iPhone is SO cheap on ebay uk

[roblawton]

It won't work on O2 because it will be locked to AT&T. You could unlock it of course.

That'll be fine, as I'll be using it with a different provider...

However, if I want to re-lock it to activate on iTunes - would I be able to lock it to o2 - or would it be in the hardware that it's an american one, and only be on AT&T?

I think this might be the case, and if I buy an unlocked one off eBay, I'll be pretty much stuck if I do decide to go onto an o2 iPhone tariff...

 

[CD3660]

I think this might be the case, and if I buy an unlocked one off eBay, I'll be pretty much stuck if I do decide to go onto an o2 iPhone tariff...

I think, as you say, that you would be stuck.

Personally I can't see any point in buying an American model now. There is little price advantage and you risk wiping that out with import duties and shipping costs, plus there are the warranty uncertainties. That's my view anyway.