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justperry

macrumors G5
Original poster
Aug 10, 2007
12,595
9,875
I'm a rolling stone.
The Thread title already says it all, see below for a picture.

I think those phones are fake, or something else going on, it's on Ebay,
the price is too low for new iPhones X (256GB).(GBP 850,00)


s-l1600.jpg
 

raqball

macrumors 68020
Sep 11, 2016
2,323
9,573
Mine, purchased from an authorized AT&T store, had the packaging tab..

38 second mark of this video as well shows the tab.

 
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raqball

macrumors 68020
Sep 11, 2016
2,323
9,573
Ok, so they might be real, price is way below retail price though afaik.

I never trust eBay sellers who are offering far under retail.. Could be stolen phones or have some other issue. I don't have any data to back this up but I remember reading something a while back that some eBay phones (iPhone or not) are stolen from the factory and / or are QC rejects that did not get disposed of and end up in the hands of Chinese eBay sellers.
 

noobinator

macrumors 604
Jun 19, 2009
7,302
6,952
Los Angeles, CA
Keep in mind the plastic packaging now can easily be removed and replaced after you do whatever with the inner contents of the box. Back in the day you'd have to use a shrink wrap machine. Now, you just put the plastic back on and if you are careful it looks exactly the same as a new unit.
 

justperry

macrumors G5
Original poster
Aug 10, 2007
12,595
9,875
I'm a rolling stone.
I never trust eBay sellers who are offering far under retail.. Could be stolen phones or have some other issue. I don't have any data to back this up but I remember reading something a while back that some eBay phones (iPhone or not) are stolen from the factory and / or are QC rejects that did not get disposed of and end up in the hands of Chinese eBay sellers.

Depends, I think you can trust Ebay if the seller is an *'oldie' and has a 100% track record

* Oldie is someone who's there for long and sold 1000's of items.

In this case the seller has 100% feedback but only bought items, he never sold one single item.
Not that I was actually buying an iPhone on Ebay, just wanted to compare with a deal here.
 

raqball

macrumors 68020
Sep 11, 2016
2,323
9,573
Depends, I think you can trust Ebay if the seller is an *'oldie' and has a 100% track record

* Oldie is someone who's there for long and sold 1000's of items.

In this case the seller has 100% feedback but only bought items, he never sold one single item.
Not that I was actually buying an iPhone on Ebay, just wanted to compare with a deal here.

If all the feedback is from buying then I'd avoid buying from a seller with that type of feedback but that's just me..
 

Newtons Apple

Suspended
Mar 12, 2014
22,757
15,254
Jacksonville, Florida
Depends, I think you can trust Ebay if the seller is an *'oldie' and has a 100% track record

* Oldie is someone who's there for long and sold 1000's of items.

In this case the seller has 100% feedback but only bought items, he never sold one single item.
Not that I was actually buying an iPhone on Ebay, just wanted to compare with a deal here.

Even that is no guarantee as the "Oldie's" account could have been hacked by a scammer and him not know it. When it come to eBay I would never buy something like an iPhone. There are some very smart scammers out there.
 

justperry

macrumors G5
Original poster
Aug 10, 2007
12,595
9,875
I'm a rolling stone.
Genuine question, is cash safe?
There's counterfeit money.
And then there are tricks (not with cash) like the one used in The Netherlands, the seller has a fake app it shows he transferred money but didn't, can't recall the exact way but people fall into these tricks.

I myself rarely sell things, I just give it away.
 

noobinator

macrumors 604
Jun 19, 2009
7,302
6,952
Los Angeles, CA
Genuine question, is cash safe?
There's counterfeit money.
And then there are tricks (not with cash) like the one used in The Netherlands, the seller has a fake app it shows he transferred money but didn't, can't recall the exact way but people fall into these tricks.

I myself rarely sell things, I just give it away.

When I've done cash transactions it was done in a bank and I deposited it in front of the person who gave me the cash. I'd never take a screenshot from someone's random app as proof of payment. Not until it hits my account is it paid.
 

raqball

macrumors 68020
Sep 11, 2016
2,323
9,573
Genuine question, is cash safe?
There's counterfeit money.
And then there are tricks (not with cash) like the one used in The Netherlands, the seller has a fake app it shows he transferred money but didn't, can't recall the exact way but people fall into these tricks.

I myself rarely sell things, I just give it away.

When selling high priced items for cash I always meet at an Apple store (if it's a MacBook or similar), a carrier store if it's a phone or my bank if it's something else. All of these places can check the cash to make sure it's legit and they all have video surveillance.
 

44267547

Cancelled
Jul 12, 2016
37,642
42,493
When it comes to Apple products and eBay, I do not sell anything Apple related on there anymore. I Never was subject to any type of fraud, but I know plenty who have been and there have been many threads of honest sellers who have been victimized as well.

Mainly because the popularity and with the amount of fraud with Apple products, the risks have grown exponentially. I’m not willing to sacrifice a perfectly good Apple product To sell on eBay and have somebody potentially fraud me later on with a false claim and they get refunded along with keeping my product.

With any of my expensive Apple products, they are either sold in person for cash or given to someone else I know. We all have different experiences, but one has to ask themself, is it worth the risk.
 
Last edited:

Docd62

macrumors regular
Sep 20, 2012
173
34
I don’t trust eBay for selling anymore. There are too many scammers and people who just want to make your life miserable. The last one of the last iPhones I tried to sell on there some jerk won my item but would not pay had to cancel the sale and re-list it. He gave me a bad feedback and at the time I had 100% feedback. Every time I listed the phone he would bid on it and be high bidder and do the same thing and not pay. If I blocked him from bidding he would would use another account that he created or borrowed and bid again. With the help of eBay and a lot lost time I got him blocked enough so I could sell it as for the bad feedback removed. But I’m lost money on the deal as it ended up selling for about 20% less than the second high bidder was willing to pay on the first listing.

So the best way is to sell or buy is to people with good multiple feedbacks. And if it sounds to good to be true don’t waste your time.
 
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