Scam or not? - General Questions and Answers

So I'm from Indonesia, and my dad is selling a Note 5 with an online service that acts sort of like Craigslist. We received a message from a supposedly German man living in Ghana, who seems to be really interested in buying the device. However, I find it rather incredulous that he'd want to buy a phone from us when he lives almost on the other side of the world. My dad already asked DHL, who said it would cost around 150 USD to ship, and combined with the device, it makes it almost a full 100 USD more expensive than a NEW Note 5 he could buy locally (I checked).
He says he has already sent the money to a bank account (which was empty, for precaution) to my dad, but it's been a few days, and the money still isn't there. My dad wants the device to sell by 25 March, which is when the S7 begins shipping here, or else the phone is unlikely to sell, and he paid a few bucks to make the ad become the top result, and that lasts only a week, so we're working with some pretty tight timing here. Should we wait or just tell him the deal's off and find someone else?

Why not sell it via online shop like OLX Indonesia, etc? I think it would be easier...
Sent from my ASUS_Z00AD

Related

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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dany74q said:
Quick update -
I have got an answer from the company,I have to say that it sounds very believable..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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!

Early Upgrade? (o2 UK)

Hi Forum,
I just smashed my HD2 by dropping it on a concrete floor when getting out of my car. Dumbass. I was wondering, I am 15 or 16 months into a 24 month contract with o2 in the UK (via CarphoneWarehouse), do you think that they would allow me to get an early upgrade? I was thinking about bartering with them and trying to get what is essentially an 18 month contract, but locked into 24 months to make up the 6ish months I have left on my remaining contract.
Has anyone ever haggled with them, to any success? I have got insurance through my bank as part of a Current Account Plus but as I've claimed on it before it'll cost me £50 excess and it took several months to get my phone back.
I'm paying nearly £40 per month, so I'm not a 'penny-punter' but appreciate I'm not on the world's largest contract either.
Maybe if I took o2's own mobile phone insurance too, this could help sweeten the deal for them. I don't know. I'm really at a loss without a working phone and although my phone does work, it's really difficult to see through the almost shattered screen.
Kind regards.
ThinkTankInk said:
Has anyone ever haggled with them, to any success? I have got insurance through my bank as part of a Current Account Plus but as I've claimed on it before it'll cost me £50 excess and it took several months to get my phone back.
I'm paying nearly £40 per month, so I'm not a 'penny-punter' but appreciate I'm not on the world's largest contract either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry I'm a little off topic here...
1. You guys in the UK can get insurance if you break your phone through the bank?!
2. Penny punter? lol what does that mean
I'm sure you can work something out with them. In Canada (which has a greedy telecom industry) stuff like that always happens and it's not the end of the world. In my experience it's more who will serve you than company policy. Don't sweat it too much.
Yeah, because I got what's called a Current Account Plus. I pay my bank £5 a month and I get a £300 interest free overdraft (which I am in a lot!), free mobile phone insurance which usually costs around £12-£24 a month and various other bits and pieces I'm not bothered about.
Also, a penny-punter is a term used in the betting industry. I work in a betting shop. It's someone that comes in a bets pennies per race (50p, 25p etc.) rather than pounds. You have to treat them the same as you would someone that was whacking £10,000 on a quadriplegic donkey. In short: a cheapskate.
Gonna give o2 a call when they wake up at 8am this morning and see what can be done. I'll post my results. I sincerely hope that they're feeling generous.
Update: o2 and Carphone Warehouse stonewalled me. Basically said that I should have taken *their* phone insurance (for £24 a month!) and now I'm stuck with a broken phone and eight months left on my contract.
O2 did say I could lower my contract to £26ish per month, however. Then, once I had been on my new tariff for a month I could buy out my contract at the new price. But that's still around £180.
I have about £150 for rainy days, and it is indeed looking very gloomy, so I think I am going to put that towards a phone that'll keep me going until January and then get something new, shiny and soon-to-be-obsolete-in-another-six-months-time handset.
I'm really sorry to hear that. Sounds like that place is playing with the rules...
Would you be interested in a blackberry pearl flip? I know it s blasphemy talking about a BB here but I'm willing to send it free of charge (i would ask you to pay shipping though). I will check for it when I get home.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S Captivate powered by Serendipity 7
I really appreciate the offer. It's much more generous than I was ever anticipating, but I am going to decline. Sorry to sound ungrateful but I am really needing a phone with a large display and gaming capabilities, because I work evenings and Sundays. My phone is the only source of relieving boredom.
Again, I really do appreciate the offer though! Thank you.
No worries! Good luck on your search.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S Captivate powered by Serendipity 7
d_gritza said:
Sorry I'm a little off topic here...
1. You guys in the UK can get insurance if you break your phone through the bank?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's swings and roundabouts.
With a bank account policy the premium is normally lower, but the excess can be higher and it's often not new for old.
With my O2 insurance it's £10 a month, £28 excess for any claim and I get a new phone the next working day.
I looked at the benefits from the £5 a month account Barclays are offering and other than the insurance for mobiles none of the benefits were of any use to me so I declined and stuck with my O2 insurance.
If I knew o2's was a tenner I would have gotten it myself. I'm sure they quoted 24 quid per month though which is why I declined. That is extortionate.
Sent from my HD2 pretwnding to be a Nexus One using XDA Premium App (now with limited edition cracked screen!)
ThinkTankInk said:
If I knew o2's was a tenner I would have gotten it myself. I'm sure they quoted 24 quid per month though which is why I declined. That is extortionate.
Sent from my HD2 pretwnding to be a Nexus One using XDA Premium App (now with limited edition cracked screen!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Blimey £24 I'd refuse to pay too!
http://www.o2.co.uk/support/generalhelp/howdoi/insurance
For basic phones it's £7.50 a month, high end phones it's £10 a month and iPhones it's £10 or £15 depending on model.
Excess is £25 or from £50 for iPhones.
I was getting confused between claims, the £28 and next day delivery was through CPW with my HD.
HD2 was £25 and I think a week or 10 days, and I had to hand over the damaged handset to the courier.
Once I get my new phone, I'm going to call O2 and see if they'll hook me up. As the phone will be 'third party' though, I'll probably just stick with what I have and then get it when I get a new contract in Jan/Feb.

