iphone 5s

[zoemurr]

I really want to buy one for my DDs 16th birthday but can't bring myself to spent $450. She has the $30 a month T-Mobile so I can use any off contract phone. I've been looking at ebay, swappa, and CL but I'm so scared..

Any words of advice? Thanks!

 

[Ranger111]

I am no expert -- by far -- but just bought three of the beasts....

Since the prices you are seeing on CL, etal seem to be the same ballpark I saw on Amazon, for peace of mind, if you do decide to kiss your $$$ goodbye (gosh, it hurt when I bought three of them), I would just go ahead and buy direct from Amazon.

At least you know you have solid protection behind you. I have managed to purchase a few things over the past year from Amazon that had "issues" and getting my $$$ back was a "walk in the park."

Good luck. I don't think you will find many bargains with that phone, and if you do, remember "buyer beware" and you get what you pay for...

PS -- check out Newegg and Best Buy, even WalMart . etc...

 

[maleficent32]

Groupon has an unlocked 5s 16GB for $379, refurb.

 

[Jeff_G]

I just wouldn't mess with any of those sites. People in my town are being robbed during Iphone CL deals. You still don't know if you are getting an unlocked phone or if you are buying a paper weight.

 

[whitney250]

My DBF has bought a couple of phones (android and iPhone) from eBay and hasn't ever had any issues, and he always seems to get a really good deal. I would just be sure to buy from someone with a good rating. I'm always cautious about eBay, but he buys a TON of stuff off there, and has never had a problem.

 

[kaytieeldr]

What about refurbished directly from Apple's website?

 

[Ranger111]

What about refurbished directly from Apple's website?

Apple does not officially sell refurbished Iphones.

There are rumors that they ocassionally sell on EBay on a secret site that does not offically say APPLE, but at this time, that secret site, which never existed, does not exist -- nudge, nudge, wink, wink.....or at leat if it does, it has no Iphones...or so I have heard,,,,

 

[HM]

Try Daily Steals?
I've bought iPods from there at a good price.

 

[jwfla422]

I really want to buy one for my DDs 16th birthday but can't bring myself to spent $450. She has the $30 a month T-Mobile so I can use any off contract phone. I've been looking at ebay, swappa, and CL but I'm so scared..

Any words of advice? Thanks!

If you pay with PayPal for items on Ebay you shouldn't have a problem as PayPal offers buyer protection.

 

[3disAddicts]

I bought my son a samsung galaxy s4 on ebay back in August. I wanted to specifically use it with Page Plus, so it had to be a verizon phone, with a clean esn. Phone works great! I'm now "shopping" for a phone for myself.

If you decide to go this route, look for a power seller, with very good feedback ratings. The one we used had been in business for years, and had 99.5% positive feedback with over 5000 transactions. They gave us a 2 month return policy for any reason. That at least gave me 2 months of peace of mind.

Make sure it has a clean ESN, and look for a phone that can be used with the carrier you are going to sign on with. Both facts should be stated very clearly in their auction. Make sure you read the details of the auction carefully just so that you have a good understanding of the phones condition. And, as someone already mentioned, if you pay through paypal, you are offered buyer protection. I've had to use buyer protection once, and it is a bit of a hassle, but at least I got my money back, minus shipping charges.