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Risks of buying new but unsealed iphone on eBay?

I

Iphone4sinwhite

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 24, 2011
307
3
Many of the iPhones on ebay are brand new but are not sealed - the box plastic is removed. If the phone is brand new and never activated, what is the risk of buying it unsealed?

Also, what is the advantage to the buyer to open a brand new iphone and them turn around and sell it right away? Why not just sell it sealed?
 
Iphone4sinwhite said:
Also, what is the advantage to the buyer to open a brand new iphone and them turn around and sell it right away? Why not just sell it sealed?
Click to expand...

Most places make you activate the device before you leave. Smaller 3rd party sellers HAVE to activate the device or they don't get their commissions.

AT&T and Apple stores don't care. At least, I've never been hassled about it. They just scan it, I pay, and they hand me the sealed box.
 
Iphone4sinwhite said:
Many of the iPhones on ebay are brand new but are not sealed - the box plastic is removed. If the phone is brand new and never activated, what is the risk of buying it unsealed?

Also, what is the advantage to the buyer to open a brand new iphone and them turn around and sell it right away? Why not just sell it sealed?
Click to expand...

Just buy from seller with a ton of feedback. No danger whatsoever.
 
Iphone4sinwhite said:
Many of the iPhones on ebay are brand new but are not sealed - the box plastic is removed. If the phone is brand new and never activated, what is the risk of buying it unsealed?

Also, what is the advantage to the buyer to open a brand new iphone and them turn around and sell it right away? Why not just sell it sealed?
Click to expand...

Most carrier stores open the box and activate the phone before letting the buyer take it. From what I've seen only Apple seems to let people take the phone sealed.

No risk because you have 45 days on eBay to file a complaint and get your money back if anything goes wrong.
 
Iphone4sinwhite said:
Are there other problems that can arise?
Click to expand...

If it were me I would just save up the extra couple hundred dollars and buy it off contract.

I don't think it's worth the hassle to buy an iPhone from eBay. You buy it from your carrier store off contract or Apple and you know you won't have issues with it being blacklisted etc.
 
Buy a used phone face to face so you can see that it operates as it should.
 
sixrom said:
A word that comes to mind is naive
Click to expand...

What's the logic here?

Unless those positive feedbacks was obtained in the last 7 days... nobody have the time spending years building up their reputation just to get it trashed.
 
ucfgrad93 said:
Agreed. I wouldn't try to buy a phone off of ebay.
Click to expand...

It's quite safe to buy from ebay as you can return it for any reason within the return period, unlike CL where you're screwed if you discover a problem after the fact. Nevertheless, sixrom is correct in that buying only from high feedback sellers doesn't necessarily present no danger whatsoever (unless you interpret this as being able to return it for any reason other than described).
 
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akron0488 said:
Just buy from seller with a ton of feedback. No danger whatsoever.
Click to expand...

There was someone on the Apple forums who did just that. Got a 5S that was activation locked. He contacted the seller who had huge amounts of positive feedback and the seller claims he doesn't know how to disable it. The buyer ended up filing a dispute.
 
Mrbobb said:
What's the logic here?

Unless those positive feedbacks was obtained in the last 7 days... nobody have the time spending years building up their reputation just to get it trashed.
Click to expand...

Logic? It's just pure common sense.

If you love taking risks , eBay is for you.

Nothing against eBay, I both buy & sell certain lower priced goods monthly on their site. Perhaps it's my years of experience and knowledge of what can go wrong, no matter the sellers rating.

When a deal goes wrong, and it all goes sideways, one can burn up countless hours of valuable time attempting to resolve the issue.

Some you win and some you lose, it's an adrenaline junkies paradise.
 
JackieInCo said:
There was someone on the Apple forums who did just that. Got a 5S that was activation locked. He contacted the seller who had huge amounts of positive feedback and the seller claims he doesn't know how to disable it. The buyer ended up filing a dispute.
Click to expand...

There are always exceptions to this. I'm sure eBay took care of it if the seller didn't. There are always bad apples, even when buying at retail.

