Does anyone have any experience buying the HTC Desire from China?
I read that the Nexus One has been cloned. I see no official report that the HTC Desire has also been cloned, but I have noticed a lot of suppliers selling the Desire through Alibaba. I am wondering if these are clones too.
Today I bought an HTC Desire off eBay from China which is supposed to be brand new in the box.
It was rediculously cheap - 50-60% cheaper than the cost of an HTC Desire from a US seller.
Now I am worried it's a clone.
I have protection from eBay PayPal so I should be ok, but I am curious to hear what people think.
Also, does anyone know of a program which will read and tell me the hardware specifications of my HTC? I'm looking for one of those apps like Intel provides to give you the model and serial number of your processor on your PC. I figure this is one way of confirming whether I have a real HTC phone when it arrives.
Any link to the eBay auction?
The "clones" of these high end cellphones in China are pretty fake. They resemble the real ones, but one can easily tell the difference. They definitely don't run android, and run some variation of Linux that is skinned to look like iPhone/WinMo/Android.
Once you have it in hand, it would be very obvious to you whether it is fake, either from the hardware or from the software, so there is no need to use any software to check the hardware specification.
There is no Nexus One/Desire clones that runs real Android or equipped with Snapdragon. Again, if it is a fake, it will be VERY obvious.
Thanks for your reply.
Here is the link.
I will ask the seller to send me pics he took instead of the ones he copied.
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260611334391&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
$170 US for a Desire!! from a zero feedback seller in China.....id never go near such.
I know.
I am betting on eBay and PayPal buyer protection to save me if needed.
giant_rider said:
I know.
I am betting on eBay and PayPal buyer protection to save me if needed.
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Judging from the fact that the image is just ripped from some blog site and not even an HTC press release shot, combined with the sellers score: 0. So no sales or even any buys to the account...
I would be very surprised if this guy has even seen a Desire in person, forget you receiving one in the mail from this seller
Is it really worth the trouble?
I can tell you with no doubt, its a fake one! Because even in China, you won't get a real 2nd hand desire at that price.
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Sent from my HTC Desire
Alex_w said:
Judging from the fact that the image is just ripped from some blog site and not even an HTC press release shot, combined with the sellers score: 0. So no sales or even any buys to the account...
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This alone does not convince me.
When I sell items, I am lazy and rip images and descriptions from other listing.
However, add this to the fact that the seller has no scores...so maybe.
Hmmmmmmmmmmm
If it's too good to be true, it definitely is.
Sent from my HTC Desire
Are you serious when you said you bought it? HTC desire for 170 unlocked..really?
Where I live, I can barely get a dumbphone unlocked for that money.
Well, the picture was taken from some blog and the spec were copied from HTC website. That page alone can't tell whether the phone is real or not.
But as I said before, those Chinese clones of high end phones look really fake, and those Chinese sellers are not trying to scam people into believe that they are real. There is a market for cheap look-alike phones in China, and that market is what those "clones" are for.
People, the $170 final price is the result of an AUCTION, not a buy-it-now price. My bet is that this phone is real, but the fact that the seller is from China, together with the fact that he has 0 feedback, making no one wanted to bid on it. I highly doubt that he will ship you the phone, given how low the final price is. He will probably make up an excuse not to ship you the phone (out of stock, wrong listing, blah blah blah), and then refund you (I you had paid already). If he did ship you the phone, you win. If he shipped you a super fake clone, Paypal will get your money back. The only thing you will lose is time.
I took a chance on a simular "deal" for a HD2 and I was sent a small pink noname brand(actually works, my woman loves it) and a FAKE Iphone 3G. Get you paypal refund info ready.
G
tsekh501 said:
Well, the picture was taken from some blog and the spec were copied from HTC website. That page alone can't tell whether the phone is real or not.
But as I said before, those Chinese clones of high end phones look really fake, and those Chinese sellers are not trying to scam people into believe that they are real. There is a market for cheap look-alike phones in China, and that market is what those "clones" are for.
People, the $170 final price is the result of an AUCTION, not a buy-it-now price. My bet is that this phone is real, but the fact that the seller is from China, together with the fact that he has 0 feedback, making no one wanted to bid on it. I highly doubt that he will ship you the phone, given how low the final price is. He will probably make up an excuse not to ship you the phone (out of stock, wrong listing, blah blah blah), and then refund you (I you had paid already). If he did ship you the phone, you win. If he shipped you a super fake clone, Paypal will get your money back. The only thing you will lose is time.
