How to sell unactivated Verizon iPhone?

[iqwertyi]

Hi,

How does my friend sell a phone he got from Verizon, brand new, never activated?

Here's the scenario, he has a droid phone and is happy with it. He used his upgrade deal to get a great deal on the new iPhone. Now, he wants to sell the iPhone.

Does he need to worry about that phone being somehow connected to his account? I have an ATT version and in my case, I can just keep the sim and I'm good. How does it work for Verizon since they don't have sims?

Thanks.

 

[gdjsnyder]

This all depends. If he went to a Verizon store, purchased the phone but didn't put the MEID on his account, then he's good to go to just sell it. He doesn't have to worry about it going back to his account. I did this with the white iPhone 4. When I purchased it I told them I would activate at home, I went onto my Verizon account, put the MEID number in to replace my old iPhone 4 and then synced with iTunes.

If he purchased the iPhone online through Verizon, the phone is linked to his account, and when it syncs with iTunes it will activate. I don't know of anyway to get around this, as I believe it is automatic through the system.

 

[einmusiker]

if it's unopened then its not activated, he can just sell it

 

[iqwertyi]

He ordered it over the phone from Verizon not from Apple.
That's what he's worried about. If it is somehow connected to his account and that anyone can activate it and it will be on his account.

Like I said, I only know how sims work so I don't even now if what we think is going to happen is possible.

 

[Applejuiced]

He ordered it over the phone from Verizon not from Apple.
That's what he's worried about. If it is somehow connected to his account and that anyone can activate it and it will be on his account.

Like I said, I only know how sims work so I don't even now if what we think is going to happen is possible.

Why doesnt he call Verizon to find out details?
Tell them he wants to give it to a friend of his and not activate it at all on his account.
They will let him know what he has to do.

 

[lokiju]

Is it white or black?

How much does he want?

You can check the ESN to see what Verizon list as the status of it.

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/estore/certifieddevice/cd

I'm tempted to buy a white Verizon iPhone if the price is right.

 

[kicko]

The best way to sell it would be to find someone and then go to the Verizon store with them to rule out any issues the new owner might have.

each phone has a pre programmed dedicated number.

My wife was coming from AT&T so i had to activate under the "temp" number and then port her's after activation.

 

[iqwertyi]

It is the white iPhone.
Thanks for the link, I'll have him check it out.

I do not know how much he wants for it. I think he was just planning to eBay it.
And since I don't know if it's allowed by forum rules, I'd rather not mention the price. My "estimate" is he's looking to what it is going for on eBay.

Thanks all!

 

[jenzjen]

This happened to a friend of mine, your friend used his upgrade to buy the phone, so there's a 2 year contract/extension that needs to be activated somewhere.

He can activate it himself thus extends his current contract with Verizon 2 more years then re-activate the Droid on his line and sell the iPhone to someone else. Best bet is to take the sealed package and do it all in the Verizon store so your friend gets full value of it from the seller since seller will see it was truly unsealed, just opened briefly to activate it.

 

[kicko]

It is the white iPhone.
Thanks for the link, I'll have him check it out.

I do not know how much he wants for it. I think he was just planning to eBay it.
And since I don't know if it's allowed by forum rules, I'd rather not mention the price. My "estimate" is he's looking to what it is going for on eBay.

Thanks all!

If its the white phone it just came out... and your telling us that Verizon will not accept a return of an unopened device? Something is a bit odd? on opened/used phones you have 14 days. Did you friend just buy the white version to sell it on ebay?

It's still within the 14 day return policy, assuming it was a release day order, if it was after that your in even better shape.

 

[gngan]

Why doesnt he call Verizon to find out details?
Tell them he wants to give it to a friend of his and not activate it at all on his account.
They will let him know what he has to do.

I am surprise that people come to the forum to look for answer from random people rather than just call Verizon and look for a direct answer.

 

[iqwertyi]

Did you friend just buy the white version to sell it on ebay?

Yes. Exactly!

 

[iqwertyi]

I am surprise that people come to the forum to look for answer from random people rather than just call Verizon and look for a direct answer.

I agree, and I admit it.
But sometimes you get different answers depending on who you speak there... kind of like asking the question here. lol

For example, he had to go through four people before finally getting someone on the phone to agree to sell him the phone and extend his contract. The others wouldn't do it. Why? I don't know.

 

[kicko]

Yes. Exactly!

but did i miss something? no matter what gets done with that phone, accepting that phone for $199 or $299 extends the current contract by 2 years. So your friend is going to rock a Droid for another 2 years?? or have to open another line to get his upgrade?

 

[iqwertyi]

but did i miss something? no matter what gets done with that phone, accepting that phone for $199 or $299 extends the current contract by 2 years. So your friend is going to rock a Droid for another 2 years?? or have to open another line to get his upgrade?

No, you didn't miss anything.
He's extending his contract. He loves his droid. He just wants to take advantage of the white iPhone hype right now. He figures, it pays for a few months of his phone bill.

 

[kicko]

No, you didn't miss anything.
He's extending his contract. He loves his droid. He just wants to take advantage of the white iPhone hype right now. He figures, it pays for a few months of his phone bill.

I personally think that is not a great idea, but hey thats me. Your friend will have a 3-4 year old droid likely not to get anymore updates OR they will have to take the white iphone money and buy another phone at retail... basically its a wash.

The only profit to be made is the difference between the white iphone sale price and the retail cost of the next phone. Verizon iphones do not sell as well as AT&T because CDMA phones are only used in the US, where GSM is more world wide.

original cost $199
sell the white iphone for $600 (if you can get 6 might be more like 5xx)
profit/difference $400
retail cost of new device (ex. HTC Thunderbolt $669) if keep with anroid
out of pocket cost $269
Price of thunderbolt with upgrade $249
so overall this costs you $20 more then had you just upgraded to a tunderbolt