I have searched extensively about options to place a warranty plan for a used phone, but can't seem to find much. I just bought a LG G2 from Swappa for my wife and although it was at a good price ($260) from a reputable seller, I'd like some type of protection. Although the phone is reported as in "almost mint" conditions, I guess I'll never know how it was treated before.
I usually use SquareTrade for warranties. But so far, I've called them and confirmed that only used items purchased in Ebay are covered by them. This pretty much takes them out the table for Swappa purchases. Had to dig through several layers of pages in their website to find that in writing, even after their customer support claimed it wasn't there to be begin with.
The only other company I've seen offer a warranty without needing a new purchase is GoCare for $69/1-year or $129/2-years. Their terms state: "Regardless of whether your device is new or used, as long as it is 100% functional with no prior problems, issues or damage, you may purchase coverage if available for Your device." They have a good BBB rating and...apparently, they cover rooted phones too.
Amex also covers purchases up-to 10K for 1 year after manufacturer warranty for free. Unfortunately, it doesn't cover accidental damage, which is more likely to happen on a mobile than manufacturer defects.
Any suggestions, other options I didn't consider? What are you guys using for used phones purchases?
Some background info: My wife and I are original unlimited-data Verizon customers. We've taken good care of a couple of old Droid Bionics and never had to upgrade until now, when her speaker started crapping out. Mine is still good, rooted with frozen bloat-ware, it's still doing decently. I'm not about to pay $30/month more to Verizon for the cheapest shared-data bracket we fit into. Screw them.
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Who has or have directly known anyone that has purchased a third-party insurance/warranty from squaretrade? I ask because I read good things about their warranties but can not find "real" (actual people on this board or elsewhere) who can give testimony for either good or bad.
I purchased a Sprint branded Touch Pro (using it on Verizon) from ebay, and it came in immaculate condition and fully functional as the seller stated. At the time, I thought the squaretrade warranty offered by the seller on ebay was a scam, but for $48 I figured it was cheap insurance. I know sometimes parts fail and as luck has it, the USB charge/sync port failed. I am in no way blaming the seller and am not going to try to scam my money back from them. Verizon will not touch it as it is not a device they sell technically and Sprint won't touch it either as I do not have a line of service with them.
HTC will not warranty it for free as I am not the original purchaser, and offer repairs at an estimated cost at or above what I paid for the device off ebay.
I filed a claim with squaretrade as my warranty states I am entitled to, and they promptly approved my claim and emailed me a pre-paid UPS return shipping label and claim they will have it repaired "usually within five days of receiving the device". I boxed it up, filled out the simple form they required and shipped it off.
Now this being my first time using this company and their service, up to this point I am pleased with them. Their customer service seems to be on par with Asurion and other types of services I have used in the past. I will be more than happy to update this thread when I receive my device back in working order and give a rating here.
Thanks for reading this rather long post, and I ask anyone who has dealt with them in the past to chime in with any feedback, good or bad regarding Squaretrade and their services.
Have you received the phone back yet? If so/if not - remember to update us on this!
I was wondering if you got the phone back from squareTrade yet.
I would like to use them but like you would like to know that there are real people out there who are satisfied with them.
Hey. I've been looking to sell a phone, and I've came across this site. How reliable is this site and are most sellers trustworthy?
bumpo
Swappa is really reliable. I haven't personally sold from it, but most of the sellers seem to be reliable and I've seen some who give their XDA usernames just in case the buyers have any questions.
Of course, there are some shoddy sellers, but that's a given with most sites.
fairly reliable....
most people use their facebooks or equiv. to log in so its rather easy to track. I've listed my previous devices there but to no luck. Its IMHO much easier to sell in forum MP's such as here or other android/computing/reddit forums.
stay away
i cant recommend it and will not buy another phone from it
bought a phone, it was delivered yesterday, seller who has a 7 day return policy, NFC feature doesnt work, and all she is doing is playing games, and hasnt sent me a return label yet
STAY WAY
for those of you who say buy from a seller with good history, i bought the phone from a seller who has 1500 sold listings, below is her reply regarding NFC not working:
"I just read about it. I'm not sure I see any good applications for it, but I'll send the label in the am"
am is over still no label from her and she did reply to my massage. amazing
Ive purchased from Swappa, and have had a good experience. As has been said before, make sure you are purchasing from a reliable seller. If you are making an international purchase, be sure to do your research on the customs laws in your location.
