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Trying to sell my unopened iPhone4

S

spsmith22

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 31, 2011
17
0
I'm about to sell my iphone 4 on ebay because I had the AT&T upgrade available and I'm perfectly happy with my JB 3G. I'm now worried that selling an unopened Iphone to a stranger could be problematic. I'm guessing there's a sim card in the unopened box and I'm wondering if the buyer who receives it can activate the phone upon purchasing. If they do activate it with an included sim card will it have my information attached to it?

I was planning on selling it unopened because I thought it would have more value, but if the sim card / activation will be problematic, I'm wondering if I would be better off opening the thing and jailbreaking it - while also removing the sim card. I'd like to also unluck it before selling but I'm hearing that this new iphone 4's firmware/baseband isn't quite ready to be unlocked.

Can anyone please help me before I do something potentially stupid?

Thanks in advance,
sps

EDIT: I still have my own sim card in my 3G and the upgrade was attached to a new 2yr contract. The new iphone4 that I want to sell is completely unopened and may or may not have a sim card in it as far as I know.
 
You're sticking with a 3G and burning your upgrade and locking yourself into two more years of it?

Please tell me you're kidding. You realize that 4.X is the end of the road for the 3G right?
 
tempusfugit said:
You're sticking with a 3G and burning your upgrade and locking yourself into two more years of it?

Please tell me you're kidding. You realize that 4.X is the end of the road for the 3G right?
Click to expand...

I figured that since the iphone 5 w/4G is likely to come out later this year along with an iphone 4 with 4G, I'd probably be eligible for another iphone upgrade sometime early next year. Money's a little tight so If I can make $400 extra on the deal it's worth it to me.

Can you help with the problem?
 
When did you purchase the iPhone 4? That way someone here can give you an approximation of what firmware the phone is on. There is no sim card present in an unopened box.

Also, if you're planning to sell this on eBay, you might want to open up the box to verify its contents and make sure the phone is operational. Take some pics of everything inside. You don't want someone dishonest returning to you something that you didn't sell to them.
 
Applejuiced said:
Actually the microsim is already placed inside the unopened boxed iphone 4.
You just activate it thru itunes when you plug it in.
Click to expand...

So if the new owner tries to activate it with their itunes will it affect me and the sim in my own current iphone?
 
spsmith22 said:
So if the new owner tries to activate it with their itunes will it affect me and the sim in my own current iphone?
Click to expand...

Not 100% bro.
Some say that the device is tied up to your account and will need to be first activated thru you by using your billing zip code and last 4 of your social for the initial activation.
And others have no problem popping out the stock microsim and using their sim to activate it. Seems to be tricky but I heard many stories where people got a sealed i4 and could not activate it or use it at all.
 
spsmith22 said:
So if the new owner tries to activate it with their itunes will it affect me and the sim in my own current iphone?
Click to expand...

No, why would it. The new iPhone 4 comes with a new/unprogrammed microSIM. Your account can only be active on a one SIM at a time, which is a SIM in your old 3G.

Don't open it, just sell it sealed. If you just bought it - it's pretty much guaranteed to be pre-loaded with 4.2.1. Which means you won't be able to JB it untethered anyway.
 
Yeah, don't open it. With 4.2.1 presently not unlockable, its more valuable unopened.

On a side note, I hope you're a seasoned ebayer.. peddling iphones is freeeakin PITA...
 
noiceT said:
Yeah, don't open it. With 4.2.1 presently not unlockable, its more valuable unopened.

On a side note, I hope you're a seasoned ebayer.. peddling iphones is freeeakin PITA...
Click to expand...

I'm not a novice, but probably not seasoned either. What should I be careful of?
 
dont sell to anyone outside the US. It's almost always a hassle.

As soon as the money is in your paypal account, transfer it out. So that paypal can't take it back from you.

send it with insurance ($600), and signature required.

only use fedex or UPS.

also I'm almost positive you have to activate it first under your account, and then clear the memory, remove the SIM, and then ship it. Check some previous threads on here about people purchasing sealed iphones.
 
Applejuiced said:
Scams, Nigerians, out of country shipping, make sure you have proof that the item was shipped and delivered to the seller etc....
Click to expand...

Adding to that, don't let 100% feedback with 50+ successful eBay transactions fool you. There's a lot of account kidnapping going on on eBay, especially in the high-value electronics marketplace.

Also be aware that PayPal sometimes places a hold on money until you have received positive feedback. Happened to me when I sold my MacBook 1.5 years ago… Not to be confused with faked PayPal and eBay emails that you may receive stating that your money will be on hold until you have submitted a tracking number to some address in Nigeria. ;)
 
fabian9 said:
Adding to that, don't let 100% feedback with 50+ successful eBay transactions fool you. There's a lot of account kidnapping going on on eBay, especially in the high-value electronics marketplace.

Also be aware that PayPal sometimes places a hold on money until you have received positive feedback. Happened to me when I sold my MacBook 1.5 years ago… Not to be confused with faked PayPal and eBay emails that you may receive stating that your money will be on hold until you have submitted a tracking number to some address in Nigeria. ;)
Click to expand...

Yep, there's tons of eBay scams.
Make sure you're extra careful, verify and have proof of everything.
 
spsmith22 said:
I'm not a novice, but probably not seasoned either. What should I be careful of?
Click to expand...

Also zero and low feedback buyers bidding ridiculously high amounts, putting the highest bid way out of the reach of legit buyers. The auction ends, you're stuck with steep seller fees, and the buyer deletes their account.
 
most these issues can be setup along with the auction you can set it up US only also you can set requirements for both feedback rating and low or no bidders can be excluded. of course you can also set a minimum requirements. I would look at auctions for unopened vs jailbroken and unlocked track at least 5-10 auctions at least so you can get a good average. also might throw it on craigslist locally when you get a good average you might sell it locally for cash without giving up paypal or ebay fees. If you do that meet them in a very public place coffee shop or the police station.
 
noiceT said:
Also zero and low feedback buyers bidding ridiculously high amounts, putting the highest bid way out of the reach of legit buyers. The auction ends, you're stuck with steep seller fees, and the buyer deletes their account.
Click to expand...
You're not stuck with fees. If the buyer deletes their account eBay refunds the fees even if no purchase is made (buyer backs out for ANY reason) you get back your fees. Takes a week or 2 but you do. eBay isn't as bad as most people make it if you are careful and sensible.

I always use BUY IT NOW with IMMEDIATE PAYMENT REQUIRED. Saves 99% of the problems and keeps out the scammers. Maybe I could have made another $50 as an auction but BIN with IPR is pretty much foolproof.
 
TB07-NJ said:
I always use BUY IT NOW with IMMEDIATE PAYMENT REQUIRED. Saves 99% of the problems and keeps out the scammers. Maybe I could have made another $50 as an auction but BIN with IPR is pretty much foolproof.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't go as far as saying it's foolproof. I've had scammers use BIN with IPR on my listings. You'd be surprised how quickly I had a fake PayPal Payment notification in my inbox! ;)
 
Try to sell it on craigslist -- much easier, no fees, meet local in a public place for safety, buyer puts cash directly into your hands.
 
I would sell on Craigslist if you are only looking for about $400 for it, less work and no eBay or PayPal fees
 
Craigslist is where its at.

You might deal with some wierd pple though. Just Sayn.
 
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