It did not have any visible marks indicating that it was used earlier.
Thank you for your advice. I agree and I have decided to keep the phone.

I have a feeling that the seller buys phones that are returns or refurbs from companies. They may very well be 'new', but I've never seen a new phone come from a carrier in anything but the retail box. They'll also have film on the screen. Also, that phone (or any t-mobile phones) do not come unlocked, so it would've had to be an open box anyway. As long as it doesn't have any scratches, looks new, and works as described then I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Thank you for the response.
Phone: HTC 8X 16GB Blue T-Mobile
Seller: sigmacellular
eBay item: 221268176845

Also, can you link to the listing? (don't include http to get around the no linking for new members)

What is the phone model? It's common for phones to come from insurance companies like you described. A lot of times they are refurbished.

I recently bout a "new" unlocked cell phone from ebay. When I opened - the package and contents did not belong to OEM or carrier. That made me suspect that the phone was used/refurbished. When I asked the seller - they said: "The phone comes new from carrier as handset only and is arranged in a kit box (not retail box) with the necessary components such as battery, charger"

Should I trust the seller? Is it normal for carriers to send only the device to sellers and not even labels, stickers? Thank you.