iPhone 3Gs - Italy and Belgium - unlocked?

[MediaDevil]

I never been a big fan of the CPW (sorry phonedevil ) I used to be their customer, and I didn't enjoy the experience, this is why i only join carriers directly.

Note for Phonedevil: actually disliking CPW is one of the reasons i trusted your website initially. Because i thought you were a guy who were fed up with the way CPW run their business and this is why you left them

There's a fair amount of truth in the above
They were very good 2-3 years ago, but now they've lost their way and that is being reflected by high staff turnover (and high redundancies lately) at the head office. You can only take so much.
I do hope they manage to sort things out though. They're still one of the UK's best brands in my opinion. I'd always want to deal with them directly instead of a network, because of the kind of service i've heard networks provide. The exception there is t-mobile, but they're about to be bought out by Vodafone

 

[Numbnutz]

Oooohhhhh !!!!

The fact that Apple are rolling the Iphone out to other countries this month, probably won't help supply for us waiting for unlocked ones.

As for buying from italy, if you buy from a store, I'm sure they'll be ok to let you mail it back ... after all, isn't that what the resellers of unlocked phones are doing in the uk?

 

[londonmystery]

Seems the 3gs is available in New Zealand now direct from Apple, and its cheap. Works out at £520 for an unlocked 32gb 3GS.

http://store.apple.com/nz/browse/home/shop_iphone/family/iphone?mco=MTE2OTU

 

[MediaDevil]

As for buying from italy, if you buy from a store, I'm sure they'll be ok to let you mail it back ... after all, isn't that what the resellers of unlocked phones are doing in the uk?

You are not able to do that.

And regarding phone resellers, you would be surprised how much of a lack of foresight resellers have.
Either they don't buy directly from Italy (usually there are a few people in the chain) and their supplier will refuse to do this for them, or they buy directly from Italy but don't have actually have anyone based in Italy, building up a relationship with each stock source.

If you call e.g. Play.com and ask about warranty return, they will tell you they cannot repair your phone for you. I believe sometimes they do offer to swap the phone for a new one, but who wants to hand over their private information on a broken phone with no idea what will happen to it.

 

[Numbnutz]

Some shops ship to uk and let you ship back for warranty. You just need to build a relationship and ask.

Anyway, as there are no phones about at the mo ... unless you have some?

What are you offering for warranty claims?

 

[MediaDevil]

Some shops ship to uk and let you ship back for warranty. You just need to build a relationship and ask.

Anyway, as there are no phones about at the mo ... unless you have some?

What are you offering for warranty claims?

You can build a relationship if you buy in person, but bear in mind that phone stores have very quick staff turnover, and they also see perhaps hundreds of people every day.
If your phone breaks in 6 months and you were relying on a random guy/girl in an Apple store (we'll assume they spoke English, but most of them don't) to sort you out (you'll have to send him/her money to get him to send the phone back to you, and he/she'll have to arrange the courier delivery too), then you might as well go straight to the Ryanair website

I can't answer your question about stock directly because I don't want to be banned. I'm enjoying the banter

Regarding your question about warranty (because you asked, not because I proposed anything), this link may help you

 

[jamie.thomas]

Italian Iphone

Dear All

I hope this is not against the forum rules but if it is I apologise to the moderators in advance.

I have been reading this thread for a while and decided to buy an officially unlocked 32GB 3G S from Italy to use with Vodafone. I very fortunately received this a few days ago and I'm very pleased with how every thing works on Vodafone. Unfortunately Vodafone had promised to continue my current excellent contract at £14 per month for 750 mins 250 texts + internet which therefore subsidised the expense of the iphone. After finding out the phone worked with vodafone (better than I had expected) I contacted them to sign for another 12months but was told it was not possible and my line rental would be considerably higher.

I'm now considering getting another iphone on a O2 business plan as this would suit me better as I cannot find any other plans with low enough line rental for my needs to help subsidized the cost of the phone.

I know there are a lot of people on this forum eagerly waiting to get an unlocked iphone and was wondering if any body was interested in purchasing mine. It is only a few days old and has only been taken out of the box to check all services work with vodafone.

I live in London and if anyone is interested please feel free to contact me.
jamie (at) hornsaloud (dot) com or message me

Jamie

 

[daleski75]

Dear All

I hope this is not against the forum rules but if it is I apologise to the moderators in advance.

