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+--- Thread: iPhone 5s Buying Tips? (/showthread.php?tid=175154)
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iPhone 5s Buying Tips? - SteveO - 01-08-2015
Well the iP 6 didn't work out for me, too big, too bad. Would love that rumored iP6 inside the iP5s body, but that's vaporware for now. Looking at eBay and Swappa as they seem the most reputable places to buy what will be my VZW 5s 64gb. (I'll likely be jettisoning my Sprint 4s 64). I see that eBay has on occasion "new" 5s models -- which is hard to believe but whatevah.
Some of eBay listings have "no sim card" -- does that mean I'd have to buy a new sim card from the carrier (most likely I'll switch to Verizon)? What does this cost? Is it odd they sell with no sim card, something to be concerned about?
Any other tips you can offer? Things to watch out for? I'm avoiding listings with very minimal descriptions of the condition. Some of them are kind of annoying: "Average wear and tear/scuffs" — these are generally cheaper than the comps ...but with no pix of the phone being sold. A little concerning.
I don't buy much on eBay; if the item was misrepresented, is there any real recourse that is fair to the buyer? I know some of it depends on the seller return policies, but are there restocking fees and such on eBay? Any other return costs if the phone was not as listed?
Anyone bought via Swappa? What was your experience there? Any other places you'd recommend buying? Thanks.
Re: iPhone 5s Buying Tips? - M>B> - 01-08-2015
Lots still available from AT&T...
http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/devices/apple/iphone.html
Re: iPhone 5s Buying Tips? - SteveO - 01-08-2015
Thanks but I'm getting VZW because they work on VZW, T-Mo and ATT as well and I may end up jumping networks. My understanding is ATT 5s phones don't work on the other networks unless you go through a bunch of red tape/begging. Is that not the case?
Re: iPhone 5s Buying Tips? - SteveO - 01-08-2015
LOL this iP5s 64gb is up to $930 on eBay right now with about 15 minutes left. Who's bidding, a Saudi prince?
EDIT: Oops, someone changed their bid: now at $690. But still....who pays this much for a used, albeit "mint" phone that's been going for around $400-450 in similar condition?
Re: iPhone 5s Buying Tips? - bazookaman - 01-08-2015
SteveO wrote:
LOL this iP5s 64gb is up to $930 on eBay right now with about 15 minutes left. Who's bidding, a Saudi prince?
EDIT: Oops, someone changed their bid: now at $690. But still....who pays this much for a used, albeit "mint" phone that's been going for around $400-450 in similar condition?
$690 for a 5S with $55 shipping from a seller with 0 feedback? What's wrong with this picture?
Anyway. I ordered my 5S 64gb from Swappa. The transaction went very smoothly. The phone was as advertised. Even came in the original box. Although the charging cable was a bit worse for the wear. But I have plenty of those laying around. Still chugging away. Very happy experience. I'd probably order a phone for my wife from there.
Re: iPhone 5s Buying Tips? - sekker - 01-08-2015
Some options at cowboom
http://www.cowboom.com/search/results.cfm?keywords=Verizon%20iPhone%205s%2064
Re: iPhone 5s Buying Tips? - Michael - 01-08-2015
I wanted a 5 or 5s and just waited for a forum member to put one on the For Sale & Free Items, just because I would have a much greater level of trust with somebody that I knew from their postings on this site. That worked out very well for me.
I've bought a couple of things from Glyde and one from Swappa without any problems. They have a return policy that will protect you if a phone just doesn't work or doesn't activate. Beyond that, you have a credit card charge back protection that could be used if Glyde or Swappa or Ebay didn't refund money for a defective item.
But, the problem, particularly with a 5s, is that somebody might sell it while it is still under contract and they are current on their Verizon bill and so it would show as a clean phone and will activate on your account, but if they don't pay the final Early Termination Fee, Verizon would likely break the phone after several months, so a previously-clean phone could stop working and it could be too late to do a credit card charge back by the time that happened. It seems to me that it would be much less likely with a 5 since they are a year older and so more likely to be out of contract. This is why I didn't want to buy a used iPhone 5 or 5s from one of those sites. I would be much more confident buying used directly from Verizon or from Cowboom since they have records concerning the particular phone.
The issue of a phone without a sim card is likely that somebody simply took their current sim card from the iPhone and put it into their new phone to use on the network. So, that doesn't seem to be problematic to me. You'd have to get a new Verizon sim. You can get one on Ebay for $6 or so. I bought my PagePlus sim on Ebay without any problems. Of course you can get one from Verizon, as well for more.
Re: iPhone 5s Buying Tips? - STL - 01-08-2015
Cowboom
Wow - suggest you proceed with caution at cowboom
$1900
Apple Power Mac Desktop Dual G5 2GHz 1GB 160GB DVDRW
http://www.cowboom.com/product/1563528/
Re: iPhone 5s Buying Tips? - testcase - 01-08-2015
A seller who wants to keep his number might have to take his SIM for his new phone. It's illegal (and very difficult) to clone SIM cards. Verizon will provide the SIM you need at no / low cost.
Re: iPhone 5s Buying Tips? - silvarios - 01-08-2015
testcase wrote:
A seller who wants to keep his number might have to take his SIM for his new phone. It's illegal (and very difficult) to clone SIM cards. Verizon will provide the SIM you need at no / low cost.
Yep. Selling without SIM is normal. When you port your number to a new SIM, assuming the new phone needs a new SIM with a new carrier or simply a different sized SIM with the current carrier, the old SIM is deactivated. Alternately, the old phone's SIM is simply swapped into the new phone. You, the old phone's current owner, would need to get a SIM for your service or simply swap in your existing SIM.