Develop Bugs

[Q] Skeptical about buying EVO off Craigslist

I'm finally getting an Evo - however I plan on buying it from craigslist. There are a few people selling in my area for about $300, but I talked to one guy and he was willing to go down to $200 for me since I asked for $250 but it's a bit of a drive. Now I've seen good deals like this before, but the guy seems a bit skeptical but having delt on craigslist before... I know some people are just like that.
The phone (HTC EVO obviously) is brand new and un-opened, but I've never seen the box (other than the picture he sent me of it) and I wanted to ask if there was anything I could do to make sure it really is brand new and has not been opened or replaced with rocks! I could ask him to open it in front of me... if there is nothing wrong with it as he claims then he should have no problem doing it since I'll be buying it.
That's my only idea.
Is there a way to find out if it's stolen or blacklisted by sprint?
Any help is appreciated.

You can ask him for the ESN, then you can call sprint and ask them is it is clear for activation....if so, be sure to visually inspect it to ensure that is the one you are buying
Sent from my froyo using the xda app

Askfor the esn and call sprint and tell them u wanna do a esn check then check the box its not like sealed or anything it just slides open but inside everthing needs to be sealed in plastic battery phone and ask l phone will have a sprint screen protrxtor on it thats new I get evos all day fromsprint for 300
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

Great!
Hey I can't beleive I didn't think of that! That's why I posted I guess haha. Thanks a ton guys.
Is the ESN visible if the phone packaging has never been opened?

Yes. It's on the outside barcode.

Thank you sir!
Call him now.

Vandelay007 said:
You can ask him for the ESN, then you can call sprint and ask them is it is clear for activation....if so, be sure to visually inspect it to ensure that is the one you are buying
Sent from my froyo using the xda app
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i purchased my last phone, a Touch pro this way. met him in a parking lot(walmart, HIGH traffic) popped open the phone, called sprint, told them the situation(they were cool with it) read off the ESN, came back clean, done deal.
I very much recommend bring a buddy or two. just in case!

I got mine off Craigslist, I just met the person at a local Sprint store and had the sales rep check it right there, he even called into the activation center to double check for me. Then took it home rooted, blah blah, and then activated later on the website.

bbv203 said:
I got mine off Craigslist, I just met the person at a local Sprint store and had the sales rep check it right there, he even called into the activation center to double check for me. Then took it home rooted, blah blah, and then activated later on the website.
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Best method I think u just meet at sprint get it done there I did tht when I got a sidekick of cl
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

sprint store +1

The best option would be to contact the seller and see if he would be willing to complete the transaction at a Sprint retailer. This way you will be in a public area, and it can be checked prior to handing over the dough. Good luck on the transaction, and enjoy your new EVO.

I think I'll write up a little 'Craigslist Buying Guide' with all this good information... And now experience!
I got two calls back last night, one of which would meet me at the sprint store! Her Idea too. But on my way out she called back and said she had another offer for more money... And I wasn't about to start a bidding war for her benefit so I was upset and went back to my original seller. The guy lived super far but I was potentially getting a great deal. Once I got there, I checked out the phone and tried to get a good read on the seller... he was VERY strange as most everyone I've dealt with on craigslist have been. This is my first craigslist phone purchase however.
So I called sprint, did the number thing and went through hours of customer service crap. Turns out, the guy has a business account (probably a made up bogus business but with a real fed tax ID and crap - anyone can start a business) and he buys the phones with pre-paid visa's, like you would use when making online purchases or give away as a xmas present. So these visa's look just like debt/credit cards that his "Business" would use and he gets the phones with plans so they're discounted (even though I can't see how he would get the MIR??). Once discounted he sells the devices or 'the hardware' for profit and at a good deal (seemingly) to the consumers like myself. I'm not sure how he makes much profit considering the EVO is $200 after MIR not to mention he had to have paid the first month of service and other fees/costs.... Maybe he was genuine and just bought the phone and changed his mind... but it seemed very skeptical.
Ok so the purpose of using the pre-paid visas was that in 30 days when the new billing cycle comes... Sprint will not be able to bill his visa because its out of money! It's not attached to his name or business like a normal credit card would be and now they'll try contacting him but I figure he'd probably just ignore them. Then a cancellation fee would be added ($200 more) but that wont get paid either and then I would assume Sprint will blacklist the ESN untill it's bill are paid.
What do you guys think? There was a lot more to the story so it may be hard to figure out what he was doing exactly. Maybe he genuinely was ignorant. Was it smart to not buy the phone off him? (even though it was only $200 unopened)

