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iPhone 14 Pro Max iPhone 14 pro max- too good to be true?

Jaymd1970

Jaymd1970

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 20, 2012
82
16
Cheshire,UK
I have been offered a too good to be true price for a locally advertised iPhone 14 pro max 1tb.
phone is brand new sealed and I have been sent picture of the back which shows it’s still sealed. Do. i need to do any further checks to make sure I’m not being ripped off?
have checked serial number and says purchased September last year and IMEI isn’t blocked.
 
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Jaymd1970 said:
I have been offered a too good to be true price for a locally advertised iPhone 14 pro max 1tb.
phone is brand new sealed and I have been sent picture of the back which shows it’s still sealed. Do. i need to do any further checks to make sure I’m not being ripped off?
have checked serial number and says purchased September last year and IMEI isn’t blocked.
Click to expand...

Take it to ER and get an X-ray of contents of the box.
 
What’s your definition of a price that’s too good to be true?

Also, how does the seller want payment? Are you protected by credit card or PayPal?
 
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Fred Zed said:
Take it to ER and get an X-ray of contents of the box.
Click to expand...
This. It is quite possible that the phone was removed from the box and it was shrink wrapped again. I wouldn't hand over any money until I have the phone in my hands. I expect the seller says they don't want to remove the shrink wrap, but the phone itself will still have the sellophane over the front and back to prove it is unused.
 
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After doing a lot more digging I think I’m going to pass on the offer.
phone is for sale locally at £800 compared with £1749 new in the UK
I have attached a picture of the iPhone I was sent and it took me a while to find out what could be wrong with it.
payment was going to be in cash so no come backs, but I would ask to set the phone up there and then.
 

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Jaymd1970 said:
After doing a lot more digging I think I’m going to pass on the offer.
phone is for sale locally at £800 compared with £1749 new in the UK
I have attached a picture of the iPhone I was sent and it took me a while to find out what could be wrong with it.
payment was going to be in cash so no come backs, but I would ask to set the phone up there and then.
Click to expand...
It can’t be new as the warranty started in September:

A347C4F3-FB7B-4BEA-BAFA-6C3F7915C56F.jpeg

The seals look dodgy……that’s a hard pass shady phone mate.
 
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Yes, the labels stuck on the back look really suspicious. The text - there are no spaces between sentences. Have Apple started putting those tearaway strips on the back of iPhone boxes? I don't think so.
 
Jaymd1970 said:
After doing a lot more digging I think I’m going to pass on the offer.
phone is for sale locally at £800 compared with £1749 new in the UK
I have attached a picture of the iPhone I was sent and it took me a while to find out what could be wrong with it.
payment was going to be in cash so no come backs, but I would ask to set the phone up there and then.
Click to expand...
That cant be right. Looks fake to me.
 
Those seals do not seal the 2 parts of the box. Apple usually has only 1 seal, not 2.
 
KeepCalmPeople said:
Yes, the labels stuck on the back look really suspicious. The text - there are no spaces between sentences. Have Apple started putting those tearaway strips on the back of iPhone boxes? I don't think so.
Click to expand...
They do use those seals on the last 3 year’s of iPhone since the 12, the fact it’s already been registered means it’s been opened, used and then re-sealed.
 
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Couple of points raised…
warranty can start when purchased and not when opened so that did concern me a little and the tear strips are a little off.
After a lot of digging I found out that the label barcode etc on the rear of the box should be printed onto the box and this looks like a sticker, so I think this could be android fake iPhone.
I do have the oppert to go and look at the iPhone tomorrow as it’s only 5 minutes away from me.
 
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That’s not a new phone. The seals are on top and bottom which is correct but they look tampered with. I’d avoid, seller is clearly not being truthful.

I would also want to know why he would want to sell locally for £800 when he could get slightly more by trading into musicMagpie.
 
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Jaymd1970 said:
Couple of points raised…
warranty can start when purchased and not when opened so that did concern me a little and the tear strips are a little off.
After a lot of digging I found out that the label barcode etc on the rear of the box should be printed onto the box and this looks like a sticker, so I think this could be android fake iPhone.
I do have the oppert to go and look at the iPhone tomorrow as it’s only 5 minutes away from me.
Click to expand...
I honestly thought the warranty started upon activation. You live and learn. 👍🏻
 
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Jaymd1970 said:
Couple of points raised…
warranty can start when purchased and not when opened so that did concern me a little and the tear strips are a little off.
After a lot of digging I found out that the label barcode etc on the rear of the box should be printed onto the box and this looks like a sticker, so I think this could be android fake iPhone.
I do have the oppert to go and look at the iPhone tomorrow as it’s only 5 minutes away from me.
Click to expand...
Yes that info should be printed onto the box. Also the typeface spacing is off in many places. I have seen a video on YT where they attached new pull tab seals to a box having a repaired iPhone to make it look like it is factory sealed. This one is not brand new sealed.
 
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It’s a scam.

Do not go in person. These people have the patience and resources and lack of morality to produce something that fooled you into thinking it’s real.

If you go, don’t be surprised if one of their confederates picks your pocket soon after you leave the meet-up. Or if you find yourself the victim of some other type of theft.

If you’re still not sure, the Macworld unboxing article has a picture of the back. Apple has long prided itself on typography; the typography on the picture you posted is horrific. You can trivially compare the two; note, for example, the lack of a space after a semicolon in your example.

My suggestion? See if your local police would be interested in the case, but do not, under any circumstances, have any further contact with these people. They are pros at scamming people like you; they are not honorable; and you will not anticipate the exact way in which the scam will unfold. Even if you’re smarter than them, they’re waaaaaay more experienced than you at this “game.”

b&
 
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That’s not a genuine box. The text is wrong, has spaces where they shouldn’t be, stuff mentioned that usually isn’t. I took a look at the German and it’s a definite pass. The first wort „Enthält“, meaning „contains“ or „contents“, is written Enthä lt.
The „seal“ at the bottom is also not aligned.
Anything but genuine.
 
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Too many people lately have been robbed in person off of Facebook Marketplace websites and such after meeting in person for a deal.

I'd pay the extra money to buy it retail/used online than meet up in person. If I can't do that then I'm not buying the phone lol
 
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