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Refurb ripped on ebay

Hey guys
So I ended up buying off of ebay, made the huge mistake of buying from a "newer" seller. It came in the mail, and a few things wrong with it
a) no car charger like the ad said (altho he said he'd put it in the mail asap)
b) it was in a tattered ATT box that was not like the new box from the ebay ad
c) black marker on the box tries to cover the fact that it says "refurbished kit" (I can luckily read through the marker)
So paypal has withdrawn the funds for now (on the circumstance that they actually double charged my credit card and withdrew both funds again until this is resolved). So hopefully this means I got some leverage here.
I basically told him:
"I will credit payment back, however would
like to receive the car charger as per the ebay ad, and at least have
you admit that you did not send me a new phone but rather a
refurbished one, in a box that was not as shown in the ad. We can
then either agree upon a new fair price, or I will delay the payment
until the dispute is resolved through paypal."
What would you guys think is a fair price for a refurbished one? I paid 375USD$ (355 + 20 shipping) or 410$CAN
He is said to now make it 340$?
is it worth it to still be dealing with this guy at all?

?
how much would a refurbished go for in comparison to a used att tilt?

Who was the seller? Do you have a link to the completed auction?
I sold a buddy's old Tilt for about $400 locally, so I think a $375 shipped price for a factory refurb is still a good deal. I still remember selling a brand new one only opened for unlock for $650, but that was awhile ago, haha.
~Cheers~

hi
what are some things i should be cautious of refurb?
i wanna check and make sure everything is working before i continue negotiating/paying him
it seems that sometimes it does not read the touch screen (or is slow to detect)
does this happen normally?

Go90go said:
Who was the seller? Do you have a link to the completed auction?
I sold a buddy's old Tilt for about $400 locally, so I think a $375 shipped price for a factory refurb is still a good deal. I still remember selling a brand new one only opened for unlock for $650, but that was awhile ago, haha.
~Cheers~
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I can't imagine why someone would pay $650 for a Tilt, even when they were brand new they were $549.99 without contract.

it would help if you told us what kind of device you've bought (i've read AT&T and refurb. but no device name)

Xtreme XL said:
it would help if you told us what kind of device you've bought (i've read AT&T and refurb. but no device name)
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It's a Tilt, he says it in 2nd post.
I'd go for between $320-$350 and no higher, non-negotiable! The ad is different from the actual product, your missing parts, and the other crap you have to deal with.
Refurbished should work just as well as a new device, sometimes a refurbished works better than a new. It's a gamble either way since you don't know what the seller has done with it. Pull up some system info on the device and see if it's stock info. Also, is there any physical damage?

TILT
yes its an HTC tilt
there is no physical damage and it looks good
"Pull up some system info on the device and see if it's stock info"
how is this done?
he also claims that their is still a one year warranty....if i send it back to ATT they will send me a new one. Is there a way to verify this?

How reliable is Swappa.com?

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.

U.S.: Blacklisting phones, blacklisted phones, and the shebang.

Okay here's the deal. I bought a "new" phone on ebay from a seller in U.S. shipped overseas to where I live. I bought this to use it in U.S. as well when I visit the country in a couple of months.
The seller agreed to include a printed sale receipt and a letter stating that he had sold this phone with this IMEI inside the box. I received the phone two weeks back and surprise, there was no receipt or sale letter inside. I was gutted.
Since then, I have tried to contact the seller at least ten times and he has not responded even once. He had responded to every single one of my emails in an hour before the purchase.
I am not going paranoid. Is there a chance the seller might be scamming me by reporting it stolen? How does it work in the US? Is it possible to report a phone stolen (to claim insurance) and get it blacklisted without the original phone box?
And, if it indeed had been blacklisted by all the networks in US and it fries my new sim, will having the original phone box be enough for a proof of purchase to "unblacklist" it? If so, how long does the process take considering I might be in US only for a few days at a time.
Thanks in advance!

I would just file a ticket with eBay, not because I necessarily believe they're trying to cheat you, but because they violated your agreement. Did you make sure the seller confirmed to you that the IMEI was good and would continue to be so - within eBay ?
There's always a chance they might be scamming you. The original box doesn't mean anything, to anyone, when it comes to reporting it stolen or an insurance claim or them bailing on a payment plan. Them not having it won't hurt them and won't help you. Lots of phones are stolen while still in the original packaging - and those phones do tend to get blacklisted. And like you have thought, they might be planning to report it stolen or stop paying for it (in which case, the carrier will blacklist).
Why not just buy a pre-paid SIM and use that in your normal phone while in the USA ? Or buy a cheap pre-paid phone while you are there if your current phone does not use SIM technology ? You can get one for $20 at places like WAL*MART and similar, which are all over the USA.
Not sure what you mean about "frying" a new SIM. It just wouldn't work if the IMEI was blacklisted, but it's not going to explode or anything. :silly:
If it's blacklisted, I wouldn't count on getting it "un-blacklisted". Carriers really don't like to do that, and you'd probably be looking at making multiple phone calls and facing the likelihood that they weren't going to do it no matter what you said. Normal reps tend to not even know what the IMEI blacklist is, you'd have to have your case brought to someone who did, and convince them to do it - which they usually flat-out will not. I've only really heard of success with having it "un-blacklisted" if you're a long-term customer with a retention/sob story, and it took multiple phone calls and a lot of time.

Thanks I actually did buy a GSM phone for use with a prepaid SIM in USA. I bought it mainly for 3G band inter-compatibility between that used in US and where I live.
Wouldn't opening a dispute with Ebay for this be a little too much? Also, if I open an Item Not As Described dispute, they would request me to get the phone checked with a local dealer and give them a report of exactly how it is not as described by the inspector right? The receipt being missing would be a minor thing that I am not sure they would even consider looking at.

I really don't know the process (but the stories I've heard didn't make the buyer do anything too complicated). Honestly, the sellers themselves have been screwed over because they'll often just take you on your word and people have been known to scam that way. *shrug*
It's up to you how worried you are and if you're prepared to take a loss. But if they're not responding to you, what else are you going to do it get eBay involved? Other than just sit on it and hope for the best - which might all turn out fine, might not.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

The seller is still being very dodgy. Is it true that the Social Security Number is printed on the phone bill when it is purchased from AT&T even if it was an outright purchase?
The seller is refusing to provide the original sales invoice on the grounds that it has his SSN and he would not want to disclose that. He is also refusing to provide a bill by himself saying that he does not know the IMEI of the phone he sold to me so he cannot take the liability of giving a bill for an IMEI he is not sure was sold by him! However, the phone is working fine otherwise.
Could someone clarify if this is right?

Beware of buying from Gazelle! Phones are not guaranteed to have clean IMEI/ESN!

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!

Question Carrier UNLOCK SAMSUNG Z FLIP 3

I need help to carrier unlock a Verizon samsung zflip.

Contact Verizon...

I cant I bought the phone online. and i know nothing about the phone.

Contact Verizon. Usually you have to fully pay off the phone or wait until the return period ends, though. That would apply to the original owner's lease or return period if you bought it from someone else. The only issue would be if it's blacklisted (reported lost or stolen).
If you bought it as a Verizon device, being locked is perfectly normal. After all, what reason is there for the seller to unlock a Verizon device being sold to a Verizon customer to use with Sprint?

Return it and do a card charge back through your bank. The phone shouldn't be locked.
If still locked after 60 days it's not been paid for.
Make it the vendors problem not yours.

There are many seller at eBay can unlock for you