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Fred Zed

macrumors 603
Original poster
Aug 15, 2019
5,054
5,956
Florida Unfortunately
Sorry should have added pic.. it states " apple Certified preowned"
Screenshot_20200511_151942_com.sec.android.app.sbrowser.jpg
 

alpi123

macrumors 68020
Jun 18, 2014
2,023
3,376
Have you checked Apple's official page for refurbs? Or did you find a better deal than their website
 

Fred Zed

macrumors 603
Original poster
Aug 15, 2019
5,054
5,956
Florida Unfortunately
Have you checked Apple's official page for refurbs? Or did you find a better deal than their website
Yes of course. I got the MT5H2LL/A for $810 from someone who had allegedly bought it from the official Apple refurb store a month ago . I'll have to wait and see what's in the box when it arrives .
 
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44267547

Cancelled
Jul 12, 2016
37,642
42,491
Swappa is ‘High risk’ with Apple products. And personally, it’s reaching a point of where it’s on ‘eBay level status’ of not nearly being reliable as it once was. Id purchase direct from Apple if you want a refurbished device as a ‘safe bet’, you might spend a little bit more, but you eliminate all the risks and it includes the warranty for one year.
 
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tonybarnaby

macrumors 68020
Dec 3, 2017
2,385
1,741
Swappa is ‘High risk’ with Apple products. And personally, it’s reaching a point of where it’s on ‘eBay level status’ of not nearly being reliable as it once was. Id purchase direct from Apple if you want a refurbished device as a ‘safe bet’, you might spend a little bit more, but you eliminate all the risks and it includes the warranty for one year.
I wouldn’t go that far. Swappa is safe, especially if you know what you’re doing and what you’re looking for.
 

44267547

Cancelled
Jul 12, 2016
37,642
42,491
I wouldn’t go that far. Swappa is safe, especially if you know what you’re doing and what you’re looking for.

No thanks. Feel free to read consumer reviews on Swappas reliability has dropped considerably in the last two years. I’d rather purchase direct from the source itself, knowingly I can avoid fraud with Apple, as my time is valuable.
 

ian87w

macrumors G3
Feb 22, 2020
8,704
12,636
Indonesia
No thanks. Feel free to read consumer reviews on Swappas reliability has dropped considerably in the last two years. I’d rather purchase direct from the source itself, knowingly I can avoid fraud with Apple, as my time is valuable.
I agree. For an iPhone that is available directly through Apple, might as well just get it from Apple instead of random 3rd party.
It's worst in some countries like mine, where "refurbished" iPhones with who-knows-what components in them are all over the place. These resellers even printed their own fake Apple boxes.
 

Fred Zed

macrumors 603
Original poster
Aug 15, 2019
5,054
5,956
Florida Unfortunately
No thanks. Feel free to read consumer reviews on Swappas reliability has dropped considerably in the last two years. I’d rather purchase direct from the source itself, knowingly I can avoid fraud with Apple, as my time is valuable.
You have a valid point since whenever one is purchasing items and it could be anything, scams are more likely to come from individual sellers rather than a well established corporation.
I did note the seller had 26 feedback, of which 3 were negative. All three were complaints about device being blacklisted after 2 weeks or so of usage. However the seller refunded those with no issues.

Now this leads to me another iPhone specific question. I remember there was website that one could find out if a device was truly unlocked or if it was a "retailer flex " device. It also gave you more information than the Apple serial lookup, it cost about $2 for each checkup.

I'm assuming, if a device is a truly Apple unlocked then there is no chance of it being blacklisted in the future.?
 

Fred Zed

macrumors 603
Original poster
Aug 15, 2019
5,054
5,956
Florida Unfortunately
I agree. For an iPhone that is available directly through Apple, might as well just get it from Apple instead of random 3rd party.
It's worst in some countries like mine, where "refurbished" iPhones with who-knows-what components in them are all over the place. These resellers even printed their own fake Apple boxes.
That's why I avoided eBay seller refurbs. All were either open box or seller refurbs.
 

tonybarnaby

macrumors 68020
Dec 3, 2017
2,385
1,741
No thanks. Feel free to read consumer reviews on Swappas reliability has dropped considerably in the last two years. I’d rather purchase direct from the source itself, knowingly I can avoid fraud with Apple, as my time is valuable.
In a perfect world apple is always the best choice. Let’s say someone wants an 8+ right now. They have no choice but secondary market like swappa. I’ve bought and sold about a dozen items on there and never had any issues, but I know they can happen and maybe I’ve been lucky. All I know is I bought my current 8+ brand new still in the wrap (no box) from swappa for $425, and Apple wanted $599 for the same phone in refurbished condition at the time. Did I get lucky? Possibly.
 

