Buying iPhone off CraigsList

By fusi0n
in Hardware Hangout

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Grand Master

fusi0n

Posted
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I have bought several phones off craigslist.. But I have learned some things now that is making me kinda uneasy. If I buy a used iPhone 5 from craigslist ad its ATT.. How can I make sure they cant track that iPhone back to my house? I don't want the person using it to stalk me.. Secondly, what about if it gets reported stolen? Am I dead in the water?

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Grand Master

Brandon H Supervisor

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  • Supervisor
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They can go to find my iphone, if it was lost or stolen.. It works well because I had to use it

does that work even if you flash the phone clean? (never used the feature myself so I'm not sure)
Proficient

srbeen

Posted
Posted

track my iphone features is directly tied to your apple account. Unless you leave THEIR account on the phone they CANNOT track the device any longer.

Well, not totally true - Unless they remember the IMEI # and call AT&T and get them to track it, which is a breach of a lot of privacy laws.

As for reporting it stolen, they very well can do that. I had it happen to me and the phone gets banned from the network. Essentially turned into an iPod.

Im sure you could get warranty for the device via apple that would show you and your AT&T account is the rightful owner. The only other way is to get the original purchase reciept, which states you are the rightful owner of that serial/IMEI device. He tries to play games your reciept trumps his complaint.

Grand Master

goretsky Supervisor

Posted
  • Supervisor
Posted

Hello,

One thing to do is to meet in a public place. In the case of this iPhone sale via Craigslist, the buyer and seller agreed to meet at a McDonalds: Couple Shot Meeting Craigslist Buyer

Problem is, they didn't meet inside restaurant, but in the parking lot.

Always go inside the store or restaurant.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

Grand Master

SMELTN

Posted
Posted

how much cheaper would you get iphone5 over craigslist?? if safety is your consider, then don't deal over craigslist.

i heard best buy is selling iphone5 for $149 and Walmart for $127.

But that's with a 2 year contract. If u are buying a phone off Craig's list to begin with its because u don't want the contract.

Just FYI, I sold my black iPhone 5 a little over a month ago on eBay for $700.

Grand Master

fusi0n

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I have decided to buy a new one..

The guy backed out of meeting me at AT&T and wanted to meet me at Mcdonalds.. I said no.. After more reading on craigslist, someone reported a story very similar to mine and got robbed.. same iphone posting and same Mcdonalds..and changed the meeting place at the last second.. If I get a new one at Best Buy I can get their blacktie, which rocks..

  • 2 weeks later...
Community Regular

alphamale

Posted
Posted

buying from craigslists is filled with possible trouble. i buy a lot of cell phones for my collection. i find it harder and harder to buy one now. i demand a bill of sale to protect me from a bricked phone in case the idiot reports lost or stolen and very few people want to do that. People will say i have a brand new phone for sale. i say great bring the sales receipt. i bought a skyrocket from a famous photographer without one but i had 3 or 4 emails from them. i also call att (other) and give them the serial before purchase to check if its clean and that tells me at that minute its ok then the bill of sale for the future. if my understanding is correct should the phone be reported they will give you the contact infomration so you can find the person who reported it and work it out.

you could be tracked under those circumstance. always data wipe your new toy first thing

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