Anyone buy an Iphone from eBay

[213Dittohead]

Ask for the imei or serial number and check with the original carrier first to make
Sure it's not a stolen phone. If it is, you'll be out your cash. I work for At&t

 

[havaneselover]

Ask for the imei or serial number and check with the original carrier first to make
Sure it's not a stolen phone. If it is, you'll be out your cash. I work for At&t

Thanks. This seller has a 30 day guarantee and 98.8% positive feedback plus eBay protects the buyer, so I'm not concerned about buying a stolen phone.

 

[213Dittohead]

I wouldn't be so much concerned either with PayPal protection, but I'd be upset about all my time being wasted.

With that said, I've sold iPhones on eBay before too. There's some good deals out there.

 

[havaneselover]

I wouldn't be so much concerned either with PayPal protection, but I'd be upset about all my time being wasted.

With that said, I've sold iPhones on eBay before too. There's some good deals out there.

Yes, it would be a pain. But it's $250 cheaper than a new one (buying from eBay used vs. new from Apple using discounted Apple gift cards) so it's worth it to me. Same story with buying Disney gift cards from Target--there are some risks of wasting time if gift cards come unactivated, but the savings are overwhelming.

 

[213Dittohead]

Very true.

 

[havaneselover]

I ordered the phone this evening. By the time my gift cards were activated, gold was no longer available, so I got silver. I'll report back once it arrives on Friday. I'm very happy with the net price (about $350 for a 64gb 6). Now I need to find a case and order a nano sim from ST.

 

[havaneselover]

So now I'm sort of regretting going this route. The phone came and looks perfect. I did send a request to AT&T to unlock it (I don't need it unlocked but figured I'd try) and learned the phone is under an AT&T Next service agreement (i.e., it's not paid in full). It has Apple Care untiil April so it's probably about six months old (but the original buyer has probably only made 6 payments on it). So if the original buyer defaults on their payments, AT&T can blacklist it. I'd like to return it but have to wait to hear back from the seller. I don't know that I'd recommend buying used if it's not from friends or family after this experience.

 

[DizMe]

My daughter's iphone 5 just broke so she bought an ATT iphone 6 from a friend. He had only had it about a month but was hired by a firm that supplies him with a cell phone so he sold it to her. She has a Verizon plan. The new phone won't work with Verizon, no matter what she tries. I think it may be the serial number but she heard that if you put in an active sim card from a verizon plan it should work. However, no luck so far. If you're not a techie I would be careful buying anything outside of your carrier esp. if you have Verizon.

 

[havaneselover]

My daughter's iphone 5 just broke so she bought an ATT iphone 6 from a friend. He had only had it about a month but was hired by a firm that supplies him with a cell phone so he sold it to her. She has a Verizon plan. The new phone won't work with Verizon, no matter what she tries. I think it may be the serial number but she heard that if you put in an active sim card from a verizon plan it should work. However, no luck so far. If you're not a techie I would be careful buying anything outside of your carrier esp. if you have Verizon.

Is it locked? I wouldn't think a locked AT&T phone would work on Verizon. You can request AT&T unlock it and they will if it is eligible. I know Verizon phones work on AT&T without an issue.

 

[ibob52]

She heard that if you put in an active sim card from a verizon plan it should work.

The iphone 6 has the capability to work on any network ... But it needs to be unlocked.

You can Google *How to unlock a AT&T iphone 6*

https://www.att.com/deviceunlock/#/

 

[wenrob]

So now I'm sort of regretting going this route. The phone came and looks perfect. I did send a request to AT&T to unlock it (I don't need it unlocked but figured I'd try) and learned the phone is under an AT&T Next service agreement (i.e., it's not paid in full). It has Apple Care untiil April so it's probably about six months old (but the original buyer has probably only made 6 payments on it). So if the original buyer defaults on their payments, AT&T can blacklist it. I'd like to return it but have to wait to hear back from the seller. I don't know that I'd recommend buying used if it's not from friends or family after this experience.

More than likely the seller's plan is to pay off his Next agreement with what you paid and start a new Next contract for the newest phone. I see this quite often on one of the forums I belong to. What he *should* have done was pay the phone off first then sell it. Most likely he didn't have the cash and figured you wouldn't know the difference. I personally would ask for my money back because unless he pays it off you don't technically own the phone and I wouldn't put faith in him doing so.

 

[DizMe]

Is it locked? I wouldn't think a locked AT&T phone would work on Verizon. You can request AT&T unlock it and they will if it is eligible. I know Verizon phones work on AT&T without an issue.

The iphone 6 has the capability to work on any network ... But it needs to be unlocked.

You can Google *How to unlock a AT&T iphone 6*

https://www.att.com/deviceunlock/#/

Thank you. Her friend told her it was unlocked by ATT. What steps should she take? She paid quite a bit for it. Should she take it to Verizon and ask them about it?

 

[ibob52]

Should she take it to Verizon and ask them about it?

Yes

(but with caution for any up sale)

 

[havaneselover]

More than likely the seller's plan is to pay off his Next agreement with what you paid and start a new Next contract for the newest phone. I see this quite often on one of the forums I belong to. What he *should* have done was pay the phone off first then sell it. Most likely he didn't have the cash and figured you wouldn't know the difference. I personally would ask for my money back because unless he pays it off you don't technically own the phone and I wouldn't put faith in him doing so.

Yep. This is like buying a used car but not getting the title because the seller still has a loan on it. I bought it from a reseller who bought it from someone. I am going to try to return it. I know it's possible the original owner will pay this off, but he likely paid $750 for it in April plus bought Apple care and my purchase price was only $450 so, the math looks bad. And if he/she defaults, I've got a useless phone and have to scramble to find something to use.

Thank you. Her friend told her it was unlocked by ATT. What steps should she take? She paid quite a bit for it. Should she take it to Verizon and ask them about it?

https://www.att.com/deviceunlock/#/

Try to request an unlock.

 

[havaneselover]

More than likely the seller's plan is to pay off his Next agreement with what you paid and start a new Next contract for the newest phone. I see this quite often on one of the forums I belong to. What he *should* have done was pay the phone off first then sell it. Most likely he didn't have the cash and figured you wouldn't know the difference. I personally would ask for my money back because unless he pays it off you don't technically own the phone and I wouldn't put faith in him doing so.

Yep. This is like buying a used car from someone who still has a loan on it so you don't get the title--no one would do that. I'm going to do my best to return it.

I actually bought it from a reseller (they have sold about 3,000 of these on ebay) who I believe bought it from the individual with the Next agreement. My concern is based on the Apple Care expiration it was purchased in April and the person who bought it paid $750 for it + Apple Care. I only paid $450 from the reseller. So the math looks bad. If he/she defaults on their Next payments, I have a useless phone on my hands.

 

[havaneselover]

I received a response from the seller saying these phones are purchased through a certified buyback program and all finance fees will or have been paid. They also claim they have confirmed with AT&T that they won't be blocked.

That's all well and good but after 30 days I have no recourse if it turns out this isn't the case. Swappa won't allow phones to be sold that aren't paid off so maybe I should return this one and go that route???