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Is this an iPhone scam? If so, how does it work?

Phrasikleia said:
What do you guys make of the fact that the product box he shipped (the Apple iPhone box) lists a different IMEI number than the one on the back of the phone?
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Means nothing, just that he got a replacement iPhone under warranty. Unless the seller specifically states it's the original iPhone or a replacement iPhone, it's fair game as to which you get. People replace phones all the time under warranty.

Your biggest concern should be being to have the seller to activation unlock it. Otherwise, file a not-as-described dispute and send it back with a tracking number. ebay will side with you.
 
JayLenochiniMac said:
Means nothing, just that he got a replacement iPhone under warranty. Unless the seller specifically states it's the original iPhone or a replacement iPhone, it's fair game as to which you get. People replace phones all the time under warranty.

Your biggest concern should be being to have the seller to activation unlock it. Otherwise, file a not-as-described dispute and send it back with a tracking number. ebay will side with you.
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Thanks. And what if he says the phone I sent back is the wrong phone? Or what if he says I sent a box full of rocks? Is there still possibly a scam in here somewhere that I'm not foreseeing?
 
Phrasikleia said:
Thanks. And what if he says the phone I sent back is the wrong phone? Or what if he says I sent a box full of rocks? Is there still possibly a scam in here somewhere that I'm not foreseeing?
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All ebay needs is a tracking number and they'll refund your money once it's shown as delivered. That's in fact how sellers frequently get screwed on ebay.
 
Phrasikleia said:
Wow, eBay really is a can of worms. :(
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That's a risk with selling on ebay, but I've seen sellers file counterclaims and win under paypal seller protection as long as they can prove it's the wrong item (can't just be hearsay). ebay/paypal will just refund both parties (much like credit card companies in the case of a dispute) and they'll know which is the bad apple in the future.
 
I can't believe people STILL buy through eBay. Most cell phone sales are complete scams.

How many threads like this does it take for people to learn? If it sounds too good to be true, it is.
 
AppleWes said:
I can't believe people STILL buy through eBay. Most cell phone sales are complete scams.

How many threads like this does it take for people to learn? If it sounds too good to be true, it is.
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Aye carumba. Another person who hasn't read the thread. I actually said in a previous message that this deal was NOT too good to be true. I paid full market value for a used phone. I did not get a killer deal, I merely got a fair price. It was only inexpensive in comparison with the price of a brand new phone with tax.
 
Phrasikleia said:
Aye carumba. Another person who hasn't read the thread. I actually said in a previous message that this deal was NOT too good to be true. I paid full market value for a used phone. I did not get a killer deal, I merely got a fair price. It was only inexpensive in comparison with the price of a brand new phone with tax.
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Well then the "scammer" was even better at his job, since he got you to pay full price.
 
JayLenochiniMac said:
All ebay needs is a tracking number and they'll refund your money once it's shown as delivered. That's in fact how sellers frequently get screwed on ebay.
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Yes, the seller gets screwed when the buyer sends back an empty box and ebay gives them a refund. So the buyer ends up with the phone and all their money back. That is why it is so risky to sell anything on ebay any more.
 
AppleWes said:
I can't believe people STILL buy through eBay. Most cell phone sales are complete scams.

How many threads like this does it take for people to learn? If it sounds too good to be true, it is.
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I doubt the seller is trying to scam. It's more like neglect. It's safer to buy than sell on ebay. Nevertheless, I've successfully sold all 5 iPhones on ebay (when I upgrade yearly), albeit with two non-paying bidders in the first rounds.
 
JayLenochiniMac said:
I doubt the seller is trying to scam. It's more like neglect. It's safer to buy than sell on ebay. Nevertheless, I've successfully sold 5 iPhones on ebay (when I upgrade yearly), albeit with two non-paying bidders in the first rounds.
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What is the deal with the non-paying bidders, anyway? Are they hoping that some fool will send out the phone before receiving payment?

I'm still inclined to think that this guy is just clueless and not a scammer. I mean, his wallpaper is still on the phone, so he hasn't even wiped it. The lock screen is showing a logo for the New Orleans Saints.
 
Phrasikleia said:
What is the deal with the non-paying bidders, anyway? Are they hoping that some fool will send out the phone before receiving payment?
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No, they're buyers who change their mind after doing some impulse bidding and they usually have no or low feedback numbers. One non-paying bidder was more than happy to honor the cancellation request and I got my final value fee refunded and sold it for $50 more in the second round. The other non-paying bidder simply didn't respond to the cancellation request; final value fee was refunded and I re-sold it for the same price. So not too bad.

It's just part of selling on ebay and I'd rather have non-paying bidders than the many potential buyers who scam out there.
 
I just got a message from him. I sent a message to his PayPal email telling him to please check his eBay account and reply to my message there through the official eBay system.

He replied through that email address (with a signature saying, "Sent from my iPhone"). Says he needs to "regroup" and will get back to me.

