iPhone 16 Pro Buying an iPhone from an Apple reseller

[sartois]

So I'm residing in Thailand just now and thought I would go get a new iPhone to replace my iPhone 12. The Apple stores are only in Bangkok so I went into the local "Studio 7" in Phuket which is the official apple reseller. They had them in stock (finally) so I bought one. Just waiting for the guy to bag it up so I could get on my way and he said he needs to check it. It's annoying over here as it seems with any gadget they have to open them to make sure it works. Fair enough, so he opens the box, takes the protective plastic off, turns the phone on (after getting his grubby fingerprints over my new toy), and I say "great, thanks" expecting to be able to walk out the shop. Nope. He then says he needs to connect to the wifi and activate it. At this point I say no need, I can do and put the phone back in the box. He then says he has to activate it and take a photo with the camera ... store policy. I'm thinking that this is the gadget I use for banking, investments and all sorts of authentication needs so I again say I am not comfortable with that.

Anyway, long story short he refused to let me leave with the phone I'd just bought and whilst I was explaining that this was silly to his manager he refunded the payment to my card! So still no iPhone. Guess I'll pick one up the next time I am in Bangkok!

Anyone else ever seen anything like this? Not just checking to make sure it works, but getting to the stage in a new phone where he can connect to the wifi and do something to activate it and take a photo with it? Maybe I'm being overly paranoid but phones are no longer just phones but also they are authentication, banking and investment devices so the idea of it being used to connect to the internet before I've used it gives me the heebie jeebies. I've literally never seen any store with this kind of policy before. Seemed like madness to me especially as they now have an iPhone 16 pro in their stock that has been opened already that they won't be able to sell.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Haven’t seen it, but with fraud the way it is I couldn’t blame them.

 

[JSDK]

I would have left immediately if the seller had broken the box seal. I would immediately think of it as a scam - understood in the sense that the phone might have been opened before, and it was to be hidden by the seller "opening the package for the first time".

We also have an Apple Reseller in Denmark (Power) where I have experienced them wanting to sell me an iPhone where they have already installed tempered glass on the screen. Found out that they have received iPhones returned from customers that are like new, but which they cannot sell as new. That is why they put tempered glass on them and sell them at the same price as a brand new and unopened one. I only buy iPhones directly from Apple now, or via the web shop where I have the right to return them, regardless of whether it is opened or not.