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I had the same thoughts.
I will see what I do.
I have not paid yet and can back out if I like by cancelling my transaction before payment.
I emailed the seller and asked for real pictures, why he is selling, what the serial number is, etc. I will see if he answers.
Unfortunately the seller's English is pretty bad so communicating is difficult.
Thanks everyone for your replies.
HTC doesn't sell cellphones in China offically
ebay buyer protection isn't worth ****. I got screwed when buying a PDA a couple years ago. ebay contacted me and told me not to send payment as his account was suspended. Unfortunately, I already had and received a box with a small rock in it which weighed what the PDA should.
I got about $200 back from ebay but I paid the guy $600.
USE YOUR CREDIT CARD AND YOU'LL BE FINE. THAT'S THE ONLY WAY.
Here are my golden rules for ebay, I hope this helps ....
NEVER buy a 'brand new' phone from ebay. You probably wont ever be able to return it, and might not have any kind of warranty.
Never buy anything from a seller with zero feedback. You simply cannot trust them if they do not have any reputation.
Never buy anything from China (unless you are sure about the seller).
st0kes said:
Here are my golden rules for ebay, I hope this helps ....
NEVER buy a 'brand new' phone from ebay. You probably wont ever be able to return it, and might not have any kind of warranty.
Never buy anything from a seller with zero feedback. You simply cannot trust them if they do not have any reputation.
Never buy anything from China (unless you are sure about the seller).
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Click to collapse
Add to this list only buy form China if you think the money is worth the risk
But 170 bucks isnt worth it for me maby for you then take your chances
0 feedback seller from China...
I bought a while ago a Sony headset from China (was dead cheap so gave it a try), the seller had plenty of feedback and I eventually got the headphones. They looked so good, very real. But the sound... was worse than the cheapest pound store ones!! Funny thing is the seller disapperaed from Ebay straight after the paypal payment... no refund for the fakes. I def learned my lesson.
I have seen a lot of this fake seller in china, all of them have 0 feedback or some fake feedbacks. Usually the sell all phones they can in a short period of time, and after that you get nothing and they will delete their ebay account.
I hope this one is not like it
It's one of either two things.
You got scammed and will be sent nothing (Which is what i'm expecting)
Or
You're going to be sent a very very bad nexus one clone.
Related
Where can i buy Rhodium without Contract in UK. I buy HTC touch HD without contract at Carphone before but just wonder if i can buy Rhodium there too ^^. My house is quite far from it so i dont have time to go there to ask -_-
Not sure where the best buy is at the moment
Check places like Devicewire, Expansys, Clove, and Handtec I suspect they will be cheaper than Carphone Warehouse. There was a thread here about prices, but not sure if it's still active.
Good Luck!
Gordon
Hit google with the UK only radio button. There's 1000+1 places to buy from. I got mine from launch at Amazon.co.uk
The good things from carphone is u can go there to check if there is something like dead pixel on the fone before make decisions.
Last time when i bought my HD there it took me only 450 GBP for the fone while i checked at clove it was around 500 GBP -_-.
#3: I know how to search man -_-
Try eBay.
oh man ebay is not different from the other online site. If u buy it and u get smt like dead pixel on the screen u have to send it back -_-
I got mine from http://www.mobilephonesdirect.co.uk/ £434 on voda pay2go. For some reason it was cheaper than simfree. Phone is not branded or locked as using with my 3 sim.
That's a pretty good deal from mpd ... only problem I'd have with buying from them is that I've heard nightmare stories about people having probs with the phone, and mpd won't have anything to do with them...
For Sale Touch Pro 2 - Vodafone Branded
I currently got a touch pro 2 on vodafone as an upgrade but the wife had already bought me one offline.
So it is up for grabs for £375 plus £5.00 to cover royal mail registered post.
cash to be paid ia bank transfer or paypal. If paypal used then buyer to pay paypal charges.