I could use some advice at this point. I'm not thrilled about the big deep scratch and the dent on the top (which he neglected to disclose), but I could probably live with them. The scratch is the worst part. The dent makes the case I tried on it loose on top, but the case at least covers it aesthetically. So what if he offers to wipe the phone, and I go along with it? He could then retaliate with bad feedback on eBay, right? Should I just wipe my hands of this whole thing and insist on a refund regardless of what he says? If you get a refund, then the person can't leave you feedback, right? I've never had a bad experience on eBay before, so I'm in a quandary here.
 
Phrasikleia said:
I just got a message from him. I sent a message to his PayPal email telling him to please check his eBay account and reply to my message there through the official eBay system.

He replied through that email address (with a signature saying, "Sent from my iPhone"). Says he needs to "regroup" and will get back to me.

I could use some advice at this point. I'm not thrilled about the big deep scratch and the dent on the top (which he neglected to disclose), but I could probably live with them. The scratch is the worst part. The dent makes the case I tried on it loose on top, but the case at least covers it aesthetically. So what if he offers to wipe the phone, and I go along with it? He could then retaliate with bad feedback on eBay, right? Should I just wipe my hands of this whole thing and insist on a refund regardless of what he says? If you get a refund, then the person can't leave you feedback, right? I've never had a bad experience on eBay before, so I'm in a quandary here.
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If you're happy with it for the price you paid, offer him a chance to wipe it. Send it back if he won't make it right.

Sellers are no longer allowed to leave negative feedbacks.
 
JayLenochiniMac said:
Sellers are no longer allowed to leave negative feedbacks.
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Then why do I have feedback from sellers for several items that I purchased within the last month? The feedback section has tabs for "Feedback as Buyer" and "Feedback as Seller".

EDIT: I just noticed that you specified "negative" feedback, which I don't have. So sellers can leave feedback, but it can only be positive? That seems bizarre.
 
Phrasikleia said:
Then why do I have feedback from sellers for several items that I purchased within the last month? The feedback section has tabs for "Feedback as Buyer" and "Feedback as Seller".
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They can still leave you feedbacks but they can't be negative or eBay will remove them. They want sellers to have a traditional business relationship with buyers. You don't see ordinary merchants airing bad buyers' dirty laundry. Same thing.
 
JayLenochiniMac said:
They can still leave you feedbacks but they can't be negative or eBay will remove them. They want sellers to have a traditional business relationship with buyers. You don't see ordinary merchants airing bad buyers' dirty laundry. Same thing.
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Ah, I see. Well at least that is one less thing for me to worry about. It will be interesting to see what the seller has to say for himself once he's done "regrouping," whatever that means.
 
Phrasikleia said:
Yes, I did. It doesn't work. I posted about that earlier in this thread.
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What doesn't work?
Not a regular restore by just plugging it to iTunes.
A DFU restore will restore a phone even if it has a passcode setup.
If you did do it you'd be at the activation screen now and not the screen you posted with the passcode.
So you didn't do it.
http://www.iclarified.com/entry/?enid=1034
 
Applejuiced said:
What doesn't work?
Not a regular restore by just plugging it to iTunes.
A DFU restore will restore a phone even if it has a passcode setup.
If you did do it you'd be at the activation screen now and not the screen you posted with the passcode.
So you didn't do it.
http://www.iclarified.com/entry/?enid=1034
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Maybe I don't understand the difference. I followed instructions for a "recovery mode restore." Is that something else? This is what I did: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1808
 
Yes, its different.
Try the step by step I gave you above.
The phone will then restore via iTunes and you might be done and not need to contact him or his password if he didn't setup find my iphone.
After the restore it will take you to the activation screen and let you in.
If you see this screen below then he had find my iphone setup and the phone is useless until he removes it from his icloud account.
Good luck.

TS4515_01-icloud-activate-iphone-001-en.png
 
Applejuiced said:
Yes, its different.
Try the step by step I gave you above.
The phone will then restore via iTunes and you might be done and not need to contact him or his password if he didn't setup find my iphone.
After the restore it will take you to the activation screen and let you in.
If you see this screen below then he had find my iphone setup and the phone is useless until he removes it from his icloud account.
Good luck.

Image
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Thanks I tried that. Seems to be producing the same result as before: iTunes wants to do a 51-minute download of iOS 7.0.4 (the phone is apparently on 7.0.3, according to the message). The phone did go black this time, though, which it didn't before. Previously it showed the graphic with the lightening cable on it. I'm keeping the phone plugged in and am letting iTunes do its thing.
 
Phrasikleia said:
Thanks I tried that. Seems to be producing the same result as before: iTunes wants to do a 51-minute download of iOS 7.0.4 (the phone is apparently on 7.0.3, according to the message). The phone did go black this time, though, which it didn't before. Previously it showed the graphic with the lightening cable on it. I'm keeping the phone plugged in and am letting iTunes do its thing.
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Yes, let it go through.
If you have a fast internet connection it should be done sooner.
The black screen that you mentioned indicates that it did go in dfu restore mode so you're good.
Lets see how it goes. Keep your fingers crossed:)
 
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