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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.

Russian vendor?

Hello,
found a site registered in Georgia(former SSSR) that sells unlocked touch pros for 800$. They have 4,8 stars in google checkout sellers rating.
Is this legite : http://www.networkingrus.com/Featured_Products-HTC_Diamond_4GB_Pocket_PC_Phone_Unlocked_1.html

Believable price, but very good. I'd say yes, it's legit, especially considering it has such a good rating from previous customers.

Another thing. The google checkout rating is based on 53 reviews, all of them very positive. The company has a warehouse in russia, but so far as I can see they are registered also in the USA. It is the best price for a non contract phone I could find anywhere (not counting Tigadua cellular and other shady sites). I would take a contract phone but it isnt availible in croatia yet, and the data transfer is very expensive also.

Well, if you're willing to drop 800 bucks, I'd say go for it. Seems to be cheaper than any other place I've seen, and I definitely don't think it's a scam. Good luck!

Georgia is scam
Price is the same as in Europe, ex VAT (TAX). But if you order it from Russia, you gonna pay import duties!!!

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!

Buying Phones Online

Hi I wanted to cover a few things such as:
- which sites in your region (Europe, America, etc.) do you recommed to buy phones?
- why and how do some online retailers sell just a phone and maybe a wall charger...where do they get the phones and where does the rest of retail contents go?
- would you say that generally speaking, if a price seems a bit too cheap on a phone (e.g. €50/$50 cheaper than others) then you have to be careful online?
- have you ever bought a phone on eBay, expansys or Amazon? How did that purchase go?
- any advice on detecting a reputable/scam seller/phone?
I hope that different people can pick up a few tips here about phones online etc.
For me, I bought a phone online a few years ago, turned out to be a dodgy imitation from China. Since then I've been extra cautious and learned a lot about how that works from experienced eBay members. I've since purchased only in retail stores. Now, I'm in the market for a new phone :victory: and have been browsing online. So many sellers online don't tell you much about the product, and to some degree, if you don't ask or it's not specified, you could get screwed over.

in the USA, i usually shop at newegg or tigerdirect. Best places for me to shop at, and good shipping too. Th.e sites give you a wide variety of items to buy, and sometimes give you deals of the days and bundles. Check them out.
Newegg.com
Tigerdirect.com

http://forum.xda-developers.com/announcement.php?f=1322

Google pixel on Amazon for 250$

Hello guys I live in Egypt. I have found a google pixel on amazon for a cheap price and its condition is new the prince nearly 250$. Can someone clarify why it's cheap before i buy it the link is below.
https://www.amazon.com/Google-Pixel...7-b4d4-466b-8c26-2639359664eb&pf_rd_i=desktop

msadek122 said:
Hello guys I live in Egypt. I have found a google pixel on amazon for a cheap price and its condition is new the prince nearly 250$. Can someone clarify why it's cheap before i buy it the link is below.
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Something doesn't seem right. The sellers' ratings leave much to be desired if they have any at all. This is not being sold by Amazon but by private sellers. Perhaps you'd be better off going to Swappa or even looking at some of the latest sales figures. Lowest there is about $600. If it's too good to be true then ... well you know the rest.

Nope its fake... So id stay away x

Agreed, the ratings of sellers isn't good and some of them their accounts have recently launched.

Great many thanks guys,
Is there any other websites selling and providing international shipping other than Swapa

eBay (Germany or UK where Pixel is officially sold as well) might be your best bet, though the shipping depends on the seller. Just stay away from Pixels locked to EE, you can't get past that. Otherwise you can evaluate the seller through their feedback score and eBay has its own Money Back guarantee so your investment is protected better that way.