When thinking about purchasing a new console.. either the Xbox One or PS4 would any of you guys consider buying one second hand?
I would presume the main reason people would be put off buying a second hand phone is due to the risk of insurance fraud, is this still a valid risk when buying consoles? Also what about the chances that the seller is selling a banned console, there's no way to unban one so that's another risk.
I'm looking at upgrading my old 360 but can't decide whether to buy a second hand one from a private ad with 3 games for around £300 or pay £350 from a retailer such as Game or CeX.
Any help is appreciated!
Related
If I buy a NEW phone on ebay (example HTC Touch Pro or Blackberry Storm), and it is defective, could I go to a Verizon store and return or exchange it without a receipt (assuming I still have the box).
Does anyone know if this is possible?
Hi. Keep in mind I'm sure they track serial #'s / ESN's & such so even if they are nice enough to exchange it (which I've never had the gonads to try) you run the risk that the phone was reported stolen, is under contact on someone else's account or who knows what, you're standing there with your pants down. Then again I suppose they wouldn't let you activate the phone on your account if those were true.. (Sorry I've been in the GSM world too long where you move your SIM as needed.) Anyway I'd say you're taking some big chances there since they surely link phones with accounts or service it was purchased with. I'd love to hear of anyone who has succeeded in this.. It's not like you're buying a toaster & returning it to Kmart for a merchandise credit or something. lol
Bill
by the phone being on someone else's account, does that mean for example they bought the phone at the 2yr contract price only to turn it around and sell it on ebay for profit?
The ebay buyer did nothing wrong in that case, the ESN was clean and ebay purchased cells are easily activated.
thanks for responding.
Yeah that's what I meant but you are assuming best case scenario.. As I said who knows, the phones could have been stolen from a reseller or dealer (I do computer support for a sprint/nextel dealer & they've had many stolen even by employees who turn around & sell them on ebay. The store definitely figures it out eventually & they get reported as stolen & flagged. Maybe within days or weeks or months.) or who knows. That is one of biggest risks of buying off ebay. You may not know the history. Not trying to scare you just saying remember you'll be the one in the store holding stolen merchandise. Again, you risk the same trying to add the phone to your account so I guess they'll track you down either way. lol
As far as your original question, I wish I could say I knew but I don't. I assume there is virtually 0 chance of a return with refund and only a slight chance of an exchange assuming the phone is not flagged & you have a good story. Maybe someone else could chime in who has tried it. Again we are talking expensive phones normally bought with a contact linked to an account so easily traceable so don't be surprised if they scan it in & call you by the name of the guy who sold it to you. lol
Bill
It's just amazing that Verizon makes it so hard to upgrade your phone before your contract is up (even if you're willing to pay full price!!). The only way you can really do it is by buying a phone off of ebay and activating it yourself.
Yeah I'd imagine. That is one nice thing about GSM: Just move your SIM, assuming the phone isn't locked to another carrier which is usually pretty easy to get unlocked. I have bought about 50 phones off ebay (That would have been like 2 had I needed to call AT&T every time I wanted to switch! lol) & for the most part I've had pretty good luck with some duds. (Incompatible model missing 850 band, broken or more worn than expected) If you are in a pinch you might not have much choice but just make sure you buy from someone with high & good feedback & you should be OK. Better yet make sure they have a good return policy or even their own warranty. Not sure if the trick will work for you but I've bought 'Pay as you go' phones & put my SIM in when I needed a phone quickly. Maybe verizon has such a thing too but the prepaid phones are usually pretty awful. Of course there is a chance they'd refuse to add it to your account too. Buy yeah I wouldn't chance buying something on ebay hoping you can return to the local store if needed. I'd say buy new & hopefully sealed, not used (especially for expensive phones unless you want to risk it. Of course you can always try selling back on ebay if needed) from a good seller like I mentioned above & you should be fine. Btw the other thing to consider is go to an authorized Verizon dealer (vs a real Verizon store). You might find them much more likely to work with you on selling you a phone without a contact. I know they make big bucks signing up people but if you're willing to pay retail for a phone I'd imagine they won't turn you away especially if you suggest you'll be back when renewal time comes.
Bill
Ok, so believe it or not, I called Verizon and the rep told me that even if you don't have the original receipt, the verizon store uses the proof of purchase barcode to tell when the item was purchased. If your item is defective you can exchange it, and she even said in some cases they'll even let you put the money towards a new phone, although they prefer to have a receipt.
I'm shocked as I thought they would have a very strict return policy.
Also, any cell purchased in the last month is returnable until Jan 15, which means blackberry storms and htc touch pros and omnias bought on ebay can simply be returned to a verizon store if they are defective!
Wow! Did you get that in writing? lol Guess they have a very lenient return policy. Sounds like they do track them big time but instead of holding it against you they actually HELP you with the info. Geesh, if that really works I'd say they have some killer customer support policies! Makes me want to break a phone to try it & see. Then again I'm on ATT & they'd prolly laugh as they escorted me out the store. :|
Good luck with that, I'd love to hear follow up if you end up needing to try it but then again I'm sure you'd rather NOT have to try. Anyone else ever actually do this with any carrier?
I've been pondering which one to go for for ages and can't decide. How on earth do you all decide which one you want when:
a) you know another (better) one will be out within a couple of months
b) these things can cost upwards of $500
Where do you find the money?
Do you all stay in all month just so you can afford it, or are you all secretly loaded?
