Buying Phone on ebay

[CBeth]

About a year ago, I lost my phone and bought the exact same one on ebay from a seller with over 10,000 reviews and a 98-99% positive rating. When I went to activate it, they said they couldn't and it was probably a stolen phone. Luckily, I got a refund and found my old phone, so it ended well.

Now, I'd like to upgrade from the Samsung A900 to the HTC Mogul (I have Sprint). But because my plan is only $30/month, I won't be eligible to receive the $150 discount for staying with them for 2 years. I can barely afford it with discounts and rebates.

Since I really want a fancy phone, I'm considering risking ebay again. What can I do to ensure that I get a phone that will work this time? What's an ESN number? Can I get it before I buy it and clear it with Sprint first? Will that solve the problem?

[kingtubby]

E bay is the best place to buy phones,lot of people make the mistake thinking because a person has a lot of feedback that that person is the better seller
the thing to do is to check "view sellers other items" if all his other items are phones most likely hes buying them from pawnshops or crack heads or some thing and he dosent know if they work or if they can be activated he just "gets" them and sell them
In my experience, the best seller to buy from is the seller with what i call normal feedback like 56 or even something lower ,i think the lower the feedback the better chance of buying from the original owner just trying to sell his phone because he switched carriers or got a new phone.

[walkguru]

I used to buy phones on ebay till I got burned a couple of times. so be very careful. and good luck.
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[RingToneKing20]

Originally Posted by kingtubby

E bay is the best place to buy phones,lot of people make the mistake thinking because a person has a lot of feedback that that person is the better seller
the thing to do is to check "view sellers other items" if all his other items are phones most likely hes buying them from pawnshops or crack heads or some thing and he dosent know if they work or if they can be activated he just "gets" them and sell them
In my experience, the best seller to buy from is the seller with what i call normal feedback like 56 or even something lower ,i think the lower the feedback the better chance of buying from the original owner just trying to sell his phone because he switched carriers or got a new phone.

I agree, i used to buy most of my phones online as they are inexpensive but probably i am older now, i require my cellphone to be the newest so i have to go to store and buy.

[Cellplanman]

why not just stick w/ craiglist and call up the provider at time your buying it to ensure its good ?

Also make sure you know a little about the phone.. as I know someone who thought they bought a N95 when they bought a N92... luckily they got their money back b.c the supplier got screwed and talked w/ his supplier lol.


Said N95 on exterior.. but didnt have everything N95 was supposed to have, my client did an IMEI check w/ Nokia and found out it was a N92

[slickpiggy]

Buying a cell phone on ebay has it's pros and cons. I use to buy them from ebay when I owned a small kiosk in the mall and sell them at a discounted price with or without activation.

The thing is that you might get a dud and you might not. If you buy from someone with a high feedback (and you should) and it's not what you expected or it doesn't activate - you can always file a complaint with paypal or your credit card company if the seller won't cooperate.

In the end you'll usually lose nothing but time.