I have been reading this thread for a while and decided to buy an officially unlocked 32GB 3G S from Italy to use with Vodafone. I very fortunately received this a few days ago and I'm very pleased with how every thing works on Vodafone. Unfortunately Vodafone had promised to continue my current excellent contract at £14 per month for 750 mins 250 texts + internet which therefore subsidised the expense of the iphone. After finding out the phone worked with vodafone (better than I had expected) I contacted them to sign for another 12months but was told it was not possible and my line rental would be considerably higher.

I'm now considering getting another iphone on a O2 business plan as this would suit me better as I cannot find any other plans with low enough line rental for my needs to help subsidized the cost of the phone.

I know there are a lot of people on this forum eagerly waiting to get an unlocked iphone and was wondering if any body was interested in purchasing mine. It is only a few days old and has only been taken out of the box to check all services work with vodafone.

I live in London and if anyone is interested please feel free to contact me.
jamie (at) hornsaloud (dot) com or message me

Jamie

I don't think this is against forum rules so you should be safe and did you go to Italy to get the phone?

 

[Phycoduck]

Dear All

I hope this is not against the forum rules but if it is I apologise to the moderators in advance.

I have been reading this thread for a while and decided to buy an officially unlocked 32GB 3G S from Italy to use with Vodafone. I very fortunately received this a few days ago and I'm very pleased with how every thing works on Vodafone. Unfortunately Vodafone had promised to continue my current excellent contract at £14 per month for 750 mins 250 texts + internet which therefore subsidised the expense of the iphone. After finding out the phone worked with vodafone (better than I had expected) I contacted them to sign for another 12months but was told it was not possible and my line rental would be considerably higher.

I'm now considering getting another iphone on a O2 business plan as this would suit me better as I cannot find any other plans with low enough line rental for my needs to help subsidized the cost of the phone.

I know there are a lot of people on this forum eagerly waiting to get an unlocked iphone and was wondering if any body was interested in purchasing mine. It is only a few days old and has only been taken out of the box to check all services work with vodafone.

I live in London and if anyone is interested please feel free to contact me.
jamie (at) hornsaloud (dot) com or message me

Jamie

welcome to our pain. because it's the iphone... O2 will charge over the odds for it. have you noticed you can't get the same plan with any other phone?

it's stupid but if you buy a Ericsson the plans are a lot cheaper. but you will not be able to surf the internet just as well.

 

[u49aa2]

Dear All

I hope this is not against the forum rules but if it is I apologise to the moderators in advance.

I know there are a lot of people on this forum eagerly waiting to get an unlocked iphone and was wondering if any body was interested in purchasing mine. It is only a few days old and has only been taken out of the box to check all services work with vodafone.

I live in London and if anyone is interested please feel free to contact me.
jamie (at) hornsaloud (dot) com or message me

Jamie

Hi Jamie...Actually what are you doing now is against the forum rules (sorry guys but it is true). In this MacRumors you are only allowed to sell and buy products in a forum called Marketplace which you can't access untill you have a certain number of posts ( i think 250) and need to be a memeber for specific period.

 

[u49aa2]

These are the rules copied:

"Selling outside the Marketplace. All threads offering items for sale or trade, asking to buy items, or asking for pricing advice on items to be sold must be posted in the Marketplace forum, which is accessible only to qualified members and subject to additional rules; see the Marketplace Rules for details. Members not eligible for the Marketplace forum may not start threads elsewhere for such purposes".

"Before you can access the Marketplace forum, you need a minimum post count of 250, as displayed in your User Profile, and you must have been a MacRumors member for at least 180 days (about 6 months). Posts in certain forums (e.g., the "Politics, Religion, Social Issues" and "Console Games" forums) do not count toward this total. Marketplace posts do not count toward your total post count either".

 

[daleski75]

These are the rules copied:

"Selling outside the Marketplace. All threads offering items for sale or trade, asking to buy items, or asking for pricing advice on items to be sold must be posted in the Marketplace forum, which is accessible only to qualified members and subject to additional rules; see the Marketplace Rules for details. Members not eligible for the Marketplace forum may not start threads elsewhere for such purposes".