[Q] I fell in love with this device. What now?

Hey guys, i fell in love with this device, my problem is now it seems so rediciously overpriced in my country(Denmark) I heard that it's around 400$ in US but in denmark, it's around 720$, which is just so much.
Compared to other tablets like Galaxy,xoom,acer, and so on' it's just so rediciously expensive.
Also, the other thing which annoys me is when people sell it used in Denmark, they only cut like 10% off the price, which imo should be at least 40%.
No wonder why noone sells it. (check dba.dk if instrested)
So, guys, is it really true that it's so expensive, and worth the money?
Also, if anyone danish guys got it, and want to sell it, contact me! (max 2750DKK)
tl;dr
Want to buy
Too expensive
Brag about people sell it for too much
Where to buy
THANKS!
I would still buy it because of the dock. For that kind of price point I wou,d probably try for a prime instead.
Sans the dock, I'd probably have gotten the GT in your boat.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
The prime is like 1070$...
Dang, is it not a viable option to get it shipped from elsewhere? I don't know if it's been stated to not be allowed already, but if you could get it shipped from the US for less than $320 (or $320- how much you value the time it takes), you'd be getting it for less?
asdfuogh said:
Dang, is it not a viable option to get it shipped from elsewhere? I don't know if it's been stated to not be allowed already, but if you could get it shipped from the US for less than $320 (or $320- how much you value the time it takes), you'd be getting it for less?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, if you want to ship it from the US, it's a bit complicated inside of EU (well at least Czech Republic ), because if you order something from abroad, you have to pay some fees and taxes for importing it. So in order to pick up the package from the post office you first have to pay all the fees and taxes.
Not to mention that you'd probably have to get a different charger or at least the plug. But most of all, you'd get no support/warranty if something goes wrong unless you ship it back to the US. And btw, shipping is not the cheapest as well.
But still $720 is terrible, I got mine (with the dock) a few weeks ago for ~ $575 (about 11000 CZK). Price without the dock is something like $465. But it's still cheaper than the Galaxy Tab. My father in law bought one a few weeks ago - 64GB, 3G with bluetooth keyboard - for something like $1100
On the other hand, prices in US vs. EU are not really comparable. I always rage and envy, when I see them... The US prices (for almost anything) always seem 25-50% less than what I get from local stores.
I heard a rumor once that US producers set EU prices like 1 USD = 1 EUR...
Sigismund83 said:
Well, if you want to ship it from the US, it's a bit complicated inside of EU (well at least Czech Republic ), because if you order something from abroad, you have to pay some fees and taxes for importing it. So in order to pick up the package from the post office you first have to pay all the fees and taxes.
Not to mention that you'd probably have to get a different charger or at least the plug. But most of all, you'd get no support/warranty if something goes wrong unless you ship it back to the US. And btw, shipping is not the cheapest as well.
But still $720 is terrible, I got mine (with the dock) a few weeks ago for ~ $575 (about 11000 CZK). Price without the dock is something like $465. But it's still cheaper than the Galaxy Tab. My father in law bought one a few weeks ago - 64GB, 3G with bluetooth keyboard - for something like $1100
On the other hand, prices in US vs. EU are not really comparable. I always rage and envy, when I see them... The US prices (for almost anything) always seem 25-50% less than what I get from local stores.
I heard a rumor once that US producers set EU prices like 1 USD = 1 EUR...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You pretty much explained why i can't order it outside EU, the other thing is that there is no "ÆØÅ" keys, which is standard danish keys.
Also, thinking about prime..
mafiapanda said:
You pretty much explained why i can't order it outside EU, the other thing is that there is no "ÆØÅ" keys, which is standard danish keys.