I had some people come to my home that were selling something on Craigslist. That night my home was burglarized. Figure it out.
Craigslist can have some good people on there but so many scumbags it isnt worth it.

Well I think it's obvious you should always meet in a public place. I would NEVER tell someone to meet me at my home!

this guy sounds shady and it sounds like Sprint not activate that phone if it's attached to an account that owes them money.

H2O MMS or others Ulock codes

If you are having an issue getting the Lumia 900 unlocked or trying to set it up on an AT&T MVNO. Please post something here. I started to think about it, when I bought the phone I thought.. ah I will just get it ulocked and bring it to T-Mobile. Then I was told about H2O in the process, even then I hit an AT&T wall. I did not unlock the phone, I am using it on AT&T through a friend so to speak H2O. The network settings app is on the marketplace if you are outside the US, it's not inside the US. I got off the phone with Nokia 2nd tier and he hinted toward AT&T blocking it. Then I started to think about what I was purchasing and how really nothing else we purchase is like this. You buy a car it's yours, you buy a computer it's yours.. why are phones different? I called my class action attorney client and had a discussion with him about it. Nothing may come of it, but if it does I need a list of those in the same boat, you bought the device out right no contract and can't use it outside of AT&T and that includes features like MMS not functional and a simple config utility would fix. Please do not post about how it won't work becuase blah, blah, blah. I just need a list of people so if anything comes of it I can say here is a list of others with the same issue.

Jumping on the bandwagon...
Sent from my Nexus One using Tapatalk 2

Right there with ya. I however went with Straight Talk which of course I cant use my MMS as well until the unlock comes available. I am curious if I can proxy my wifi to an international proxy so that I can access outside the USA market apps? Anyone have any ideas on this?

You can add me to the list of those that bought the phone at full price. I never called AT&T to ask for an unlock code. Do I need to do that first to prove that I'm at a disadvantage caused by AT&T?

awagner said:
I just need a list of people so if anything comes of it I can say here is a list of others with the same issue.
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Please count me in, I can send you my data in a private message, just let me know

21stNow said:
You can add me to the list of those that bought the phone at full price. I never called AT&T to ask for an unlock code. Do I need to do that first to prove that I'm at a disadvantage caused by AT&T?
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Let's see what he says.. I contacted H2O today, as soon as they realized it was WP7, nope can't get MMS. I saw the pics of the network setup out of US and it has all those settings we need. If we need to contact AT&T I will try that tomorrow, but I think this is a bigger issue.

count me in too.

In.

I know people have been saying to give up calling ATT. But I just called for the first time tonight, and thought I'd share some of the interesting bits I got. Well interesting to me because they weren't what I was expecting in comparison to everyone else's. Anyways~,
~I asked about dates and a supervisor told me that on 5/7/2012, this past Monday, that their notes for the Lumia 900 were updated by corporate.
~What it essentially says is that they can't say anything. lol
~When I pushed a bit more she told me that it was updated to say that they have no expected date as of now for the release of unlock codes. That they won't release any now because it's an exclusive and otherwise ineligible (Which everyone has already heard.). And that customer service reps are urged to not even submit requests because they all will instantly be denied on the spot.
~Also they told me I was the first one they've heard of trying to unlock this phone.
EDIT: Also, I know this was just adding to the pile of. "Reps Don't Know Squat"
EDIT: Meant to post this on the other thread. Oh well~ Anyways~ I'm in too I guess.

