Sold iPhone, buyer saying it's activation locked...am I being scammed?

[bufffilm]

Tough lesson to learn...avoid eBay for iphones (and iPads too for that matter).

Hope it turns out alright, but it doesn't sound like it will. Won't be the last time a seller will get scammed on eBay...will you be next?

 

[KillaMac]

eBay + PayPal is not worth it selling phones, I'd rather send them into recycling websites and lose £50 than potentially lose a phone and money (this happened to me with my 5S back in 2014).

This is why Swappa is a better place with paypal.

 

[Applejuiced]

After over 600 good ebay sales i got three non payers in a row. One even wanted me to send the item and he promised to make payments. Too many new eBay members that can hardly speak English to the point where communications is difficult. They do not know thew rules and eBay does little to punish them. Back to Craig's List and it is working great! You walk away with the money and the deal is done.

Lol
He wanted to make payments?
Yes, just send me the iphone now and I promise I pay you little by little.

 

[janeauburn]

eBay has been treacherous for sellers for many years now. It's a pity. But I avoid it. All a buyer has to do is lie, and you, as seller, are out your product and your money. Yes, there's a dispute process, but in all likelihood sellers lose.

 

[Zaft]

The last phone I sold on ebay was my 6 Plus a half year ago.
No issues and never have had issues but I think I wont sell on Ebay anymore after these stories.

How is swappa better exactly?

 

[yeedawg]

I might be late to the conversation, but when you turn off find my iPhone on a device, apple sends you an email informing you.

 

[Newtons Apple]

Lol
He wanted to make payments?
Yes, just send me the iphone now and I promise I pay you little by little.

I thought it was a joke but he was serious. No more eBay for me.

 

[gdjsnyder]

Wow - blast from the past. The issue I had still bothers me so much that I still have my 6s Plus and my SO's 6s Plus sitting in their boxes because I don't even want to think of the hassle selling them! Anyway, to the person who this is happening to, I am so sorry and I know what you're going through. Since the buyer has submitted a return request, you will have no choice but to go through with it. Make sure you document yourself receiving and opening the returned package from the buyer. Who knows if it would be proof enough in case he sends you something incorrectly back, but it's better than having nothing!

In my case, I know mine was a scam as when the package had been sent, I had logged onto the activation lock website and knew it was unlocked, and when my buyer received it, it was locked and I immediately got an e-mail that led to the situation. When I got it back, the phone was not locked and everything was as it was supposed to be, so he just wanted a refund or wanted to scam me but I think he realized I had a lot of documentation and knew what I was talking about.

As others here are suggesting, there is some kind of bug now that will lock certain phones to an Apple ID that was never associated with the phone. I don't know much about that, but others have provided links and I would encourage you to look at them. It's hard not to think the absolute worst in this situation, but try to remain as positive as you can. I did not about my situation, but in the end I got the phone back and it wasn't locked, so sometimes you assume the worst and get better results!

As long as you have your original documents that you owned the phone, Apple will unlock the phone for you. So if he sends it back to you and it's locked, go to Apple and start the process. Also, make sure you do NOT refund the buyer until you receive the phone and verify it is yours and everything is how you originally sent it. If something is off, contact eBay immediately upon receiving the phone and inspecting it.

Good luck with this, if there is anything I can do to assist you please do not hesitate to PM me or reply to this thread. I will keep an eye on it (even if you just need moral support - trust me, the situation sucks when you know you wiped the phone/did everything the right way).

 

[iApple_man]

Wow - blast from the past. The issue I had still bothers me so much that I still have my 6s Plus and my SO's 6s Plus sitting in their boxes because I don't even want to think of the hassle selling them! Anyway, to the person who this is happening to, I am so sorry and I know what you're going through. Since the buyer has submitted a return request, you will have no choice but to go through with it. Make sure you document yourself receiving and opening the returned package from the buyer. Who knows if it would be proof enough in case he sends you something incorrectly back, but it's better than having nothing!

In my case, I know mine was a scam as when the package had been sent, I had logged onto the activation lock website and knew it was unlocked, and when my buyer received it, it was locked and I immediately got an e-mail that led to the situation. When I got it back, the phone was not locked and everything was as it was supposed to be, so he just wanted a refund or wanted to scam me but I think he realized I had a lot of documentation and knew what I was talking about.

