Had anyone ever bought a mobile phone from eBay?

[starxoxo]

I want to get my daughter who’s 11 an iPhone for Xmas ( not a top one, an iPhone 5 or SE) as that’s what she’s asked for but I’m not prepared to pay £300+ for a brand new one for an 11 year old and it’s way out of my budget anyway. My husband said getting her an iPhone is better than getting any other phone because iPhone parts are easily and cheaply sourced if the phone ever needs a repair where as the likes of Samsung can be expensive. I have seen some on eBay for £100 that have been refurbished by a business on there but I’m wary of buying it in case the condition ends up being bad or it breaks down so early. Has anyone ever purchased a phone on eBay? Or have any other place where I can get one cheaply from?

[Lordasriel]

DH and I always buy our iPhones via eBay. We go for refurbished ones. Never had a problem to date.

[butterfly56]

I've bought an iPhone 5s from Ebay Argos shop similar to this....

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Apple-iPhone-5S-Sim-Free-Unlocked-16GB-Space-Grey-Premium-Pre-Owned-/332365323887

[HangingRock]

We got dd's iphone 5 from ebay a year ago for £99. It's been absolutely fine.
When she broke her screen it cost £30 to replace, when i broke my samsung screen it was going to cost £120, so I'm putting up with a broken screen for now

[buzzbuzzbumblebee]

I’ve never brought a phone off eBay but I have sold two iPhones on there.

I only sold them because my contract ended so I could upgrade. There was nothing wrong with them at all.

I would be very pleased at 11 to get an iPhone!!

[toomanydicksonthedancefloor1]

I buy and sell a lot of electrical gadgets on eBay and Gumtree. Particularly Apple.

You’d probably get one a bit cheaper on Gumtree as the seller isn’t paying any fees, and they seem to fetch higher prices in auctions. Apple stuff is very desirable on eBay.

But personally if I was buying I wouldn’t risk Gumtree as there is no buyer protection. I’d use eBay and pay a little more. Buying from a power seller who specialises in refurbished iPhones is a good bet. They also sometimes offer their own 1-3 month warranties with them too. Fortunately for you, if something does go wrong eBay are always on the buyer’s side. (Not so good for sellers like me who get scammed occasionally 🙁).

Check out how long the seller has been registered, the quantity of feedback and received and their percentage score. Also have a read of the feedback, make sure it looks genuine. Make sure isn’t all from very recently for lots of tiny purchases, and there aren’t lots of entries from the same eBay users for examples. Believe it or not people build up fake accounts this way and sell eBay accounts to scammers.

For example if you looked at me, I’ve been registered since 2003, have received 1025 feedbacks, and I’ve got 100% positive feedback. The feedback is for buying and selling, and spread pretty evenly over time. That’s the sort of thing to look for.

Actually I’ve just upgraded, want to buy an iPhone 7? 😉

[toomanydicksonthedancefloor1]

Another vote for the eBay Argos shop, forgot about that, quick delivery too.

[butterfly56]

great post!! toomanydicksonthedancefloor1

[ProseccoMamam]

Check the description, make sure you can return and make sure it’s covered by eBay (so you get your money back if the item isn’t what you ordered ect). eBay is mostly people who have new phones and are selling their old ones so majority are in perfect working order, I’m sure you’ll be fine. I know lots of people who have bought second hand on websites and it’s been fine. DH bought and iPad for under £200 4 months after it’s release because the owner had three and didn’t need it

[ChilliMary]

An iPhone, for an 11 year old?

[HangingRock]

What is your objection to the op getting her dc a 100 quid second hand iphone for Christmas Chilli?

[rcit]

I wouldn't get a phone off eBay.

I would get an iPhone from somewhere like a vodafone shop - they sell "nearly new" phones with big discounts.

[SistersOfPercy]

Yes. I recommend you don't.

A few years ago DH wanted a Samsung and found one on eBay locally that was an unwanted upgrade. He spoke to the seller, won the auction and I text the seller to arrange it's collection. We went to his house, paid cash and that was that.

Almost six months to the day later, one Sunday morning, DH complained he couldn't get signal on his phone. He called O2 who confirmed the phone was blocked as it had been reported stolen.
Fortunately for DH I rarely delete text messages and so I still had the guys address.
I don't think he was banking on us still having his address either as his face was a picture when he opened the door. After a lot of stuttering the story he came up with was that his wife had lost her phone the night before and had obviously reported the wrong phone. This was made even more amusing by his wife walking into the room and saying 'What phone?'

In the end he called O2 and had the phone unblocked and the handset transferred into DH's name. It had all been planned though, wait 6 months, report it lost, claim on insurance and sod the poor bastard who'd bought it. I found out later it's not an uncommon scam.

With that in mind, I'd never buy another phone from eBay.

[Animation86]

What is your objection to the op getting her dc a 100 quid second hand iphone for Christmas Chilli?

Yeah I wonder too. Its not quite a robot baby or anything...

[Oblomov17]

Yes. Only ever had i phones. Bought Ds1 and Ds2 theirs, and our upgrades from eBay or Facebook local selling. Brilliant.