sushirom said:
I know people have been saying to give up calling ATT. But I just called for the first time tonight, and thought I'd share some of the interesting bits I got. Well interesting to me because they weren't what I was expecting in comparison to everyone else's. Anyways~,
~I asked about dates and a supervisor told me that on 5/7/2012, this past Monday, that their notes for the Lumia 900 were updated by corporate.
~What it essentially says is that they can't say anything. lol
~When I pushed a bit more she told me that it was updated to say that they have no expected date as of now for the release of unlock codes. That they won't release any now because it's an exclusive and otherwise ineligible (Which everyone has already heard.). And that customer service reps are urged to not even submit requests because they all will instantly be denied on the spot.
~Also they told me I was the first one they've heard of trying to unlock this phone.
EDIT: Meant to post this on the other thread. Oh well~ Anyways~ I'm in too I guess.
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For this thread, I don't think it matters. The way I look at it, if they are gonna control where I can use a phone I paid full price for (Even if it was on CL) without a contract. Then they should support it to get my MMS working on their MVNO! Could you imagine if other things you buy where like this. You buy that nice new Nissan Fronteir, you can only drive on Nissan roads. Let's say you bought a GTE rotary phone 30 years ago and you could only use GTE as long distance company we would be like FU I am gonna do what I want!

awagner said:
For this thread, I don't think it matters. The way I look at it, if they are gonna control where I can use a phone I paid full price for (Even if it was on CL) without a contract. Then they should support it to get my MMS working on their MVNO! Could you imagine if other things you buy where like this. You buy that nice new Nissan Fronteir, you can only drive on Nissan roads. Let's say you bought a GTE rotary phone 30 years ago and you could only use GTE as long distance company we would be like FU I am gonna do what I want!
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HHAAAAA~! I SAID THE SAME THING OVER THE PHONE. (Except I used Toyota). They also brought up that I didn't buy the phone directly from them, like that it was a point for them. And I go, "Yeah...that kind of just furthers my point. How does AT&T hold exclusive rights to block me from using something the way I want when I didn't even purchase it from them?) And they just repeated "AT&T has exclusivity and the phone is currently ineligible after that.

Too funny!! I love it.. well great minds think alike or it's just the damn truth. ha ha

awagner said:
If you are having an issue getting the Lumia 900 unlocked or trying to set it up on an AT&T MVNO. Please post something here. I started to think about it, when I bought the phone I thought.. ah I will just get it ulocked and bring it to T-Mobile. Then I was told about H2O in the process, even then I hit an AT&T wall. I did not unlock the phone, I am using it on AT&T and though the network settings app is on the marketplace if you are outside the US, it's not inside the US. I got off the phone with Nokia 2nd tier and he hinted toward AT&T blocking it. Then I started to think about what I was purchasing and how really nothing else we purchase is like this. You buy a car it's yours, you buy a computer it's yours.. why are phones different? I called my class action attorney client and had a discussion with him about it. Nothing may come of it, but if it does I need a list of those in the same boat, you bought the device out right no contract and can't use it outside of AT&T and that includes features like MMS not functional and a simple config utility would fix. Please do not post about how it won't work becuase blah, blah, blah. I just need a list of people so if anything comes of it I can say here is a list of others with the same issue.
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Count me in

im in

i'm in.
i've called AT&T 6 times since logging my customer care case and they tell me nokia hasn't released the codes. LOL

OP - you're wasting everyone's time. When you buy a branded phone you know full well that it will be locked to a carrier. Buying the device at full retail does not entitle you to take your device elsewhere. AT&T (and all other carriers) spend months and millions in R&D to develop and test the phone before bringing it to the market, so it is completely logical that they wish to get a return on investment in form of service revenue. In case you're wondering, carriers do not make money off hardware, that's not the business they're in.
There is no rule or law that requires carriers to remove SIM lock. They do it as a courtesy when they see fit, but they are not required to do that by any means. How do you think AT&T was able to deny iPhone unlocks for so many years if it was illegal?
Anyone who bought the phone before checking with AT&T about their unlock policy have no one but themselves to blame, simple as that.

