Yeep, ridiculous. Take off the plastic. I've never used cases or "screen protectors," never had damage to phone or screen. Screen "protector" is such a waste of money.
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Is it bad to leave plastic on
- Thread starter K3v1n
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Sometimes you can worry so much about your phone it prevents you from enjoying it. Try to relax.
Leave the plastic on? Just like going to your grandmother s house and sitting on her plastic covered sofa 
A mate of mine bought a new iPhone for the first time. He sent me a message a few days later:
Friend : My new iPhone is amazing...! One problem, though the sound isn't very good and I can't hardly hear anyone.
Me : Have you taken the plastic off...?
Friend: No... You think I should.
Me : Yes.
Friend : Oh, the sound is much better now...!
Shape and sharpness are irrelevant. It's all about hardness. As stated earlier, keys will not scratch glass as they are not harder than glass. Sand and any other material harder than the screen will.
Seems pretty straightforward to me.
I don't think you realize how easy it is to scratch it and how your anecdotal evidence doesn't really mean anything. It's a matter of preference and just because you've never scratched your screen doesn't mean that no one else has. Do what works for you. Others will do what works for them. Everyone has varying levels of tolerance for scratches, varying levels of risk they're willing to take, and varying things that they're willing to do to attempt to prevent scratches. One size never fits all.
You sit on your iPhone?
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That isn't really a fair comparison.
Many people plan on selling their phone in just a year or two, when mint condition is at a premium, which is why screen protectors and cases can be a good financial investment (as long as you don't spend ridiculous amounts for a case like some do) for better return when you sell.
I doubt that older couple is looking to do the same with their couch they keep covered, so they are just being a little nuts
These are my feelings on the matter.
Although I do save the little plastic covers in the box and put them back on when I sell it. I want to give my buyers that "new iphone experience"!
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I dunno. This is probably true for really bad scratches caused by catastrophic events like skipping your phone face down alone the sidewalk, but I really don't think resale is affected much by a few small wear and tear scratches.
Then you obviously haven't dealt with the OCD type hagglers most people do when selling on craigslist
I mean jesus, look at this forum for the amount of crazies that flip out over simple things like the screen being warm instead of cool, cool instead of warm, the gyroscope being off by 2 degrees, the button not clicking as firmly "as it should" (whatever that means?), only getting 7.5 hours of talk time instead of 8, and heaven forbid: a tiny scratch on the phone!
Then you obviously haven't dealt with the OCD type hagglers most people do when selling on craigslist
I mean jesus, look at this forum for the amount of crazies that flip out over simple things like the screen being warm instead of cool, cool instead of warm, the gyroscope being off by 2 degrees, the button not clicking as firmly "as it should" (whatever that means?), only getting 7.5 hours of talk time instead of 8, and heaven forbid: a tiny scratch on the phone!
LOL yeah very good points
I usually sell on eBay. I am careful to take very good pics and describe any obvious dings and I've never had a problem. No one even asks about this scratch or the other.
DEFINITELY would not be true on Craigslist! My wife sold my kid's *8 year old* wooden bunk bed and some chick spent five minutes interrogating us about every single scratch. There is all kinds of crazy on CL and I can imagine it's worse for iphone sellers!
That isn't really a fair comparison.
Many people plan on selling their phone in just a year or two, when mint condition is at a premium, which is why screen protectors and cases can be a good financial investment (as long as you don't spend ridiculous amounts for a case like some do) for better return when you sell.
I doubt that older couple is looking to do the same with their couch they keep covered, so they are just being a little nuts
The point is the same... the old couple want to protect their couch from wear and tear... just as an iPhone owner who want to protect their screen.
Not really.
Many iPhone owners want to protect the screen for resale value on a small electronic that can easily be damaged from a fall.
The old couple want to protect the couch for looks on a huge non-moving object that isn't easily damaged (provided you keep food and drinks away from it).
Two different concepts.
If you lift the protector slightly and take scissors and snip it off a bit, you can fully use the home button and keep the protectors that it came with out of the box until you get others put on.
I currently have my 5S with the original plastic on it, although I'm not using it yet, until my case and protectors come in the mail.