How about handtech which advertise on xda forum. I found it quite cheap only 438 with simfree
the problem with a lot of uk sites these days is their quality control. i always buy sim free and hate it when the "new" phone arrives in an opened box, factory screen protector half off etc.. they do a **** job of putting it all back in the box after "checking contents".
i used to buy from Play but their prices aren't competitve any more and no confirmed despatch date.
try King of Gadgets. all their stuff is factory sealed and there's a really good bloke over the phone who wont muck you about.
good luck.
panos123 said:
the problem with a lot of uk sites these days is their quality control. i always buy sim free and hate it when the "new" phone arrives in an opened box, factory screen protector half off etc.. they do a **** job of putting it all back in the box after "checking contents".
i used to buy from Play but their prices aren't competitve any more and no confirmed despatch date.
try King of Gadgets. all their stuff is factory sealed and there's a really good bloke over the phone who wont muck you about.
good luck.
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Thank u very much ^^ . And about handtec ? Do u have any info about them ?
no experience sorry. but I'm always weary of low prices. I think with them you still have to pay a fair amount for next day delivery. over the last few years I've learnt the hard way there's no such thing as a bargain
i've just chatted with them online and they told me that i don't have to pay any fee for nextday delivery but the problem for the dead pixel is. HTC only accepts to replace fone with more than 3 deadpixels -_- .
Handtec sell brand new and sealed phones but they are gray imports meaning no automatic network settings and detection and probably some warranty issues. This was the experience I had when I bought a Kaiser from them and when I returned it and asked for a UK spec, they simply sent the same phone back to me in a UK spec box (lol). I returned it and did a charge back when they started trying to act funny. Devicewire sell UK spec phones at the most competitive prices in my opinion.
Seriously boss. You can buy from anyone of these sellers and if you're not happy, dead pixel or otherwise then you can send it back with no obligation citing distance selling act. The common vendors like expansys, amazon etc are all good for it. Pick someone whom you trust and pull the trigger!
thank you very much. Maybe i will try with clove.co.uk kkkk
I already have one, and I love it. So does my family, they all want one. I've been asked to search for one for my mother.
I got mine from Clove when it came out for 330, which ended up being roughly $600 Australian, a fantastic deal. I'm just curious to know, after a few months, where people have been getting them and whether they've been cheaper elsewhere.
Also, if possible, where I might find a cheap Silver model for around the same price (it would make it easier to tell the second one apart). All the expansys models end up totaling $700-$800 which is way too much.
Thanks in advance.
Macca2805 said:
I already have one, and I love it. So does my family, they all want one. I've been asked to search for one for my mother.
I got mine from Clove when it came out for 330, which ended up being roughly $600 Australian, a fantastic deal. I'm just curious to know, after a few months, where people have been getting them and whether they've been cheaper elsewhere.
Also, if possible, where I might find a cheap Silver model for around the same price (it would make it easier to tell the second one apart). All the expansys models end up totaling $700-$800 which is way too much.
Thanks in advance.
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checkout Handtec.com, i found their prices to be the lowest, and they ship worldwide!
Ok cool the handtec shop has the phone for a tiny bit less.
How about the silver one? I found one on a European website and I couldn't read the shipping information but the phone was ~$700 AUD. Anyone know of a better price getting around?
I think you mean pdashop.nl and they say that they have an exclusive deal with HTC for that, but I don't think they ship to Australia
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Hi Everyone,
I have DHD now and want to buy the 1X .. i'm having an issue as i'm in Canada and they only sell the Dual-Code 16GB model. I want to buy the Quad-Code- 32GB model.
looking thru ebay and found many of them, i'm affraid of the defects, specially no one post if it's HT23 or HT24 or whatever.
also concered about return it to HTC for replacement, they will accept it or not, or there is any paper need to send with it ...
so confused ... can anyone guide me please
Thanks
I would be the same as you, after all what is the reason for someone to sell these phones on ebay.
Have you not thought about buying one from a place like amazon or some place like it that sells new phones with guarantees.
a_Sika said:
Hi Everyone,
I have DHD now and want to buy the 1X .. i'm having an issue as i'm in Canada and they only sell the Dual-Code 16GB model. I want to buy the Quad-Code- 32GB model.
looking thru ebay and found many of them, i'm affraid of the defects, specially no one post if it's HT23 or HT24 or whatever.
also concered about return it to HTC for replacement, they will accept it or not, or there is any paper need to send with it ...
so confused ... can anyone guide me please
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well honestly if you want to get the quad core model, get it from a reputable seller. This HTC One X seems pretty good. They ship worldwide too. But as long as your prepared to send it away if it does have defects then you are good to go. From what I've seen the units that came from china seems to be the one that has more defects compared to units that are made from Taiwan of Singapore. That seller on eBay gets his stock from Singapore.
