E-Bay auction yields Sprint phone they will not activate!
aRealGeek
popelka <pop...@gvtc.com> wrote in message
news:38683f8d...@news.gvtc.com...
> Bought a Qualcomm phone on e-bay that has an outstanding bill for
> ~$100. Sprint will not activate the phone until the bill is paid.
>
> BEWARE of buying phones on Internet. The unpaid bill goes along with
> the equipment.
popelka
Mike Fox
Buying cellular phones on ebay is very dangerous. The dangers of buying
Sprint PCS phones are well-documented in this newsgroup, as described
above. I imagine other technologies have similar hazards.
Buying GSM phones has its own, different hazards. Because the account
is based on the SIM card, not the phone, I think it should be OK to buy
one if the seller hasn't paid his bill. BUT, most of these phones are
locked to a specific carrier and won't accept SIMs from other carriers,
a fact that the sellers almost never disclose (many of them probably
don't even know it). Don't buy a GSM phone on ebay unless the seller
specifically advertises that it's unlocked, or that it was originally
bought for the carrier YOU plan to use it on.
Unfortunately, the only way to be safe is don't buy cell phones on
ebay. From what I've seen, they don't exactly go for bargain prices,
considering the risks and considering what carriers are charging for
new, subsidized phones.
Mike
--
"We're not against ideas. We're against people spreading them."
(General Augusto Pinochet of Chile)
Peter Shieh
overseas bidder only. Like Japan. Hm.. Is 1900 CDMA US only? Hope not.
Anyone knows what is the frequency of J CDMAOne?
"popelka" <pop...@gvtc.com> wrote in message
news:38683f8d...@news.gvtc.com...
Bob Smith
"Peter Shieh" <psh...@bayarea.net> wrote in message
news:84aq25$6a5$1...@news.bayarea.net...
: Can't stop it when I saw the posting. Try to put it on eBay again. Accpet
: overseas bidder only. Like Japan. Hm.. Is 1900 CDMA US only? Hope not.
: Anyone knows what is the frequency of J CDMAOne?
Here's a link you should bookmark / make as a favorite to reference other
CDMA systems worldwide. http://www.cdg.org/ .Click on the CDMA worldwide
link on the left, and then further filter what you are looking for in.
Bob
Steven C. Den Beste
>Can't stop it when I saw the posting. Try to put it on eBay again. Accpet
>overseas bidder only. Like Japan. Hm.. Is 1900 CDMA US only? Hope not.
>Anyone knows what is the frequency of J CDMAOne?
It's not that simple. The phone is almost certainly subsidy locked; it can
only be used with Sprint.
--------
Steven C. Den Beste sden...@san.rr.com
Home page: http://home.san.rr.com/denbeste
"In any conflict, victory goes to the side that makes the fewest mistakes."
clutz123
in his/her auction if they did not mention this in the auction listing.
ebay has the person's credit card number, and you are also insured for
up to $200 by e-bay. it is up to you to set up a claim with e-bay, so
they know what is going on. also, leave negative feedback in the
meantime so that noone else will buy from them. the reason why people
use e-bay over other auction sites is because ebay offers this service
and helps you with fraudulent auctioneers.
good luck,
jonathan
* Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet's Discussion Network *
The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet - Free!
Tony
Jonathan is right in that you have some recourse options. One suggestion I
would recommend is that you contact the seller and give them an opportunity
to fully refund your money just in case they honestly didn't know about the
unpaid bill - possibly they were "re-selling" the item from who knows where.
But any vacillating, then go for the negative feedback and make a claim with
ebay (I believe you eat the first $25). Good luck.
tony
--
When replying, please replace NOSPAM with RANGER in E-Mail address.
Isaiah Beard
popelka <pop...@gvtc.com> wrote in message
news:38683f8d...@news.gvtc.com...
> Bought a Qualcomm phone on e-bay that has an outstanding bill for
> ~$100. Sprint will not activate the phone until the bill is paid.
>
> BEWARE of buying phones on Internet. The unpaid bill goes along with
> the equipment.
It does, and this is true of quite a few carriers. I would suggest posting
a negative feedback to the seller on eBay, and raising a HUGE stink to that
person in e-mail over this. If that person is not going to pay the bill,
then s/he owes you the cost of that phone.
Ganesha Ganapati
wrote:
>popelka wrote:
>>
>> Bought a Qualcomm phone on e-bay that has an outstanding bill for
>> ~$100. Sprint will not activate the phone until the bill is paid.
>>
>> BEWARE of buying phones on Internet. The unpaid bill goes along with
>> the equipment.
>
>Buying cellular phones on ebay is very dangerous.
Only if you want to activate them and use them legitimately. ;-)
---
Note: Spam shields raised (with rotating shield frequencies). Please post responses to
this newsgroup.
hox...@my-deja.com
no more dangerous than anything else. It's really no different than if
the person had sold you a computer or stereo or television that didn't
work when you got it.
In article <38683f8d...@news.gvtc.com>,
pop...@gvtc.com (popelka) wrote:
> Bought a Qualcomm phone on e-bay that has an outstanding bill for
> ~$100. Sprint will not activate the phone until the bill is paid.
