Buying an iPhone 14, then finding months later that it has been blacklisted.

Apple gives iPhone owners the tools to mark a stolen phone as Lost, but it's the owner (not Apple) who decides if, and when, to do so.

If your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch is lost or stolen - Apple Support

The point of Activation Lock is in large part, to make phones useless to thieves. If stolen phones become bricks, and this is well-known, then fences and customers for used phones stop paying for "bricks" and thieves have a much smaller incentive to steal iPhones in the first place.

Activation Lock for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support

It worked for car stereos.

Here's an excellent article by another Apple Community poster.

Apple Community – The All Too Common SAD Reality of Buying a Used iPad/iPhone

Hello junkmails1!

If you want to buy a second-hand or used iPhone for a cheaper price, that is understandable, and there’s nothing wrong with it. In fact, I’ve done so myself.

HOWEVER! One can very, very easily be ripped off of their hard earned money.

I strongly recommend you to buy a second hand device with the advice in the following User Tip in mind: The All Too Common SAD Reality of Buying … - Apple Community.

The User Tip covers various topics relevant to buying used iPhones, and it cannot hurt you to carefully read it over. The author agrees with most of your points, and will educate you in “what you should do.”

Following the instructions and advice presented, you will never come home with a “brick”, while the scammer is laughing his fist full at his good fortune.

If you have further questions for us, please do not hesitate to ask, as there are many very knowledgeable people here.

Have a lovely day!

Apple doesn't put devices on any blacklist.

Cellular carriers or individuals who report their phone stolen do.

Do you have reason to believe that a particular seller is dealing in new iPhones stolen directly from Apple?!?

if you buy a stolen iPhone - whether it belonged to Apple, to one of their customers, or to someone else who lawfully acquired the phone - you risk getting a “brick”.

eBay is not an authorized distributor of iPhones. no authorized distributor of iPhones will sell iPhones on eBay.

If you buy from eBay, you're getting a used / gray market phone. There is no telling where it was sourced.

A common scam is for someone to get a new phone from their carrier, sell it on eBay or elsewhere to recoup some of the cost, then report the phone stolen and get it replaced using insurance from their carrier. That results in the phone being blacklisted.

No one here will advise you to purchase any Apple device on eBay. it's too easy for the seller or original owner to brick it months after the sale, when eBay's buyer protection period has expired.

TANSTAAFL.

If you insist on finding a "deal", you're likely to get ripped off.

Re: “I want to buy a brand new and sealed iphone 14 on ebay”

eBay is not the first place that I would look for a new, sealed instance of a phone from the latest and greatest generation of iPhones.

How many eBay sellers are authorized Apple resellers? Wouldn’t you want to buy an expensive “latest and greatest” phone from a channel where you could get proper warranty service and support if there was a defect in your particular phone? Or at least to buy from a “known” gray market seller and not from what might be the online equivalent of a flea market vendor?

Hello again ~ My advice to you was to put your mind at ease and for no other reason. I don’t work for Apple and you are certainly free to do as you please. Enjoy whatever you decide to do and good luck.

~Katana-San~

You would be screwed and possibly in possession of stolen property which could lead to criminal charges.

Because only the cellular carriers can blacklist a phone. Apple is not a cellular carrier.

Your "understanding" of how it works is wrong.

Hello ~ Do yourself a favor and buy your iPhone from Apple. That way there will be no questions or doubts in your mind about your device.

~Katana-San~

Re: “TANSTAAFL”

Unless you are it!!!

Hello ~ Excellent point 🙂

~Katana-San~