eBay users are selling iPhone from AT&T, as Factory Unlocked iPhone

Yes, most iPhones being sold second hand have probably been hacked if they are advertising them as unlocked. It's a shame but if the buyers are not educated it ends up being a headache for them.

The majority of iPhones sold in the world are locked and by carriers who do not offer unlocking services. To make it worse there I'd no real method to find out who the original carrier is either to see about unlocking. Personally I have no issues with units being sold as hacked iPhones but sellers should say that and give the original carrier. That way people can atleast know.

All I can say is buyer beware. I personally would only buy a used iPhone after seeing it in person. If it is a legit unlocked iPhone the seller should have no issues with restoring it for you in person and then you should be able to test it with your SIM card.

If the listing for the item is inaccurate, you need to report the issue to eBay. Apple won't be able to help you.

~Lyssa

I also bought one of his "Factory Unlocked" iPhone 4 from the same exact guy. Not only it was not factory unlocked, but the description was totally off. He told me that it's a brand new 32gb and when I recieved it, it had a chip on the side of the screen plus it was only 16gb... so I actually decided to go through the Resolution Center and currently working with them. The guy said to send it back to him and he'll give me a refund.

It is so stressful because when I sent it back to him, i put the hold for pick-up option so he has no other choice but to pick it up on their post office and the guy has yet to pick it up.

If he doesn't pick it up tomorrow, I am going to escalate the case so I can hopefully get my refund.

Many people are happy with their ebay purchased iPhones. (No doubt, there are some "bad eggs" out there.)

An ebay seller can purchase an iPhone in a country were locking is optional (in some countries _locking is illegal_ e.g., Singapore). That unlocked phone is then brought to United States and sold.

What is true, is that any iPhone manufactured and designed for the US market will be locked. (With the possible exception of certain government organizations.)

While it is unlikely that you would ever need it, it may be difficult to get warranty service in the US for an iPhone sold for a different market.

When you buy out of the "back alley", you take your chances. I would suggest anyone wanting to purchase an IP on eBay should be wary of ANY claims about "unlocked" phones. A better solution would be to only buy locked phones and then if you need to, unlock them yourselves. Or only buy from craigslist where you can do the touchy-feeley in a public place such as Starbucks.

Don't get me wrong. I know I took a chance on buying a factory unlocked phone but this was not the first time I have bought a factory unlocked phone on Ebay. The only thing about this case is, well, the seller was a bad one.

Lesson totally learned and would not trust anyone who isn't a power seller. I know, i know. some non- power sellers are good but I need to protect myself from scammers.

I am now just waiting for Ebay's decision to refund me back... and hopefully they will.

😟

SnowWhite_Apple wrote:
I actually decided to go through the Resolution Center and currently working with them. The guy said to send it back to him and he'll give me a refund.

It is so stressful because when I sent it back to him, i put the hold for pick-up option so he has no other choice but to pick it up on their post office and the guy has yet to pick it up.

If he doesn't pick it up tomorrow, I am going to escalate the case so I can hopefully get my refund.

Why would you send the phone back before getting a refund? You might end up with no phone and no refund.

I went through a similar experience on another electronic item I bought on eBay. It didn't work and the guy refused to refund my money. So I did escalate the matter. EBay told me to take it up with PayPay (which they own). So I called PayPay, gave them all the details and they said they would investigate the matter. The seller refused to cooperate and after 30 days, Paypal told me the only way I could get a refund was to file a police report of fraud with them.

So I trotted down to my local police station where I was told I would have to go see the FBI for mailorder fraud. At that point, I decided to forget about it.

Several months later I listed the same item on eBay (with a complete description of the problem with the unit). I also included a no-questions money back guaranty. I assume whoever bought the item was able to use it for parts or whatever since I never heard another thing about it. And yes, I did lose a little money on the resale.

I called Ebay's Resolution Center and they said to send it back to the Seller with a Delivery Confirmation as well as a Signature Confirmation. They then said to include these information when I escalate the case and then they will be processing the refund...

Anyone looking to buy a factory unlocked iPhone 4 should be look for Canadian eBayers. Our iPhone 4's bought out of contract are fully unlocked but they obviously don't come cheap. $150 contractual 16GB and $660 for an factory unlocked contract free iPhone 4 16GB.

Feel bad for you. But you should have looked a little closer at his/her feedback before you bought. 92% with many unhappy customers. That's not a great number at all. Alot of negative feedback should be a red flag .Hopefully Ebay will sort it out and ban this guy. Keep us posted.

It was actually 100% before we all got scammed. Then everyone started leaving negative feedback :[

UPDATE

I got my refund from eBay after two weeks! So all is good. Only complaint is that when they said 48-72 hours, it was waaaayyyyy more than that for them to solve an escalated case.