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Selling your iPhone...

appygirl82

appygirl82

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 4, 2012
696
302
Oregon
I have sold many iPhones (as I upgrade).... What method do you all use to sell? I have always sold via Craigslist. CL can be a real pain, flaky people and scammers. I know eBay is good but lots of fees associated there. Any other places that have worked well for others?
 
Craigslist or here on MacRumors. I avoid eBay at all costs. I use to only use eBay, but there are way too many shady people out there just trying to scam you. And now with PayPal offering buyer protection for 6 months, it just seems like a horrible idea.

I have used NextWorth a couple of times. They are 'okay'. Super easy for my iPad 2, but had some problems with them claiming display issues with my 5s.
 
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appygirl82 said:
I have sold many iPhones (as I upgrade).... What method do you all use to sell? I have always sold via Craigslist. CL can be a real pain, flaky people and scammers. I know eBay is good but lots of fees associated there. Any other places that have worked well for others?
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If you are based in the United Kingdom then I would recommend music magpie I have sold many of iPhones their in the past I might not got the best price but the operation has Been very fast and easy to get the money with 48hours I have had the money in my bank account with no less money but you must state on how good of condition the headset is in or you will lose money

I have never been a fan of eBay because I have heard loads of scams on their in the past and I just won't have the hassle with that I would prefer to use a proper company and get the money wth no problems

I should of thought you would get a higher price on eBay and Craigslist but I don't like taken the risks'
 
appygirl82 said:
Oh I wasn't aware we could sell here on MacRumors!!
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Yep, once you have enough posts and time here, you can use the marketplace. I've sold quite a few devices here. You usually make less, but for the convenience, it is entirely worth it.
 
http://swappa.com

All day every day! Really though, I'm on there quite often. I bought and sold every phone I've had in the last three years on there.

YPjKhxU.png


Super easy to do and pretty darn safe. Also highly trafficked and national.
 
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Mlrollin91 said:
Craigslist or here on MacRumors. I avoid eBay at all costs. I use to only use eBay, but there are way too many shady people out there just trying to scam you. And now with PayPal offering buyer protection for 6 months, it just seems like a horrible idea.

I have used NextWorth a couple of times. They are 'okay'. Super easy for my iPad 2, but had some problems with them claiming display issues with my 5s.
Click to expand...

Out of curiosity, can you explain more about the scamming on eBay? I have sold all my iPhone's on their in the past without issue. But if there is something I don't know or more to cause a problem, I would be grateful if you could educate me in this. Because I don't want to lose out on money. Thank you.
 
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Relentless Power said:
Out of curiosity, can you explain more about the scamming on eBay? I have sold all my iPhone's on their in the past without issue. But if there is something I don't know or more to cause a problem, I would be grateful if you could educate me in this. Because I don't want to lose out on money. Thanks you.
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It has become more and more common that people receive the iPhone and claim that it is not the condition as described. They get their money back and send back the phone to you. When sending the phone back, its either damaged, or an entirely different phone. Or they claim they received an empty box. They get to keep the money and the phone. Issue with PayPal being 6 months for buyer protection instead of 45 days, now after 5 months after they break the phone, they can claim it was not in the condition as described. I will never go eBay route again. Yes there are good people out there but its not worth the risk.
 
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Mlrollin91 said:
It has become more and more common that people receive the iPhone and claim that it is not the condition as described. They get their money back and send back the phone to you. When sending the phone back, its either damaged, or an entirely different phone. Or they claim they received an empty box. They get to keep the money and the phone. Issue with PayPal being 6 months for buyer protection instead of 45 days, now after 5 months after they break the phone, they can claim it was not in the condition as described. I will never go eBay route again. Yes there are good people out their but its not worth the risk.
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Thank you so much for the advice. As of today, I will not sell my SE on eBay. I will either try Swappa or Craigslist. I was preparing to sell with the iPhone 7 coming. Thanks again @Mlrollin91 !
 
Relentless Power said:
Thank you so much for the advice. As of today, I will not sell my SE on eBay. I will either try Swappa or Craigslist. I was preparing to sell with the iPhone 7 coming. Thanks again @Mlrollin91 !
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Of course. I've tried swappa, but haven't had any luck selling on their as of yet. Good luck with your sale though!
 
