Buying an iphone

[popengchan]

Hi all, I am about to buy an iPhone 5s to a mutual friend. It's not that I don't trust t he girl, she is a stranger after all, but in her post is she did say that I can try the phone all I want when we meet upp. She sells the unit only and no box stating it was just given as a gift from her sister, and her reason for selling is upgrading to the iPhone 6. I'm more of the 5s guy, I like the smaller phone.

So my questions are:

1) is ut safe to buy the 2nd hand phone. She just sells the 64gb iphone 5s. Around 300 bucks. Amazon sells the bnew one at around 589 bucks.

2) the fact the she has the IMEI or whatever serial of the phone, does that mean a thing? I mean can she fool around with the phone even after I buy it and input my apple ID and all just cause she has the serials?

3) if it's relatively safe, what are the things I should look out for or test or do when I play around with the phone?

Thanks for all your help. Really wanting this phone but does not want to spend that much given that it is a year old model. Thanks guys!

 

[Just_Me_D]

Hi all, I am about to buy an iPhone 5s to a mutual friend. It's not that I don't trust t he girl, she is a stranger after all, but in her post is she did say that I can try the phone all I want when we meet upp. She sells the unit only and no box stating it was just given as a gift from her sister, and her reason for selling is upgrading to the iPhone 6. I'm more of the 5s guy, I like the smaller phone.

So my questions are:

1) is ut safe to buy the 2nd hand phone. She just sells the 64gb iphone 5s. Around 300 bucks. Amazon sells the bnew one at around 589 bucks.

There is always a risk associated with purchasing a "used" item, however, if you'll be able to handle and test it out then you shouldn't be all that concerned, in my opinion. With that in mind, I'd meet up at a wireless provider store, preferably the one the device is locked to. For example, if it's an AT&T brand iPhone, meet at an AT&T store to have them check to see if it has been reported stolen, is blacklisted, has a good IMEI, etcetera.

2) the fact the she has the IMEI or whatever serial of the phone, does that mean a thing?

Each device has an IMEI/serial number. You can read about them via the following link:
Electronic serial number - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I mean can she fool around with the phone even after I buy it and input my apple ID and all just cause she has the serials?

Make sure that she has done the following, preferably in your presence:

1. Turn OFF Find My iPhone in the iCloud settings.
2. Sign out of iMessage & FaceTime
3. Sign out of iTunes & App Store
4. Sign out of iCloud
5. Go to Settings - General - Reset and then select "Erase All Contents and Settings"

3) if it's relatively safe, what are the things I should look out for or test or do when I play around with the phone?

Thanks for all your help. Really wanting this phone but does not want to spend that much given that it is a year old model. Thanks guys!

Yes, it's "relatively" safe. As for what to look for, well, that depends on you. Obviously, you want to make sure the device works. Some people are more OCD than other in regard to scratches, dings, dents, etcetera, so again, that depends on you. Anyway, if you do the above, you should be fine.