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Sold iPhone 4s on ebay fully working - buyer says it doesn't work

E

eggyrocks

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 27, 2013
2
0
As per the title, I upgraded to a new Iphone 5s last week so I decided (clearly foolishly) to list my old phone on eBay. It sold and I shipped it to the buyer. Then I get an email at half nine in the evening the next day stating that he has received the phone but it won't charge and it gained a chip (I took some pictures - not the best - before and have the serial number of the phone). The buyer said it was packed well and the packaging was unharmed so no idea how that could oh happened but that's unimportant to the fact the iPhone will apparently no longer charge / is dead.

He has sent me pictures of an iphone 4/4s at charge battery screen - is this the dead battery screen on an iphone 4s ios 7? http://i.imgur.com/MBSfpBJ.jpg - that was his angle yesterday - now he says it remains on a black screen even when plugged in.

Clearly I'm frustrated at a potential problem but what are my rights? It's clearly my word against his and in my experience that means ebay goes with the buyer but I'm worried he's tried to do something clever to the phone, messed it up and now wants to return something broken to me and get his money back. I had no problems with the phone at all so I don't understand how it could have possibly stopped working. I took pictures of the phone working, listed it and turned it off before the sale. Then three days later it no longer works at all and the 40% battery that was there when I sent the phone had gone. Seems a bit fishy to me.
 
Good ol E-bay Well my guess is he may have a 4s that was bad, bought yours and wants you to make you think it is yours and wants his money back. :confused:
Or it could be on the up and up. I hope you have the SS of your 4s you shipped him. I would would have him ship it back, check to make sure it is the one you shipped and take it from there.:confused:
 
Do you know the MEID number of the phone you sold? If you do there is no way he can swap a broken one for yours. If you don't know the number, call your carrier. Tell them you want to know the MEID numbers that have been activated in the past on your account. Then tell the buyer to return your phone and give him a refund. If he files an eBay claim, ebay will probably side with him.
 
He has about 25 all positive buying and selling cheap value stuff and Hollister.

The conversations have gone in circles. He doesn't seem keen to do anything other than get a full refund straight away and return the phone. I don't think I've any choice but to agree that he returns it. Am I right that I have a few days to ascertain that it is the same phone before he gets a refund? and if it's a different phone eBay will side with me?

I have the IMEI and serial no and the 40 number thing. If I get sent back a phone that won't turn on / do anything - how do I find out that info?

edit - one more question - If it checks out to be my phone - how will / do I find out if its had an unlock / jailbreak attempt on the phone?

Thanks
 
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Wow that's a tough one.
A few things though - it is really odd that he claims that the phone does not work, yet the packaging is totally fine..
Have you packed it inside some hard box or so that would protect it from any drops or hits?

I've seen some severely damaged iphones recently, I actually have one right here that was dropped in water and worked in them until it got really hot and died.
And guess what? it turns on when plugged.
Also had another one recently that was smashed by a car and the only damaged thing was the screen.

In my opinion he's trying to scam you,
And I do believe that he's a bit more clever than that, he could simply take the essential working parts from your phone and replace them with faulty ones (Like the logic board, I believe a lot of scammers would do this for it as it costs almost like a new phone)

Then, if you'll check the serial number of the phone that he'll send back, you might see that its yours.

If it's your phone, I HIGHLY doubt that it's severely damaged, maybe a replacement battery is needed.
(Then, you can probably see the contents of the phone / IMEI and see if it's yours)

If it is indeed a damaged phone (Which is most likely not yours), or if a jailbreak attempt has been made then you might see a "connect to itunes" screen, or it might be stuck in DFU mode, or something like that.. but again, nothing is certain here.

I'm really sorry to hear that it happened to you, really tough to deal with..
I'll have my fingers crossed for you :)
Good luck!!
 
I'd video record the whole box and tracking number before you open it and then record the unboxing.
He might send you an empty box or any other random item in there.
Let him know that you will do that also so he doesn't think he can pull a scam on your. Tell him you will present the evidence to ebay and paypal if he doesn't send you phone back in the condition you send it to him and the correct device with the identical serial number.
 
I think so it's usb charge port damaged when transport. My daughter's iphone had dropped last month. I sold it as broken. Buyer was a friend. He made it fixed as 50$ (I'm from Turkey), phone repairs always expensive at there...
 
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