Also, thinking about prime..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ordered some books in the US some years ago. The fee was not as big if I remember correctly. Don't know if it's the same with tech.
Regarding æøå. Couldn't you just flash a danish rom?
Sendt fra min GT-I9100 med Tapatalk
I'm not familiar with Danish customs but I know from USA->Canada travel and the inverse that past what ever $ amount is set, you have to pay a precentage. So e.g. I went through to Canada with an engagement ring and gave the cashier my receipt, then had to pay the duties to take it through. That and remembering my fiancee is extra awesome for not wanting a ring that costs more than my car....lol
I would assume that most countries are the same in concept.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
poulsky said:
Ordered some books in the US some years ago. The fee was not as big if I remember correctly. Don't know if it's the same with tech.
Regarding æøå. Couldn't you just flash a danish rom?
Sendt fra min GT-I9100 med Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So a rom would magickly add extra keys on the keyboard dock(;?
Lol
Anyway, i called asus and asked them about prime release date, and they couldn't tell me, so right now, it's 50-50 if i can wait for the prime
Spidey01 said:
I'm not familiar with Danish customs but I know from USA->Canada travel and the inverse that past what ever $ amount is set, you have to pay a precentage. So e.g. I went through to Canada with an engagement ring and gave the cashier my receipt, then had to pay the duties to take it through. That and remembering my fiancee is extra awesome for not wanting a ring that costs more than my car....lol
I would assume that most countries are the same in concept.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, it's not worth buying from usa.
What i could do tho, is get someone to buy it in usa, and then send it to me personally... i just don't know anyone in usa.
How about a private sale like Craigslist/Ebay/Amazon or something
I have a question for you guys. Can the OP buy stuff from amazon? I have a seller account on there. If I want to help out the OP and make it safe for both of us, could he buy from me on amazon and then I buy it from over here and send it to him?
mafiapanda said:
So a rom would magickly add extra keys on the keyboard dock(;?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thought you were talking about the soft keys.
But I really think you should wait for the prime. According to Anand it should be so much better than its predecessor.
Sendt fra min GT-I9100 med Tapatalk
Sigismund83 said:
Well, if you want to ship it from the US, it's a bit complicated inside of EU (well at least Czech Republic ), because if you order something from abroad, you have to pay some fees and taxes for importing it. So in order to pick up the package from the post office you first have to pay all the fees and taxes.
Not to mention that you'd probably have to get a different charger or at least the plug. But most of all, you'd get no support/warranty if something goes wrong unless you ship it back to the US. And btw, shipping is not the cheapest as well.
But still $720 is terrible, I got mine (with the dock) a few weeks ago for ~ $575 (about 11000 CZK). Price without the dock is something like $465. But it's still cheaper than the Galaxy Tab. My father in law bought one a few weeks ago - 64GB, 3G with bluetooth keyboard - for something like $1100
On the other hand, prices in US vs. EU are not really comparable. I always rage and envy, when I see them... The US prices (for almost anything) always seem 25-50% less than what I get from local stores.
I heard a rumor once that US producers set EU prices like 1 USD = 1 EUR...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just an fyi the beautiful thing about asus is their warranties are good for 2 years worldwide and another thing is you should be able to update still i would call asus and comfirm this though but the warranty thing i know is a definite
Thanks guys for your kindness and support!
I decided to wait for the prime though!
Anyway, see ya on the prime forum!

The perils of eBay..

