Buying phones on Ebay...

[Justinw303 10+ year member]

Anyone done it? What should I pay attention to? I have Cingular, so if I get a cingular compatible phone and pop my sim card into it, should it be good to go? And what does it mean when they say the phones are "unlocked"? Is this what I need, or should I just buy a regular phone?

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[iLL-Faded 10+ year member]

unlocked works with any provider that is GSM.

 

[revrider1 5,000+ posts]

I have bought before with no problems...

 

[linvillegorge 10+ year member]

An unlocked phone for GSM (Cingular and T-Mobile) means that the phone can be used on either network. I'm not sure how the sim card swaps work. Each sim has a unique ID. I work for a cellular company, but not one listed in this thread. Buying phones on eBay is very risky. You never know the history of the phone and if it is even operable or if it is cleared of any old accounts.

 

[linvillegorge 10+ year member]

An unlocked phone can't work on any network. GSM handsets can't be used on a CDMA network and vice versa. Nextel handsets only work on the Nextel iDen network. Some cellular companies won't activate a handset that isn't one of their regardless.

 

[Justinw303 10+ year member]

An unlocked phone for GSM (Cingular and T-Mobile) means that the phone can be used on either network. I'm not sure how the sim card swaps work. Each sim has a unique ID. I work for a cellular company, but not one listed in this thread. Buying phones on eBay is very risky. You never know the history of the phone and if it is even operable or if it is cleared of any old accounts.

So Cingular is GSM?

And if the auction says Brand New, I'd expect it to be or I'll be on their ***** to return it.

 

[revrider1 5,000+ posts]

Check feedback also...

 

[iLL-Faded 10+ year member]

whats the ebay link and what kind of phone are you getting?

 

[Mr. Opportunist 10+ year member]

unlocked works with any provider that is GSM.

no longer true, for cingular you need a phone with the 850mhz band which isnt on a lot of unlocked phones so make sure the phone you want has it before you buy it, 1900mhz is now primarily used by tmobile so you can typically use any unlocked tri/quad band phone with tmobile, but it is a lot harder to find one for cingular.

Also i use to sell phones on ebay, dont believe it when it says brand new timers are easily reset with the proper software...

 

[Justinw303 10+ year member]

None yet, I just wanted to ask around before I started looking

 

[Justinw303 10+ year member]

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-MOTOROLA-BLACK-SLVR-L6-CINGULAR-TMOBILE-BLUETOOTH_W0QQitemZ170018201136QQihZ007QQcategoryZ64355QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

That one seems a little too good to be true...

 

[Mr. Opportunist 10+ year member]

i would never buy from someone that doesnt show actual photos of the phone/box

 

[GrnEydDvl 10+ year member]

I bought a phone from Ebay 2 weeks ago. No problems but I paid $10 or so more than the low feedback flybynighters and purchased it from a power seller.

I would make sure to use a secure payment method and you should be fine.

 

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

i bought a sony p910i back in the day on ebay, and it was a smooth transaction

it wasn't super duper cheap, tho, i wouldn't trust an auction that looks too good to be true

i think the msrp was ~$1000 and i got it for $850 shipped or something like that

i don't know about some of these $50-100 phones..... probably refurbished

 

[Sentinel 10+ year member]

dont buy a motola phone...they're the worse. the firmware for all the motorola phones are just plain horrible. they lag and the it's just not user friendly. try to get a samsung or nokia/sony ericsson but definitely not a motorola! unless you're getting a smart phone that runs on windows or whatever.