If the phone won't power on how will you be able to check the serial number or the imei? I share the same concerns that you have. I have heard of the scam that you describe happening to others. I would also check for water damage on the returned phone.
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Sold iPhone on eBay & Buyer says its faulty. Accepting the return
- Thread starter bobbytallant
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Just a quick update on this. Not great news as expected.
It looks to be at least the same housing that has been returned - but yes it is faulty. The iPhone when plugged in to the wall shows the apple logo for around 10 seconds then shuts off. I cannot even plug it into my mac via usb as it does not even show the apple logo - no response from itunes - tried tinyumbrella also and nada.
Not quite sure what else to say. This is a phone that was 100% functional on Monday, having been running perfect for over 2 years. I post it very very well packaged in its box to the guy who receives it Tuesday, saying it does not work.
And now I receive it back lol.
The buyer has a purchase history of buying iPhone parts (not wholly but you can see this evidence in his purchase history) - but nevertheless to speculate that he has taken the phone apart and swapped my good iPhone 3G parts for his bad iPhone 3G parts is a bit of a stretch (on paper). I'm not sure ebay/paypal would listen to this.
But I am just gobsmacked that this is now faulty - like I would personally say I am certain that he has done something to it. Proving this could be a different matter.
I am not overly clued up about the process of dismantling the iPhone.
I think I would be better just cutting my losses and selling it as faulty dead (I think I could recoup £50 hopefully by doing this).
The sad fact is that this has simply been returned to me in a condition that it was not sent in. I have photo's to prove everything prior to posting but there is just no way for me to prove that this guy has done something to it (I don't think).
I mean, the fault is something that I am not sure can occur in transit.
It seems to be a similar fault as to what is described here:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/814564/
If anyone has any ideas at all as to how I could perhaps salvage this phone and or if they have any advice as to how to progress with this it would be appreciated.
Im afraid this looks like one of those standard ebay horror stories you here but hope it never happens to you. Im just glad in a way it was only an iPhone 3G I sold as a pose to a newer iPhone 4 or something...
It looks to be at least the same housing that has been returned - but yes it is faulty. The iPhone when plugged in to the wall shows the apple logo for around 10 seconds then shuts off. I cannot even plug it into my mac via usb as it does not even show the apple logo - no response from itunes - tried tinyumbrella also and nada.
Not quite sure what else to say. This is a phone that was 100% functional on Monday, having been running perfect for over 2 years. I post it very very well packaged in its box to the guy who receives it Tuesday, saying it does not work.
And now I receive it back lol.
The buyer has a purchase history of buying iPhone parts (not wholly but you can see this evidence in his purchase history) - but nevertheless to speculate that he has taken the phone apart and swapped my good iPhone 3G parts for his bad iPhone 3G parts is a bit of a stretch (on paper). I'm not sure ebay/paypal would listen to this.
But I am just gobsmacked that this is now faulty - like I would personally say I am certain that he has done something to it. Proving this could be a different matter.
I am not overly clued up about the process of dismantling the iPhone.
I think I would be better just cutting my losses and selling it as faulty dead (I think I could recoup £50 hopefully by doing this).
The sad fact is that this has simply been returned to me in a condition that it was not sent in. I have photo's to prove everything prior to posting but there is just no way for me to prove that this guy has done something to it (I don't think).
I mean, the fault is something that I am not sure can occur in transit.
It seems to be a similar fault as to what is described here:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/814564/
If anyone has any ideas at all as to how I could perhaps salvage this phone and or if they have any advice as to how to progress with this it would be appreciated.
Im afraid this looks like one of those standard ebay horror stories you here but hope it never happens to you. Im just glad in a way it was only an iPhone 3G I sold as a pose to a newer iPhone 4 or something...
Why I like Craigslist. I demand we meet inside an ATT store. They are great in there. Might get a smaller price than on ebay, but its sold, you have the cash and the deal is done. They cant take it back or pull anything. Your inside an ATT store so any questions or concerns about the phone can be answered in there. And really after factor in posting fees, paypal fees, shipping hassle and worrying if they are going to scam you, worth losing a few extra bucks for peace of mind. At least for me anyway.
@bobbytallant, thats sucks what happened. Iv heard of to many stories about eBay scams. That's why I don't sell and rarely buy anything on their.
