPhones and you'll get more selling at the 8-9 weeks mark (after the 6/6+ was unveiled).

 

[h4ck]

or do nothing of the sort, take your money and buy some beers or whatever. you did nothing wrong, or dishonest, and if the buyer tries to tarnish your ebay feedback, go after him. it's not worth the effort to correct someone's buyers remorse. he knew what he was buying and bought it. you sold it. you're done.

I did send a message to eBay and won't do a thing until I hear back from them.

Yes, this buyer may not have paid $100 more for the phone but another probably would have. Maybe I should ask him to return the phone and I'll unlock and re-list it.

 

[shady25]

People tend to list whether or not a device is unlocked, just saying. He made his bed, he might as well lie in it

 

[pete480]

I think you have 3 options here:

1. You agree to unlock it and he pays you FIRST.
2. He agrees to return it and you resell it unlocked.
3. Leave it as is. He has no argument about it being locked if he read the description and actually bid on it.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Transaction has been completed. He has no legal right to ask you to unlock the phone.

If reputation means so much that you would allow a buyer to potentially bully you into getting what he wants, then maybe you should reconsider being on Ebay.

Stand your ground. If he leaves you negative feedback, so be it. It wouldn't be the end of the world. You should leave him feedback, if you haven't already, as he did pay for the item in question.