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Too good to be true?

iModFrenzy

iModFrenzy

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 15, 2015
896
873
Kamino
Last night, I was going through eBay. I was looking at some iPhone 3GS/2G/3G and then a stumbled across one that stood out.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-iPhon...471201a&pid=100009&rk=1&rkt=1&sd=321959718518

[Mods not my auction]
Old iPhones usually go for a few hundred now unopened, so seeing an auction for one at 59.40$ kinda shocked me. I bought one, worst comes to worst I have to open a case up with eBay.

What do you guys think?
 
Anyone notice the fake sticker on the bottom? That's definitely a fake iPhone, or a rewrapped one at the very least.
Also the missing storage capacity on top as well as the box contents.
 
Cergman said:
Anyone notice the fake sticker on the bottom? That's definitely a fake iPhone, or a rewrapped one at the very least.
Also the missing storage capacity on top as well as the box contents.
Click to expand...
Correct. The box is all wrong and the shrink wrap is not up to Apples standards. Here is the bottom of my iPhone 3G box. Looks different. I don't have the phone anymore so I don't care what info is shown on the label. It was sold many years ago.
IMG_9874.JPG
 
I'm more weary of their heavy use of Comic Sans than the obviously fake shrink wrap. There is nothing "new" or "unopened" about that box.
 
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"New other (see details): A new, unused item with absolutely no signs of wear. The item may be missing the original packaging, or in the original packaging but not sealed. The item may be a factory second or a new, unused item with defects. See the seller’s listing for full details and description of any imperfections."

If it doesn't come with the original box, no big deal to me. "A new, unused item with absolutely no signs of wear" is what I expect. The seller also has a good rep., one buyer who got this item in particular gave a positive review. There are no neutral or negative reviews for the iPhone 3G.
covtbyx.png


I went through 10 pages of feedback, all positive, I found 2 negatives. The negatives had nothing to do with a bad device,damaged,etc just carrier issues.
 
iModFrenzy said:
"New other (see details): A new, unused item with absolutely no signs of wear. The item may be missing the original packaging, or in the original packaging but not sealed. The item may be a factory second or a new, unused item with defects. See the seller’s listing for full details and description of any imperfections."

If it doesn't come with the original box, no big deal to me. "A new, unused item with absolutely no signs of wear" is what I expect. The seller also has a good rep., one buyer who got this item in particular gave a positive review. There are no neutral or negative reviews for the iPhone 3G.
covtbyx.png


I went through 10 pages of feedback, all positive, I found 2 negatives. The negatives had nothing to do with a bad device,damaged,etc just carrier issues.
Click to expand...
Well if you want it, buy it. It's not a lot of money to lose if something does happen. I personally wouldn't buy a phone that old now. I have a 3GS and it's just entirely too slow for me these days.
 
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That looks repackaged. In fact, the box on display is not original packaging. The phone has clearly been used.
 
Last edited:
Stevessvt said:
Change the Reviews to Most Critical reviews. Many are saying its carrier locked to AT&T, not to mention many apps wont work on it any more because of the old IOS thats not up dated any more.

http://www.ebay.com/urw/product-reviews/100014203?_itm=151918327461&sort=+rating
Click to expand...

I am more than well aware that it is on a old iOS that isn't updated. That doesn't stop me from getting apps tho. I got more than 20+ games on my iPhone 2G(Dead Space,Fruit Ninja,etc).

My carrier is AT&T so that isn't an issue for me. :)
 
VertPin said:
That looks repackaged. In fact, the box on display is not original packaging. The phone has clearly been used.
Click to expand...

Even if it is repackaged, that doesn't mean it's not in perfect condition. The seller stated this in the details.

We can't assume it's been used until it arrives. The seller has a lot of good feedback, he also sells brand new iPhone 4/4Ss which have positive feedback.
 
The seller has over 5.5 THOUSAND rating with 98% being positive. They sell all sorts of tech. IMO its entirely possible these were leftover units that just didn't pass the test (in terms of the way boxes looked). As far as the sticker on the bottom, I have no idea wht stickers of phones from foreign countries look like. This isn't an obvious fake IMO, as some are calling it
 
ABC5S said:
Well, stop posting and just buy it.
Click to expand...

Already did, I wrote that in the first post.

lordofthereef said:
The seller has over 5.5 THOUSAND rating with 98% being positive. They sell all sorts of tech. IMO its entirely possible these were leftover units that just didn't pass the test (in terms of the way boxes looked). As far as the sticker on the bottom, I have no idea wht stickers of phones from foreign countries look like. This isn't an obvious fake IMO, as some are calling it
Click to expand...

The sticker on the box of this iPhone looks a lot like the one of my Galaxy S3, Pantech phone. All AT&T.
 
Cergman said:
Anyone notice the fake sticker on the bottom? That's definitely a fake iPhone, or a rewrapped one at the very least.
Also the missing storage capacity on top as well as the box contents.
Click to expand...

The sticker looked fake to me, too, so I did a little Googling. The part number on the sticker should have been shown ending in "/A". Notice the part number on the real Apple sticker in post #7 has that "/A" suffix.

It looks like they used "Settings>General>About" from the phone itself to get the information for the sticker. The giveaway is the specification of "MB702LL" for the part number. The Apple Part number should end in /A (or a letter greater than A) indicating a generation.

According to:

http://www.everyi.com/ipod-iphone-i...bers-for-ipod-iphone-ipad-identification.html

iOS 5 and earlier omitted the "/A" suffix in the model number field in "Settings>General>About", and it was restored in iOS 6 and later. iOS 4.1.2 is the last version that runs on the 3G.
 
It's likely reconditioned or refurbished to "like new" condition by the seller and then repackaged. Most reviews will be positive since most people can't tell the difference or don't care as long as it looks good and works properly.

Don't expect it to actually be a new unit though.
 
Well it came!

Unboxed it, iPhone 3G was in great condition. I was really amazed. No scratches,dents,scuffs. Continuing into the box, there was the little tips guide, and the OEM accessories. I honestly thought they would throw in some cheap knock-off charger plug/cord, I inspected it and they were genuine.

Plugging it in, I was greeted with the famous charging logo. Few minutes later. It booted, I was greeted with iOS 4.2.1. My friend(Lightbulbfan) quickly pointed out that it should be running iOS 2 not 4. So, it ain't new I guess but it definitely feels like.

All in all, happy that I bought this 3G(new or not). I downloaded a ton of iPAs for iOS 3/4 and I am installing'em right now.
 
EdisEdward said:
Why are people still interested in the iphone 3g ? Why do they sell for a few hundred
Click to expand...

Collectibility. Real, factory shrink wrapped 1st Gen iPhones are up for thousands on eBay. Will they get that much? Probably not. 3Gs are in that 'throw in the trash' territory between being useful and $100 cause it's 'rare'.
 
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