I purchased a Verizon LG G2 at a great price, knowing it works in international GSM markets and was not disappointed!
I just bought a note 3 through swappa. It is defective. Represented as Mint and like new.
Swappa is no help.
PayPal is probably going to be no help.
So it's a gamble.
I'd always buy NEW items and use my credit card on paypal if I ever do it again.
I'd rather use ebay, they at least do something on the buyer's behalf.
As it is I've got a phone that randomly boots about 10 times a day, and out hundreds of dollars.
Yeah, ebay is better for the buyer... and swappa charges the buyer for the privilege of getting shafted.
sent using mobile data only. no broadband in Rural America as was promised by both Presidents Bush & Obama.
I bought a RAZR HD Maxx (Unlocked BL) from swappa about 4 months ago and had a really great experience...the seller replied quickly to questions and shipped the device within a day or two. I cannot vouch for every seller on the site but FWIW I would use it again for sure.
Swappa is kind of hit or miss. There are lots of scams out there. It's actually pretty safe for the buyer as all you need to do is open a claim with paypal. If the buyer says the phone doesn't work but the seller says it does work paypal policy is to side with the buyer, pretty much no questions asked. The process takes time but you'll get your money back. Really not such a good deal for a seller, where you could sell a perfectly good device, the buyer tries to mod it, bricks the device then files a claim. The seller will be SOL with a broken device and no money.
BladeRunner said:
Swappa is kind of hit or miss. There are lots of scams out there. It's actually pretty safe for the buyer as all you need to do is open a claim with paypal. If the buyer says the phone doesn't work but the seller says it does work paypal policy is to side with the buyer, pretty much no questions asked. The process takes time but you'll get your money back. Really not such a good deal for a seller, where you could sell a perfectly good device, the buyer tries to mod it, bricks the device then files a claim. The seller will be SOL with a broken device and no money.
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Swappa is scamsite. I will never ever use it again. I was scammed by http://forum.xda-developers.com/member.php?u=3505755 He says that his identity been stolen and he didnt know that. Yeah sure. He was selling Nexus 6 but it is his current device somehow. Scum.
I don't know where to go but I recently bought a Samsung s5 paid 180$ but when I got it the phone was completely broken screen cracked to all hell and won't power on unlike the pictures submitted on swappa and I cant check the esn as it doesnt charge. Swappa told me to dispute it but seller insists he didn't send me that broken phone. Am I gonna be out all that money or what? Never had to dispute anything before
It's a definite risk. My first and only time trying to sell a phone resulted in the buyer getting a refund 3 or so weeks later. I believe he purchased the phone and swapped motherboard with a broken one and got a refund. Never again will I waste my time. I'll just let my phone die or give them away as it costs less.
tl;dr Phones sold by Gazelle can still be blacklisted.
I purchased two iphone 5's from Gazelle last December 2013, for a Christmas gift for my mother-in-law and one for my wife.
A few days ago, my mother-in-law contacted me to tell me the phone was no longer receiving service.
After trying everything I could find about fixing it, I finally contacted T-Mobile, and discovered that the phone's IMEI has just been blocked due to non-payment by the original owner(!)
Just to clarify, this phone has been in daily use since Xmas Day 2013 (~11 mos)!
The T-Mobile rep told me that the original owner had been making payments all this time, but recently closed their account, and were sent a final bill. The bill was 10 days past due and at that time T-Mobile automatically blacklists the IMEI.
