Replacement iPhone- eBay ??

[MarkO]

#1 son has broken his iPhone, it is insured and they will send me a refurbished 16G iPhone SE for the £75 excess on the policy.
Instinctively I don’t think this is best use of £75.

#2 son has left his uninsured iPhone 6 in a taxi in Argentina and I need to replace.

Daughters #3 and #4 both want phones and I will have to buy them by next August at the latest .

I still have an old SE as my work phone that needs replacement soon .

So looks like there is the purchase of 5 phones in my immediate future!

I can see thousands of iPhones on eBay from loads of sellers - I’m sure some good and some scam .

Anyone purchased refurbished phones and if so what would you recommend.

I need to do this from a distance as I’m not UK based but my children are / will be .

[mmgg1988]

I purchased a refurbished iPhone from a physical store in ?Mansfield via Ebay a few years ago and all fine. It was still within the Apple warranty period so offered some piece of mind. My Mum still has it so still going around 4 years later!

Plenty of e-shops which sell on there such as Envirophone who seem to have a lot of positive feedback and should be a good bet. No personal experience though. Not always the cheapest but at least come with some form of warranty from the seller.

My last phone I received via a WTB on here so always worth a go although I doubt someone will have 5 spare!

[mattleicester]

Bought a few phones from music magpie on line in the past. Always been roughly as described and comes with a 12 month warranty... Never used the warranty as all where reliable. One had some "photos" left on it... Nothing sinister though

[sjedwardz]

Just bought a pristine (their description but accurate) iPhone 8 64gb for the mother in law from Music Magpie. Excellent service, even managed to get £40 off the asking price so final price was £360

I know quite a few people from here have also bought. I think eBay is a bit of a mine field at times!

[notenoughwrists]

There are always loads of iPhones here in SC. I’d trust this place more than eBay.
Start picking them up as you see them, and stick up a WTB


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[xellos99]

Bought "refurbished" iphone 7 twice from the huge phone seller businesses on ebay.

Both times I was conned because they were fitted with inferior 3rd party screens.

I sent both back for refunds.

I can spot these crappy screens very easily now, they are rubbish, not as bright, an off white color compared to the real deal and less responsive.

I would say avoid the refurbished business sellers and buy from private individuals who have very good feedback.

[Lee A Kada]

Just bought a brand new unlocked 6s 32gb from John Lewis for £299. Delighted with the price and service

[Toddy]

I've used Quick Mobile Fix to buy 3 iPhones and never had a problem. Also used music magpie to buy an ipad and again all good. 12 months warranty with both sites but never had to use them so not sure how good they would be.

[MarkO]

Just bought a pristine (their description but accurate) iPhone 8 64gb for the mother in law from Music Magpie. Excellent service, even managed to get £40 off the asking price so final price was £360

I know quite a few people from here have also bought. I think eBay is a bit of a mine field at times!

But you can get a brand new iPhone 8 64gig from Apple for $449 (£348)

[David_D]

But you can get a brand new iPhone 8 64gig from Apple for $449 (£348)

Not here you can't!

​https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/buy-ip...4gb-space-grey

[MarkO]

There is no Apple shops in the country I live in but I can still find a way.
We live in the age of internet and easy international travel .

[David_D]

Bought "refurbished" iphone 7 twice from the huge phone seller businesses on ebay.

Both times I was conned because they were fitted with inferior 3rd party screens.

Worth knowing!

[David_D]

There is no Apple shops in the country I live in but I can still find a way.
We live in the age of internet and easy international travel .

I think if you factor in the cost of a flight and VAT, the "all in" cost looks less attractive.

[wotsthecrack]

Just bought a brand new unlocked 6s 32gb from John Lewis for £299. Delighted with the price and service

Good shout, and 2 year John Lewis guarantee included

[Captain Morgan]

https://www.giffgaff.com/mobile-phones/refurbished

Not used them but heard good things, also if you need some assistance in the UK let me know.