>
> BEWARE of buying phones on Internet. The unpaid bill goes along with
> the equipment.
>
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Isaiah Beard
Ganesha Ganapati <jil...@surfree.com> wrote in message
news:386a20fa...@news.orng1.occa.home.com...
> >> the equipment.
> >
>
> Only if you want to activate them and use them legitimately. ;-)
I'd disagree with that, if anything becasue I've sold phones on eBay that I
no longer had use for... relics from back in the day when Sprint didn't
cover the places I traveled and I had to carry like 6 phones just to get
coverage.
But then, I pay my bills, and care about my feedback on eBay. =)
Steve
"Isaiah Beard" <ibe...@pobox.com> wrote:
Me too. I have a plus rating on Ebay with no negatives and have a
Sprint Qualcomm 2700 phone for sale, not yet on Ebay, and I wouldn't
want some asshole ruining it for the rest of us legit sellers.
Steve
--
"If you really want to hurt your parents and you don't
have enough nerve to be homosexual, the least you can
do is go into the arts", says Kurt Vonnegut, in
Entertainment Weekly.
Mike Fox
>
> In article <_Xza4.3138$9e3.1...@newsread1.prod.itd.earthlink.net>,
> "Isaiah Beard" <ibe...@pobox.com> wrote:
>
> >Ganesha Ganapati <jil...@surfree.com> wrote in message
> >news:386a20fa...@news.orng1.occa.home.com...
> >> On Tue, 28 Dec 1999 10:06:31 -0500, Mike Fox <mik...@attglobal.net>
> >> wrote:
> >> >> BEWARE of buying phones on Internet. The unpaid bill goes along with
> >> >> the equipment.
> >> >
> >> >Buying cellular phones on ebay is very dangerous.
> >>
> >> Only if you want to activate them and use them legitimately. ;-)
> >
> >I'd disagree with that, if anything becasue I've sold phones on eBay that I
> >no longer had use for... relics from back in the day when Sprint didn't
> >cover the places I traveled and I had to carry like 6 phones just to get
> >coverage.
> >
> >But then, I pay my bills, and care about my feedback on eBay. =)
> >
> >
>
> Me too. I have a plus rating on Ebay with no negatives and have a
> Sprint Qualcomm 2700 phone for sale, not yet on Ebay, and I wouldn't
> want some asshole ruining it for the rest of us legit sellers.
>
Of course the problem is, how can Joe Buyer tell the difference between
you and the others? And don't discount the possibility that those other
sellers are also legit sellers who just aren't informed about all the
gotchas with selling cellular phones (like subsidy locks) and so don't
even know that they are selling a phone to someone who may not be able
to use it?
Commentary
reactivated by a new user. He may simply be willing to refund the
money when he finds out. (Or did I miss something and has this already
been covered?)
Isaiah Beard
Mike Fox <mik...@attglobal.net> wrote in message
news:386B73A6...@attglobal.net...
> Steve wrote:
> > Me too. I have a plus rating on Ebay with no negatives and have a
> > Sprint Qualcomm 2700 phone for sale, not yet on Ebay, and I wouldn't
> > want some asshole ruining it for the rest of us legit sellers.
> >
>
> Of course the problem is, how can Joe Buyer tell the difference between
> you and the others? And don't discount the possibility that those other
> sellers are also legit sellers who just aren't informed about all the
> gotchas with selling cellular phones (like subsidy locks) and so don't
> even know that they are selling a phone to someone who may not be able
> to use it?
That's why you should ask pointed questions. Ask if they've paid their
phone bill, and ask specifically which carrier the phone was used on. If
the seller refuses to answer these questions, don't bid.
Ask if it has a subsidy lock. If the seller doesn't know, then assume it
does UNLESS the phone is straight analog. Most GSM handsets sold in the US
have subsidy locks, as do Sprint PCS and Primeco phones. Analog carriers,
however, rely on contracts to ensure their "investment" on the phone
subsidies are recovered.
I even go so far as to offer the winning bidder the phone's ESN if they
request it, so that they can check with the carrier themselves if the phone
can be activated without difficulty before sending payment. With digital
phones, the ESN isn't the only thing required to activate the phone, so
cloning isn't much of a concern.
David Jones
> ~$100. Sprint will not activate the phone until the bill is paid.
>
> the equipment.
Forget eBay.... I had the exact same problem buying a phone from Radio
Shack. It took 6weeks to get it straightened out.
Jerome Zelinske
<dljo...@home.com> writes:
>Forget eBay.... I had the exact same problem buying a phone from Radio
>Shack. It took 6weeks to get it straightened out.
More details please. Was it a corporate store or a franchise store? Did
you talk to the store manager? You certainly would not have had a big problem
at our store. Even if you were accidentally sold a phone that was to be
shipped to remac, and when you got home, it couldn't be activated, when you
came back, it would have been swapped pronto.
WndrGrl
>Shack. It took 6weeks to get it straightened out.
