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WWJD? Ethically Questionable Action...

PLEASE DON"T BASH ME FOR MY CAPITALIST THOUGHTS, HELPFUL CRITICISM WELCOME
Hello Everyone. I've been doing research for the past couple of days and I've noticed that on ebay, a brand new unlocked iPhone 4 is selling for upwards of $1,000 while a brand new Captivate can be had for about $300-400.
I am still within the 30 day return period for my phone. I am thinking about returning my phone, getting the iPhone 4, unlocking it and selling it on ebay, then buying my dearly beloved Captivate for non-contract price on ebay or somewhere else.
By doing this I could make a profit of minimum $200 and max about $500. Are there any laws forbidding this? If not, then it's definitely in a legal grey area. Has anyone out there ever done this before? Thanks for the help
Update 1: Ok, purchased my second Captivate on Ebay for $380
Update 2: Traded in my first Captivate for an iPhone 4. They had to activate the iPhone in store, thus rendering my original SIM unusable and leaving me with a microSIM. I was bummed out. I thought I had to go to an AT&T store for them to transfer me back to a regular SIM. It turns out that microSIMs work in the Captivate! All you have to do is position it right Took me 3 tries to get it to work.
Phase 3: Sell iPhone 4 on ebay for a profit

What laws would prevent you from selling your property? You get the phone subsidized because you pay the 2 year contract. If you are still in your window feel free to do that, if you think it is your best option and you will actually make that amount of money on the phone.

You're not breaking any laws at all, you're maneuvering within your rights. Knock yourself out.

Thank you for the positive feedback, I feel this plan is coming to fruition

Er, I'm not sure why consulting Jesus is necessary. There is nothing morally incorrect about this.
As for legality: In some cases, eBay will prevent you from doing this (they did so with the Xbox 360, Wii, and PS3, I believe), but it is usually due to the companies contacting them and asking them to do so. In other words, it is usually something voluntarily enforced by certain companies for whatever reasons. In most cases, however, they will not do this, and I don't believe they're doing so for the iPhone 4.
I understand there are also some out there who find the concept of buying something then selling it higher elsewhere due to shortages is morally objectionable, but frankly, I haven't heard a good argument for why it is yet.
To get to the point, if you so desire to get an iPhone 4 and sell it on eBay for profit, it is entirely up to you.

good luck being able to unlock the iphone.
the jailbreak is broken on 4.02 and you need to jailbreak to unlock
all phones are shiping at least with 4.02 and soon 4.1

Yea, unlocking it is your main issue.
The only reason the phones that exist sell so high is because they're unlocked... An ATT user won't buy a locked phone for $1000 when they can buy it for $200 from ATT...

WWJD?
Seems o.k. to me...thanks for asking.
Jack

I live by WWZ(Zilch)D. So far I've gotten 2 STD's, bricked my captivate 37 times and it's caught fire (twice). This isn't working out so good for me.

I don't see any reason why this would be morally objectionable or against any laws.
Morally speaking, cell phones are not a necessity, they are luxury, so it is worth whatever people are willing to pay for it; its not like you are overcharging for medicine, food, or shelter.
Legally speaking, you purchased the phone and I am pretty sure it does not say anywhere in the contract that you must keep the phone until your contract is up; or else they wouldn't offer early upgrades since that would endorse contract violations.
And as far as WWJD, he would probably give the phone away for free and buy a new one, and I don't think you want to do that...

Lets get this straight, I'm pretty sure Jesus would use his magic to turn a huge profit and blow it on drugs and hookers. Isn't that what revelations was about? It's been a while since sunday school.

I did this back when I had an iPhone 3g. I sold it when My contract ended to get a backflip for $100 on a new 2 year, then turned around and sold it for $300+, so I had around $550 to play around with, and at&t didn't care.
Also, installed clockworkmod and quickboot on a captivate at at&t today, but didn't have time to root it

I'd say go ahead with it. I mean, $1000 for an okay phone is stupid, but if people are buying it, then it makes them stupid (or ignorant, as they apparently aren't aware of the Galaxy S series). In fact, this sounds like a good idea...I might want to do it!
IMO, the iPhone 4 should sell for around $500 unlocked on eBay...

