We love getting ourselves a new phone. Phones are so important since we use them every day, so a new phone is among the most exciting purchases. Unfortunately, sometimes our exciting phone purchase can turn into a nightmare. I have created this guide to help prevent that nightmare when purchasing a phone.
New Phone Sales
Buying a new sealed in box phone is awesome, but it is also incredibly expensive since many of the flagship phones these days hover around the thousand-dollar mark or even more. The other option of course is to go to your cell phone provider and check for an upgrade. Be aware that your “free” phone upgrade is not free at all. In fact quite often you end up paying more for the phone than buying outright because your monthly bill increases and its not easy to get the phone bill cost back down even after your contract is complete. New phones are great because you know you will not have surprises.
Used Phone Sales
Buying a used phone is an awesome way to save some money and keep your existing phone plan cost down all while getting yourself a new to you phone. I myself lag one year behind and purchase my phones outright which is a great option for those of you who like to change phones often and don’t mind that your phone isn’t THE newest device in the market. We have all heard horror stories of used phone deals gone sour. Some issues that arise from used phone purchases are phones that have undisclosed issues or damage, the notorious Apple ID lock/Icloud lock or blacklisted devices. When you buy a used Phone from Phone Doctor we provide similar security to buying a new device. You do not have to worry about apple id locked phones or blacklisted devices when purchasing a used phone from Phone Doctor.
Refurbished Phone Sales
Refurbished phones are a great option in the middle. We buy used and broken phones and the fix the phones and refresh them for resale as a refurbished device. Refurbished devices are different from used devices because more components are covered under our phone sales warranty. With a refurbished phone you can expect the phone to operate like a new device but may have cosmetic imperfections.
General Tips for buying a previously owned device from a private seller
When buying any previously owned phone there are a few things you MUST do to ensure you are not the victim of a scam.
- Check that the device is not blacklisted. This can be done by finding the IMEI number in settings, general, about and then typing that number into the search box at device check.ca/check-status. This will give you one of two results. the result you are hoping for is “This device has NOT been reported lost or stolen and is not currently on the national blacklist” the other you DON’T want is “This device HAS been reported lost or stolen and is on the national blacklist”. A phone that is on the national blacklist cannot be used with a sim card for reception and so if you skip this step you will might be buying a useless phone. Another way to check is put your sim card in the phone before you buy it and try placing a call to another number, if you can successfully do this then it is not currently blacklisted. The one remaining issue is that a phone can have a clean IMEI (Means not on the blacklist) at the time of purchase but can later be reported lost or stolen. the only way to prevent this 100% is to buy from a trusted source like Phone Doctor. There are people that constantly do this scam and its a huge problem so its important to be thorough and if you have a and feeling then don’t buy the phone. Newer phones are more likely to be apart of this scam and a suspiciously low price relative to others forsake in the market can be an indication that something is not right.
- Check for Apple ID account, Google or Samsung accounts in settings. A phone that has the previous owners Apple ID or other accounts will forever be locked and unusable for you. Even when a phone is completely erased to factory settings the phone will always remember the previous account until it is legitimately removed by the previous owner. This means when you buy a phone and it has been reset you need to go through the full set up procedure and confirm that the phone is not linked to another account.
- Check phone functions. Play some music, make a call, connect to wifi, check battery health in settings, inspect cosmetic condition, plug in headphones and a charger and take some pictures with both cameras. The more thorough you are the more safe your purchase will be. With devices being so expensive these days it is definitely worthwhile to spend some time and check every last suggestion we are making.
- It is a good idea to talk with the seller and get a feel for the person. You may get a good or a bad feeling just from the communication and its goo to listen to your gut. It is a great idea to ask for ID, and when we buy we will actually have them sign an agreement that states we are buying the phone transferring ownership. We also have them sign to agree the phone will not be blacklisted.
You can do everything right and still be the victim of a phone purchase scam, so that is why buying from Phone Doctor or another reliable source is highly encouraged. A cheaper price can cost you more when buying privately.
Trade in your Phone
If you are looking to buy a new phone we will take in your old phone as trade towards another used or refurbished device. We also pay cash for your used or broken phones if you decide to buy a new phone elsewhere.
At Phone Doctor we provide exceptional customer service while providing phone repair service, tablet and ipad repair, computer repair, software trouble shooting, data recovery, phone sales and much more.
If you are looking to buy a phone because yours is broken, then check our list of services and your problem may actually be repairable and also much more affordable than you think!