Buying a used Droid

[certifiedfryguy]

A buddy of mine wants to get a droid but he's only 4 months into his verizon contract. Craigslist has a slew of droids for sale ranging anywhere from $200 to $575. I'm wondering other then the obvious scratches, cracks, etc what should he look for when buying a used motorola droid? any buying tips?

 

[Guchi]

make sure the esn (meid) is clear

 

[certifiedfryguy]

How would we find that out? By calling verizon?

 

[BayouFlyFisher]

Even if it's clear when you check that is no promise that it will be when you try to activate it.

There's another thread somewhere about a purchase on craigslist. The guy did check to see if it was clear and it was. Then he tried to activate it and it did for a short period. But then Asurion (sp?) got the lost phone claim from the original owner and the esn was flagged as stolen. He's now trying to get his money back from some stupid crack addict. Not good.

Go to ebay and buy from a know seller with a good history. You'll spend more money, but get screwed less.

 

[brucin]

Have the seller meet you at a verizon store. Once Verizon activates the phone then pay the seller. If the seller does not want to do this somthing's fishy.

 

[AnneDroid]

Have the seller meet you at a verizon store. Once Verizon activates the phone then pay the seller. If the seller does not want to do this somthing's fishy.

Excellent suggestion!

 

[BayouFlyFisher]

Have the seller meet you at a verizon store. Once Verizon activates the phone then pay the seller. If the seller does not want to do this somthing's fishy.

Bingo. This will separate the wheat from the chaff in a hurry.

 

[BigE"s DROID]

Tell him to please ask questions.... I bought a used Storm from craigslist and it came back stolen and they did nothing to the person i bought it from and they said they could do nothing bout my money so i just lost out!!!

 

[certifiedfryguy]

all seems kinda risky whichever way he decides to go. Thanks for the help.

question though about the warranty. If he does buy a legit used phone with a clean ESN, will Verizon/Motorola still honor the warranty? And with his Verizon insurance still cover the phone in the event of damage, loss, or theft?

 

[Guchi]

i would buy from ebay because then you can get your money back if you get ripped off