So you do have a backup phone right?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Hydrocharged said:
I'd say go ahead with it. I mean, $1000 for an okay phone is stupid, but if people are buying it, then it makes them stupid (or ignorant, as they apparently aren't aware of the Galaxy S series). In fact, this sounds like a good idea...I might want to do it!
IMO, the iPhone 4 should sell for around $500 unlocked on eBay...
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Yeah my projected value of $1000 may seem a bit high, they average around $600-$800 for unlocked 16GB brand new iPhone 4
sevenvt said:
So you do have a backup phone right?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
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Ah I foresaw this as a problem as well, I figured I would just purchase a captivate at non-contract price now, and wipe and exchange the original Cappy for the iPhone 4 so I won't go through any withdrawal symptoms while the iphone is selling on ebay. Yeah I'll have to front some money but I should double my investment. Plus, I got $250 for selling my 1 yr old unlocked iphone 3G so I already have some spending money. Man people will pay lots of money for iCrap

Ryukeima said:
Legally speaking, you purchased the phone and I am pretty sure it does not say anywhere in the contract that you must keep the phone until your contract is up; or else they wouldn't offer early upgrades since that would endorse contract violations.
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actually, and correct me if I'm wrong, fairly certain the terms of service for buying a SUBSIDIZED phone (which, if you buy as an upgrade is subsidized) requires you to activate and use it on your line. they claim if you don't use it on one of your lines, they will charge you the difference or equivalent early termination fee.
now for how they enforce that or how often is probably extremely low. for instance, my sister used my mother's upgrade option to buy an iPhone 4 and the AT&T corporate store even did the process for us in the store. clearly they don't genuinely care, but I believe it's within their right to charge you for breaking the terms of the contract.

And then if the iphone doesnt sell and ask those people on ebay are just waiting for rubes? I would be careful of using ebay as a measuring stick for the actual selling prices on the iphone, considering its off contract price.. Edit: nevermind there is none, all contract. I wish you luck with your iphone... Personally if I was going to buy a 1000 dollar phone I just get an ipad, hope no one is that smart
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

If I were to buy a $1000 phone, it'd be a Samsung Galaxy S with a bug-free Froyo and without any trace of Touchwiz

I'd definitely do that. I actually did it once with the iPhone 3GS, made a really nice profit. I usually find ways to get my phones for decent prices and save my contract for an iPhone to do what you're thinking of doing.

Hydrocharged said:
If I were to buy a $1000 phone, it'd be a Samsung Galaxy S with a bug-free Froyo and without any trace of Touchwiz
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No no a galaxy tab
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

[Q] I need a nexus S

Help me out My daughter is set for upgrade. she wanted a Nexus S. Sprint says it is no longer available. i have talked to telesales, stores, and retention. Does anyone know how to get one. from sprint using an upgrade has anyone recently gotten one? There are no other phones avail on sprint that she likes. The newer high end phones... in her words " are too big to put in a pocket of any pants I own" I had to laugh but very true
any help or input in appreciated
edit I am still on sprints everything plus family plan which does limit my options. I can only get an upgrade direct from sprint, I cannot use third party stores, otherwise I lose my plan.

Sadly Sales for the NS4G thru Sprint are discontinued . Your only option it seems is to get one secondhand. The GSM ones are much rarer to find for cheap. I've seen the 4G ones being sold for 30 bucks in great condition on Craigslist over here in NY.

What about best buy or amazon wireless
I'll gladly pay you Tuesday, for a hamburger today..........

thanks guys.... tried all that... I was actually had one in my hand at a third party retailer but they could not add it to my account because of the everything plus plan. and no phone is worth losing that
topic still open how to get one directly from sprint

You could always purchase one off of Craigslist. Not sure about your location, I see tons of Sprint NS posted here in MN. Have the seller meet you at the Sprint store, or if you are trusting that its ESN is clear... bring it into the store and have them set it up. I've seen people do this quite often.

d_phekt said:
You could always purchase one off of Craigslist. Not sure about your location, I see tons of Sprint NS posted here in MN. Have the seller meet you at the Sprint store, or if you are trusting that its ESN is clear... bring it into the store and have them set it up. I've seen people do this quite often.
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Took the words right out of my mouth
Sent from my Nexus S 4G flashed to Boost Mobile