0128672

Cancelled
Apr 16, 2020
5,962
4,783
Sorry should have added pic.. it states " apple Certified preowned"

I'll usually buy Apple refurbs and the boxes all say "Apple Certified Refurbished". Are the phone boxes different?
[automerge]1589338831[/automerge]
Swappa is ‘High risk’ with Apple products. And personally, it’s reaching a point of where it’s on ‘eBay level status’ of not nearly being reliable as it once was. Id purchase direct from Apple if you want a refurbished device as a ‘safe bet’, you might spend a little bit more, but you eliminate all the risks and it includes the warranty for one year.
Amen to that. And you can buy Applecare+. And Apple returns even on refurbs are so easy. I have always received refurb Macs and iPads in pristine condition. Can't say enough good about true Apple refurbs.
 
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Fred Zed

macrumors 603
Original poster
Aug 15, 2019
5,054
5,956
Florida Unfortunately
I'll usually buy Apple refurbs and the boxes all say "Apple Certified Refurbished". Are the phone boxes different?
[automerge]1589338831[/automerge]

Amen to that. And you can buy Applecare+. And Apple returns even on refurbs are so easy. I have always received refurb Macs and iPads in pristine condition. Can't say enough good about true Apple refurbs.
From Apple's website.
Screenshot_20200511_160042_com.sec.android.app.sbrowser.jpg
 
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1rottenapple

macrumors 601
Apr 21, 2004
4,702
2,719
Just bought a refurbished iPad 11. Great deal and it looks brand new!!! I’ve bought other appl refurbished and never had an issue.
 
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Fred Zed

macrumors 603
Original poster
Aug 15, 2019
5,054
5,956
Florida Unfortunately
I just did a gsx check using the swappa supplied imei number results attached. Would it be safe to assume the device is truly unlocked and in warranty? Bearing in mind it's an Apple Certified pre owned iPhone. Cheers
IMG_20200514_134810.jpg
 

tedley

macrumors 6502
Nov 3, 2009
294
339
Sacramento
I strongly agree with the posts encouraging you to purchase directly from apple. Buying directly from a carrier would be a second choice but a distant second. There's always the potential of locking issues if you switch carriers and keep the phone. I've had many apple refurb devices and NEVER a single problem. As stated you can buy AC if desired.

There are just TOO MANY WAYS to get screwed buying 3rd party. I'm a reasonably savvy buyer and I got screwed while buying a 'new' iPhone 5s form amazon several years back. The buyer assured me it was new and had a clean IMEI. When I got it, I opened the package and looked it over thoroughly. I did appear to be new. The case and screen were in pristine condition. In fact, the, plastic wrap surrounding the phone was still there and looked to be in perfectly applied. All plugs, cables and paperwork were present. I set up the phone. No issues with iCloud and absolutely no other glitches whatsoever. It was not reported blacklisted and all was well About 6-9 months later, a problem developed that I figured I would just have Apple repair. I thought no big deal I'll pay for it, right? WRONG!!!

When I took it to the apple store, they looked up the IMEI and found that it was a warranty replacement. This meant that someone had a phone replaced under warranty from their carrier (in this case, at&t) and decided to just sell the replacement and pocket the change. (I was on cricket at the time so I knew there would be no unlock issues with an at&t-locked phone). Well, I learned sadly that day that when a warranty replacement gets issued that it's taken off apples active list and they will no longer service the phone. I had a phone that was in need of a $50-$100 repair that apple wouldn't touch. I never new this and had read nothing about this policy.

From that point, I decided to just order phones directly from apple. It's worth a little more money to me to know that I'm getting a new or like new phone and that I can get it serviced if desired. My point in sharing this sordid tale is just to express my opinion that no matter how much you know, or how many precautions you take, that there can always be a way of getting bitten.

Good luck!!!
 
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LFC2020

macrumors P6
Apr 4, 2020
16,874
38,034
Problem these days to many shady people out there, rather spend that little bit extra and buy my electronics directly from 🍎 themselves.

Spend that little bit extra and save yourself a lot of running around, wasted money and anger.
 
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