Selling brand new expensive smartphone on eBay - is it really risky as it looks?

koalakoala

Plenty safer options to sell a phone

KxMx

I always sell to cex.
Okay so I won't get the very best price, but no potential scams or other hassles from buyers to deal with.

mimi1234

I've sold 3 old phones and 2 old laptops on ebay. I've never had any issues. My friend sold an old phone - the buyer claimed it was faulty, got a refund and sent another phone back to her. She was very annoyed.

As with all sales on ebay, you may sell to someone who is a nightmare. No one knows. 

Send it special delivery as others have said.

Do you know anyone who may buy it from you in person instead of on ebay?

Have you taken the phone out of the box and checked it actually works? When I got my current mobile from EE, they opened the box to make sure the phone was the correct colour and actually switched on. He made me sign a form too to say it was working. Thought it was a bit OTT myself.

macman

mimi1234 said:

I've sold 3 old phones and 2 old laptops on ebay. I've never had any issues. My friend sold an old phone - the buyer claimed it was faulty, got a refund and sent another phone back to her. She was very annoyed.

As with all sales on ebay, you may sell to someone who is a nightmare. No one knows. 

Send it special delivery as others have said.

Do you know anyone who may buy it from you in person instead of on ebay?

Have you taken the phone out of the box and checked it actually works? When I got my current mobile from EE, they opened the box to make sure the phone was the correct colour and actually switched on. He made me sign a form too to say it was working. Thought it was a bit OTT myself.

That was her mistake-you do not give a refund until the goods sre returned. And a pic of the IMEI number would have proved the the returned phone was not the original.
Personally I'd just use a local service such as Facebook Marketplace and so avoid having to worry about couriers, packaging and potential SNAD's or Paypal refunds. The buyer comes to view the phone, and if they buy it, they pay cash or bank transfer before it's handed over. No fraud risk, no comebacks. The buyer takes all the risk if the seller later reports it stolen and has it IMEI blocked.

JJC1956

erik85 said:

Hello,

with work we have one of those benefits where we can purchase electronic devices with a strong discount; that combined with a "return your phone" scheme, I could get a brand new smartphone for a very good price, which I did.
The plan was to resell it on eBay and hopefully make some profit; I am not unfamiliar with selling affordable products on eBay, however having read about selling expensive electronic devices I am starting to realise that perhaps my plan is not so great after all!
It seems like eBay is festering with scammy buyers nowadays, with buyers receiving the package but claiming the box is empty / or item arrived broken, and then getting to keep the item and having a refund. The seller instead loses the item and the money.

Are there (m)any success stories out there, perhaps highlighting that as usual perhaps the negative stories make it to the web but all the perhaps many positive outcomes are not reported?
What is the best way of safeguarding myself, besides of course shipping with tracking? Are videos really useful if a dispute were to be raised? Any other tip from UK based seller (can read a lot online from US sellers).

Thanks!

Personally I use the eBay Packlink service and click on Hermes/Evri drop shop, I haven’t had a problem yet 🤞 they use tracking and you can also add insurance and signed for if you like. 

soolin

JJC1956 said:

erik85 said:

Hello,

with work we have one of those benefits where we can purchase electronic devices with a strong discount; that combined with a "return your phone" scheme, I could get a brand new smartphone for a very good price, which I did.
The plan was to resell it on eBay and hopefully make some profit; I am not unfamiliar with selling affordable products on eBay, however having read about selling expensive electronic devices I am starting to realise that perhaps my plan is not so great after all!
It seems like eBay is festering with scammy buyers nowadays, with buyers receiving the package but claiming the box is empty / or item arrived broken, and then getting to keep the item and having a refund. The seller instead loses the item and the money.

Are there (m)any success stories out there, perhaps highlighting that as usual perhaps the negative stories make it to the web but all the perhaps many positive outcomes are not reported?
What is the best way of safeguarding myself, besides of course shipping with tracking? Are videos really useful if a dispute were to be raised? Any other tip from UK based seller (can read a lot online from US sellers).

Thanks!

Personally I use the eBay Packlink service and click on Hermes/Evri drop shop, I haven’t had a problem yet 🤞 they use tracking and you can also add insurance and signed for if you like. 

Hermes never used to insure mobiles, do evri discount them from their ‘contains glass’ exemption? 

Personally though whilst I accept that all couriers have their issues I wouldn’t consider sending a mobile with Evri , it would have to be RM special delivery for me. 

GadgetGuru

I have only ever sold phones via GumTree.
I then give the buyer time to do all their checks - once a buyer inserted him sim card and went through teh entire setup for an iPhone to make sure it was all working and not locked etc!
I have no problem with waiting until the buyer is happy - I have nothing to hide

bris

The right phone at the right price will sell anywhere. use gumtree or Amazon marketplace with local pick up only.

You do run a very real risk of problems selling any high end products on Ebay,

carly

I've sold phones on ebay in the past ,when there seemed to be fewer scammers about.  I've also sold on Mazuma and, more recently, to my local CEX shop.  Most transactions on ebay were fine although there were a few hiccups with people who didn't know what they were buying and how to operate the phone,  or who failed to failed to find the charger and accessories in the box .( yes really)    These transactions caused me a little worry that they might want to return the handsets etc but all was well after several emails between us.   I sold several phones to Mazuma but the last one was rejected for"water damage".  They amended their offer to £10ish for a £100 handset. No thank ,,I'll have it back.  All my phones are in absolute mint condition when I sell them on and definitely no water damage.    I took the very same returned phone to CEX and actually sold it for more than Mazuma originally offered. The headline price might be a little lower than on ebay but it cuts out all the scammers, all the ebay fees and all the anxiety. You get your money in your hand there and then and no worries about buyer changing their mind or causing trouble with paypal etc.   It is now my preferred market place.