Why iPhones selling for more on Ebay

People pay more for these phones because:

1) These phones are unlocked with a undescribed method, which may or may not work.
2) The warranty on these ebay phones are null and void
3) People want an iPhone so bad they don't care...
4) People desire a older firmware unsecured phone...

Yes it makes no sense to buy a iPhone on ebay, many of these phones do not work right out of the box...

Most of the iphones sold on Ebay are most likely unlocked iphones so people are paying a higher cost for those however the buyers are not realizing they are not going to get any backup or service from Apple if something goes wrong with their high priced unlocked iphone.

Geffen wrote:
Most of the iphones sold on Ebay are most likely unlocked iphones so people are paying a higher cost for those however the buyers are not realizing they are not going to get any backup or service from Apple if something goes wrong with their high priced unlocked iphone.

And that they only work on one other network other than AT&T and not all of them.

Yea, this is mostly about unlocked iPhones. Or iPhones that have not been updated so they can be unlocked. I understand why people want these, so they have a choice of carrier. Apple estimated that perhaps 250,000 of the 1 million or so might be "unlocked" (as they apparently were sold but not activated on AT&T). I sure wish Apple would move to more carrier choices in the US. I for one would like to get my iPhone on another carrier- Verizon in particular, though I understand that choice is two steps away... CDMA.

glad we could answer your question

And, er, uh, what are the two steps? I cancelled my iPhone account with A T & T (one line). Now I want to use the sim from the phone on my second line, but without the extra $20 fee. I just want to pay A T & T for phone service, and use WiFi for data. The customer service guy said it's not allowed. When I tried it the first time, the iPhone just gave me some error messages. When i tried it the second time, it worked. I called from the phone, called the phone, and I had a little "cingular" message in the upper left. The next morning, it didn't work and hasn't worked again. How can it work once?

Because there's a sucker born every minute, and eBay will find every one of them.

And that they only work on one other network other than AT&T and not all of them.

You're forgetting the whole rest of the world again 🙂

I'd bet most were sold to people outside the USA.

Well I bought my iPhone off e-bay some 2 months back well before the official launch in the UK. At the time all I wanted was a phone and ipod combined and it has been working perfectly on Orange Pay as You Go. Alot of people out there might not want to go over to 02 on a contract and aren't particularly bothered with having the internet etc on their phone. I have since bought another iPhone on 02 now its been launched in the UK. People are more than happy to pay a little more for an unlocked phone if it means they can have an iPhone without a contract. Its their choice and to say those people are suckers is rubbish.

Chester 65 wrote:
Its their choice and to say those people are suckers is rubbish.

I wouldn't call them suckers. I'd call them mislead. I wonder how many would have bought them if they had known that Apple will have nothing do to with that unlocked phone if it breaks.

If someone is so desperate for an iPhone that they're willing to pay over $1000.00 US for one, as some eBay sellers are asking, and particularly when they'll get no support whatsoever from Apple if it's a cracked phone, then I'd like to talk to them about a bridge I have for sale as well as a great deal on some beachfront property in Nevada.

Dave Sawyer wrote:
...a bridge I have for sale as well as a great deal on some beachfront property in Nevada.

I believe that property is in Arizona and the bridge is the Golden Gate.

Anyway yes, anyone willing to pay $1000 for an iPhone makes me curious. I would like to know what carrier is so much better than AT&T that they would pay $1000 just for the phone to use them.