As others here are suggesting, there is some kind of bug now that will lock certain phones to an Apple ID that was never associated with the phone. I don't know much about that, but others have provided links and I would encourage you to look at them. It's hard not to think the absolute worst in this situation, but try to remain as positive as you can. I did not about my situation, but in the end I got the phone back and it wasn't locked, so sometimes you assume the worst and get better results!

As long as you have your original documents that you owned the phone, Apple will unlock the phone for you. So if he sends it back to you and it's locked, go to Apple and start the process. Also, make sure you do NOT refund the buyer until you receive the phone and verify it is yours and everything is how you originally sent it. If something is off, contact eBay immediately upon receiving the phone and inspecting it.

Good luck with this, if there is anything I can do to assist you please do not hesitate to PM me or reply to this thread. I will keep an eye on it (even if you just need moral support - trust me, the situation sucks when you know you wiped the phone/did everything the right way).

Nice of you to respond like this let alone give an update. I stuck with just being a eBay buyer after PayPal held my money for a week even after I proved tracking and delivery. This was back in 2013. Selling phones now is horrendous obviously.

I said that to say this, have you tried going to Gamestop? No it's not a huge sale but you do get back a decent amount. You avoid the pressures of selling and scams. eBay takes a % anyways as well. Try Gamestop.

 

[bufffilm]

Wow - blast from the past. The issue I had still bothers me so much that I still have my 6s Plus and my SO's 6s Plus sitting in their boxes because I don't even want to think of the hassle selling them! Anyway, to the person who this is happening to, I am so sorry and I know what you're going through. Since the buyer has submitted a return request, you will have no choice but to go through with it. Make sure you document yourself receiving and opening the returned package from the buyer. Who knows if it would be proof enough in case he sends you something incorrectly back, but it's better than having nothing!

In my case, I know mine was a scam as when the package had been sent, I had logged onto the activation lock website and knew it was unlocked, and when my buyer received it, it was locked and I immediately got an e-mail that led to the situation. When I got it back, the phone was not locked and everything was as it was supposed to be, so he just wanted a refund or wanted to scam me but I think he realized I had a lot of documentation and knew what I was talking about.

As others here are suggesting, there is some kind of bug now that will lock certain phones to an Apple ID that was never associated with the phone. I don't know much about that, but others have provided links and I would encourage you to look at them. It's hard not to think the absolute worst in this situation, but try to remain as positive as you can. I did not about my situation, but in the end I got the phone back and it wasn't locked, so sometimes you assume the worst and get better results!

As long as you have your original documents that you owned the phone, Apple will unlock the phone for you. So if he sends it back to you and it's locked, go to Apple and start the process. Also, make sure you do NOT refund the buyer until you receive the phone and verify it is yours and everything is how you originally sent it. If something is off, contact eBay immediately upon receiving the phone and inspecting it.

Good luck with this, if there is anything I can do to assist you please do not hesitate to PM me or reply to this thread. I will keep an eye on it (even if you just need moral support - trust me, the situation sucks when you know you wiped the phone/did everything the right way).

Yeah, provided you have ownership details...Apple should be able to remove the lock.

Sell the phone afterwards face-to-face. May not get top dollar, but you will never have to deal with this bull**** again.

 

[KillaMac]

Nice of you to respond like this let alone give an update. I stuck with just being a eBay buyer after PayPal held my money for a week even after I proved tracking and delivery. This was back in 2013. Selling phones now is horrendous obviously.

I said that to say this, have you tried going to Gamestop? No it's not a huge sale but you do get back a decent amount. You avoid the pressures of selling and scams. eBay takes a % anyways as well. Try Gamestop.

I've sold at least 20 phones on SWAPPA and never one issue. They are much better than ebay people.

 

[newellj]

I'm definitely not suggesting that one case proves any kind of trend, but I am pretty sure I recall seeing a couple of threads like this involving Swappa, too. Sellers need to be cautious regardless of where they sell. Honestly, even when I sell phones on Craigslist, I always cross my fingers for a couple of days after I sell a phone, even if they can't hammer me with PayPal or eBay policies.

 

[Bootleg Gucci]

It's Better to Sell stuff on Craigslist, and Crooks to Steal stuff on eBay.