I can get them unlocked from our local carrier ...
... but I'm in Canada. You could try them for a direct outright purchase. All their phones are unlocked. dmts.biz/cellular-phones/
They only have 20 or so left though. Debating setting my wife up with one. They're going on promo next week for $100 with a one year commitment, $0 on 2 yr. Not sure if they're dropping the outright purchase price though. Currently showing as $525 (Canadian ... about $520US LOL).
(Oddly, I was just in there talking to them two hours ago about it.)

http://www.cowboom.com/, owned by Best Buy. They have them used for $99, all rated on a condition scale and most with pictures.
Their condition scale is actually pretty generous. Mine was labeled a "5" (out of 10, I think) and labeled as light scuffs and scratches. I'll be damned if I could find anything beyond a couple of nicks on the battery cover tab.

no go in Arizona on a used one. they seem to be real popular on Cricket and are still getting almost 200 used on craigslist. but thanks

jayshocka said:
no go in Arizona on a used one. they seem to be real popular on Cricket and are still getting almost 200 used on craigslist. but thanks
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That sucks. They go anywhere from $130-$150 here... There are tons of them.

Thanks everyone thread closed
Pocket posted sorry....

Verizon: pay for phone monthly?

I know T-Mobile let's you break up phone purchases on your monthly bill while still being on contract. Basically paying retail for the phone, but having bit split up.
Does Verizon do this?
Thanks
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

I'm sure that you big red users would be all over this, but I seriously doubt it. If I can contact my friend who works for them I'll ask him.

Guess what I meant was installment payments for the phone so don't have to dish out $600 or $700 straight up
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

cam1john said:
Guess what I meant was installment payments for the phone so don't have to dish out $600 or $700 straight up
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
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I knew exactly what you meant, and responded as such. I really doubt they do. Really only way to find out is to call or go in a store and ask.

This kind of defeats the purpose of going to Verizon to me. They have such ridiculously high prices for their services, the least they can do is subsidize the phones you get. Making you pay for the phone plus their service charges would be insane.
I'm hoping you're looking for a replacement before the 2-year upgrade cycle. If that's the case, why not just put it on a credit card or similar ? For big purchases like this, you can often get no-interest financing - bam, broken up into monthly payments, or you can pay more and get it done faster.
One reason I see Verizon not offering this is because T-Mobile's plans like that are basically unsecured loans - so they have people just walk out on them without paying. They can block the IMEI, but I think it's a pretty bad business move but maybe it works out for them somehow.

There is a lot of T-Mobile branded V20's on Swappa right now.

Like 23 right now compare that to 6 AT&T and 7 Verizon branded units. What exactly is the deal with T-Mobile?

maybe people who are stuck in twrp bootloop?

Tmobile service sucks maybe
Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

Sub-Negro said:
Like 23 right now compare that to 6 AT&T and 7 Verizon branded units. What exactly is the deal with T-Mobile?
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A good number of All but one of 'em are unopened/New,they probably bought 'em to take advantage of the $200 Rebate & headphone offers.
As long as they have a net gain from purchase price/rebate/sale price,I suppose it's a worthwhile endeavor.........

KOLIOSIS said:
A good number of All but one of 'em are unopened/New,they probably bought 'em to take advantage of the $200 Rebate & headphone offers.
As long as they have a net gain from purchase price/rebate/sale price,I suppose it's a worthwhile endeavor.........
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T-Mobile is basically giving these things away. If they used the trade in thing, it makes the phone either free or less than $200. They probably have another phone they are using and don't plan on leaving T-Mobile, so they just got one and are selling it. T-Mobile, effectively, puts you in a contract doing this. They take the price of the phone and give you bill credits for the whole term of the EIP. If you terminate service, you owe the phone. Combine that with the free line promotion they had a few days prior, I am guessing this is what is happening. The contract does not say anything about using the phone. As long as they keep their bill current and keep their service, it will be able to be used (I think...). I would be careful buying one of these V20s in case you are not allowed to use the phone on a line that isn't associated with the account, but that is me being a worry wort.

