Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Is it legal to sell unlocked iPhones?

mrat93

mrat93

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Dec 30, 2006
2,340
3,383
I'm trying to find a new way to make money, but my dad wants to make sure my idea is 100% legal. From what I've read, unlocking an iPhone for one's self is legal. I also know how to use, (and used for myself), iJailbreak. My question is: Is it legal to sell the iPhone unlocked? I checked eBay, and there are currently over 2000 listings for unlocked iPhones. I emailed eBay on the subject and they said I have to find out if it's legal myself.
 
Ditto...

you may want to seek legal counsel on this matter! Why don't you send a message to those eBayers and ask them. I think you would be much more successful going to Business School and take the world on with a Baccalaureate Degree and then a Masters Degree. It sounds like you might still be in high school. STAY IN SCHOOL!:cool:
 
AFAIK isn't it legal to unlock it yourself, BUT ilegal to make money out of it (eg, selling it)?
 
mrat93 said:
I'm trying to find a new way to make money... ...there are currently over 2000 listings for unlocked iPhones
Click to expand...

I think I would be asking myself how many of those 2000 iPhones are selling, too.
 
mrat93 said:
I'm trying to find a new way to make money, but my dad wants to make sure my idea is 100% legal. From what I've read, unlocking an iPhone for one's self is legal. I also know how to use, (and used for myself), iJailbreak. My question is: Is it legal to sell the iPhone unlocked? I checked eBay, and there are currently over 2000 listings for unlocked iPhones. I emailed eBay on the subject and they said I have to find out if it's legal myself.
Click to expand...

Whether or not it is illegal, don't be under the illusion that you will make any real money from this proposed scheme. As you rightly observe there are over 2000 listings on eBay suggesting that the world and his wife have jumped on this bandwagon already.

The market for unlocked iPhones is flooded so the profits are becoming minimal.

Bearing in mind the high cost of purchase, the very small profit by way of return, and the very real possibility of being scammed by an unscrupulous purchaser (thereby sustaining a significant loss), it just isn't worth it!
 
I think it's a situation where Apple probably could go after you and make your life miserable with lawsuits, but I doubt they could make anything criminal stick.

I don't see what law is being broken, but if someone out there knows of one, please inform us/me.
 
Sobe said:
I don't see what law is being broken, but if someone out there knows of one, please inform us/me.
Click to expand...

As long as you are not mis-representing what you are doing....ie claiming to be an agent of Apple selling brand new phones ...then there are no legal issues to worry about.
However there are tax implications from selling items on Ebay that you have specifically bought to resell. Nothing worth worrying about on a small scale but a problem if you are trying to make a living out of it in which case you would have to trade as a business.
I bought and sold mobiles on Ebay for about a year and you can make some handy spare cash but its never going to make you rich with the margins involved.
 
SFStateStudent said:
you may want to seek legal counsel on this matter! Why don't you send a message to those eBayers and ask them. I think you would be much more successful going to Business School and take the world on with a Baccalaureate Degree and then a Masters Degree. It sounds like you might still be in high school. STAY IN SCHOOL!:cool:
Click to expand...

Yeah I just started my Freshman year in September.

carfac said:
I think I would be asking myself how many of those 2000 iPhones are selling, too.
Click to expand...

On the first page of completed listings, the only ones that didn't sell were either manually ended, or costs way too much ($800+). Still, most people were making about $200 profit for each phone.

Justinerator said:
YOU WILL GO TO JAIL.

Jk. I think you'll be fine...
Click to expand...

"You'll be fine" isn't enough. Even if Apple wrote to me saying "it's okay", not, "it's legal" to do it, my dad still wouldn't let me sell it.

senorFunkyPants said:
As long as you are not mis-representing what you are doing....ie claiming to be an agent of Apple selling brand new phones ...then there are no legal issues to worry about.
However there are tax implications from selling items on Ebay that you have specifically bought to resell. Nothing worth worrying about on a small scale but a problem if you are trying to make a living out of it in which case you would have to trade as a business.
I bought and sold mobiles on Ebay for about a year and you can make some handy spare cash but its never going to make you rich with the margins involved.
Click to expand...

Well I'm only 15, so I'm not trying to make a living off of this.
 
One thing you'd have to keep in mind is the average person buying the iPhone. You unlock and phone and sell it to Joe X on ebay. Apple does a firmware update 10 days later. Joe X accepts the update and undoes the unlock and/or potentially screws up the phone. Joe X now screams at you because the phone is not working. Joe X files a claim against you with PayPal because the phone isn't working or files a chargeback with his credit card issuer. At this point you're pretty screwed because it's going to be hard to defend yourself because the iPhone isn't working in the manner it was originally designed and, of course, Apple is going to say it's not their fault. It's your problem for messing with it in the first place.

Of course, you will always have the people like the other thread where the person's son has dropped his phone 100+ times. If there's no visible damage to a phone and they claim it isn't working you're going to be stuck because you can't prove they did something to it.
 
mrat93 said:
Yeah I just started my Freshman year in September.



On the first page of completed listings, the only ones that didn't sell were either manually ended, or costs way too much ($800+). Still, most people were making about $200 profit for each phone.



"You'll be fine" isn't enough. Even if Apple wrote to me saying "it's okay", not, "it's legal" to do it, my dad still wouldn't let me sell it.



Well I'm only 15, so I'm not trying to make a living off of this.
Click to expand...