 

[clunkmess]

It's Better to Sell stuff on Craigslist, and Crooks to Steal stuff on eBay.

Craigslist has entirely different problems.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/11/0...ter-reportedly-was-trying-to-sell-iphone.html

 

[KillaMac]

Craigslist has entirely different problems.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/11/0...ter-reportedly-was-trying-to-sell-iphone.html

Agreed. CL has been known to even be worse. Most of the time getting stolen phones. Best to meet at wireless provider before you pay for it, have them check it out with no contract or black list.

I only buy from people on swappa with a rating that is good. Just be smart about it.

 

[newellj]

If I was buying, yes, I'd specify one of the wireless provider's stores. As a seller, I'm careful where I meet people, but the truth is I've never had a bad experience with Craigslist and only had two that were only so-so in ten years.

 

[Booloo]

I find eBay to be fantastic for selling iPhones. You get top dollar and all my experiences have been good. If anyone ever dealt with eBay or PayPal in the past couple years, I'm sure you can also vouch for them being cooperative too.

The iCloud issue is certainly a bug. Or was at least. I have a buddy this happened to after lending out a backup iPhone to family/friends enough times that this happened to him. Apple ID to the lock didn't correspond to anyone who used the phone.

If you're selling a phone on eBay, or anywhere honestly, disable Find my iPhone, factory reset and then go through the entire set up as a new phone. If that goes good, reset again and send it off.

 

[Applejuiced]

I find eBay to be fantastic for selling iPhones. You get top dollar and all my experiences have been good. If anyone ever dealt with eBay or PayPal in the past couple years, I'm sure you can also vouch for them being cooperative too.

The iCloud issue is certainly a bug. Or was at least. I have a buddy this happened to after lending out a backup iPhone to family/friends enough times that this happened to him. Apple ID to the lock didn't correspond to anyone who used the phone.

If you're selling a phone on eBay, or anywhere honestly, disable Find my iPhone, factory reset and then go through the entire set up as a new phone. If that goes good, reset again and send it off.

Wait till you get scammed then you'll see how fantastic eBay is

 

[noobinator]

Yep. eBay is awesome until it happens to you. I lost $1200 a few years ago and only buy low priced things on eBay now. I use it for nothing else. I am even somewhat scared of swappa too since they give buyers six months to complain.

 

[KillaMac]

Yep. eBay is awesome until it happens to you. I lost $1200 a few years ago and only buy low priced things on eBay now. I use it for nothing else. I am even somewhat scared of swappa too since they give buyers six months to complain.

Swappa doesn't give buyers that long. Paypal does.

 

[Pez555]

would never even think about selling my phone on eBay. Can get much more selling privately when you consider the fees you have to pay afterwards.

Tough lesson but glad you got out of it relatively unscathed.

 

[Will22]

Agree about avoiding eBay for selling iphones .. I was going to sell a 5c on eBay recently but luckily found someone at work who wanted one and sold it them instead. Helped them set it up at work so I knew it was all working correctly when I took their money.

It is possible though that some of these suspected scams are actually the activation lock problem that's been occurring lately where another account is locked to your device!

I would use eBay only for buying now.

I sold my iP6 for £400 a few weeks ago on Gumtree which is like Craigslist and the buyer reset the phone and set it up with his own Apple ID while we were discussing the price of the cases he bought from me as well.

I wouldn't have it any other way whether I was buying or selling.

 

[Newjackboy]

Is this random Apple ID bug still happening when resetting your iPhone?

 

[robertopod1968]

In my case a person bought a phone from me, about a month later reported it stolen to get a new one from Asurion. When he did that Asurion locks the imei. Then he filed a claim with eBay/Paypal saying the phone was locked when he got it. After fighting it for a month, and since he sent me a now worthless phone back, they told me tough crap and removed the money from my bank account. Never used eBay again. They only protect the buyers.

 

[akash.nu]

In my case a person bought a phone from me, about a month later reported it stolen to get a new one from Asurion. When he did that Asurion locks the imei. Then he filed a claim with eBay/Paypal saying the phone was locked when he got it. After fighting it for a month, and since he sent me a now worthless phone back, they told me tough crap and removed the money from my bank account. Never used eBay again. They only protect the buyers.

This is why I never use eBay. In fact I haven't sold any of my phones since the 4S days. Just can't be bothered.