I bought these phones specifically from gazelle and paid more for them as a result, as I believed they were essentially guaranteed against this sort of thing.
I even contacted them before my purchase asking them if their phones were checked:
"Thank you for your interest! We do test all items to confirm availability for activation by you upon receipt. Unless otherwise noted in the listing, this item has been tested and is clear."
It turns out, this doesn't mean the device will remain that way after you receive it. An important fact that they continue to omit in their eBay listings.
I contacted their support yesterday and was told that the unit is outside of their 30-day return window and they can not help me further.
As far as I'm concerned, they didn't actually sell me anything. They sold a device that still had a lien against it, and now that it is blacklisted, I basically paid $400+ to rent it for the past 11 months. Technically, this iPhone is still the property of T-Mobile...Gazelle basically sold me stolen merchandise.
I've since opened a complaint with the BBB and am hopeful they will come to a resolution on this issue.
Moral of the story is: Don't think that just because you're buying from a bigger operation, that your phone is free and clear and ownership has been legally transferred to YOU.
As a matter of fact, you can even read Swappa's TOS and you will find a very loose policy on blacklisted IMEI/ESN's. They basically say you're only recourse is PayPal's 45-day dispute window.
Buying from these sites is really not any different than craigslist or a random seller on eBay.
The only way to really guarantee your device is free and clear forever is to buy a new one.
Resolved!
Just to follow up, I received the exchange iPhone yesterday and my issue is now resolved to my relief and satisfaction.
I am happy to say that Gazelle came through and made things right for me in the end. They also told me they are working with carriers on new ways to determine if devices are still under contract and/or still financed, to avoid issues like mine down the road.
Be careful out there!
In case anyone is considering buying their phone (or any items) from this criminal company, I just want to emphasise the dangers of buying from them. I've been through 7 months of hell in an attempt to get my Samsung S7 Edge back from them. It seems they are never going to send it back to me. £500 down the drain and lots of anger and distress.
This is the story:
https://uk.trustpilot.com/reviews/58ab865ff434950bc4fe0860
And a previous thread looking for advice on XDA: https://forum.xda-developers.com/s7-edge/help/received-phone-screen-fix-looks-t3506196
As they are priced very competitively, it may be attractive and tempting to bite the bullet and buy from China. That's why I bought the S7. I felt confident in a Samsung product. If the item works flawlessly and never fails, you are going to be happy. But if anything fails you will lose out big time as they ARE NOT willing to help in case of faulty equipment. Instead, their strategy is to exhaust you with non-answers until you simply give up. I am not rolling over though.
Stay far far away from this company.
I can imagine your troubles and exactly imagine how exhausting this may be. However one overall valid rule in buying from China is that the tempting cheap price in the beginning may be very expensive afterwards. This is just a risk you need to be willing to take. Your experience is not limited to eglobal or anyone else but applies to this part of business in General. Also, it is a bit harsh to call them "criminals" though I can fully follow your point of view and conclusion.
I was living in China for some time and it is just common in their understanding that you buy things as they are. There's generally no such thing as warranty. Once the business is concluded everyone goes its own way. There's even no service line built up that a distributor has anyone in contract for repairs. This is just the practice over there and it meets our high level service expectations on the other end of the world. I don't think they want to cheat you but they just don't know how to deal with that all along with their boss requiring that no business should be done with loss (which limits the budget for such handling).
All those shops coming up recent days they are just trying to get a small piece of the cake. They even don't get their products from the manufacturer but through third party shops whom they cannot turn to out of the reasons mentioned in case of any problem. And to be clear: I am absolutely against those businesses and aside of some known sellers for Chinese phones I would never buy anything of value from such websites / ebay / Amazon.
So you ship your phone to your Warehouse and it goes with the next batch to China (most probably someone takes it flying there to avoid the paper work for import) and over there they are trying to find a small shop who may be able to do this or not. After that it goes the way back it came. Seriously, don't expect too much. They're already doing more than maybe most of such shops would be doing.
