Buying iPhone 5s new second hand

MightyMandarin

Hi I'm wondering about buying new sealed iPhone 5s' on donedeal and adverts. Why are people selling them cheap? Are they fake chinese copies? If so how can you tell if you're being cheated or getting a good deal?

Passenger

The old adage goes "if it seems too good to be true then it probably is." Common sense goes a long way when buying online too. If you've any doubts then don't part with your cash.

Cee-Jay-Cee

Passenger wrote: »

The old adage goes "if it seems too good to be true then it probably is." Common sense goes a long way when buying online too. If you've any doubts then don't part with your cash.

Beware. There are a lot of scammers using donedeal. What they do is meet you somewhere, usually a filling station or shopping centre car park and show you a brand new phone, you can hold it and test it and it works 100%. You agree in a price and the seller tells you that he wants to remove his SIM card and you give him back the phone. He takes out the sim but switches the phone for a fake phone which he puts into the box and hands to you. The person generally doesn't realise till the get home and take the phone out of the box.

I rang a fella selling an iPhone 4S a year ago and asked him about it. He told me I could do any test I wanted on the phone and that it was genuine. I asked if I could test my own SIM card in it and if I was happy, pay him the agreed price but that he wasn't getting the phone back to put into its box...he hung up on me.

MightyMandarin

But if the seal is still on the box, surely they can't say 'My sim is in it' when you inspect in front of them then.

evlgmaojr27ypu

MightyMandarin wrote: »

Hi I'm wondering about buying new sealed iPhone 5s' on donedeal and adverts. Why are people selling them cheap? Are they fake chinese copies? If so how can you tell if you're being cheated or getting a good deal?

I would never buy it from DoneDeal... Check eBay, at least with that you get PayPal guarantee.. But my guess is that you won't get a bargain when buying a 5s since it is very new..

MightyMandarin

Alaia Bald Molehill wrote: »

I would never buy it from DoneDeal... Check eBay, at least with that you get PayPal guarantee.. But my guess is that you won't get a bargain when buying a 5s since it is very new..

At least with done deal you can inspect before buying though. And some 5s' are going for ~550 which is 150 less than in shops.

whiterebel

MightyMandarin wrote: »

At least with done deal you can inspect before buying though. And some 5s' are going for ~550 which is 150 less than in shops.

A lot of good inspections will do you if they are insurance jobs, or upgrades. They then blacklist the phone turning it into a very expensive iPod. If they are going cheap - its for a reason. TBH, you seem to be convincing yourself that its ok.

smileyj1987

The only time I would buy a second hand phone is if I'm buying it off someone I know . I saw an iPhone 5s up for sale on Facebook and somebody asked could they get the imei and network it was on the seller refused flat out and took the phone down a half an hour later . So my advice buy it in a shop or get it on contract .

Prodgey

Once the seller has a fair bit of feedback you're safe enough. (adverts)


use checkmend.co.uk to check if the phone has been robbed/reported stolen