I hesitate to ask why you didn't just return the phone and insist on a
refund, and then get another one from a different retailer.
WndrGrl
----------
On my own equipment, my own time.
Not the opinion or position of Sprint PCS.
----------
Paul L. Goldman
They sold me an allegedly new dbStarTAC. As soon as I got back to my hotel
I opened the box and quite quickly determined that this phone was not new:
the battery had a full charge, the mylar "guard" was missing from the LCD
display, the seal on the instruction manual was broken, there was no
warranty card, and the plastic bag the belt clip was in had been broken
open. Just out of curiosity I called SPCS and after a few minutes with and
extremely polite and knowledgeable customer rep, I found out that the ESN
for the phone was valid on SPCS but locked from activation for reasons I was
not informed of.
I quickly went back to Radio Shack and got my money back. The store manager
explained that the reason the phone "appeared" to be used was because they
were showing it to a perspective customer. He also told me that he doesn't
understand why I wanted to return it since it is the last one in the entire
city and he will have no trouble selling it to someone else. I told him that
since he would have no trouble selling it to someone else, he should have no
trouble refunding my money. I then went down the road to a Circuit City
where they had a dozen factory fresh ones and $110.00, in Circuit city cash
rebates and gift certificates.
I must comment that this experience at Radio Shack was for me a totally
isolated one. The retail stores I generally deal with here in Rochester, NY
are quite helpful and customer oriented.
Regards,
Paul
WndrGrl <wnd...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:8knv6sg6na2s5bcmd...@4ax.com...
Ganesha Ganapati
<pgol...@rochester.rr.com> wrote:
>I had the same experience with a Radio Shack retail store in Houston, TX.
>They sold me an allegedly new dbStarTAC.
[Story of an obviously used phone being sold as new elided.]
>I must comment that this experience at Radio Shack was for me a totally
>isolated one.
My understanding is that Radio Shaft is not like normal stores: they
apparently cannot(*) return items to the Tandy warehouse for credit.
If an item is defective, it goes to a Tandy repair center, and then
back out on the floor to be sold to some sucker at full price. If it's
beyond repair, it goes onto the junk table, possibly with a price
markdown. If they still can't sell it, the store eats the "cost" (it
shows up as a loss on the store's Profit & Loss statement, and comes
right out of the store's bottom line). This, combined with a liberal
corporate return policy, spells trouble for the unwary customer.
RS managers are compensated in part based on the profit made by the
store; thus, markdowns and writeoffs not only reduce the performance
of the store and make the manager look bad, it also directly affects
the manager's compensation. Needless to say, there is a STRONG
incentive to sell used, broken, or defective merchandise, rather than
to take a loss on it. This can lead to numbers games where a given
item might be sold and returned numerous times before it finally winds
up in the hands of some sucker who is too lazy (or unable) to return
it and thus stays sold.
To relate a recent experience of my own, I recently bought an FM radio
antenna which had been thoroughly abused by some prior purchaser: the
main beam was bent, the plastic snaps that lock the elements in place
were all broken, the instruction sheets were missing, the bag of
hardware was missing, etc. etc. When I got home and discovered that
I'd been sold damaged goods, I of course brought it back to the store
immediately. The store manager wrote up the return and didn't even ask
me why I was returning it - he apparently already knew full well why
it was coming back.
Bottom line: *always* inspect *any* Radio Shaft purchase carefully
BEFORE you pay for it. If it shows any signs of having been
opened/used, insist on a factory fresh item; if they don't have one,
there are plenty of other Radio Shaft stores. Or, better still, skip
Radio Shaft altogether and buy from a store which doesn't try to
resell damaged/defective goods.
(*) This appears to be true for RS branded items; it may not be the
case for third party items like Sprint phones. However, store
personnel are probably already in the habit of trying to resell every
return, so even if a SPCS phone *can* be returned to Sprint for
credit, the store personnel might not think to try it.
Isaiah Beard
Ganesha Ganapati <terrence...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:3870301b...@news.orng1.occa.home.com...
> Bottom line: *always* inspect *any* Radio Shaft purchase carefully
> BEFORE you pay for it. If it shows any signs of having been
> opened/used, insist on a factory fresh item; if they don't have one,
> there are plenty of other Radio Shaft stores. Or, better still, skip
> Radio Shaft altogether and buy from a store which doesn't try to
> resell damaged/defective goods.
Though there is another downside to this. There have been complaints posted
in here before where people have opened Sprint phones in stores and fondled
them quite a bit, only to have the customer not buy the phone in which case
it gets repacked and ready for the next customer. Personally, I don't have
issues with this as long as they don't really abuse the thing, but others
here don't like the idea of buying phones that at the end of the day are
smudged with fingerprints and handled by just about everyone that walks into
the store. I can see their reasoning.
I do believe though, that Sprint phones undergo a separate return process
from the rest of the RS merchandise. They probably do get shipped back to
some plant for refurbishing/reprocessing. Though chances are, some RS
managers decide to re-use merchandise anyway when they're in a pinch and
someone wants that phone and it's otherwise out of stock.