Sold iPhone 5S on eBay - Now Buyer Wants it Unlocked

[617aircav]

Guys - you all took my comment the wrong way. What I meant was that the OP made an error by not unlocking the phone BEFORE selling it and getting his extra $100.



I don't think the buyer is acting like a jerk either. He's just asking if the seller would unlock the phone. There is no cost involved, so why not just do it? I didn't see anything about threats of negative feedback from the buyer.



The transaction is complete. I don't why the OP would want money from the buyer to have him unlock the phone, when it doesn't cost the OP anything.

That's not an error. That's choice.

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I, along with many others have had the opposite experience.

If those phones were still under obligation att won't unlock. The last time I did this was with a 4 from Craigslist. The seller had finished his contract with the phone, this it was eligible for unlocking.

 

[xfgjdfyhj]

I'd try to contact ebay customer service first before he does. Provide the listing information and they'll see that your phone was indeed listed as an att phone. You transaction is done. Also, I'd advice you to leave feed back on him as the buyer.

 

[jbachandouris]

I'd try to contact ebay customer service first before he does. Provide the listing information and they'll see that your phone was indeed listed as an att phone. You transaction is done. Also, I'd advice you to leave feed back on him as the buyer. Image

eBay no longer allows you to leave negative feedback on a buyer, only positive. Sadly, eBay/Paypal seem to give more rights to the buyer than the seller.

Did you know that Paypal allows 180 days for a buyer to report an item as 'significantly not as described?' That's just insane.

 

[GoCubsGo]

Looks like OP was trying to pull a fast one on the buyer

Dude, at least read the original post before you reply. You clearly only read the title.

Your mistake, his gain. But you should unlock it and forget how it was listed. It was lack of communication on both your part. He assumed unlocked, now you want to gain more money from it after it was sold. Do the right thing and make the call to ATT and suck up the difference.

You're kidding, right? If I sold a phone and said it was on AT&T then I have absolutely no legal requirement to unlock the phone. I do not have to entertain e-mails weeks later regardless of the buyer's understanding of the English language either. The OP is in the right here, without any doubt.

Well after sending a few emails back and forth with the buyer I think a contributing factor was his lack of understanding of the English language.

I explained to him earlier that asking for a device to be unlocked that wasn't sold as unlocked and not having provided feedback was asking a lot. He has since provided positive feedback and I've submitted a request to AT&T to have it unlocked.

I definitely learned a lesson for next time.

You are a better person than I am. If someone contacted me weeks later to unlock their phone after I sold it and never advertised it as unlocked, I would simply not respond. If they escalated, I would then waste my time laying down my case. Good work taking the higher ground.

 

[AppleFan360]

Did you know that Paypal allows 180 days for a buyer to report an item as 'significantly not as described?' That's just insane.

This scares me more than anything which is why Craigslist is an even more attractive choice for me.

 

[617aircav]

This scares me more than anything which is why Craigslist is an even more attractive choice for me.

I like Craigslist for one reason, once sold out of sight out of mind.

 

[itjw]

eBay no longer allows you to leave negative feedback on a buyer, only positive. Sadly, eBay/Paypal seem to give more rights to the buyer than the seller.

Did you know that Paypal allows 180 days for a buyer to report an item as 'significantly not as described?' That's just insane.

They did this to be in line with Credit Card chargeback rules (which are also 180 days).

My final straw selling on eBay came when I had documented proof that the buyer received the item as described, he admitted in writing he received the item as described, he lost a case with eBay buyer protection (I was shocked, but they sided with me), and he still was able to file a chargeback on the 179th day (and sent me a mocking email about it).

I completely understand how some people feel they "protect" themselves by doing XYZ. I used to too. The reality is, it's just a matter of WHEN you run into a scammer that can exploit the system. If it hasn't happened to you yet I'm happy for you, but that doesn't mean it won't.

eBay and PayPal protect the BUYER. Period. If they happen to protect the seller in the process of protecting the buyer, it may look like they care about the seller, but that isn't their priority.

I love buying on eBay. As a buyer you are COMPLETELY bulletproof.

As a seller? Well, you can only dodge bullets for so long. The system is set up so that you WILL get screwed eventually. It might take years, but it'll happen.

 

[3lionsbecks]

There is an app for the iPhone called "Burner". It works great. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/burner-disposable-phone-numbers/id505800761?mt=8

Terrible reviews of this app on the app store....

