Author Topic: Purchasing a used iphone  (Read 4656 times)

StudentEngineer

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Purchasing a used iphone
« on: July 21, 2017, 04:42:24 PM »
Hi everyone.

I'm hoping to pick some minds here and see if anyone has experience purchasing an used Iphone and setting it up.

I want to get a newer at least 6 plus or 7 plus IPhone in the fall, when the latest version comes out, and add it to our family's verizon plan.

A few questions I have are, where is the best place to look for a used IPhone?  Anything I need to do to add it to my verizon plan other than just bringing it in to the store?

We are planning on maintaining our data plan so I intend to set it up so that it is mainly only used in wifi areas - anything to do specifically with respect to data?

Lastly is there anything that can be done to mitigate security issues from purchasing second party?

Thanks!

omega13

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Re: Purchasing a used iphone
« Reply #1 on: July 22, 2017, 11:05:17 AM »
Craigslist is the first place that comes to mind.  I've done this enough times to give you my perspective on it.

Browse through the phones and if you like one ask the seller for the IMEI of the phone. That's a unique identifier for each phone.

If it's a Verizon phone, call Verizon and ask if it's been reported as lost, stolen, or if the previous owner has an outstanding balance. I wouldn't bother buying it if it has a balance.

You might have to try this with a couple of reps but usually the tech support team can help.

If it's a non-Verizon iphone, it'll need to be unlocked before you can use it with Verizon. I always ask the seller if it's unlocked anyway. I don't like to be tied to anyone provider.

iPhone 6 and 7 are global phones meaning they're intended to be used worldwide but some providers like ATT lock them so they subsidize the cost of the phone with the service they charge.

Meet the person in person and verify the imei by doing this:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204073

If the IMEI is the same as the one they gave you, you're good to go.

Regarding security, always do a full reset on the phone before using it anyway as follows:

https://www.google.com/amp/www.techadvisor.co.uk/how-to/mobile-phone/how-reset-iphone-or-ipad-3296944/%3Famp

Good luck.
« Last Edit: July 22, 2017, 12:34:08 PM by omega13 »

bunchbikes

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Re: Purchasing a used iphone
« Reply #2 on: July 22, 2017, 10:35:14 PM »
eBay's great.  Lots of professional used dealers on there, usually at the top of the search results, with great prices.


Source: Just bought an iphone 5 on eBay, and used to buy/sell a lot of phones.

SingleMomDebt

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Re: Purchasing a used iphone
« Reply #3 on: July 22, 2017, 10:44:14 PM »
I like Gazelle for used phones (buy or sell): https://www.gazelle.com/

StudentEngineer

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Re: Purchasing a used iphone
« Reply #4 on: July 23, 2017, 07:56:55 AM »
Craigslist is the first place that comes to mind.  I've done this enough times to give you my perspective on it.


Thanks for all the info!  I won't be doing this until the fall when the next iteration comes out since it usually lowers the prices of the previous models and a bunch of people want to upgrade.

ketchup

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Re: Purchasing a used iphone
« Reply #5 on: July 23, 2017, 07:59:43 AM »
eBay is where I would go.  iPhones are a huge target for scams and other fuckery, at least with eBay you're protected from all that BS (meaning eBay will take your side if something stupid happens).

StudentEngineer

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Re: Purchasing a used iphone
« Reply #6 on: July 23, 2017, 06:25:32 PM »
eBay is where I would go.  iPhones are a huge target for scams and other fuckery, at least with eBay you're protected from all that BS (meaning eBay will take your side if something stupid happens).

Thats also a good point, thanks for that.

birdie55

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Re: Purchasing a used iphone
« Reply #7 on: July 23, 2017, 07:35:51 PM »
Try Swappa.com for used iPhones. 

Peony

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Re: Purchasing a used iphone
« Reply #8 on: July 23, 2017, 07:56:24 PM »
Seconding Swappa. I've bought a few unlocked iPhones and and iPad Air on Swappa, and all have been good.

cdgreg

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Re: Purchasing a used iphone
« Reply #9 on: July 23, 2017, 09:04:48 PM »
I like Gazelle for used phones (buy or sell): https://www.gazelle.com/

Interesting, never used a site like this.  If I want to purchase a used iphone from this site and add it to our established Verizon account, do I need to buy a "Verizon" iphone or will an "unlocked" one also work?  I am using the quotes to signify the carrier filter on gazelle's search.  Thanks!

Bliss

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Re: Purchasing a used iphone
« Reply #10 on: July 23, 2017, 09:20:56 PM »
I like Gazelle for used phones (buy or sell): https://www.gazelle.com/

+1

I bought two iPhones from Gazelle and you can barely tell they were used at all.

I have an unlocked phone (from Apple) so I can use it in Europe and my husband has a Verizon phone from Gazelle. Both are compatible with the Verizon network.

StudentEngineer

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Re: Purchasing a used iphone
« Reply #11 on: July 25, 2017, 10:11:46 PM »
Awesome! Thanks for all the replies.  I'll definitely look into all these options when I start looking this fall.