"Before you can access the Marketplace forum, you need a minimum post count of 250, as displayed in your User Profile, and you must have been a MacRumors member for at least 180 days (about 6 months). Posts in certain forums (e.g., the "Politics, Religion, Social Issues" and "Console Games" forums) do not count toward this total. Marketplace posts do not count toward your total post count either".

Learnt something new today then

 

[u49aa2]

Actually i have a post in marketplace myself asking to buy 2 iphone 3GS. Up to now nothing (this was before i joint this thread)

 

[Numbnutz]

You can build a relationship if you buy in person, ...
If your phone breaks in 6 months and you were relying on a random guy/girl in an Apple store .... to sort you out (you'll have to send him/her money to get him to send the phone back to you, and he/she'll have to arrange the courier delivery too), ...

I can't answer your question about stock directly because I don't want to be banned. I'm enjoying the banter

Regarding your question about warranty (because you asked, not because I proposed anything), this link may help you
(Text removed and sequence shortened. Reading speeds may vary. )

You can build a relationship over email or the phone too. A receipt is confirmation of a relationship between you and the italian supplier is it not? In much the same way that a PhoneDevil customer does not need to travel to St Albans or London or wherever to form a relationship with you.

If you have to pay the Italian shop you bought the Iphone from to courier back - how is that different to paying PhoneDevil to courier back? In fact won't it take longer,

• To go to you to be processed and then
• Sent on to Italy,
• Get fixed/replaced, and then
• To get sent back to you,
• Be processed and checked and then
• Finally sent back to the customer!

....Phew!

I guess it just depends on what the customer feels comfortable with. You do seem to paint a bad picture of dealing with Italian companies, and you only created that Warranty page in your link last night just before posting here (its time stamped) ... lol at you and your cheeky bit of advertising!

Do you not have a link that shows your stock level? (Because I asked), you could knock a stock level page together before lunch!

Your website is pretty though!

Good this banter thing ...

 

[godich]

Does anyone know where I can find a list of TIM stores in italy?

I would prefer some store in west italy but I haven't found any information on their web site (maybe because my italian skills aren't that developed)...

Does anyone know where to find a TIM store?...=)

 

[godich]

By the way, I found some vodafone stores in italy.

I know they should also be unlocked, but I've heard some rumor that they need to be activated with a vodafone SIM-card before they're unlocked. Could this be true or are they just to use right out of the box like the TIM-phones?

 

[u49aa2]

Expansys UK has 13 Black 32 GB 3GS and 20 white currently in their warehouse. I really hope we are next

 

[eshroom]

Hi guys,

I have been a member here for 3 years now, and an iPhone user since the 3G was launched.

I travel a lot, and my software unlocked 3G still had the odd lapse of signal, was a pain in the a** to update so for the 3Gs I wanted factory unlocked. I queued in Brussels on launch day, and found a Belgian bulk supplier. Set up a website and took delivery.

Am I allowed to mention my new website by name? I guess not huh.

Well anyway, it's a simple website since my web skills are limited, I only sell 32GB black or white Belgian iPhones and appear on the first or second page of google shopping depending what search info you enter.

I won't sell any on this forum, but as a guide do you think my price of £748 for 32GB officially factory unlocked is fair? They are expensive to source.

Cheers

 

[MediaDevil]

You can build a relationship over email or the phone too. A receipt is confirmation of a relationship between you and the italian supplier is it not? In much the same way that a PhoneDevil customer does not need to travel to St Albans or London or wherever to form a relationship with you.

If you have to pay the Italian shop you bought the Iphone from to courier back - how is that different to paying PhoneDevil to courier back? In fact won't it take longer,

• To go to you to be processed and then
• Sent on to Italy,
• Get fixed/replaced, and then
• To get sent back to you,
• Be processed and checked and then
• Finally sent back to the customer!

....Phew!

I guess it just depends on what the customer feels comfortable with. You do seem to paint a bad picture of dealing with Italian companies, and you only created that Warranty page in your link last night just before posting here (its time stamped) ... lol at you and your cheeky bit of advertising!

Do you not have a link that shows your stock level? (Because I asked), you could knock a stock level page together before lunch!

Your website is pretty though!

Good this banter thing ...