Just curious.....
most people are tied down with never-ending contracts which give them the oppotunity of getting a free phone once every X months
personally I buy outside contracts so I paied 1000$ for my x1
paied the same for my himalaya and wallaby
but since wallaby was the first htc phone ever and himalya was the 2ed and I only got the himalya because the wallaby was stolen and the insurance paied for it
and then the time to x1 was released and the fact that the himalaya broke
explain that I'm not loaded
but of cause it don't mean that there are not people in this forum who may be buying with mum and dads money
but on the pro side
I only pay 10$ a month to my operator and never had a sim locked phone in my life
Hello everybody,
I have a question that bugs me quite a bit now.
Saw the real hardware prices of the Nexus one and the iPhones,that costs 174-218$,
and I thought maybe I could buy the hardware and put it all together by myself.
Is it possible in any way to do such a thing?
I really can`t see why should I pay 600$~ for a phone that costs 1/3 of it.
Thanks.
lol...
You can check on ebay if anyone is parting out the nexus one but considering People can at MAX buy 5 of them thats at 530$ and then lil profit you will be paying more specially this early in game. Maybe later when phone is more common and people are selling broken ones you may be able to do this but its kinda early for that.
Ok so I always get my phone from Bestbuy or directly from Verizon based on online deals or specials going on when contract is up. Since when was Bestbuy pricing 700$ out of contract compared to $569 of VZ? They always when I checked with is every few months very similar in price. Now I have $300 buyback from previous upgrade done few months ago but considering locking in a second line to 4g Unlimited plan before it is too late.
So just curious did the Retail price 3rd party can sell agreement with Verizon change I was under impression to be Authorized reseller unless you were running a valid promotion, special you had to be in similar price range to Verizon?
I wouldn't be complaining normally but to have to cough up $700 for a retail price over Verizon cost of already high $569 seems way out of wack. I know the phones are 4g and high end but man didn't realize 3rd party places that were once better options now don't even try to compete with Big Reds pricing.
Forgive me if there was some post detailing Bestbuy cost going up or possible changes to why Verizon offers lower cost then retailers selling same phones on their behalf.
If you raise enough hell, best buy will match the VZW price. You just have to prove that the corporate store is charging 569 outright.
BBY will price match VZW... Best buy inflates their retail pricing to negate customers from buying it wo a contract(that's where they make their $$)
They will price match the online price or CS price cause they are not the same not a huge difference I just want to know which price to fight for? Is this generally something they are going to be pricks about I mean I have bought the phone I am going to bring back for the Buy Back Credit and purchased Black Tie Protection I can't imagine they would be to stuborn. I just want equal price and have no problem paying 569-599 at all obviously would be minus 300 GC I would get from the Buyback program.
If you were to come into my store and ask for a price match (I work at best buy), and you planned on getting blacktie and buyback, we would match without question. Other stores may be different, but the margin would be made up with those two components.
Sorry I should of been more clear on the phone I am going to trade in I had Blacktie and Buyback. This phone is to lock in 4g plan before July 7th so I would get Blacktie but no Buyback this time and previous phone is 3ish month old Fascinate. I have 2 Pc's, 2 HDTV and like 5 previous phones and everything has been with Blacktie.
I just want to know if I would be better of having proof cause I have no idea what a storefront of Verizons here has for anything showing retail price, but if I have to go out of my way to prove it. Due to BB not matching "online" prices I will cause I sure am not paying extra 125$ for same phone lol.
Really thank you all for advice so far I usually get great people when I work with Best Buy and after all Zagg shields the mobile department has put on my rounds of bad Thunderbolts they know my acount before they even pull me up as to what I have for phones ect. I just know it was like pulling teeth to get them to replace my non-fuctional Incredible after 2 seperate repairs to get a new device and had to talk to store manager before I got it done without a 3rd repair shipment.
Just bring it in the retail pricing from the online (I work at BBY Mobile PT as well) and Id match it
find the kid who hates his job at best buy and he'll price match it without talking to a manager. i work at best buy and do it all the time.
hackabusa said:
If you were to come into my store and ask for a price match (I work at best buy), and you planned on getting blacktie and buyback, we would match without question. Other stores may be different, but the margin would be made up with those two components.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Word to the wise. Don't anyone ever get black tie. Its a scam.
I would generally agree to that last post but in my case because Best Buy has the lemon policy on repairing or attempting to fix issues. I went from Incredible that went 2.2 update came out dropped a packet and caused horrible call quality an hardware / software issues. Got me a $600 equal retail value Giftcard that put me into my Thunderbolt. Generally speaking insurance is never needed but I get it to be safe on my high end phones.
Also had to speak with a manager but the Buyback process and getting into the Charge was a painless experience and they gave it to me for $599 cause they know how much business I do there. Thanks for all the help.
I've found bits and pieces of info, but nothing really direct, so here's my situation.
I'm up for an upgrade with tmobile. There's some good black friday deals coming up, the s3 for $50, for instance (with new contract, not sure if thats an upgrade price as well). I don't really want the s3, so I'm considering buying any hot phone and flipping it so I can get what I want, maybe even buy a used mid-range smartphone and pocket some cash. I know many people have done this, but I'm worried about potential problems that can occur.
What are the chances of being caught by tmobile and being suspended? If I receive my upgrade by mail (which is most likely), do I need to worry about activating/deactivating it before I switch phones and sell it? I don't really care about opening the package, probably will in any case to remove the sim. Is there any way I can get the retail store to unlock it? Tell them I'm going to use it overseas or something? Any other issues anybody knows of?
The biggest risk is probably buying a used phone off ebay or craigslist, which, even if everything is clean and straightforward, I know can end up badly. Ideally, I would just buy one from a retailer, giving me peace of mind and a warranty. But, if the difference is spending $200 vs. pocketing $200 plus an upgraded phone (I'm still using the G1 by the way), then I would seriously consider doing any work necessary.
Anyone have some experience?