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Does anyone have any experience buying phones from these independent phone sellers?

Does anyone have experience buying phones from the following websites, and other than obtaining a business registration number, how can one be certain that the busines is legitimate?
http://www.shoppalstores.com/phonetrader/index.cfm/fa/pages.main/pageID/2
http://www.classifieds-shop.co.uk/product_desc.php?id=237&PHPSESSID=efb62b235a9c8d3f1e48dece7e0502b1
http://www.inkiti.co.uk/a,11493,iPHONE-16GB-(UNLOCKED)..........$300,--NOKIA-N96-(UNLOCKED).............$430.htm
Also, if a business refuses to use an escrow service to secure payment, then is it likely they are a scammer?

Those are not "independent phone sellers" they are scammers, I would bet money on it.
The first one has the more slick website but wants payment via Western Union or Moneygrams - guess which two services are the choice of scammers the world over...
The second is a scam and I can tell that from a 30 second look at the page.
If you send your money to either of those sites, you will never see it again and you will never take delivery of a phone.
AVOID.

Thanks for the prompt response!
Yes, I've had my suspicions as Western Union and Money Gram are the only means they will accept payment. They won't even consider an Escrow service to secure payment.
It's a shame however as I'd rather pay the cheapest I can for a sim unlocked phone.
I will heed your advice and respond. However, may I ask if you know of any legitimate companies that sell phones cheaper than the going price?...

Raphael vendor / Reseller Reviews.

There's a lot of different resellers about and equally many roumers of who's good and who's dodgy at the moment . So that we all know who's who out there, heres a little Thread with Vendor reviews.
If you have something positive or something negitive to say about a seller please say it here.
Also please rate your vendor XX out of 10, I might add a field to the vendor wiki.
Vendors and prices here >http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=HTC_Raphael_Vendors

I've always used Expansys / MobilePlanet. I'm USA so MobilePlanet.
There is some atrocious whining in their forums from - for want of a better term - EXTRAnoobs.
But in my dealings they are professional, rock solid and I've never had any problems.

Onthegosolutions
I have used Maobile Planet in the past and had no specific problems.
For some years not I have been using OntheGoSolutions and I have been pleased because I always know who I am speaking with. Seems to have very little turnover and they are small enough that I can communicate with one person. They are definitley not the cheapest but have at least twice in the past lowered a price for me when I pointed out an advertised lower price elsewhere.

I bought my Raphael online from Expansys Canada... All I can say is the transaction was very easy, and shipping was SUPER FAST!!!
Ordered it Friday afternoon (approx 3pm), after a small billing problem (I gave them a different phone number from the one on my Credit Card account), confirmed the order on Monday morning at 10am (they aren't opened on weekends), I had the device in my hands Tuesday just before noon...
All in all, besides the phone # problem, I'm very happy with the transaction. It was easy, smooth and fast...

Inkino UK
To all in London and southeast
Eugene at Inkino (I never knew I needed one), 48 Tottenham Court Road www.inkino.co.uk is a mine of information on all things HTC. They are one of the few, if only, HTC Ultimate Partners and it shows.
I have bought my Trinity and now Touch Pro from there.
Yes I could probably get a few pounds off here or there but the service and honest opinions I have had from Eugene and his collegues at the sister branch 9 Great Russell Street mean that I will simply not buy from elsewhere. If I have a problem I know I can call up or drop in and I will speak to someone who knows his products inside out and is a straightforward trader.
Pleasure to do business with.

I ordered mine from Expansys UK. I live in Cyprus and Expansys is propably the best choice. Although I should have used Expansys Cyprus, the UK site was 40 Euro cheaper so I went with them. The service is excellent! Prices are among the best in the market. (630 EURO inc. DHL shipping fees).
They support Paypal, which is a big plus in safety matters, and by using DHL you get your phone in record time.
All in all, i am a happy customer=p

I'm in the US and I bought mine from Clove. A tad more expensive, but I was having problems with Google Checkout (which Handtec uses for overseas orders). Clove was a little slow to receiving my order, but once they did they shipped it out within hours. DHL got it to me in 2 days, all the way from UK to California, and by 10am no less.
One thing about Clove (that I appreciated) is that they require you to confirm the order by calling your CC company and requesting the 6-digit charge authorization number for the charge. Maybe it's an extra hassle, but it's nice to know they're serious about your security.
I would order from Clove again, but of course now I have no money.