 

[itjw]

I like Craigslist for one reason, once sold out of sight out of mind.

Agreed. The only problem with CL is that it's full of scammers and people that seem to really enjoy wasting other peoples time. I swear there are people that literally just make appointments to buy things with zero intention of ever showing up, just to get a rise out of people.

I will only meet at a bank/police station within 5 miles or so of my house. If they won't drive to me, or won't meet on my terms, I won't waste my time. There's an ice cream store near where I like to meet too, so if they don't show up at least I get a treat =).

Once the sale occurs, I have NEVER had an issue.

If you are a complete moron, I understand how CL could be scary though. That being said, complete morons are also easy prey on eBay. At least there all they'll lose is their stuff though I suppose.

For future reference: If someone named Shafiqua wants to meet you in a dark deserted alley at midnight, and then tells you last minute her four brothers are going to pick up the phone for her instead, DON'T go to the meet. I know it seems ridiculous, but every "I got robbed on CL" story starts with the seller doing something insanely stupid because they're desperate to sell (or just stupid, I dunno).

Be careful, have half a brain, and CL is awesome.

 

[AppleFan360]

Terrible reviews of this app on the app store....

Ignore them. The app works wonderfully for many people like myself. The complainers always seem to come out of the woodwork more than the satisfied users these days.

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Agreed. The only problem with CL is that it's full of scammers and people that seem to really enjoy wasting other peoples time. I swear there are people that literally just make appointments to buy things with zero intention of ever showing up, just to get a rise out of people.

I will only meet at a bank/police station within 5 miles or so of my house. If they won't drive to me, or won't meet on my terms, I won't waste my time. There's an ice cream store near where I like to meet too, so if they don't show up at least I get a treat =).

Once the sale occurs, I have NEVER had an issue.

If you are a complete moron, I understand how CL could be scary though. That being said, complete morons are also easy prey on eBay. At least there all they'll lose is their stuff though I suppose.

For future reference: If someone named Shafiqua wants to meet you in a dark deserted alley at midnight, and then tells you last minute her four brothers are going to pick up the phone for her instead, DON'T go to the meet. I know it seems ridiculous, but every "I got robbed on CL" story starts with the seller doing something insanely stupid because they're desperate to sell (or just stupid, I dunno).

Be careful, have half a brain, and CL is awesome.

Yeah, when selling on Craigslist, you must follow certain common sense rules. After a few sales, it's easy to get a feel for the honest people and the losers. It's really easy to tell who the scammers are right off the bat.

Basically,

1. Meet in a public place and only during the day.
2. Negotiate the price BEFORE the meeting.
3. Ask for cash only.
4. Take someone with you.
5. Don't ship the item and don't use PayPal.
6. Try to talk to them on the phone first instead of just texting.
7. After the sale, walk away and burn the phone number.

Simple rules but effective.

 

[google]

Just do it, not like its going to cost you a fortune but couple mins of your time.

 

[617aircav]

Agreed. The only problem with CL is that it's full of scammers and people that seem to really enjoy wasting other peoples time. I swear there are people that literally just make appointments to buy things with zero intention of ever showing up, just to get a rise out of people.



I will only meet at a bank/police station within 5 miles or so of my house. If they won't drive to me, or won't meet on my terms, I won't waste my time. There's an ice cream store near where I like to meet too, so if they don't show up at least I get a treat =).



Once the sale occurs, I have NEVER had an issue.



If you are a complete moron, I understand how CL could be scary though. That being said, complete morons are also easy prey on eBay. At least there all they'll lose is their stuff though I suppose.



For future reference: If someone named Shafiqua wants to meet you in a dark deserted alley at midnight, and then tells you last minute her four brothers are going to pick up the phone for her instead, DON'T go to the meet. I know it seems ridiculous, but every "I got robbed on CL" story starts with the seller doing something insanely stupid because they're desperate to sell (or just stupid, I dunno).



Be careful, have half a brain, and CL is awesome.

Thats why I only meet at the bank 0.2 miles from my house. No exceptions you must come to me. You are right a lot of people are just not smart enough to use CL. Meet at a safe place of your choosing, day time hours only.

 

[h4ck]

sure, i suppose that can happen..it's never happened to me however (obviously scam emails aside) -- but the rest of it i haven't. i also am not going to pay ebay 200 dollars in fees either - (last time i tried selling an iphone on ebay between ebay and paypal (same company at the the time) it simply wasn't worth it. i sold it locally for like 200 dollars more and didn't pay any fees. im also not really in a hurry to sell it either, my 5s will find a good home soon enough.