However, if I'm not mistaken eGlobal is despite many other sites with a UK company behind. The people are pretty much the same but you would be able to take legal action as UK law and - most important - Court applies. In the end you would be able to seize their Warehouse if a judge finds your claims are true. Unfortunately especially in UK such Limited companies are easily shut down and re-opened under a different name.
To sum it up: Buying from such Chinese sources goes always without any liability and warranty from seller and you should be prepared for total loss in worst case.
andiling said:
I can imagine your troubles and exactly imagine how exhausting this may be. However one overall valid rule in buying from China is that the tempting cheap price in the beginning may be very expensive afterwards. This is just a risk you need to be willing to take. Your experience is not limited to eglobal or anyone else but applies to this part of business in General. Also, it is a bit harsh to call them "criminals" though I can fully follow your point of view and conclusion.
I was living in China for some time and it is just common in their understanding that you buy things as they are. There's generally no such thing as warranty. Once the business is concluded everyone goes its own way. There's even no service line built up that a distributor has anyone in contract for repairs. This is just the practice over there and it meets our high level service expectations on the other end of the world. I don't think they want to cheat you but they just don't know how to deal with that all along with their boss requiring that no business should be done with loss (which limits the budget for such handling).
All those shops coming up recent days they are just trying to get a small piece of the cake. They even don't get their products from the manufacturer but through third party shops whom they cannot turn to out of the reasons mentioned in case of any problem. And to be clear: I am absolutely against those businesses and aside of some known sellers for Chinese phones I would never buy anything of value from such websites / ebay / Amazon.
So you ship your phone to your Warehouse and it goes with the next batch to China (most probably someone takes it flying there to avoid the paper work for import) and over there they are trying to find a small shop who may be able to do this or not. After that it goes the way back it came. Seriously, don't expect too much. They're already doing more than maybe most of such shops would be doing.
However, if I'm not mistaken eGlobal is despite many other sites with a UK company behind. The people are pretty much the same but you would be able to take legal action as UK law and - most important - Court applies. In the end you would be able to seize their Warehouse if a judge finds your claims are true. Unfortunately especially in UK such Limited companies are easily shut down and re-opened under a different name.
To sum it up: Buying from such Chinese sources goes always without any liability and warranty from seller and you should be prepared for total loss in worst case.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply.
I will definitely look into taking legal action. I have friends who are willing to help me out.
I'm now at a point where they pretended to agree on sending me a replacement phone which was "fully functional", but now that I accepted, they claim it needs to be tested and refuse to give me a timeframe.
They are just trying to wear me out mentally. It has been going on for almost 6 months now, but I just become increasingly determined to take them down.
Disgusting people.
R u referring to the "eglobaldogitalcameras(.)com(.)au site? I "almost" ordered from them because they were so cheap...i ended up just renewing contract via another carrier...as i was also concerned about horror stories i heard buying from ebay and other China sites that send flagship samsung and htc smartphones from china or hk to rest of world..
Looking at the insurance options it seems to be between ATT, Samsung, and SquareTrade. For those who have insurace what did you pick and why?
from what I can see:
ATT:
Pros: Low Monthly ($8.99), Covers loss and theft, I believe you, I believe you are certain to get your original color?
Cons: Initial high deductible until it slides, not covered under the $89 screen repair
For ATT is it as simple as walking into a store, filing a claim, and walking out with a new one?
Samsung:
Pros: $99 deductible always, Someone comes to your house either same or next day I believe
Cons: High monthly payments ($11.99), Does not cover loss and theft, No guarantee of phone color
SquareTrade:
Pros: Low Monthly payments (I read someone said it was $7), Also read it was a low deductible like $70
Cons: Does not cover loss and theft. Too good to be true? Slow claims? I really dont know anything about this company so if someone has had experience with them it'd be helpful to know!
