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

New eBay iPhone... not so new.

R

Robby9279

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 3, 2008
239
1
Well I was skeptical to buy off eBay and now I regret doing so.
My loving mother went through the hassle of spending a boat load of money on me for Christmas to make me happy, and bought me a "new" iPhone off ebay. Well, I enjoyed playing with it, it's a great phone, some of you may have even seen my thread on opening day. Well, I thought the box was a little "too scratched up" so I figured hey, why not check the serial numbers. Well, to my unfortunate surprise the serial number on the box and the phone do not match. So I decided to go dig a little further and did what anybody else would do and entered both serial numbers on the apple website. Not to my surprise I get this message once I finished entering the serial number on the box, "Our records indicate that this product has been replaced. " Oh good... wait, what?! REPLACED? So I bought a replaced or... refurbished iPhone not a brand new... well brand new... refurbished.. iPhone.
Some of you may be thinking "Hey what's wrong with that, refurbished units are as good as new, they go through a whole new cleaning process, they work, it's not a problem" Hey, I agree with you, but that's not the point! I supposedly bought a new iPhone, but got a refurbished unit instead, I wouldn't mind if I knew I was buying a refurbished iPhone.
So my plan of action is to return this item back to the seller, and get my dad to handle this with apple and sign the contract and get a new plan and buy it directly from one of the retail locations, brand new. Is this possible, I'm not eligible for an upgrade so what's the pricing again $500 for 8gb and $600 for 16?
Well this was my story and the point was inform some people to be careful when buying an iPhone from eBay, you don't know what you're actually in for.
 
Well, instead of typing us an essay, contact eBay and PayPal. They will take care of it if you provide enough proof. Chances are the guy did this to other people and not only you.
 
nickspohn said:
Well, instead of typing us an essay, contact eBay and PayPal. They will take care of it if you provide enough proof. Chances are the guy did this to other people and not only you.
Click to expand...

I wasn't complaining to you guys just telling you to be careful, and I'm talking to him right now, he really is a nice guy, and will probably refund me anyway and let me ship it back to him.
 
OK, sounds like it was just a seller issue.

And since most of us all know the dangers of eBay, craigslist, and the like... was this thread really needed?

Not to mention, the prices are readily available for both the 8GB and 16GB on your local cell phone providers website.
 
tsice19 said:
OK, sounds like it was just a seller issue.

And since most of us all know the dangers of eBay, craigslist, and the like... was this thread really needed?

Not to mention, the prices are readily available for both the 8GB and 16GB on your local cell phone providers website.
Click to expand...

I guess so, and No I guess it wasn't needed but letting people know a practical situation is always good.
Thanks
 
Robby9279 said:
I guess so, and No I guess it wasn't needed but letting people know a practical situation is always good.
Thanks
Click to expand...

Cool. Glad to see you got everything (or are getting) everything worked out. Hope you enjoy your new iPhone!
 
It's good that it led to the good case scenario, not the worse one.

Well then, you'll be having a new iPhone (again?) soon ;)
 
As long as it functions and looks new, talk to the seller. Tell them you'll let it go if they toss a few dollars your way.

Good luck.

Edit: Didn't read all the posts. Glad you got it worked out.
 
Robby9279 said:
Well I was skeptical to buy off eBay and now I regret doing so.
My loving mother went through the hassle of spending a boat load of money on me for Christmas to make me happy, and bought me a "new" iPhone off ebay. Well, I enjoyed playing with it, it's a great phone, some of you may have even seen my thread on opening day. Well, I thought the box was a little "too scratched up" so I figured hey, why not check the serial numbers. Well, to my unfortunate surprise the serial number on the box and the phone do not match. So I decided to go dig a little further and did what anybody else would do and entered both serial numbers on the apple website. Not to my surprise I get this message once I finished entering the serial number on the box, "Our records indicate that this product has been replaced. " Oh good... wait, what?! REPLACED? So I bought a replaced or... refurbished iPhone not a brand new... well brand new... refurbished.. iPhone.
Some of you may be thinking "Hey what's wrong with that, refurbished units are as good as new, they go through a whole new cleaning process, they work, it's not a problem" Hey, I agree with you, but that's not the point! I supposedly bought a new iPhone, but got a refurbished unit instead, I wouldn't mind if I knew I was buying a refurbished iPhone.
So my plan of action is to return this item back to the seller, and get my dad to handle this with apple and sign the contract and get a new plan and buy it directly from one of the retail locations, brand new. Is this possible, I'm not eligible for an upgrade so what's the pricing again $500 for 8gb and $600 for 16?
Well this was my story and the point was inform some people to be careful when buying an iPhone from eBay, you don't know what you're actually in for.
Click to expand...