When I tried selling my iPhone 5 on CL I got about 20 of the usual "I'll pay you $100 extra if you send it to my brother/father/sister/uncle in south america" scam messages, then I made 3 "appointments" to meet 3 "I DEFINITELY WANT IT" buyers at the local mall of which 2 never showed and the 3rd offered me 1/2 of what he agreed to pay (it was in A+++ condition) so I wasted probably 4 hours of my time. I REALLY don't see what is so great about CL other than the fact there are no fees. There are as many scams coming from there as anywhere and you have to actually meet up with these people who half the time don't show.

I did sell an iPad Mini 1 via CL and (other than the usual scam emails) the actual mall meet-up went well but it really is just as much of a hassle (other than fees) as with eBay.

Maybe where you live they are more reliable but not around here (NJ/NYC area).

Funny part was, ultimately I sold it here on MacRumors for a fair price but that isn't the point. I've sold numerous iPhones on eBay without issue other than the 15-18% it costs in fees & shipping which aren't much worse then the hassles of the "meetings in the mall" (or wherever) required of CL.

 

[MacManTexas56]

Just received my Oakley's! When should I expect the extra lenses and cleaning cloth's? I know you haven't had time to respond yet, but I opened a buyer protection case anyway and initiated a chargeback.

Please advise.

Oh, and since you can't leave me negative feedback, I left some for you. Neener neener.

Thanks!!!

.

 

[Gizmotoy]

They did this to be in line with Credit Card chargeback rules (which are also 180 days).

My final straw selling on eBay came when I had documented proof that the buyer received the item as described, he admitted in writing he received the item as described, he lost a case with eBay buyer protection (I was shocked, but they sided with me), and he still was able to file a chargeback on the 179th day (and sent me a mocking email about it).

I completely understand how some people feel they "protect" themselves by doing XYZ. I used to too. The reality is, it's just a matter of WHEN you run into a scammer that can exploit the system. If it hasn't happened to you yet I'm happy for you, but that doesn't mean it won't.

eBay and PayPal protect the BUYER. Period. If they happen to protect the seller in the process of protecting the buyer, it may look like they care about the seller, but that isn't their priority.

I love buying on eBay. As a buyer you are COMPLETELY bulletproof.

As a seller? Well, you can only dodge bullets for so long. The system is set up so that you WILL get screwed eventually. It might take years, but it'll happen.

Exactly this. I got into an argument on here about getting scammed out of a laptop even after I did everything "right." Some guy went on and on about how I was lying and must have made some mistake, even going so far as to post my comments on his website to mock. I was vindicated many months later when I saw a post that he got taken for a ton of money, and eventually took my comments down from his site. It was hard to resist the urge to gloat.

I only sell on CraigsList now, but that brings its own issues, as others have mentioned. If you can get someone to actually show up you're usually good, but I seem to have to deal with 5 jerks who won't even spend the 3 seconds it takes to text me they're not coming before I get someone to actually come buy the thing.

 

[ssl0408]

Exactly this. I got into an argument on here about getting scammed out of a laptop even after I did everything "right." Some guy went on and on about how I was lying and must have made some mistake, even going so far as to post my comments on his website to mock. I was vindicated many months later when I saw a post that he got taken for a ton of money, and eventually took my comments down from his site. It was hard to resist the urge to gloat.

I only sell on CraigsList now, but that brings its own issues, as others have mentioned. If you can get someone to actually show up you're usually good, but I seem to have to deal with 5 jerks who won't even spend the 3 seconds it takes to text me they're not coming before I get someone to actually come buy the thing.

Criagslist is a pain in the butt; that's why I sold my 5S to AT&t for $300.
Sure I could have gotten $50 or $75 more, but why deal with the headaches? I got tired of the lowballers that were contacting me as if I were desperate to sell it.

 

[Gizmotoy]

Criagslist is a pain in the butt; that's why I sold my 5S to AT&t for $300.
Sure I could have gotten $50 or $75 more, but why deal with the headaches? I got tired of the lowballers that were contacting me as if I were desperate to sell it.

The lowballers are annoying, but it's easy enough to just counter with something close to your asking by email. That takes little of my time.

Driving to a meeting place and waiting while someone never shows up, in contrast, does waste my time and anger me.