Craigslist is definitely the way to go. I sold many iPhones through it. When I meet the buyer in person at a public place, I usually bring a few friends with me. You don't get top dollar for it but hey, it's a quick cash deal. All the people who I sold to were all resellers, which doesn't bother me. As long as I get what I paid for it, i'm happy.
Craigslist is definitely the way to go. I sold many iPhones through it. When I meet the buyer in person at a public place, I usually bring a few friends with me. You don't get top dollar for it but hey, it's a quick cash deal. All the people who I sold to were all resellers, which doesn't bother me. As long as I get what I paid for it, i'm happy.
Yeah thanks for the advice re Craigslist. Here in the UK the closest thing we have to that is Gumtree which is actually eBay owned lol but yes, same principle, local cash deals only. With me being so set up on eBay I guess I felt confident about selling on there, but hey lesson learned I guess.
Just a quick update re the actual phone I have received back - all may not be lost.
Basically I tried plugging it in to my mac this morning but got no action from it. I could only see the apple logo when plugged in to the wall. Anyway I have managed to put it in to recovery mode successfully and itunes now recognises it (in recovery mode) - although no action on the iphone screen as yet.
Just a quick update re the actual phone I have received back - all may not be lost.
Basically I tried plugging it in to my mac this morning but got no action from it. I could only see the apple logo when plugged in to the wall. Anyway I have managed to put it in to recovery mode successfully and itunes now recognises it (in recovery mode) - although no action on the iphone screen as yet.
Can you take it to an Apple store to have them check it out? You never know what might happen there so I think it would be worth a shot. Just explain the situation and see if they can prove/disprove anything about the phone. If it's been tampered with/opened, they should be able to determine that. At the very least they should be able to tell you why the phone isn't working and maybe they can get it operational to some extent.
Seeing as how he's bought numerous iPhone parts before, he's probably well versed in taking the phone apart and swapping/replacing parts. Seems shady to me
Seeing as how he's bought numerous iPhone parts before, he's probably well versed in taking the phone apart and swapping/replacing parts. Seems shady to me
Can you take it to an Apple store to have them check it out? You never know what might happen there so I think it would be worth a shot. Just explain the situation and see if they can prove/disprove anything about the phone. If it's been tampered with/opened, they should be able to determine that. At the very least they should be able to tell you why the phone isn't working and maybe they can get it operational to some extent.
Seeing as how he's bought numerous iPhone parts before, he's probably well versed in taking the phone apart and swapping/replacing parts. Seems shady to me
Yeah I am very skeptical still. I did speak with ebay and they eluded to the fact that he would most likely win a dispute case nevertheless against me for a significantly not as described item (given his complaints).
The ebay lady did say I could appeal this decision and if I won, ebay would pay me out of their pocket.
I kind of pushed them on how likely such an appeal would be of being successful. This could be helpful for others who pursue this: She said you basically need to prove that it has been tampered with. She said this could consist of, perhaps photographing the item and showing the scratches, the screws, something to prove it has been changed she said. The advisor actually got stopped by her supervisor whilst she was saying this and said 'sorry I have gone too far there' (as in she had said too much about the process already). Quite funny in the end really that phone call.
Personally I am not going to bother with this process. I am not 100% sure I will win and I kind of have too much to lose in terms of my ebay feedback and I think I can salvage something from this iphone anyway. I am praying he has not tampered with the hardware and just hope he has tried to do a jailbreak / unlock and put in a recovery loop.
Incidentally, does anyone have a good guide to go from to get out of the recovery? The phone was on 05.15.04 and 4.2.1 before I sent it away but god knows what it is on now lol. Ive asked this question on the iphone help forum on here also...
Meeting at an AT&T store. Brilliant idea! Plan on using that in the future. Going to be selling a Nexus 1, and I will use your idea and meet at AT&T. Thanks!
I feel for you bobbytallant. I second this notion of taking to an Apple store and explaining the situation. They might even do it all for free (fingers-crossed) because the possibility of your phone arriving DOA is, IMO, non-existent.
I'd appeal the return with ebay and send them everything all the photos you've got. Hopefully if Apple opens it up they can tell immediately that some parts have been swapped, and that would be a slum dunk.
well i would go to the apple store and have them check it out. they can tell if it was tampered with either software wise or hardware wise. Why let him get away with it?
it will not cost you a dime.