Did you read the auction carfeully. A lot of ebay sellers will list a phone as brand new, the have a disclaimer at the bottom saying phones may be re-certified.
 
eplchamps0304 said:
Did you read the auction carfeully. A lot of ebay sellers will list a phone as brand new, the have a disclaimer at the bottom saying phones may be re-certified.
Click to expand...

I did, and all it says over the page is brand new, brand new, blah blah blah. Currently my dad is handling it, and if he doesn't refund us before we ship it out to him, we're filing a formal dispute.
 
`

I did the same thing with one of my 3G phones on eBay. I bought it the day the 3G went on sale last July but like many others, I was having a problem with 3G so I exchanged it after two weeks. I eventually bought a second iPhone and used both for several months. Later, I decided to sell the first one and listed it on eBay. Of course it was not the original that came in the box and I didn't say the in the eBay listing either. It sold for $500 and the I never heard from the buyer after he received it. It's probably no big deal for most people. An iPhone is an iPhone. Oh and in my add it was clearly listed as used.
 
The funny thing is, I actually prefer refurbished iPhones because they usually have more of a chance at being perfect. You see, these things are built on assembly lines in China and they're put together rather fast, but refurbished iPhones are fixed and put back together by an Apple tech here in the US. I generally get better built products with refurbs. That's my philosophy.
 
Robby9279 said:
Well I was skeptical to buy off eBay and now I regret doing so.
My loving mother went through the hassle of spending a boat load of money on me for Christmas to make me happy, and bought me a "new" iPhone off ebay. Well, I enjoyed playing with it, it's a great phone, some of you may have even seen my thread on opening day. Well, I thought the box was a little "too scratched up" so I figured hey, why not check the serial numbers. Well, to my unfortunate surprise the serial number on the box and the phone do not match. So I decided to go dig a little further and did what anybody else would do and entered both serial numbers on the apple website. Not to my surprise I get this message once I finished entering the serial number on the box, "Our records indicate that this product has been replaced. " Oh good... wait, what?! REPLACED? So I bought a replaced or... refurbished iPhone not a brand new... well brand new... refurbished.. iPhone.
Some of you may be thinking "Hey what's wrong with that, refurbished units are as good as new, they go through a whole new cleaning process, they work, it's not a problem" Hey, I agree with you, but that's not the point! I supposedly bought a new iPhone, but got a refurbished unit instead, I wouldn't mind if I knew I was buying a refurbished iPhone.
So my plan of action is to return this item back to the seller, and get my dad to handle this with apple and sign the contract and get a new plan and buy it directly from one of the retail locations, brand new. Is this possible, I'm not eligible for an upgrade so what's the pricing again $500 for 8gb and $600 for 16?
Well this was my story and the point was inform some people to be careful when buying an iPhone from eBay, you don't know what you're actually in for.
Click to expand...


Don't worry, walmart sells them now.
 
Why not just buy from the shop? New 16GB iPhone 3G with warrenty and 12 months free data is £391. :rolleyes:
eBay is just full of con artists now. Don't buy there thinking it's a bargain, because it'll be cheaper in the shops, or just a scam. Only last week I bought a new iPhone case thinking I'd done well, but when it came it turned out to be an iPod Touch 2G case :( The truth is, eBay and paypal do NOTHING when something like this happens, because it's too much hassel for them, and not profitable. The site is as bad as the sellers.
 
TheSpaz said:
The funny thing is, I actually prefer refurbished iPhones because they usually have more of a chance at being perfect. You see, these things are built on assembly lines in China and they're put together rather fast, but refurbished iPhones are fixed and put back together by an Apple tech here in the US. I generally get better built products with refurbs. That's my philosophy.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but the thing with me is. I'd rather know what I've been doing with the phone, and then let it break and get it refurbished. This is because I would have known what I was doing with the phone and caused it to be refurbished. Versus a phone with 0 history, and it's just refurbished, this is why I probably won't ever buy a refurbished phone.