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sixrom said:
Logic? It's just pure common sense.

If you love taking risks , eBay is for you.

Nothing against eBay, I both buy & sell certain lower priced goods monthly on their site. Perhaps it's my years of experience and knowledge of what can go wrong, no matter the sellers rating.

When a deal goes wrong, and it all goes sideways, one can burn up countless hours of valuable time attempting to resolve the issue.

Some you win and some you lose, it's an adrenaline junkies paradise.
Click to expand...

Hm...no.

There's hardly any risk with two levels of disputes available at paypal and ebay. I've never had a problem that wasn't solved.

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sixrom said:
One would be hard pressed to prove the claim that's been made above.

A word that comes to mind is naive
Click to expand...

You can't live life scared of everything. Never had a problem from a power seller.
 
Sealed vs. Unsealed

Iphone4sinwhite said:
Many of the iPhones on ebay are brand new but are not sealed ... what is the risk of buying it unsealed?
Click to expand...

The "risk" is that it will come JAILBROKEN but their "Brand New" Ad didn't say that!

Also, what is the advantage to the buyer to open a brand new iphone and them turn around and sell it right away? Why not just sell it sealed?
Click to expand...

Since I am in the midst of such a situation right now, the Seller wrote in his Ad words to the effect that they "Open the Box to Ensure All Accessories are Included & That the Phone Runs"! (Seemed logical at the time! :( )
 
just read the countless threads about people getting scammed on ebay in regards to an iPhone.

pony up the extra bucks and buy it new from either Apple directly or your carrier.
 
Buying a new iPhone on eBay?

My iPhone 5 was recently stolen, so I am using my old 4 which is half the GB and offers only 3G. I am not eligible for upgrade with AT&T until 2015. I am considering using the next upgrade plan for a device to that serve my personal use of standards. eBay popped up googling for purchase of a 5 or 5S, I haven't considered this as an option assuming fraud. It seems not the case, as it a normal auction of sale on eBay. Spare further detail- what is the download on how this works if I go this route. I want to use same coverage plan with AT&T and keep my same mobile number. What are the refined guidelines with AT&T in coverage same number? Do I refine a AT&T as carrier or unlocked phone? Lastly, after purchase - if made, how do inactivate just insert SIM? What happens with serial number? Is this legal? I can totally see if for example someone were to receive an iPhone as a gift and would rather have the cash.
 
I've bought and sold phones on eBay a lot. My last phone was a Samsung Galaxy S3. Had it 6 months and then all of a sudden it quits working. Turns out it was reported stolen 6 months after I bought it. I went and just paid full retail and bought a new iPhone.
 
ucfgrad93 said:
Agreed. I wouldn't try to buy a phone off of ebay.
Click to expand...
Nor any highly sought-after or high-ticket item, for that matter. This place is rife with scammers.

Mrbobb said:
Unless those positive feedbacks was obtained in the last 7 days... nobody have the time spending years building up their reputation just to get it trashed.
Click to expand...
From what I could see, it seems surprisingly easy to cheat on eBay. Either motivated hackers take over a valuable account and start selling crap-ware, or they act in networks, each of them leaving a positive feedback after a false transaction for an item that was never actually sold nor shipped. They're patient, and can show a seemingly-good profile to buyers.

akron0488 said:
Hm...no.

There's hardly any risk with two levels of disputes available at paypal and ebay. I've never had a problem that wasn't solved.

----------



You can't live life scared of everything. Never had a problem from a power seller.
Click to expand...
While power sellers are usually fine, I actually have problems sometimes with them. Last item I bought was a small true sinewave inverter. For some reason it is not compatible with my iPad charger as it bemakes it behaving erratically when plugged in. I now use a found Blackberry charger while in the truck. In the meantime, the seller never ever answered to my inquiry about possible incompatibility.

And actually both eBay and PayPal belong to the same entity. Although I didn't have any issue with PayPal itself, I would never fully trust a company that abruptly ceased to transfer donation payments to another entity without a court order. The fact there's no real competition in the online payment industry only worries me more.
 
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