[sjedwardz]

Exactly!! I looked at Apple refurbished as I’ve bought a few things from them before but they only had a few 8s and price was not far off new.

The Mother in law is a very light user but I wanted to get something bigger than her 5c and that would have IOS support for a good while.

Not here you can't!

​https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/buy-ip...4gb-space-grey

Sent from my iPhone using TZ-UK mobile app

[brigant]

I haven't bought a refurbished phone bt always buy refurbished laptops and, as long as seller has good ratings, there isn't a problem. Have you thought about CEX (bound to be one near you) they only buy phones in good condition and sell with 3 month warranty.

[Sweepinghand]

Very recently bought iPhone 8 Plus unlocked from music magpie
With the eBay offer that was in it cans in at £320
Yes.... £320

It was immaculate and 64gb

I’d recommend them

Wait for the eBay voucher days then smash it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Albellisimo]

The next eBay musicMagpie promo code is the 28th - 15% off

Here's the store link http://www.ebaystores.co.uk/musicmagpieshop

[Onelasttime]

From all those buying phones from Music Magpie, what battery health did they have?

It's the one thing that so many sellers leave out and I think it's important. I've self-imposed a limit of 90% – lower than that and it starts looking not so much of a bargain IMO.

I also wonder whether they swap batteries themselves? Will that cause problems with apple later?

[Jeremy67]

What about an MX-5?

No seriously, for the careless and the unable to afford their own phone there are bottom of the range Motorolas. Well made, reliable, fairly stock Android, take your pick from £100 upwards.

If you must Apple then Morgan Computers are reputable, offer good customer service and always seem to have some iPhones.

[westy]

There are always loads of iPhones here in SC. I’d trust this place more than eBay.
Start picking them up as you see them, and stick up a WTB


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Agreed.

[MarkO]

From all those buying phones from Music Magpie, what battery health did they have?

It's the one thing that so many sellers leave out and I think it's important. I've self-imposed a limit of 90% – lower than that and it starts looking not so much of a bargain IMO.

I also wonder whether they swap batteries themselves? Will that cause problems with apple later?

The battery health question is interesting, are there any statistics from Apple on projected health .

My iPhone 8 is about 6 months old and battery health is showing 91% - is that normal?

Thanks for all the tips so far .

[broxie]

Might be cheaper to get your kids to be more careful? On a serious note, if they have some financial investment in what they own, they will be more careful. If there is a no excess Dad replacement scheme, the carelessness may continue.

[sjedwardz]

The one I just got had low mid 90’s from memory and without checking.

From all those buying phones from Music Magpie, what battery health did they have?

It's the one thing that so many sellers leave out and I think it's important. I've self-imposed a limit of 90% – lower than that and it starts looking not so much of a bargain IMO.

I also wonder whether they swap batteries themselves? Will that cause problems with apple later?

[Captain Morgan]

The battery health question is interesting, are there any statistics from Apple on projected health .

My iPhone 8 is about 6 months old and battery health is showing 91% - is that normal?

Thanks for all the tips so far .

Mine is 2 years old and at 91% atm.

[magirus]

The battery health question is interesting, are there any statistics from Apple on projected health .

My iPhone 8 is about 6 months old and battery health is showing 91% - is that normal?

Thanks for all the tips so far .

My 7plus is just on 2 years old and the battery is on 94%.

[David_D]

The battery health question is interesting, are there any statistics from Apple on projected health .

My iPhone 8 is about 6 months old and battery health is showing 91% - is that normal?

I was going to post about that having seen what people have said about their iPhone battery %. I must have inadvertently looked after my iphone 6 battery. I think the 6 came out in autumn 2014 - so 5 years ago and the battery shows 88%.

FWIW, my habit has been to let the battery get quite low (sub 20%) and then fully recharge rather than randomly charging when I happened to be near a charger. That used to last me the best part of the day so it worked out. The performance has tailed off in the last few months.