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Totally, look for phones in “excellent” or “mint” condition, read the description carefully, and check the seller’s feedback carefully. I’ve bought 4 or 5 phones on eBay with great results. Every phone I’ve gotten is indistinguishable from new.
Open Box is also worth checking out. I snagged an Xperia 1 IV for 50% retail price, which was around the same price a lot of “very good” condition used ones were going for. A few months with it now and no issues so far!
use Swappa
+1 Swappa. I bought my first iPhone this way with no issues
But never buy the like new condition. Good is better in this case. I once saw a documentary about swappa using third party replacement parts to refurbish those phones which have far worse quality than the original parts
Edit: I confused swappa with swappie and managed to find thedocumentary I was talking about (it is in German though)
swappa doesn’t refurbish anything.
they let people sell their phones.
Thanks for pointing that out. I confused swappa with swappie
What is swappa?
Swappa is US-only, it seems that you’re in the UK so forget about Swappa.
eBay is fine. Just check the seller’s reputation first before buying.
If overall positive feedback is greater than 99%, and they’ve sold hundreds of items, then there’s no problem buying from them.
I’ve bought dozens of phones from eBay over the last two decades, never had any issues.
I personally would be very wary of eBay as even with a paid check before buying, the seller could potentially take your money then claim on their insurance. The phone then becomes blacklisted (sim no longer works, only works abroad or on wifi). If you confront the seller they could just say a previous owner must have reported it stolen.
CeX used electronics store guarantees against this & also gives a 2 year warranty
This sort of scam would only work for sellers with zero/bad reputation. Only an idiot would buy from a seller like that.
If the overall positive feedback is greater than 99% and they’ve sold hundreds of items then there’s no problem.
I’ve bought dozens of phones from eBay over the last two decades, never had any issues.
Isn’t that an iPhone exclusive concern?
Genuine question; I’ve only heard of that feature with reference to iPhones.
Use swappa
What is swappa?
Absolutely. I’ve bought all of my phones from eBay and never had an issue.
I bought mine and had no problems. Must check Seller rating. Just to be sure first.
I never have problems with phones from ebay. Take your time, look and read closely. I buy a lot of the cheap ones for family members who are too rough/careless with their phones, and it’s worked out pretty good.
Over the past 10 years most of my phones have been used, and I’ve been way happier with it. Save money for the same thing.
yeah, but also account for the cost of a battery replacement
Yeah, maybe not ebay. I used Swappa back in the day and that was cool. But phone hardware hasn’t improved THAT much in the past 5 years. You can go pretty far back and have a pretty decent phone. Android phones lose their value a lot faster so you can usually get them super cheap. Should probably buy unlocked
I’ve had good experiences both times, definitely communicate with the seller and make sure you know what you’re getting as there’s a lot of shady people who will rip you off. Also, check and see what other people have said about them in the feedback section.
Depends on the condition and the age but I personally say yes it’s worth it especially if its still getting security updates
I got my last 3 phones used, all were at a great discount, and all lasted about as long as you’d expect a new phone to.
I’ll continue buying used until new prices become reasonable again, and even then I will still probably buy used because it’s cheaper and helps combat ewaste (if only a little).
Mostly. I’m certain some of the stuff moved on secondary markets is stolen, and if the previous owner did their due diligence, it should be blacklisted by service providers by the device’s unique ID.
There’s also plenty that are 100% legit and you won’t have any trouble whatsoever. I try to stay away from eBay for phones; I go to the local marketplaces, like FB marketplace, Kijiji or Craig’s list and do the exchange in person. Being able to look someone in the eyes and ask them why they’re getting rid of the phone, in and of itself, can weed out theives… Not entirely, but mostly. You also get a clean cash transaction, you can look at the device and check it over to ensure it’s what was described, get, and likely test any accessories, and do any last minute negotiation that might be required based on what you’ve found while handling the item.
It’s not perfect… But your only other option is to buy a refurb from a first party seller like your mobile provider, which will probably cost more, it will also likely be carrier locked… But you can rest easy that it wasn’t stolen…
I switched to buying directly from manufacturers (in my case, Google) and just plugging in my carrier sim card. I’ve been happy with that. I also always run with a good case on my phone, usually spigen, and I haven’t had any notable damage to my device as a result (which would require an early replacement).
YMMV. Good luck