Guitarboarder28 said:
Looking at the insurance options it seems to be between ATT, Samsung, and SquareTrade. For those who have insurace what did you pick and why?
from what I can see:
ATT:
Pros: Low Monthly ($8.99), Covers loss and theft, I believe you, I believe you are certain to get your original color?
Cons: Initial high deductible until it slides, not covered under the $89 screen repair
For ATT is it as simple as walking into a store, filing a claim, and walking out with a new one?
Samsung:
Pros: $99 deductible always, Someone comes to your house either same or next day I believe
Cons: High monthly payments ($11.99), Does not cover loss and theft, No guarantee of phone color
SquareTrade:
Pros: Low Monthly payments (I read someone said it was $7), Also read it was a low deductible like $70
Cons: Does not cover loss and theft. Too good to be true? Slow claims? I really dont know anything about this company so if someone has had experience with them it'd be helpful to know!
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Click to collapse
Just my two cents and I never used the protection plan before, just had a few phones break during the warranty period. Looks like at&t closed their device service centers, so everything is done by phone and shipped to you. I've had appointments on evenings and sundays to replace dead phones that was nice. Here's a something I put together if I decide to. at&t has extended their enrollment for the protection plans until the end of June if you missed out.
I need to update my signature too, M9 was about die....
Silverexp said:
Just my two cents and I never used the protection plan before, just had a few phones break during the warranty period. Looks like at&t closed their device service centers, so everything is done by phone and shipped to you. I've had appointments on evenings and sundays to replace dead phones that was nice. Here's a something I put together if I decide to. at&t has extended their enrollment for the protection plans until the end of June if you missed out.
I need to update my signature too, M9 was about die....
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Click to collapse
yea I ended up going with att. thats a good speadsheet though. thanks for the share!
I have used Square Trade for many years for all my family phones, laptops/PC's, even a Keurig machine. Have had to claim a couple of times and they are very reasonable & super fast. One family member's iPhone screen cracked, initiated a claim, took it to local Genius Bar (isn't that name just a hoot), and uploaded PDF copy of the receipt, had full reimbursement from Square Trade into my PayPal account in less than 24 hours. No problems using this service at all. If device can't be fixed, or if repair facility wants to replace rather than repair, Square Trade reimburses the full cost. Just have to look at which service level and desired deductible you want.
Sent from my SM-G955U using XDA Premium HD app
Subscribed. I'd love to hear more on this.
I have always purchased AppleCare+, Samsung Protection Plus or On-Guard by Assurant ect for my devices. I have enjoyed paying a one time fee and having coverage for 2 years and not being gouged with a reoccurring monthly fee. I've never had to make a claim but I feel great comfort in knowing I am covered.
I've never had carrier insurance such as AT&T's, mostly because I usually have several devices at any given time and swap my SIM often, and was told once ( most likely erroneously ) that once I swap my SIM into another phone the insurance is no longer valid for the original device.
Looking at what AT&T's insurance offers it seems outrageously expensive. I can't imagine anybody is actually paying for that. $229 deductible?!? Thats batshlt crazy!
I paid $129 for AppleCare+ for my iPhone 7 Plus. Deductible is only $29 for screen replacement and $99 for the entire device. Those are incredibly reasonable prices. My Note 5 was $129 with a $99 deductible.
When I purchased my Galaxy s8+ in store the AT&T sales associate was pushing the insurance really hard. I declined several times always planning on buying Samsung Protection Plus. I was pretty upset when I got home and saw that Samsung Protection Plus is not offered for the s8 and s8+. Instead we get Samsung Premium Care for $11.99 a month with no option to pay for the full 2 years. That means you are paying $306.03 I'm really not too happy about that.
I have several SuareTrade warranties. Have only had to make a claim once, on a 60" Plasma TV. They were super fast about accessing the situation remotely and ended up replacing it with a brand new, much nicer full array LED. I have to say I was pretty happy with how SquareTrade handled it. Maybe I'll give then a shot at my s8+. I'd rather do that than pay $306.03 to Samsung or a ridiculous $229 deductible with AT&T