Well I figure my first post should be a big moan on the subject of eBay.
I'm currently -£750 waiting on refunds for 2 Galaxy s4 phones that I tried to buy on eBay... the first auction had a slightly dodgy feel but I figured it was worth the risk for the potential of a good deal, turns out I should have trusted my initial gut instinct, about 10 minutes after I paid for it I got a message from eBay saying the listing had been removed as the seller was a compromised account, and that I no longer have to pay for the item. Annoyingly I still have to wait till next week before I can escalate it and get my refund.
Second one seemed a legit deal, seemed like an unwanted upgrade ( I know there is a degree of risk there too but, my last phone was one and I've had no issues), legit photos... item arrived on Monday all seemed in working order, spent all day Tuesday researching which mod to go with, re-learning the whole rooting/firmware/recovery upgrade processes, loading my apps, configuring them all etc , Micro-sim arrived Wednesday, but for whatever reason wouldn't register on the mobile network so I went to the carrier's shop.... I'm sure you all know where this is going, the phone's IMEI is on the blacklist, so I've had to spend the last few hours convincing the seller to refund me, of course I now have to send it back at my own expense and it probably won't arrive till Monday at which point I have to trust he'll refund me in a timely fashion, or I'll have to escalate again..... argh, what a head ache!
I must confess before all this I didn't know about all these possible pitfalls, I wish eBay had some more upfront guidance on risks of the phones being sold being blacklisted, I didn't even know such a list existed, ah well live and learn I guess.
For the limited time I had the phone I was loving it for it's none call related features, I'll just have to buy my next one from a legit source and hope for 3rd time lucky!
Anyhow, hi, hopefully my future posts will be more positive.
Feel sorry for you there buddy... I got mine too from a reseller, but we met upfront. Its been 10 weeks now and my s4 is still kicking. Its really a lot better if you're getting an expensive piece of hardware from a legit source...
tonyr80 said:
Well I figure my first post should be a big moan on the subject of eBay.
I'm currently -£750 waiting on refunds for 2 Galaxy s4 phones that I tried to buy on eBay... the first auction had a slightly dodgy feel but I figured it was worth the risk for the potential of a good deal, turns out I should have trusted my initial gut instinct, about 10 minutes after I paid for it I got a message from eBay saying the listing had been removed as the seller was a compromised account, and that I no longer have to pay for the item. Annoyingly I still have to wait till next week before I can escalate it and get my refund.
Second one seemed a legit deal, seemed like an unwanted upgrade ( I know there is a degree of risk there too but, my last phone was one and I've had no issues), legit photos... item arrived on Monday all seemed in working order, spent all day Tuesday researching which mod to go with, re-learning the whole rooting/firmware/recovery upgrade processes, loading my apps, configuring them all etc , Micro-sim arrived Wednesday, but for whatever reason wouldn't register on the mobile network so I went to the carrier's shop.... I'm sure you all know where this is going, the phone's IMEI is on the blacklist, so I've had to spend the last few hours convincing the seller to refund me, of course I now have to send it back at my own expense and it probably won't arrive till Monday at which point I have to trust he'll refund me in a timely fashion, or I'll have to escalate again..... argh, what a head ache!
I must confess before all this I didn't know about all these possible pitfalls, I wish eBay had some more upfront guidance on risks of the phones being sold being blacklisted, I didn't even know such a list existed, ah well live and learn I guess.
For the limited time I had the phone I was loving it for it's none call related features, I'll just have to buy my next one from a legit source and hope for 3rd time lucky!
Anyhow, hi, hopefully my future posts will be more positive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I reccomend this seller, i ve bought 2 S3's from him, all perfect, sealed box and great shipping speed:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/181145259142?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649
Just to top off my day my brother came round and stole my last beer when I was out for a run, fml!
Thanks for the sympathy and recommendation though guys.
Just wondered what you paid for the phones.if you don't mind. How much did you think you were saving over buying from a shop?
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda premium
Bradden1 said:
Just wondered what you paid for the phones.if you don't mind. How much did you think you were saving over buying from a shop?
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda premium
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The first one was £370, and was apparently a 32gb model, that should have been my first warning signal as I've since learned the 32gb model isn't for sale in the UK yet.
The second went for £380 and included a 32gb memory card, so I felt like I was getting a 70-80ish quid saving?
I feel for you! Ebay can be a great bargain grabbing experience but there are some sharks lurking about. Hope you get both your refunds and put it down to experience..... I love technology but wouldn't risk not having a backed warranty on an item as expensive as an S4.