PS
Always check their return policy before you buy.
anoniemouse said:
I would be the same as you, after all what is the reason for someone to sell these phones on ebay.
Have you not thought about buying one from a place like amazon or some place like it that sells new phones with guarantees.
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Click to collapse
they all says that the item is new and never opened, but, even if it's new how you will handle the replacements ...
i may think to have new one with Guarantees, check shadowboy23 post
shadowboy23 said:
Well honestly if you want to get the quad core model, get it from a reputable seller. This HTC One X seems pretty good. They ship worldwide too. But as long as your prepared to send it away if it does have defects then you are good to go. From what I've seen the units that came from china seems to be the one that has more defects compared to units that are made from Taiwan of Singapore. That seller on eBay gets his stock from Singapore.
PS
Always check their return policy before you buy.
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Thanks for the tip, i will contact the seller and see. you know what .. still worried about replacing the unit and the arguments if there is any 'slight' defects
a_Sika said:
they all says that the item is new and never opened, but, even if it's new how you will handle the replacements ...
i may think to have new one with Guarantees, check shadowboy23 post
Thanks for the tip, i will contact the seller and see. you know what .. still worried about replacing the unit and the arguments if there is any 'slight' defects
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
3. We offer a longest exchange policy which is 30 days than other sellers. If there is any problem, we offer immediate exchange with postage paid return label.
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Like you said contact the seller and ask them about replacement if the screen has a fault and what are their procedures of replacing the unit.
Do they have to send it away first for checking before they give you a new one? Ask them specific questions about your concerns. And if you're not happy then don't get one from them. Shop around and see who has the best return policy for faulty units.
you are not stuck with anything you buy if it isn't what you thought you were getting or expected for your money. buy it, and if it's not right, then get your money back. the only time you can't do that is if you bought something with cash off of a street corner. ;p
Currently, an unlocked htc m8 is available in Amazon for 670 dollars. It's 30 dollars cheaper than the original price. Why is that? I'm a little scared to buy it because I have read in the reviews that they received a 16gb version not the 32gb. I just don't want trouble like returning the phone or something.
jfodra said:
Currently, an unlocked htc m8 is available in Amazon for 670 dollars. It's 30 dollars cheaper than the original price. Why is that? I'm a little scared to buy it because I have read in the reviews that they received a 16gb version not the 32gb. I just don't want trouble like returning the phone or something.
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I have the 32gb from T-Mobile. First of all in my opinion all of the phones in the One family are the best most professional and elegant Android devices on the market today. I view them as cool Android devices for adults.
As far Amazon and getting a phone from there. I got two from them when I was on Sprint. They were both upgrades and Amazon only charged $.01 for each when Sprint was charging at least $50 for the upgrades. They got here in 2 days. It was a fabulous experience.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
jfodra said:
Currently, an unlocked htc m8 is available in Amazon for 670 dollars. It's 30 dollars cheaper than the original price. Why is that? I'm a little scared to buy it because I have read in the reviews that they received a 16gb version not the 32gb. I just don't want trouble like returning the phone or something.
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Click to collapse
I think your most telling comment were the reviews. The fact people aren't getting what they paid for. Remember $670 for a 32gb might be a good deal. Same price for a 16gb isn't
If the reviews aren't good I always stay away. Especially if all you're saving is $30
grentuu said:
I think your most telling comment were the reviews. The fact people aren't getting what they paid for. Remember $670 for a 32gb might be a good deal. Same price for a 16gb isn't
If the reviews aren't good I always stay away. Especially if all you're saving is $30
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It is labeled as 32gb. And there's like only 2 reviewers who said they received a 16gb version so it looks like a good deal. Thank you for your replies. I'm just a little curious on how they can sell it cheaper.
jfodra said:
It is labeled as 32gb. And there's like only 2 reviewers who said they received a 16gb version so it looks like a good deal. Thank you for your replies. I'm just a little curious on how they can sell it cheaper.
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Amazon is high volume, and they can afford to cut prices by not having a brick and mortar stores. Plus their logistics (delivery network) are unmatched. All of this means they can pretty much undercut most the competition on price (and therefore attract higher sales volume), and still make enough profit to be successful.
The purchase is direct from Amazon, correct (and not a 3rd party vendor that sells on Amazon as a portal)? If its the same listing I am looking at, it is. Amazon is really reliable. But mistakes just get made once in a while.
