Buying a phone on ebay

Has anyone bought a phone on ebay? I was thinking of looking into this to get a second phone, but what if the phone I buy is locked and I can't unlock it?

There's another thread about this: Cell Phones On Ebay

I think the short answer is Caveat Emptor - buyer beware. There are a lot of less than scrupulous dealers on eBay (see how much pirated software is for sale on it for example). Go for someone with a good reputation and also the backup of an actual mobile/cellphone shop - usually these will have a link to a business which can be verified. And use Paypal or a credit card so you have some sort of protection (depending on how much you spend. If you use Paypal make sure the recipient is "Paypal verified" - i.e their identity has been confirmed.

hth
Charles

All good tips - also check the feedback of the person you are looking to buy from - see if they have sold mobile phones before and if so what sort of feedback did they get left.

I would only suggest doing this from a person with a very good ebay rating, and make sure that he describes in detail its condition

As falian said above, make sure its from a reliable ebay seller, and if he's sketchy on the quality of it, i wouldn't buy it.

You can never be sure who you are buying from. I have to agree with everyone else and make sure the seller has a good rating selling cell phones and not just a good rating selling anything. You want to be sure that other customers that gave the seller a favorable rating, purchased a cell phone.

Yeah also make sure you are buying the phone and not a 'link' telling you where to get the phone cheap or something - I fell for that one once

I think you would be able to get it returned to the guy, if he didnt' say it was locked in the post.

I know someone who bought a phone on Ebay, and it worked out fine. I think it's like buying anything else from an auction site: check feedback, make sure the product is good, and hope that luck is on your side.
Tom

Feedback is definitely a good place to look, especially if the seller has sold phones before. That way, if problems had arisen in the past, they'd likely have been noted.