buying a phone off ebay...

fishforsale

Ive searched the other posts on this subject...i know the pitfalls such as contract phone not being paid and phone being no signalled

What do i need from the seller so that i have recourse if the seller decides to do this?

Is there any way of transferring ownership, ie by calling up the network, but i read on the vodafone forum that both the owner and the new owner need to be present in the same area

Im looking to buy a s3

Or should i just stick to ebay top sellers and not buy off private sellers?

grumbler

fishforsale wrote: »

Ive searched the other posts on this subject...i know the pitfalls such as contract phone not being paid

It's not a pitfall as networks don't block handsets in this case.
In fact it's usually reporting it lost or stolen and claiming on insurance a few months after selling.

Or should i just stick to ebay top sellers and not buy off private sellers?

Yes, but IMO private sellers with long history and high feedback are far less risky as well.

chanz4

with the money involved, buy from a retail one

bengalknights

Just ensure they throw in original purchase receipt if they have it and all will be fine

grumbler

So, what will you do with the receipt if the phone gets blocked?

in_the_Cotswolds

I've bought and sold phones on ebay, never had a problem.

neil40

I always buy only from 100% feedback sellers that have been selling for a while & so far have not got any nasty surprises.

albionrovers

Sorry to highjack, I got £101-50 last night for my Iphone 3GS 16G on Ebay, mint condition. Thoughts on price? I realise they are getting obsolete in terms of Apps etc but I had hoped for a bit more? Still, as long as it broke the 100 barrier can't grumble I suppose. What is the going rate for above?

Quiet_Spark

albionrovers wrote: »

Sorry to highjack, I got £101-50 last night for my Iphone 3GS 16G on Ebay, mint condition. Thoughts on price? I realise they are getting obsolete in terms of Apps etc but I had hoped for a bit more? Still, as long as it broke the 100 barrier can't grumble I suppose. What is the going rate for above?

A friend recently sold his 4S (32GB) handset which was locked to EE and he came out of it with £155 after fees, whereas £210 got me an 11 month old Galaxy S3 (SIM free) delivered to my door last week.

I guess the price you get (or the price you pay) is dependant on a number of factors, including how desperate the seller is to raise money, as well as how desperate the buyer is to have the product.
I would personally say you did well to get that price for a handset that has been around for 5 years.

peachyprice

OP, we've sold a fair few phones on ebay, usually when one of us gets an upgrade the old one goes on. OH won a Sony xperia Z a month or two ago, that went on, we've never had any problems.

Look for sellers who have sold a few phones over the years and who have 100% feedback. Avoid like the plague sellers who have only a few feed back and one day auctions.

We've bought a fair few handsets too, never had one blocked, we've only had one problem, that was a Blackberry for our daughter that was seriously not as described, it was too awful to give her, they wouldn't communicate, wouldn't refund, but we got our money back through ebay in the end.

albionrovers

Quiet_Spark wrote: »

A friend recently sold his 4S (32GB) handset which was locked to EE and he came out of it with £155 after fees, whereas £210 got me an 11 month old Galaxy S3 (SIM free) delivered to my door last week.

I guess the price you get (or the price you pay) is dependant on a number of factors, including how desperate the seller is to raise money, as well as how desperate the buyer is to have the product.
I would personally say you did well to get that price for a handset that has been around for 5 years.

==

Yes the 4S seems to be holding it's value currently. 3GS not so much. On that basis, I can't really grumble.