Also never, never accept returns regardless. Can stipulate in you auction the terms of the sale. Just choose no returns accepted with the item you are selling. The auction is a contract that is binding and when they agree to buy your item are bound by your terms, not theirs.
it will not cost you a dime.
Also never, never accept returns regardless. Can stipulate in you auction the terms of the sale. Just choose no returns accepted with the item you are selling. The auction is a contract that is binding and when they agree to buy your item are bound by your terms, not theirs.
I left ebay like 2 years ago because of scams just like this. I sent someone something and then they turn around and say it doesn't work and file a complaint with paypal and ebay and they always side with the buyer like almost always. There is allot of scams on ebay now. I just don't buy or sell there anymore because of it,and as a seller I think you can only leave positive feedback to the buyer but the buyer can leave you negative feedback. I don't know if it's still like that though and that was one of the things I hated about ebay. It wasn't like that before.
Thanks guys yeah might see what apple make of it Ive bought a new MBA & MBP in the last 6 months from them so they may show some sympathy on me lol.
Yeah I can put it in dfu mode and itunes sees it (your iphone is in recovery)... I've been trying everything but without knowing what the guy did with the phone I am simply guessing - the hardware could still be different Im not sure. The apple logo comes on only when plugged in the wall then it vanishes after about 10 seconds. iPhone screen is blank when connected to my mac via usb. I was surprised I got any reaction from it at all to be honest - Im kind of hopeful that because I can get it in DFU mode something can be salvaged.
I keep getting the 1600/1601 error in itunes which I have been told can stem from a number of issues with the iPhone.
So far I have tried using ireb, tinyumbrella, fixrecovery, sn0wbreeze and I keep hitting the same error when restoring... either 1600 or 1601.
Ive been scowering these forums for answers but ultimately again I am guessing (partly because I am not sure what the buyer did with it and partly because I am not really sure what I am doing lol).
But hey will keep trying I guess... Its quite fun having a little side project like this really haha
Actually rather than take up 2 threads, if anyone does have knowledge on this issue with the phone specifically with the 1600/1601 errors, I created a thread here (really any help would be appreciated):
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=13352464&posted=1#post13352464
Thanks again guys.
The last time I saw that symptom was from a bad JB. The buyer may have tried to JB the phone, messed it up, and is now trying to to blame it on bad HW. I suspect that your phone is fine, but you may need to do a DFU restore once you get it back. You shouldn't need any JB tools for the restore so long as you are trying to get back to stock. In fact some of those tools can make the restore more difficult by modifying your host files. 16xx errors are usually USB communication problems. If you have trouble restoring, try doing from a different machine or reinstalling iTunes.
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Yes it checked out although yeah this is just the sim tray - think I could be going crazy but the back seemed a bit springy, slightly loose but I could be wrong with this...
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Yeah I actually have the phone back now. As I say I can get it in to DFU mode with it but I am at somewhat of a loss as what to do next. I've gotten an iphone out of a recovery loop before but this 1600/1601 itunes error just seems more serious to me, I'm in deep lol.
Dude, you should have called apple a few days ago when you got the phone back. They don't have the highest rated customer service in the nation for nothing and would be much more knowledgeable about your problem than most here on these boards.
Buying is safe on ebay, selling is extremely unsafe because the rules are all tipped in favor of the buyer.
It evens out in the end... since eBay started out very much in favor of the seller.
Don't refund his money until you have verified that this is the phone you sold to him.
Does he have feedback of his own?
You tested the phone before shipping? The buyer verified that the packaging was not damaged in shipping? The phone did not start up or allow him to connect to iTunes and activate, so he returned it for a refund? He has a history of bad feedback on ebay? These are pretty serious questions and I would not refund until I thoroughly examined the phone. If it has been opened up or tampered with or damaged, I would contact the shipper and file a claim. They will do their own investigation as to what happened. I suspect that the buyer either tampered with it or had buyers remorse.
You can't swap out guts in an iPhone without rupturing the tamper seal on the inside (the little black sticker over one of the screws), so it should be straightforward to see whether or not it was tampered with. If it was switched out, file an appeal. If it wasn't, why would a buyer destroy a working phone only to send it back? Sociopaths haven't gotten into online sales, have they?