It depends on where you're going to be selling them too. If you're selling them in the US, the legal status of that is technically dubious. The DMCA has an exemption that allows you as a consumer to unlock your own wireless device for the sole purpose of connecting to the wireless carrier of your choice. Now the key words here are "sole purpose". As soon as you're making any money off it, suddenly you've introduced another purpose, and aren't protected by that exemption.

Now, if you're unlocking and selling those phones in most other countries, legality shouldn't be as much of an issue.
 
Corvillus said:
Now, if you're unlocking and selling those phones in most other countries, legality shouldn't be as much of an issue.
Click to expand...

Unitl an unlocked phone isn't working and Apple refuses to do anything with it because it's been modified in an unauthorized way. Then it will go back on him.
 
Justinerator said:
YOU WILL GO TO JAIL.

Jk. I think you'll be fine...
Click to expand...


jailbreak yourself if you're caught. :D:D


it's legal if:
- you're selling it outside US and/or other countries that has iphones launched (to avoid complications) - im not saying you can't sell unlocked iphones in US
- the buying party knows that it's purchasing an unlocked iphone
- and they know that by unlocking an iphone warranty could be voided and stuff not working (ie. if they brick it)

and so on.
 
If you search around for phone unlocking lawsuits, you'll find that there are a couple of major ones.

IIRC, one is about a company in Florida that does/did mass unlocking of various phones for resale. I think the carrier tried to stop them.

Another lawsuit is about a carrier trying to relock phones.

Basically, I don't think it's been decided yet. Obviously it's not something Apple goes after very much or we'd hear about it.

The bigger problem is your competition. Lots of it :)

You could always just do what others do: advertise your ability to unlock on craigslist. No investment needed.
 
your efforts might be better off selling us itunes vouchers to those overseas so they can buy us movies and tv shows. less cost/risk involved (not $400 each time) more or less legal? not sure
 
avaloncourt said:
One thing you'd have to keep in mind is the average person buying the iPhone. You unlock and phone and sell it to Joe X on ebay. Apple does a firmware update 10 days later. Joe X accepts the update and undoes the unlock and/or potentially screws up the phone. Joe X now screams at you because the phone is not working. Joe X files a claim against you with PayPal because the phone isn't working or files a chargeback with his credit card issuer. At this point you're pretty screwed because it's going to be hard to defend yourself because the iPhone isn't working in the manner it was originally designed and, of course, Apple is going to say it's not their fault. It's your problem for messing with it in the first place.

Of course, you will always have the people like the other thread where the person's son has dropped his phone 100+ times. If there's no visible damage to a phone and they claim it isn't working you're going to be stuck because you can't prove they did something to it.
Click to expand...

I can put warnings in the listing in big letters saying "If iTunes asks you to update the iPhone software, DO NOT DO IT. You will mess up your iPhone." The instructions show how to restore it if there's a problem. Once I build a reputation for selling, I'd show some of my feedback comments and say something like "10+ iPhones sold! Buy with confidence" ... and later "No returns." I sold over 20 Wiis and haven't had one problem yet.
 
ghettochris said:
your efforts might be better off selling us itunes vouchers to those overseas so they can buy us movies and tv shows. less cost/risk involved (not $400 each time) more or less legal? not sure
Click to expand...

I'm actually doing that now. I bought (8) $25 cards and sold 2 so far and made about $13... It was weird though.. The guy was in California.
 
mrat93 said:
I can put warnings in the listing in big letters saying "If iTunes asks you to update the iPhone software, DO NOT DO IT. You will mess up your iPhone." The instructions show how to restore it if there's a problem. Once I build a reputation for selling, I'd show some of my feedback comments and say something like "10+ iPhones sold! Buy with confidence" ... and later "No returns." I sold over 20 Wiis and haven't had one problem yet.
Click to expand...

And after 90 days the listing is no longer available. It will be very hard for you to prove anything if someone comes back on you and you claim your terms. Anything provided at that point could be claimed to be fabricated.

I sold over 20 Wiis and haven't had one problem yet.
Click to expand...

But were they hacked Wiis with a WiiKey or D2C chip? Probably not. So, you're comparing apples to oranges. The Wiis were factory stock. The iPhones would not be. The people who bought the Wiis could send them back to Nintendo for repair.
 
IMO it is not worth the risk. If you are a huge reseller and can afford to spend money to make money it would be one thing. But you aren't...
 
mrat93 said:
I can put warnings in the listing in big letters saying "If iTunes asks you to update the iPhone software, DO NOT DO IT. You will mess up your iPhone." The instructions show how to restore it if there's a problem. Once I build a reputation for selling, I'd show some of my feedback comments and say something like "10+ iPhones sold! Buy with confidence" ... and later "No returns." I sold over 20 Wiis and haven't had one problem yet.
Click to expand...

So you're one of the people responsible for no stock store shelves. Thanks a ton! =D

Of course with the inventory trackers, it's not really an issue anymore.
 
I'm also 15, a sophmore in high school.

Ive been unlock phones locally and recently started selling phones on ebay.

I made about $4500 since october.

this is quick fast money but I am goine g to stop selling iPhones on ebay because as others of said the margins have gone down and now make $50-$60 per phone as opposed to $100-$150 before.

I have a new idea to make money and it has to do with iPhones.. but not selling or unlocking them for money.

Hopefully my idea will go live in one month!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back