SFStateStudent said:
I only have one question; what the heck were you thinking when you bought a NEW 3G iPhone from eBay??? Gawd, be patient and get one at the Apple Store or AT&T...:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

My dad said the same thing, haha. I'm hoping that when/if we get this refund my dad takes me over to bestbuy/apple to get the phone.

Tokiopop said:
Why not just buy from the shop? New 16GB iPhone 3G with warrenty and 12 months free data is £391. :rolleyes:
eBay is just full of con artists now. Don't buy there thinking it's a bargain, because it'll be cheaper in the shops, or just a scam. Only last week I bought a new iPhone case thinking I'd done well, but when it came it turned out to be an iPod Touch 2G case :( The truth is, eBay and paypal do NOTHING when something like this happens, because it's too much hassel for them, and not profitable. The site is as bad as the sellers.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I totally agree. We bought the phone thinking that it would be better, cause I didn't need data. But then my dad decides he wants to get me a data plan.... and that's where it all started.
 
Robby9279 said:
Yeah, but the thing with me is. I'd rather know what I've been doing with the phone, and then let it break and get it refurbished. This is because I would have known what I was doing with the phone and caused it to be refurbished. Versus a phone with 0 history, and it's just refurbished, this is why I probably won't ever buy a refurbished phone.
Click to expand...

I don't think you understand what refurbished means. A brand new iPhone is more likely to have problems right out of the box. A refurbished phone was carefully looked at and assembled by someone in the USA that is Apple certified. Refurbished iPhones are better than brand new because they weren't slapped together really quick and shipped from China. I didn't get a good iPhone until I got a refurbished one. Also, I have a refurbished Mac Pro. I've NEVER had a single problem with it. The only problem I've ever had with this machine was a DVD drive stopped working and it was an add-on that I got after the fact. The original drive still works awesome. In all my experiences with Apple refurbished stuff is that refurbished always means higher quality than new.

Also, refurbished iPhones get a NEW battery, a NEW case, and new GLASS (if scratches are found). Refurbished iPhones have the same warrantee as a new iPhone as well. Why is it so important that you get a new iPhone (which could be a gamble) than to have something that was checked over and certified as "brand new condition"?
 
Just a suggestion... ATT is selling refurbs with no contract for 199 and 299 on their website. Thats pretty cheap, and it probably comes with the one year warranty. Just click the upgrade phone in your account and it will come up with no commitment pricing and the refurbs are near the bottom.

Edit: Just looked and it says 90 days or more of warranty. You can always upgrade the apple care though.
 
TheSpaz said:
Also, refurbished iPhones get a NEW battery, a NEW case, and new GLASS (if scratches are found). Refurbished iPhones have the same warrantee as a new iPhone as well. Why is it so important that you get a new iPhone (which could be a gamble) than to have something that was checked over and certified as "brand new condition"?
Click to expand...

You make excellent points, some that are extremely hard to argue with. And I know the whole process, it's just me being me and wanting it "brand new". Another reason was, from the date I received the phone, and the date the warranty was effective was a difference of 4 months. It was only effective till August and I really want those extra few months. And I know I could buy apple care but considering the phone might not have even been compatible with it, posed as an issue.
 
gsampson85 said:
Just a suggestion... ATT is selling refurbs with no contract for 199 and 299 on their website. Thats pretty cheap, and it probably comes with the one year warranty. Just click the upgrade phone in your account and it will come up with no commitment pricing and the refurbs are near the bottom.

Edit: Just looked and it says 90 days or more of warranty. You can always upgrade the apple care though.
Click to expand...

You can only get the no committment if you already had a 3G plan. Otherwise they hit you for 2 years when you activate it.

I lost a 2G iPhone and they wouldn't do anything for me. I wanted to pay the $499 for a no-committment phone, but since it was an upgrade, they wanted another 2 years.
 
benflick said:
There, fixed it for you.:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Yes, like there is absolutely no danger in buying anything from Craigslist...

Apple refurbs always seem to be pretty good. If I were in your shoes, I'd take the $300-400 savings and get the refurb. If you have pretty much any issue with the phone, Apple's just going to give you a refurb replacement anyway. Take the money saved and use it for something else.
 
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