iPhone from eBay

bengalknights

MarkBargain wrote: »

I wouldn't risk buying an iPhone on Ebay, what happens if it goes wrong after a couple of months?! Much better to buy new from a reputable supplier with a one year guarantee, and if you can't afford that look at some of the far cheaper Android handsets out there made by the likes of HTC. The Desire S is £321 SIM-free on Amazon.

Or even the superior incredible s for £269.95

llyamah

bengalknights wrote: »

Or even the superior incredible s for £269.95

Where are you seeing that? The incredible S is showing as £362.08.

Isn't the sensation meant to be the best of the HTC bunch?

albionrovers

redmalc wrote: »

Be very careful,my son recently purchased an i phone of ebay which did not work !!!

==

I'm interested to know if your son had any buyer protection regarding this purchase? Thanks.

arielcohen

http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/mobiles/mobile-phones/HTC-INCREDIBLE-S/HANDSET

you can get the incredible s for that price here, this phone is better then the desire s imo but it is not as new or as good as the htc sensation

Buzby

I have purchased 3 iPhones from eBay with absolutely no problem (for the ones I bought). Two were refunded when the seller did not perform, but I just bought from a performing seller and was fully protected by PayPal. Just take care and you'll get if not a bargain, a cost-effective purchase.

bengalknights

llyamah wrote: »

Where are you seeing that? The incredible S is showing as £362.08.

Isn't the sensation meant to be the best of the HTC bunch?

http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/mobiles/mobile-phones/HTC-INCREDIBLE-S/HANDSET

Yes sensation is the best out the bunch but incredible s is much better than the desire s.

2sides2everystory

llyamah wrote: »

Interesting stuff. So how could you spot that they are fake? I wasn't too worried about this, but perhaps I should be.

Well the first indication in Asia is the price they are prepared to drop to. If you walk into one of the big city markets and spot what you think is an iphone 4 and simply ask the price you will be instantly told a "first price" of something maybe 10% below the world price which is currently about £500 or the equivalent, or was a month ago even in the gfenuine Apple Stores in big Asian cities.

If you realise that this faking lark has reached such epic proportions that in some parts of Asia there are actual large scale believable fake Apple Stores up to and including the staff t-shirts then you might begin to realise what this alternative market might be capable of:(

So, back in a corner of your chosen market you want to check it out. You hold it in your own hand and switch it on; you try to open apps (if you don't find that a large number might immediately give you a clever message like "App requires SIM - Insert SIM") and the seller helpfully says "It is new and so has not had been registered to a SIM!"

Then you might realise that the edge of the case is plastic not metal (I also held one that was metal like the original). And your friend with a real iphone holds one in his hand and weighs it against the other and gives his or her verdict ... "Well .... erm"

When checking out menus and viewing pictures, the OS may not seem as slick as a real one.

After five minutes of a cosy inspection like this, the seller will soon realise you know that he's not selling the real thing and will become a bit more candid - maybe you learn it is based on Android 2.2 and you'll be asked "How much do you want to pay?"

"What quality you want?" "We have full metal case". "This one actually Gingerbread".

I could have eventually have got a good looking and quality feeling one for £100. Back home in a pub late on a Friday night, who'd know, but why? For the hell of it I pressed for £50 but that was clearly too cheap for the seller. There's obviously a price for this stuff, but it's an even sillier market to understand than replica Omega watches

Sometimes you can only go by whether it feels nice in the hand, whether it does anything, and whether it looks the business. But then the big question you ask yourself is why do I want it if I know it is a fake?

If you want a real iphone (and even real ones go wrong/don't work sometimes) then surely you realise that a large part of the £500 price tag is for the special support. And you can surely forget about support the moment Apple claps eyes on your clapped out fake