It's all relative where you sell:

1. Macrumors: you deal with great people but they are educated so you often make less money
2. Craigslist/Kijiji: Flaky people, could be risky unless you meet in public places but bigger reward
3. Ebay: Convenient, allows for bidding which could get you a better price but of course their cut is large

For me it depends on what I'm selling and if I'm interested in the leg work of communicating with hagglers for more money or I just want to sell conveniently on here or EBay. For things like a phone, if I know someone close to me that can benefit from my used phone, I might just gift it to them.
 
appygirl82 said:
I have sold many iPhones (as I upgrade).... What method do you all use to sell? I have always sold via Craigslist. CL can be a real pain, flaky people and scammers. I know eBay is good but lots of fees associated there. Any other places that have worked well for others?
Click to expand...

I've always just sold on Craigslist. I typically meet in a coffee shop and deal with cash only, and never had a problem.
 
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Only use Swappa or Craigslist. Craigslist usually gets me the best results as I notice sales get slow on Swappa this time of the year. eBay and their 13% fees plus 6 months buyer protection are just too much these days for high value items.
 
When I sold my iPhone 5 I did it on Amazon. It was the best deal I could find and I didn't want to use Craigslist or Ebay. I spend buckets of money at Amazon so believe me that iPhone 5 credit was burned up fast.

I may go that route again when I sell my 6 next month. I've been eyeballing a pair of dumbbells and that would cover them (going by the current rate anyways).
 
In the past I have used CL. I awlays get the person's number and I always pick a place very public and close to home. At worst I waste 5 minutes. I also make sure I text the person before I leave. No response, no time wasted.
 
Selling on Craigslist, I only meet at the doorsteps of my local police station. I keep my cameras in my car running to catch the plates of any car entering the lot and the station premises has surveillance cameras all over. As the buyer approaches, I usually greet them loudly and clearly drawing attention to any cameras nearby. If the buyer is hooded or otherwise trips me the wrong way, I just retreat into the building lobby which has line of sight to multiple cops over the glass partitions. Never had a problem with any buyers, except once for a zealous cop who thought I was a drug dealer because the buyer was seen handing me a wad of cash!
 
In the UK I use gumtree which is similar to Craigslist. I always bring the original Apple receipt and try to sell before the warranty expires for piece of mind of the buyer.

For my own protection I bring a counterfeit note pen checker, to ensure the money I'm receiving is real.
 
Relentless Power said:
Out of curiosity, can you explain more about the scamming on eBay? I have sold all my iPhone's on their in the past without issue. But if there is something I don't know or more to cause a problem, I would be grateful if you could educate me in this. Because I don't want to lose out on money. Thank you.
Click to expand...

Selling iphones on ebay is a scammers wet dream.
If you want to risk it go for it.
Its been a nightmare for many people trying to get their money or their item back with fraudulent buyers trying to rip them off.
I wouldn't advise it, it's way too much hassle, risk and aggravation.
 
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Applejuiced said:
Selling iphones on ebay is a scammers wet dream.
If you want to risk it go for it.
Its been a nightmare for many people trying to get their money or their item back with fraudulent buying trying to rip them off.
I wouldn't advise it, it's way too much hassle, risk and aggravation.
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I have been fortunate on eBay with successful sales. From this point forward, I will no longer use eBay to sell my high-end electronics. Being it sounds like the buyer will try to scam the seller stating they never received the product in the box or the product was defective, then eBay/PayPal will come after the seller. Eventually, the buyer will get to keep the product fraudulently and receive their money back through eBay guarantee. No thanks. I am taking other avenues aside from eBay. Thanks for your advice.
 
Relentless Power said:
I have been fortunate on eBay with successful sales. From this point forward, I will no longer use eBay to sell my high-end electronics. Being it sounds like the buyer will try to scam the seller stating they never received the product in the box or the product was defective, then eBay/PayPal will come after the seller. Eventually, the buyer will get to keep the product fraudulently and receive their money back through eBay guarantee. No thanks. I am taking other avenues aside from eBay. Thanks for your advice.
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Glad you did good so far but I wouldnt risk it.
There's tons of stories and threads that pop up here from time to time.
People claiming the iphone was activation locked, that it didnt work, it was locked to another carrier, it wasn't what it was described, it arrived damaged or broken, the box was empty and countless other ways to scam the seller.
Then they demand a refund and open a case. The funds are then frozen and taken out of your account.
They claim they will send back the phone, they send you an empty box or a rock and many other craziness.
To me it's not worth it, I have no patience or time for nonsense like that or to have to jump through 100 hoops to prove to ebay and paypal dispute teams that I'm telling the truth and the buyer is lying etc...
 
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Some instances I've seen are a person sells the phone on eBay which at first works just fine for the buyer.

Then the seller claims on insurance.

The Networks blacklist the imei number of the phone.

The phone becomes blocked. :(
 
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