I'm in the US and purchased from Smart Mobile Gadgets. All was as they said, including Saturday delivery.

I ordered my TP from On the Go Solutions in July. They said they would call and make sure I still wanted it before they would ship. They also shipped the day the said they would, a month in advance. I am very satisfied with the way they do business.

This is a statement of one set of circumstances and does NOT impute or call into question the credibility or otherwise of this particular organization. There may be an explanation - but so far - my client has not received one.
A client of mine bought direct in a Buy It Now eBay auction from a company with a high level of positive feedback with thousands of positive transactions on eBay. Their public site is - Popular Electronics http://www.popularelect.com.
Approx 24 hours after buying eBay declared the auction NULL AND VOID and advised my client that they do not have to pay. eBay stated:
"As eBay removed the item, you are no longer obliged to send payment for it. Please don't send money or respond to any emails from the seller.
If you've sent payment but haven't received the item, please wait a reasonable period of time for delivery. If you don't receive the item, please contact us again by clicking "Contact Us" on any eBay Help page and selecting the following contact options:
Buying and Finding>Fraud and Payment Concerns for Buyers>Item Not Received or Item Not as Described (you paid)"
My client has called and emailed the company direct and not received any replies.
I've carefully reviewed the eBay email and header codes and believe the email is genuine and not a phish. All the auctions that for TouchPRo's that WERE on ebay from this company have disappeared at 9/3/2008 14:00 EDT.
I leave you to draw your own conclusions.

BEWARE OF THE TIGADUACELLULAR!!!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=2617797#post2617797

Has anyone actually baught anything from tigerCellular out there? If so let us know are they real or fake? thanks... im betting the latter but you never know

2call.nl 5/10
Got my TP from 2call.nl
Price without contract (as I use company sim) was good and delivery was very fast.
However, as my TP came with the know problems (GPS instable and hot, black paint falls off,...), I asked 2call within two weeks after pruchase to take my device back and replace it by a new one.
They refused.
As price and delivery is not the only thing I expect from a retailer of a some hundred euro device, I personally will not buy at 2call.nl again.

Did anyone buy from chinamobile?

Hello everyone,
I found a man called Kenny Taylor that sells phones,and I compared prices,
he`s prices are ridiculously low,
he`s saying that he works at chinamobile as a sales rep,
though I really couldn`t find any information about him or about phones in the site,I could manage to see only blackberry`s there.
He claims that the phones are brand new,in original box and with all accessories and they are not china clones.
He`s quotes for the phones I wanted -
iPhone 3GS 16GB (unlocked) - 300$
iPhone 3GS 32GB (unlocked) - 350$
HTC Hero - 250$
HTC Nexus one - 230$
International shipping via Fedex/USPS - 60$.
The prices here are 300$ less than the MSRP,and I don`t know if I should buy from him - maybe it`s a scam or something.
If anyone knows the person/company,and did buy from one of them - it would be nice to hear about that.
*if the thread is not in the right section of the forum,it would be nice if you could move it to the correct one*
**this thread is not about advertising the company/the guy,just for information matters**
Lots of thanks,
Danny.

100% SCAM!! Those prices are ludicrous, no way in hell are those real, most likely you will get nothing at all. and FYI, mobiles and pretty much all electronics are more expensive in China than in the US, and China Mobile shops are the MOST expensive places. STAY AWAY!

Thank you mlalahoi, actually I was going to buy the nexus one from him,
knew I should ask in here first.

