Buying a Phone off ebay

[Cattlegod]

I lost my phone last week and need a new one. I have a feeling that with cell phones there is a lot of risk with buying on ebay, I'm just not sure what they are.

The only things I can think of are:

1 - It is stolen and therefore locked so it won't activate.
2 - Even though my carrier (sprint) supports it, it is locked to a different carrier <- is this one even a valid risk?

Anything else I'm missing short of the regular ebay risks?

 

[zerocool84]

I have bought many phones from ebay and have not had a problem with them being stolen. If the phone is locked to a different carrier than obviously you cannot use it with sprint and AFAIK, you can only use Sprint phones with Sprint, that they don't have a SIM card in them to switch out. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Certain sellers have a good reputation on eBay for phones. x1387 for example is always a trustworthy source. Talk to the guys on HoFo and SEUniverse and they'll tell you thats the best choice on ebay.

 

[Mayfriday0529]

I have bought two phones on ebay. I looked at the feedback on the seller and made sure no negative things were posted. I have had no problems.

 

[erwos]

If you're using a CDMA provider, the phone needs to be branded to your carrier. They will not, under any circumstances, activate a phone which isn't branded to them.

Otherwise, yes, your only other risk is getting a CDMA phone with a bad ESN. Make sure the seller explicitly specifies that it is good and clear.

 

[Raduque]

Concern 1 is really your only concern. Before bidding, see if the seller will provide the ESN and call CS to ask if it's clear.

erwos: Not always true. Sprint is the only one with that hardcore policy. VZW will activate any non-VZW CDMA phone as long as the ESN corresponds to a phone we offer. Just don't tell the rep it's not a VZW phone Also, Cricket will activate anything that's CDMA and compatible with American CDMA standards.

 

[pradeep1]

I have bought and sold many cell phones on eBay and as long as you use reputable dealers and buy a phone marketed for your provider, or that is unlocked, you should be fine. I've bought expensive phones for Verizon's service and they have been fine. Actually, you can activate the phones even without having to go into the store. They just need some numbers from the back of the phone and voila, it's up and running a few minutes after you getting it.

Most reputable dealers will tell you the ESN, which you can call your provider and ask if it is clear or if the account associated with that is in arrears.

You can even buy CDMA/GSM phones from overseas (Japan, China, India) and as long as they support the frequency band used in the USA, they will activate. My family gets a lot of their GSM (Cingular, T-Mobile) phones cheap in India and bring them here and activate them just by popping in a SIM card.