Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

buying an iphone 4 off craigslist, advice?

A

az988

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 26, 2009
79
0
Hey guys,

I am planning to meet someone in a public place this evening to finish the transaction. The seller does not have the box or any accessories but promises it is in perfect condition.

Is there anything I should be concerned about? It has 4.0.2 firmware, and I was planning to unlock it for use on T-mobile when an unlock is released in the coming weeks (hopefully).

Thanks!
 
check the water sensors just to make sure..cracks/make sure flash on cam works/ home button pushes up down good and get stuck/check if the head phone jack works/make calls/test speakers..

i dont know what else to say maybe other will pitch in thats all i can think of..
 
iMaconApple said:
check the water sensors just to make sure..cracks/make sure flash on cam works/ home button pushes up down good and get stuck/check if the head phone jack works/make calls/test speakers..

i dont know what else to say maybe other will pitch in thats all i can think of..
Click to expand...

Very thorough! If the phone is in an unusable state (must be synced with iTunes), I won't be able to test a lot of that stuff. As long as there's no water damage or cracks, it should be fine since the phone is under warranty, right? (it's only 6 days old) Thanks for your help!
 
Don't do it...

I'm guessing there's no way to fully test this & there's no way to get your money back if you find a problem later that you weren't made aware of.

If the gamble of the total loss of every dime you pay for this phone is acceptable, then so be it.

I would prefer to pay a greater price & 'know' I'm covered than buy something like this off of CL where there's no recourse short of a police involvement...

If you decide to take that chance, i hope you get a great deal with no regrets.

Please keep us updated.
 
az988 said:
Hey guys,

I am planning to meet someone in a public place this evening to finish the transaction. The seller does not have the box or any accessories but promises it is in perfect condition.

Is there anything I should be concerned about? It has 4.0.2 firmware, and I was planning to unlock it for use on T-mobile when an unlock is released in the coming weeks (hopefully).

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but Chronic Dev Team the one working on the new 4.1 jailbreak never had plans to make a unlock for 4.1+.
 
Jay28 said:
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but Chronic Dev Team the one working on the new 4.1 jailbreak never had plans to make a unlock for 4.1+.
Click to expand...

If the IP4 is on 4.0.2 it has a Baseband that is unlockable. You can upgrade the IP4 to 4.1 and keep the old baseband which is unlockable and hence there is no bad news.
 
HeatherA said:
6 days old and no box or accessories? Is it stolen?
Click to expand...

Oops, I was wrong about that. He does have the accessories but threw away the box.

Thanks everyone for all your points! I guess I will take a chance -- I feel pretty confident it'll be ok as long as I inspect the water sensors and make sure it has no cracks (I am very picky and can see anything external after close inspection).

If I don't make it back to the forum later tonight then call the police for me!! :)
 
Shanewilliams said:
Yep, doesn't quite add up does it?? With no box I'd be concerned being only 6 days old but not headphones or charger? I wouldn't touch it!
Click to expand...

Most people advertising phones that are only a few days old on Craiglist are selling phones that have just been warranty replaced by Apple. It seems it is a pretty Common thing to invent some mysterious problem on the phone and get apple to replace it just before selling. It explains the lack of a box which was thrown away months ago when the original phone was purchased.
 
nebo1ss said:
Most people advertising phones that are only a few days old on Craiglist are selling phones that have just been warranty replaced by Apple. It seems it is a pretty Common thing to invent some mysterious problem on the phone and get apple to replace it just before selling. It explains the lack of a box which was thrown away months ago when the original phone was purchased.
Click to expand...

I can understand to a degree not having the box but had it truly been only 6 days old and no accessories(charger especially) that puke raise some red flags in my book! Now that the op says it does include them as long as the phone checks out the op should be fine. No accessories and I'm automatically thinking they just picked it up somewhere. It's good though to be over cautious when making a craigslist deal nowadays!
 
Shanewilliams said:
Yep, doesn't quite add up does it?? With no box I'd be concerned being only 6 days old but not headphones or charger? I wouldn't touch it!
Click to expand...

I agree. Even if it does have the accessories that dosent mean it wasnt stolen. I take my accessories with me to the hotel I stay at each week but for some reason I dont feel the need to take the box or the receipt. Thats just me...:D

How much are you paying for this awesome deal that youre willing to potentially buy stolen property or a damaged phone that you can only look at from a total stranger you met on Craigs List?

This may be totally on the straight & narrow but there is, IMO, a much greater chance that it isnt.

As I said before, I hope you get a great buy from an honest person. That would be very cool for you.
But my spider senses say something aint quite right...:rolleyes:
 
I'm getting the phone for $450. You're right though -- even with the accessories it could still be stolen... Hmmmm... :/
 
nebo1ss said:
Most people advertising phones that are only a few days old on Craiglist are selling phones that have just been warranty replaced by Apple. It seems it is a pretty Common thing to invent some mysterious problem on the phone and get apple to replace it just before selling. It explains the lack of a box which was thrown away months ago when the original phone was purchased.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't it be on 4.1 then?

If it is stolen, and the IMEI is blacklisted, you might end up with an unusable phone.
 
az988 said:
I'm getting the phone for $450. You're right though -- even with the accessories it could still be stolen... Hmmmm... :/
Click to expand...

Check and make sure the basband firmware is not 2.10.04 (Settings -> About Modern Firmware). I upgraded to 4.1 and downgraded to 4.0.1 and the baseband sticks and you can't unlock it :(. Not a prob for me ofcourse since Im on ATT
 
It sounds a bit shady. Me personally, I would ask to see the receipt (which any legit buyer would have in case they needed to return/exchange it).
 
nwbusa said:
It sounds a bit shady. Me personally, I would ask to see the receipt (which any legit buyer would have in case they needed to return/exchange it).
Click to expand...

Shoot.. even a debit statement from the Apple store is proof even of true ownership. Does sound weird.
 
couldn't resist and ended up getting it

I ended up meeting the seller... Yes, this sounds shady but he said he got it free through one of those promotional web-sites where you sign up for a bunch of offers (through their referrals), and they reward you at the end. Anyway, the phone looked perfect, I was able to play around with it and test everything. He was selling it because he was happy with his G1 and couldn't unlock the 4.0.2 firmware...

I just checked the warranty status, and it's good until 9/20/2011. The IMEI # is unblocked, and the modem firmware is 01.59.00. For what it's worth, he seemed like an honest guy when I talked to him in person, but all the circumstances do seem a little strange. Oh well, see no evil, hear no evil. :p

Thanks for all your feedback!!
 
nebo1ss said:
If the IP4 is on 4.0.2 it has a Baseband that is unlockable. You can upgrade the IP4 to 4.1 and keep the old baseband which is unlockable and hence there is no bad news.
Click to expand...

Well, that's not entirely true. At 4.0.2, the baseband is still unlockable, but the phone is not jailbreakable, so you are unable to install Ultrasn0w to unlock it.

The baseband is unlockable. He will just have to wait for a way to preserve the baseband and jailbreak.
 
im glad everything went smoothly for you.

But i would suggest next time, when you test ur phone, tell him that u wanna call his # and check the sound quality, speaker, and everything so that way you have his cell #. Most people use home phone payphone. or skype to communicate if they are doing shady work. Also test out the video camera and record him and while recording have a convo about the phone so you have him on recording stating phone is not stolen or anything.
 
It sounds like the guy was legit, but just so you're aware it is a crime to purchase stolen property. Try to keep some record of the transaction (email addresses, phone numbers, etc) in case it ever becomes an issue.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back