Quick update -
I have got an answer from the company,I have to say that it sounds very believable..
Thanks for your mail.
This person that you are talking about i don't no him but he can be a
scammer too that want to you buy from him...
So i will advice you to buy from us to try and have believe in the
company...we no that there is alot of scam out there.
We are not scam we are real company that as been in business for more
then 8 years now...once we confirm your payment we are going to ship
the phone to you at your home address.
The reason the price is so low is the we buy direct from the company
that product the phone in bulks and right now we are running promo in
the company for buy 3units and get 1 for free.
So if you are going to buy the Htc Nexus one only the payment is via
western union not paypa...because is too low for the payment
condition.
Below is the condition about that payment
Any orders form $100usd to $3000usd=== via western union.
Any orders form $3000usd to $4500usd=== via bank transfer.
Any order form $4500usd above is via paypal.
So you are going to pay the money via western union money transfer.
So get back with your shipping address information so that we can
started packing and label your order ready for shipment.
Regards
Sale Rep.
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dany74q said:
Quick update -
I have got an answer from the company,I have to say that it sounds very believable..
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That's not believable at all if you know what to look for. First, the grammar and spelling is atrocious. Any real company would take the time to actually write their correspondence letters in a professional manner. Secondly, a legitimate, respectable company would never use Western Union to transfer money, no matter the amount. Every money transfer scam I've ever seen uses Western Union, since it's not traceable or reversable. I would not buy from any seller selling new devices at those rediculous prices; even if bought at wholesale prices, they would lose a lot of money selling that cheap. My advice is to stick with a reputable seller so you don't end up losing a few hundred dollars and not get anything in return, as I can guarantee you won't get what you order from these people.

Thank you for your answer Dave,I`ll stay away.
Once again - thank you all for your time.

dany74q said:
Thank you for your answer Dave,I`ll stay away.
Once again - thank you all for your time.
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It's not that bad, heh, but there are a few things you should keep in mind:
do not buy "genuine" stuff from China, either you're gonna get a fake or worse: nothing
go with established stores like DealExtreme or FocalPrice
use only PayPal, only scammers use Western Union
engrish is somewhat the norm, even with bigger stores :/
if you're getting a phone from there, choose one which has been properly reviewed, DealExtreme is very good in that regard as they have a very active forum and users , so you know what are you buying

If she reaches for a handful you'd better have the energy!

Don't Buy any used phone from ebay ID jgiii357

He never refund the item that I returned. But he sold it again. And earn money more than 200 dollars. He never reply. He is bloody ebayer. Beware.

I had a similar problem last year though by someone who ripped me off about 800$.
The golden rule is, if you are looking for a refund, always get a refund FIRST then send the item back. After I sent him the item he just disappeared.
I DID get a refund eventually by contacting my credit card company and giving them all the details of the transaction and our conversations prior to him disappearing. Try it.

Stay Away from ebay seller: tropical_mobile

I purchased two Samsung Galaxy S6 phones from the seller tropical_mobile on ebay. I purchased the phones from them because they listed the item with "12 MONTH SAMSUNG WARRANTY" and also mentioned that the item is located in Memphis, TN in the US. The phones actually shipped from Singapore. They landed in Fedex World Hub in Memphis, and these crooks have mentioned that as the item location just to attract more buyers from the US. After receiving the phones, I checked with Samsung in US to confirm if the phone truly has warranty. And they said the phones are not supported in the US. I asked the seller for a partial refund to keep the phones and they even agreed and sent me a bogus PayPal transaction ID and asked me to wait for a few days. The refund never came through. I wanted to deal this politely with them and was waiting for ever and ever. They play this delaying tactics and with that it was way past eBay's 30 day buyer protection deadline. Also with this I could not change the positive feedback I gave them. In addition they listed that the phone ships from Memphis, TN - but they actually got shipped from Singapore. This is another cheating tactic by this seller.
I then opened a PayPal case, and PayPal buyer protection is a JOKE. This seller sells thousands of phones and gives ebay and paypal a hefty commision. PayPal's decision was to have me ship the item back to Singapore (which costs around $150 for each phone) to get a refund. The seller who told me in the ebay messages that he is ok to give partial refund, has not agreed to partial refund when PayPal contacted them. So ultimately I am having 2 phones that can die anytime without support. My decision now is to spread the word to all discussion forums related to Android and ebay to warn people from staying away from this WORST seller.
US based sellers clearly sell these models by mentioning that there is no warranty. But this tropical_mobiles is one of the worst eBay seller, but tactically manages to have 100% positive feedback.
They may even ask you to close the ebay case and tell that they will process a refund or return. But do NOT close your case until it is fully resolved. A closed case cannot be reopened. This is another tactic from them. After the case is closed, they will not fulfill the promise made.
To Avoid all these hassles, just please stay away from them. You can rather purchase from properly US based sellers who truly list items are not covered under warranty.

Noted. Thanks!
Thread closed.
Darth
Forum Moderator