gob said:
I feel for you! Ebay can be a great bargain grabbing experience but there are some sharks lurking about. Hope you get both your refunds and put it down to experience..... I love technology but wouldn't risk not having a backed warranty on an item as expensive as an S4.
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Yea I've found a seller who is selling for £410 and providing a valid receipt, I think that's a safe price point to purchase at.
I bought my S4 on ebay last week for £400 incl and it was supposed to be in a sealed box, fully unlocked and an unwanted upgrade.
It was still sealed, but was locked to O2 and the seller insisted that O2 had promised him it would unlock in 3-5 days.
I said I couldn't wait, unlocked it myself & asked for a £25 refund as this was what a shop would charge to unlock it for me!! He gave it to me. :victory:
hotlips69 said:
I bought my S4 on ebay last week for £400 incl and it was supposed to be in a sealed box, fully unlocked and an unwanted upgrade.
It was still sealed, but was locked to O2 and the seller insisted that O2 had promised him it would unlock in 3-5 days.
I said I couldn't wait, unlocked it myself & asked for a £25 refund as this was what a shop would charge to unlock it for me!! He gave it to me. :victory:
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Nice one.
I got my S4 from eBay too. For £370.it was on o2 as well. Got an unlock code from a website for £15 that's permanently unlocked it.
I've been very happy. And lucky in my eBay experiences.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2
Up until this happened I'd had 200+ transactions without 1 issue, then 2 back to back....
My S1 was off eBay, was a bargain and has never caused me one issue.
I am however a bit wary of unwanted upgrades after learning they could be blacklisted if they end their contract prematurely, if that happens a year later I doubt there's anything you could do about it.
I was actually worried about buying a FAKE S4, i.e. something else masquerading as an S4.
Do these exist, or is it just me being paranoid?
hotlips69 said:
I was actually worried about buying a FAKE S4, i.e. something else masquerading as an S4.
Do these exist, or is it just me being paranoid?
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They exist.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpU4CqyNvrs
frrlod said:
They exist.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpU4CqyNvrs
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Having watching this clip, I was worried for a few seconds until I read the comments!
Mine has all the comments about being fake...no logo, yellow camera....instead the "fake" is the international version! :laugh:
You just have to see if the savings you are getting are more than the risk involved
Sent from my octa-core, badboy S4 using the new Tapatalk 4 Beta
Wanna discover some awesome new apps? Check my thread - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2322687
I have wondered about Amazon market sales, whether it is more reliable/secure a method of obtaining a good deal, I wonder does anyone on here have any experience of it?
tonyr80 said:
I have wondered about Amazon market sales, whether it is more reliable/secure a method of obtaining a good deal, I wonder does anyone on here have any experience of it?
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Generally Amazon is more trustworthy than eBay, especially if it says 'fulfilled by amazon' or it's sold by official stores (AnkerOfficial and stuff like that) - you can tell if they have a very high rating and their descriptions are written fluently (you should be able to tell between the chinese/whatever sellers and official stores).
BUT, there are many fakes on Amazon too.
Feel sorry for you buddy. I got mine from a website called Kogan. It costed me 689 AU dollars including shipping fee. It is quite cheap and it arrived a week after i paid. More importantly, it is not second handed or reselling product.
i too purchased an s3 that was an unwanted phone, i had a gut feeling it was dodgy but thought ebay would protect me if it was dodgy
how wrong was i
phone never sent, money gone
all ebay could do was email them as i payed by bank deposit. even police online fraud cant force them to pay back the money and a bank tranfser reversal doesnt work if they deny it
2 months on still trying for refund while there still buying stuff
ended up buying an S4 I9505 off kogan for $620 inc 32gm micro sd and freight couldnt justify paying $460 for an S3 when the S4 was going for that price
Bert02 said:
i too purchased an s3 that was an unwanted phone, i had a gut feeling it was dodgy but thought ebay would protect me if it was dodgy
how wrong was i
phone never sent, money gone
all ebay could do was email them as i payed by bank deposit. even police online fraud cant force them to pay back the money and a bank tranfser reversal doesnt work if they deny it
2 months on still trying for refund while there still buying stuff
ended up buying an S4 I9505 off kogan for $620 inc 32gm micro sd and freight couldnt justify paying $460 for an S3 when the S4 was going for that price
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Yea, PayPal payment protection is a must on eBay, I'd never trust a transaction without it really.
As it is I gave eBay another go as I spotted a deal that looked legit and unlikely to be a bad phone, got myself a new i19505, sealed box and with a receipt, £360. Pretty happy with that! Also got my money back from the 2 other bad deals, yay.

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