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Checklist for Buying on Craigslist

Meet at your carrier and you both walk in . And seller waits for you to activate. And mention to your carrier that you just purchased this phone from them .

There are plenty of cameras in there if not find a better carrier
Make sure phone is not locked by Apple and have your carrier make notes on your account
Even have the carrier look at the sellers photo I'd . No id . Do not buy it,!!

I think this covers it all . All the rest is just a waste of time .
 
dfran1 said:
There are plenty of cameras in there if not find a better carrier
Click to expand...

What do you plan to do? Ask the store to hand you over footage? Ask the law enforcement to get the footage?

You think the carrier is going to hand you over the original owners name and address?

No I don't think so, you will have to go through legal hurdles to get to that point, having dealt with this non-sense first hand is the reason why I buy from Apple Store direct at full price ever since the iPhone 5 because 1 lesson for me was enough.

I would highly recommend one just buy it from eBay deals section, they have great deals every year and comes with the piece mind that you are getting a clean phone.
 
dfran1 said:
Meet at your carrier and you both walk in . And seller waits for you to activate. And mention to your carrier that you just purchased this phone from them .

There are plenty of cameras in there if not find a better carrier
Make sure phone is not locked by Apple and have your carrier make notes on your account
Even have the carrier look at the sellers photo I'd . No id . Do not buy it,!!

I think this covers it all . All the rest is just a waste of time .
Click to expand...

More nonsense.
Carriers do not get involved in private cellphone sales.
They don't have to verify anyones identity or ownership to you or towards the other person who's buying it and they don't make notes in their system that he sold his phone to you.
They can just verify that the phone can be used on their system and its not currently blacklisted.
After that if next day the seller calls up and tells them he wants to report his device lost/stolen there is nothing stopping them from doing that and nothing the buyer can do to stop it from happening.
Its still a risk.
And like the poster above says what is the surveillance footage going to do?
Police will tell you its a civil case and to try suing them in small claims court. Good luck.
 
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andyx3x said:
http://www.wral.com/raleigh-teen-shot-to-death-during-craigslist-buy/14124869/

A teen got murdered in our area yesterday meeting up with a guy to buy a phone advertised on Craigslist. Gotta be careful folks.
Click to expand...

Damn, its sad to see people put such a small price on life.

Someone who was looking for used phone few days ago was asking me for advice. Someone they had contacted on Craigslist was asking them to pick up the phone at their house, the person was not willing to meet them at a coffee shop as I had advised them and apparently the seller's "Father was in policies" << exact words from seller and his apparent father told him "to make sure person pick up only".

Then that friend contacted few other sellers and 3 similar stories came up, where the sellers refusing to meet at a public place and went onto say about having kids at home and mentioning "I am not going to rob you" and "I have a life, with a job,I am not here to scam" <<<< all these iPhone 5 and 5S models were listed with pictures and in "Mint condition" with a very good price ($200-$280 price) -- I told that friend to steer clear and keep looking.

These incidences occur in South and South-West Side of Chicago, IL.

At the end of the day, no one should be going to anyones house to buy anything, meet publicly and if the person does not want to meet at a public place, then they have something in their mind that is not in your best interest.
 
Rangomango said:
I never understood why people don't meet in public places...

Question, is it true its only possible to report a phone stolen if it is still active on your account?
Click to expand...

Yes, you can only report the IMEI as Lost / Stolen if its active on your account. Otherwise its not possible...cause people would just be playing tricks on each other...
 
I've only met one person at their house but I talked with them on the phone first and checked out their neighborhood on Google Maps so I felt safe.

I've bought and sold about 20 iPhones on Craigslist and never had a problem but you've got to be careful these days. I always meet at a mall food court or at the carrier itself. And as I've mentioned before in other threads I'll slip in that I'm a police officer(I'm really not) and that of course will send people who have bad intentions in another direction.
 
If you meet at a carrier store and have them activate the phone on your account, doesn't that remove the seller's ability to then block it?

I'm just asking in addition to the OP's list of suggestions (and of course, all the standard safety precautions), is there a way to prevent a phone from being reported as lost/stolen as part of the transaction, thereby removing that final issue?
 
Speaking as someone looking to sell my old iPhone 5, how can I give assurances to a potential buyer that I won't screw them by reporting it stolen over after they take ownership of the device? I would never do that, of course, but because a random stranger has no reason to trust my word alone, it'd be great to have a way to prove that there will be no interference in their ownership of the phone.

The phone has already been removed from my Verizon account, I removed it from my Apple device list, and I have the original box and receipt (albeit via email for the latter because it was bought at an :apple: Store).
 
Checklist for Buying on Craigslist

Zinthar said:
Speaking as someone looking to sell my old iPhone 5, how can I give assurances to a potential buyer that I won't screw them by reporting it stolen over after they take ownership of the device? I would never do that, of course, but because a random stranger has no reason to trust my word alone, it'd be great to have a way to prove that there will be no interference in their ownership of the phone.



The phone has already been removed from my Verizon account, I removed it from my Apple device list, and I have the original box and receipt (albeit via email for the latter because it was bought at an :apple: Store).
Click to expand...


You can always write up a receipt. I met up with a buyer on CL a while back who requested this. We met at a coffee shop, nothing shady at all but, it was his first time purchasing a used phone and he wanted some assurance.
 
Not sure why anyone wouldn't do meet ups in a public place. Even when I do, I have a friend with me
 
Zinthar said:
Speaking as someone looking to sell my old iPhone 5, how can I give assurances to a potential buyer that I won't screw them by reporting it stolen over after they take ownership of the device?
Click to expand...

This has to be something that's so rare in actually happening. What's the point of doing it anyway? Tbh it's something that I wouldn't even really worry about.
 
First, don't buy iPhones from craigslist.

If you do, set up the meeting in a public place. Make sure you have at least one handgun that you're good with. Bring a friend with you that is carrying at least one handgun that he is good with.

Finally, do not buy iPhones from craigslist.
 
andyx3x said:
I always meet at a mall food court
Click to expand...

Just my opinion but that's pretty risky. WAY too easy to get burned if the person you're meeting bolts and runs through the crowds and/or hands off to an accomplice. Just as bad as meeting in a parking lot (accomplice drives up, thief jumps in, they drive off).

Better to choose a place with limited ability for a thief to disappear into a crowd.


I'll slip in that I'm a police officer(I'm really not) and that of course will send people who have bad intentions in another direction.
Click to expand...

Each to their own but I'd be very careful on that one. I don't think you'd technically be violating the law, but if the guy on the other side WAS a cop and had a chip on his shoulder it might get complicated.

Suggest meeting in the lobby of the local police station should effectively dissuade anyone up to no good.
 
Great info for the guys who online buy and sell.

But there is also a risk, so to avoid such things always meet at some public places with the the mention things kept in mind.
 
Do the transaction in your bank. Have the buyer give the cashier the cash, have her inspect and deposit in your account. Then hand the phone over once she confirms the bills are not counterfeit.
 
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What does this problem mean?
 
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