Advice needed with buying on Amazon

[SL6827]

I am looking to buy an new iPhone 6s through Amazon. Price point being between $330-$380. Not a cheap investment. So can anyone give me any advice on what the best method of doing this? Any and all advice is needed. Thanks!

 

[tarheel618]

I'm interested as well

 

[MamaBelle4]

Do you have a provider, like Verizon, that you would need to purchase a provider specific phone for?

I have bought on ebay before (might recommend that route as you can earn ebay bucks). I just looked for a seller with 100% positive rating and a good history and a NIB phone that was compatible with VZN network.

 

[SL6827]

I think the iPhone 6s are unlocked.

 

[Albort]

I think the iPhone 6s are unlocked.

All Verizon phones are unlocked but not ATT, sprint, and T-Mobile.

if ur looking for a good deal and u have time to wait, I suggest going over to slickdeals.net, create an account, make an alert and wait.

 

[HeatherC]

You may want to also consider the Apple Store online refurbished ones. They are pretty much brand new and come with the exact same warranty as buying a new phone direct from Apple.

We have purchased numerous devices this way and have NEVER had an issue with any of the products.

If you go to their website and scroll all the way to the bottom you will see refurbished link.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

When shopping for anything online, look to see if the seller is Amazon or if it's a 3rd party seller.
Not that all 3rd party sellers are bad, but something to keep in mind. Amazon will stand behind their products and will stand behind their shoppers with 3rd party puchases but find out to what extent: warranty, return policy, etc.
i once bought a Clarisonic (rechargable face scrubber device) and wondered why I couldn't register my device on Clarisonic's website for brush replacement coupons. Then I had trouble getting new brush heads to fit on it. I went to an Ulta store and the clerk told me it looked strange, a bit yellowed and rust forming below where the brush heads fit on. The told me to return to where I bought it and suggested it could be a knock off. (These are $100+ so not an outrageous idea that it could be.)
This all came out about 3 weeks after purchase and before I could get the box packaged up Amazon posted the refund to my cc.
A month later the bad reviews started pouring in and the seller was banned.
So I wasn't SOL but I'm a bit more leary of 3rd party sellers.
Just saying.

 

[wenrob]

When shopping for anything online, look to see if the seller is Amazon or if it's a 3rd party seller.
Not that all 3rd party sellers are bad, but something to keep in mind. Amazon will stand behind their products and will stand behind their shoppers with 3rd party puchases but find out to what extent: warranty, return policy, etc.
i once bought a Clarisonic (rechargable face scrubber device) and wondered why I couldn't register my device on Clarisonic's website for brush replacement coupons. Then I had trouble getting new brush heads to fit on it. I went to an Ulta store and the clerk told me it looked strange, a bit yellowed and rust forming below where the brush heads fit on. The told me to return to where I bought it and suggested it could be a knock off. (These are $100+ so not an outrageous idea that it could be.)
This all came out about 3 weeks after purchase and before I could get the box packaged up Amazon posted the refund to my cc.
A month later the bad reviews started pouring in and the seller was banned.
So I wasn't SOL but I'm a bit more leary of 3rd party sellers.
Just saying.

I'm going to have to agree with this. Twice in the last three months I've had issues with third party sellers on Amazon. While Amazon will ultimately back you in the end you pretty much have to jump through hoops w/the seller first before they will intervene. Unless it says FULFILLED by Amazon I am staying away from third parties from now on. Too much hassle.

Myself, I wouldn't be comfortable buying a phone from someone other than a vetted source like Swappa, Gazelle, Game Stop, Best Buy, Apple etc. Somewhere where I have recourse right away if something should go afud. That said, many have great success with eBay. Things to keep in mind:

Ask for the IMEI #. If they won't give it to you, move on. If they're willing to give it to you don't just go on that actually check it out. This will tell you if the phone is free and clear.
http://www.imeipro.info/ You can also check to see it works with your carrier here.

Verify that they have removed the phone from their iCloud account. This is usually the biggest problem and an inexperienced third party often forgets to do this.

Last, new phones should be announced around September so the price of the 7 should go down. Something to consider.

Addressing a phone through AT&T. If the phone is paid for it should automatically be unlocked. If someone is selling the phone theoretically it *should* be paid for therefore unlocked but there are those out there who will sell phones still being financed. Read reviews, make sure they're experienced with selling phones.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I'm going to have to agree with this. Twice in the last three months I've had issues with third party sellers on Amazon. While Amazon will ultimately back you in the end you pretty much have to jump through hoops w/the seller first before they will intervene. Unless it says FULFILLED by Amazon I am staying away from third parties from now on. Too much hassle.

Myself, I wouldn't be comfortable buying a phone from someone other than a vetted source like Swappa, Gazelle, Game Stop, Best Buy, Apple etc. Somewhere where I have recourse right away if something should go afud. That said, many have great success with eBay. Things to keep in mind:

Ask for the IMEI #. If they won't give it to you, move on. If they're willing to give it to you don't just go on that actually check it out. This will tell you if the phone is free and clear.
http://www.imeipro.info/ You can also check to see it works with your carrier here.

Verify that they have removed the phone from their iCloud account. This is usually the biggest problem and an inexperienced third party often forgets to do this.

Last, new phones should be announced around September so the price of the 7 should go down. Something to consider.

Addressing a phone through AT&T. If the phone is paid for it should automatically be unlocked. If someone is selling the phone theoretically it *should* be paid for therefore unlocked but there are those out there who will sell phones still being financed. Read reviews, make sure they're experienced with selling phones.

Well said. I was thinking before that a buying a cell phone from a stranger with no store is not a method I would choose to save money.

Way too many ways for things to go wrong.

 

[SL6827]

I'm going with Best Buy

 

[SL6827]

Just looked at Best Buy and one of the phones I was looking at had dropped in price by $60 from yesterday. So I jumped on it. Very satisfied with the pricing now. Funny though, the 16GB and 32GB were the same price. Went with an iphone SE 32GB for $9.95 for 24 months.