EDubs11 said:
T-Mobile is basically giving these things away. If they used the trade in thing, it makes the phone either free or less than $200. They probably have another phone they are using and don't plan on leaving T-Mobile, so they just got one and are selling it. T-Mobile, effectively, puts you in a contract doing this. They take the price of the phone and give you bill credits for the whole term of the EIP. If you terminate service, you owe the phone. Combine that with the free line promotion they had a few days prior, I am guessing this is what is happening. The contract does not say anything about using the phone. As long as they keep their bill current and keep their service, it will be able to be used (I think...). I would be careful buying one of these V20s in case you are not allowed to use the phone on a line that isn't associated with the account, but that is me being a worry wort.
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Swappa won't let you sell a phone that still has anything owed on it. They check the IMEI.
I assume the bill credits wouldn't affect this as long as the phone is free and clear.

Sub-Negro said:
Like 23 right now compare that to 6 AT&T and 7 Verizon branded units. What exactly is the deal with T-Mobile?
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I bought one unopened for $485. It was purchased with the T-mobile employee discount for $285.

Evilv2 said:
I bought one unopened for $485. It was purchased with the T-mobile employee discount for $285.
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Nice find,congratulations! ?
Sent from my Xiaomi Mi Mix using XDA Labs

KOLIOSIS said:
Nice find,congratulations!
Sent from my Xiaomi Mi Mix using XDA Labs
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I assume lot of the unopened were bought with significant discounts. They are being sold for $500 +/- $15.

Watch out t-mobile is the carrier that's gets the lg partner purchase program phones. They can not be carrier unlocked. That's why there up and cheap.

aknotts415 said:
Watch out t-mobile is the carrier that's gets the lg partner purchase program phones. They can not be carrier unlocked. That's why there up and cheap.
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I'm guessing you can use a paid SIM Unlock service to override this........................

KOLIOSIS said:
I'm guessing you can use a paid SIM Unlock service to override this........................
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Won't work. When they go to get the unlock code from T-Mobile the imei isn't in their system so they can't get it and it can't be done. Trust me. I've seen this happen on the v10 and g5. Just look it up.

aknotts415 said:
Won't work. When they go to get the unlock code from T-Mobile the imei isn't in their system so they can't get it and it can't be done. Trust me. I've seen this happen on the v10 and g5. Just look it up.
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If that's the case, I'd think the sellers would know better than to post a listing on Swappa.
Guess we'll find out soon enough how many of the listings are fraudulent.....

KOLIOSIS said:
If that's the case, I'd think the sellers would know better than to post a listing on Swappa.
Guess we'll find out soon enough how many of the listings are fraudulent.....
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There not fraudulent. Not sure why u think that. Theres nothing wrong with selling lg partner purchase program phones. They just can't be carrier unlocked and the sellers don't go out of their way to tell you. They just say their not sure.

aknotts415 said:
There not fraudulent. Not sure why u think that. Theres nothing wrong with selling lg partner purchase program phones. They just can't be carrier unlocked and the sellers don't go out of their way to tell you. They just say their not sure.
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Full disclosure is a given when selling on Swappa,anything less would be fraudulent,if not to the letter of the rules,it certainly would be in spirit/practice.
This is some good information though,glad you brought it up. :good:
I'm betting a lot of folks have never heard of such a thing.

Yeah ur right. Lol I wast trying to buy a v10 and g5 earlier this year and ran into this situation. Very difficult to deal with. Most sellers selling them do t really understand them selves and they blame T-Mobile. It probly is T-Mobile fault since it's branded T-Mobile. Just want everyone to be aware they can't be unlocked, even a third party unlock service can't. Having it on ur account for 40 days doesnt matter either. It's a crappy situation lol

aknotts415 said:
Yeah ur right. Lol I wast trying to buy a v10 and g5 earlier this year and ran into this situation. Very difficult to deal with. Most sellers selling them do t really understand them selves and they blame T-Mobile. It probly is T-Mobile fault since it's branded T-Mobile. Just want everyone to be aware they can't be unlocked, even a third party unlock service can't. Having it on ur account for 40 days doesnt matter either. It's a crappy situation lol
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I'd heard of employee deals/mfg-partner phones/etc..,but,I didn't know about the SIM Unlocking issue.
Again,many THX for bringing this up,you've no doubt saved some people a lot of trouble. :highfive:
FWIW,here's Swappa's policy on clean ESN's:
https://swappa.com/faq/sell/share_esn_numbers
Bulletproof,no,but,it sounds as if they're doing their due dilligence w/researching the ESN/IMEI,perhaps w/more tools than the general public is armed with.
Some sharp individuals here on XDA/Swappa running the show,I'm guessing/hoping they have this scenario covered,enough to ensure the buyers are protected in a worse-case scenario.