Merchandise returns are extremely easy on Amazon, in the event you end up having to do one. They give you a UPS label to print out, just slap it on the box it shipped in and seal the box, and take it to a UPS store (or you can probably call for UPS pickup). Since it was their mistake, they pay for shipping. When they made a mistake for something my wife ordered, they made it right by shipping the replacement overnight at no cost. Even when its a mistake I made (ordered some electrical part that were the wrong color) the return shipping was only about $2.
redpoint73 said:
Amazon is high volume, and they can afford to cut prices by not having a brick and mortar stores. Plus their logistics (delivery network) are unmatched. All of this means they can pretty much undercut most the competition on price (and therefore attract higher sales volume), and still make enough profit to be successful.
The purchase is direct from Amazon, correct (and not a 3rd party vendor that sells on Amazon as a portal)? If its the same listing I am looking at, it is. Amazon is really reliable. But mistakes just get made once in a while.
Merchandise returns are extremely easy on Amazon, in the event you end up having to do one. They give you a UPS label to print out, just slap it on the box it shipped in and seal the box, and take it to a UPS store (or you can probably call for UPS pickup). Since it was their mistake, they pay for shipping. When they made a mistake for something my wife ordered, they made it right by shipping the replacement overnight at no cost. Even when its a mistake I made (ordered some electrical part that were the wrong color) the return shipping was only about $2.
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Wow. You just gave me the most detailed answer. Thank you. I already ordered. Hoping to get what I wanted. Thank you again for that very detailed response.
No problem, happy it helped.
So Im on my second 'new' HTC 10 from ebay. First one was simply an open box to unlock listing. Not bad since it only takes like 5 min at most to unlock a phone. Nope phone came with nicks and scratches on the casing and screen. Didnt want to deal with it so I sent it back. Ordered another one 'brand new sealed in box'. Wrong again. Another shoddy box with chinese knock off accesories but atleast the phone was mint. After having problems connecting to LTE i decided to do a imei/serial number check to see if I probably recieved some weird non us compatible phone. Low and behold phone is a japan version with HTC warranty repairs for water damage. So now to return this one.
So if youre in a market for a new phone, ask for the imei before shipping and run it thru a HTC warranty checker such as imei.info
Either way if it comes in non HTC packaging, eg texured stickers on the box as opposed to the pressed textures of an oem htc box, chinese accesories like chargers with the writing all crooked and a generic sim removal tool instead of the tiny and square htc tool USE PRECATION. Sellers ive delt with so far are AMPM and x-channel on ebay.
Again BEWARE of used phones being passed as new.
Also does anyone have any links to brand new phones? They are non existent in the US and Amazon had them listed a couple months ago
https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B01G1NHAYI/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=all
There are a couple New listings there on Amazon still.
Both for Grey and Silver.
Is the 10 even made anymore? Why would you buy an old phone new?
Also, where is your negative feedback on these sellers, especially the one that barely has any feedback?
Yes, always IMEI search; the phone can be blacklisted becasuse someone didn't pay their bill/fulfill their contract. I provide that information when I sell my phones on Craigslist.
this is common sense
Rolo42 said:
Is the 10 even made anymore? Why would you buy an old phone new?
Also, where is your negative feedback on these sellers, especially the one that barely has any feedback?
Yes, always IMEI search; the phone can be blacklisted becasuse someone didn't pay their bill/fulfill their contract. I provide that information when I sell my phones on Craigslist.
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The HTC 10 isn't made any longer. But there could be leftover inventory not yet sold. Overall it's a very good phone and could be had for a lot less than a U11. The only trouble is, the HTC 10 is a crap-shoot on reliability. There have been enough reports of this battery issue where the phone suddenly shuts off when the battery level is somewhere down below half, and then gets caught a rebooting loop. If the phone is fully charged, you won't run into this issue. So, it's easy for a used/refurbished HTC 10 to be sold without the problem revealed upfront. Either a seller would confirm the issue doesn't exist, or you get it with a warranty. HTC has not formally acknowledged the issue. And apparently there's no way to know if your phone is a time bomb waiting to suffer the same fate.
Amazon is turning into eBay now. There are tons of counterfit goods being sold on Amazon. With a recent ruling, they can NOT be held responsible for these items, even if they fulfill shipping them from their warehouses. I just got a suspected used phone that was listed as NEW on Amazon, and it was even PRIME! Very sad that you can no longer trust Amazon for a hassle-free, no b.s. shopping.