I created it a good 3-4 hours beforehand actually, check it yourself I needed to create that article and was meaning to for a good week, it was just coincidence that someone asked for it.

i'm just trying to play devils advocate. if you're going to get a phone from Italy, the best chance you have of getting stock is from an Apple, TIM or Vodafone store. In which case what i've said is true, and you know you're trying to be awkward Unless you're planning on calling them every week and asking them how they are, and telling them how much you miss them?

Thanks about the design!

p.s. no problem with anything you've said

 

[MediaDevil]

By the way, I found some vodafone stores in italy.

I know they should also be unlocked, but I've heard some rumor that they need to be activated with a vodafone SIM-card before they're unlocked. Could this be true or are they just to use right out of the box like the TIM-phones?

All factory unlocked iphones need to be activated using a simcard (any simcard). It only takes a minute

 

[Pressure]

Hi guys,

I have been a member here for 3 years now, and an iPhone user since the 3G was launched.

I travel a lot, and my software unlocked 3G still had the odd lapse of signal, was a pain in the a** to update so for the 3Gs I wanted factory unlocked. I queued in Brussels on launch day, and found a Belgian bulk supplier. Set up a website and took delivery.

Am I allowed to mention my new website by name? I guess not huh.

Well anyway, it's a simple website since my web skills are limited, I only sell 32GB black or white Belgian iPhones and appear on the first or second page of google shopping depending what search info you enter.

I won't sell any on this forum, but as a guide do you think my price of £748 for 32GB officially factory unlocked is fair? They are expensive to source.

Cheers

You can buy them on Ebay for £705 with shipping (unlocked from Italy).

Just a heads up.

 

[daleski75]

Hmmm Apple Hong Kong have them in stock now and my friend is coming here in 4 weeks... I might get them to bring one over.. as it is only £500 for the 32gb black with the current exchange rate if I get no luck with handtec

 

[eshroom]

You can buy them on Ebay for £705 with shipping (unlocked from Italy).

Just a heads up.

That's true, and we factored this in. With eBay sellers there is no comeback if something goes wrong. We are an Oxford based business. Furthermore I have contacted MacRumors to offer forum members an exclusive £50 discount, but am yet to hear back.

That would make us cheaper than eBay!

However, I cannot implement this, or sell to anyone on the forum (or I guess tell you the name of the website?) without prior permission.

 

[Kelmon]

I travel a lot, and my software unlocked 3G still had the odd lapse of signal, was a pain in the a** to update so for the 3Gs I wanted factory unlocked. I queued in Brussels on launch day, and found a Belgian bulk supplier. Set up a website and took delivery.

Am I allowed to mention my new website by name? I guess not huh.

Well anyway, it's a simple website since my web skills are limited, I only sell 32GB black or white Belgian iPhones and appear on the first or second page of google shopping depending what search info you enter.

I won't sell any on this forum, but as a guide do you think my price of £748 for 32GB officially factory unlocked is fair? They are expensive to source.

Cheers

You bastard. I can't get a 32GB White 3GS and I live in the damned country. It's bad enough with the stock levels here as it is without people buying them for export.

 

[eshroom]

Hi guys,

I have been a member here for 3 years now, and an iPhone user since the 3G was launched.

I travel a lot, and my software unlocked 3G still had the odd lapse of signal, was a pain in the a** to update so for the 3Gs I wanted factory unlocked. I queued in Brussels on launch day, and found a Belgian bulk supplier. Set up a website and took delivery.

Am I allowed to mention my new website by name? I guess not huh.

Well anyway, it's a simple website since my web skills are limited, I only sell 32GB black or white Belgian iPhones and appear on the first or second page of google shopping depending what search info you enter.

I won't sell any on this forum, but as a guide do you think my price of £748 for 32GB officially factory unlocked is fair? They are expensive to source.

Cheers

You bastard. I can't get a 32GB White 3GS and I live in the damned country. It's bad enough with the stock levels here as it is without people buying them for export.

I do apologise, but there is no need to get inflammatory. I simply put in an order with a supplier. You are also able to put in orders. Furthermore, when I went to get my phone at a Mobistar store on the 19th at 10.30AM, in an outskirt of Brussels, there was neither a large queue nor had they sold out - granted by the afternoon Brussels was sold out.