A little bit off topic, can you get square trade insurance for phones purchased at swappa?

aknotts415 said:
Yeah ur right. Lol I wast trying to buy a v10 and g5 earlier this year and ran into this situation. Very difficult to deal with. Most sellers selling them do t really understand them selves and they blame T-Mobile. It probly is T-Mobile fault since it's branded T-Mobile. Just want everyone to be aware they can't be unlocked, even a third party unlock service can't. Having it on ur account for 40 days doesnt matter either. It's a crappy situation lol
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Um I'm not trying to be a pain but I bought my G5 from Tmobile and had it unlocked in 24 hours as I was traveling out of the country. I used the app on the phone and the code the rep gave me. I've traveled to 7 countries since then and used sim cards from each one no problem.

seanmfield said:
Um I'm not trying to be a pain but I bought my G5 from Tmobile and had it unlocked in 24 hours as I was traveling out of the country. I used the app on the phone and the code the rep gave me. I've traveled to 7 countries since then and used sim cards from each one no problem.
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Ur probly wasn't a lg partner purchase program one then lol.

Customer Service and Samsung Trade-in, PLEASE HELP!!

Hello Forum,
I'm interestted in the S10 preorder offer and I've been contacting Samsung customer service to get some info about the trade-in program and their answers has been completely contradictory. I've called at least 4 times and every time I received a different answer.
My case is that I have an S8+ that I would like to trade, I have this phone with tmobile under an EIP and still have some payments left on it.*In the trade-in FAQ here:*https://www.samsung.com/us/trade-in/frequently-asked-questions/* ...... you can read:
"The device I’m trading in is one that I bought using an equal payment or other financing plan, and I still have payments left on it. Can I still trade it in?
Yes – however, please note that all remaining payments on the device you’re trading in are your responsibility. You may also be subject to additional fees. Check with your current carrier for details."
However, every time I talked with the customer servive reps at Samsung they give me a differet answer, some says that I have to pay in full, another say no need, other say they can not guarantee that I will meet the requirements ..... whats happening here?? Its really confusing and I'm shocked with the lack of knoledge and / or training of the Samsungs CSRs.*
Anyone can help, PLEASE?? Anyone with a real experience about this matter?? I would appreciate any input ....... Thanks a lot!!

I'm wondering the same. Cant pass up $550 for a note 8 trade in. Sounds to good to be true. I went ahead and ordered and will take my chances. If they low ball me or wont take it then i'll have them send it back. I could send my s8+ but they only want to give $200 or maybe its $300 for that. It's paid for from ATT and sim unlocked. I'd rather keep that around as a spare. It's worth $300. The note 8 is not worth $550, hopefully they'll take it. It's still on someones ATT account because they wont let me unlock it. Said i still owed. I bought it new in box for $50 right before the Note 9's came out lol. Been using it as my daily driver. Someone probably got the buy one get one free deal then decided they wanted some Crack too. In the right place at the right time.

gunner007dc said:
If it's under an EIP, then you can trade it in. (Logic is you technically own the device, just being financed) However, once traded in, your monthly fee for the device is still due each month even though you no longer have the phone. (Until it's paid in full) So at some point you will need to pay off the phone regardless
If you're under something like JUMP by t-mobile, these types of phones are considered leases, and are ineligible for trade-ins due to the fact they need to be returned to the provider at the end of their terms.
As far as requirements, mainly that the IMEI / ESN are clean. If at some point you failed to continue making payments or such and the device is blacklisted, they may deduct/charge back/return device.
It also depends if you plan on staying with T-Mobile or not. You'd be unable to port out your number with a EIP attached to it without paying off the device in full.
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Thanks for the reply ...... Today I received an email from Samsung regarding my reservation and they are calling the trade-in program "enhanced trade-in", any idea of what does it mean? its just another Samsung promotional tactic??