AnyMal said:
OP - you're wasting everyone's time. When you buy a branded phone you know full well that it will be locked to a carrier. Buying the device at full retail does not entitle you to take your device elsewhere. AT&T (and all other carriers) spend months and millions in R&D to develop and test the phone before bringing it to the market, so it is completely logical that they wish to get a return on investment in form of service revenue. In case you're wondering, carriers do not make money off hardware, that's not the business they're in.
There is no rule or law that requires carriers to remove SIM lock. They do it as a courtesy when they see fit, but they are not required to do that by any means. How do you think AT&T was able to deny iPhone unlocks for so many years if it was illegal?
Anyone who bought the phone before checking with AT&T about their unlock policy have no one but themselves to blame, simple as that.
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"Please do not post about how it won't work becuase blah, blah, blah" Hmm guess you didn't read that part. This is not just about unlock codes. "
H2O MMS or others Ulock codes" I don't even need an unlock code for H2O. Besides I already made my case to someone who does this stuff for a living, maybe nothing, maybe something... didn't I already say that somewhere?

awagner said:
"Please do not post about how it won't work becuase blah, blah, blah" Hmm guess you didn't read that part. This is not just about unlock codes. "
H2O MMS or others Ulock codes" I don't even need an unlock code for H2O. Besides I already made my case to someone who does this stuff for a living, maybe nothing, maybe something... didn't I already say that somewhere?
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A laywer willing to sue for money? Color me surprised

AnyMal said:
A laywer willing to sue for money? Color me surprised
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I know, I know , we will see what he says.. never know might see something we don't. After all, I am a techy, not a lawyer. May be interesting.. maybe not. He did bring up what it says on the box. T-Mobile has a seal that says by opening this product you accept terms yadda yadda. AT&T does not. No terms and conditions on the box at all that I saw.

awagner said:
I know, I know , we will see what he says.. never know might see something we don't. After all, I am a techy, not a lawyer. May be interesting.. maybe not. He did bring up what it says on the box. T-Mobile has a seal that says by opening this product you accept terms yadda yadda. AT&T does not. No terms and conditions on the box at all that I saw.
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They don't have to post terms on the box, they are usually on the back of the sales receipt. As long as the phone is fully functional in the environment it was designed for, there is just no basis for complaint. I wouldn't spend a dime on the lawyer if I were you. Just thinking logically here, not trying to start a war

T-Mobile doesn't want to sell me a phone in-store

So after calling my T-Mo store yesterday to ask if they were going to have phones today they said that yes, they would, but only a few. So I had to ask if there was a list at all, didn't seem like he wanted to offer that information, but I asked to be put on it and he did. Didn't bother to explain to me how their system was going to work. I assumed I should be there first thing in the morning. Hell, I was there before the employees! Mind you there were 5 of us standing in front of the store for 20 mins before they opened the door. Then we walk in and they're like deer in the headlights. Uhhh uhhh uhhh. The people at the top of the list have til 5 p.m. to pick it up, if they don't then we'll call the next people for the next day. So conceivably, they could sit there with these phones for DAYS if the people they call don't come in. Why the hell wouldn't they sell me the phone when I'm right there, cash in hand!? Couldn't they have come out and told us this when we were standing outside? Did they think we were there to pay our bill? Idiots!

Cool story bro

Every T-Mo store I called said they are not allowed to "hold" a phone at all, that it is company policy. They have to sell them "first come first serve"
They were messing with you man, you should go back and threaten to call corporate and tell them customer service told you it's company policy that they cannot hold the phones for ANYONE

Uncle Hungry said:
Cool story bro
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Troll in every forum these days.
Hope you get your phone dude.

ingenious247 said:
Every T-Mo store I called said they are not allowed to "hold" a phone at all, that it is company policy. They have to sell them "first come first serve"
They were messing with you man, you should go back and threaten to call corporate and tell them customer service told you it's company policy that they cannot hold the phones for ANYONE
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I tried calling CS and they said there was nothing they could do and that they couldn't override the stores policy. One guy was supposedly setting me up with another store close to me that he had already talked to them and they would sell me a phone today. Well the guy never came back on and instead it just rang straight to the store. So then of course, these guys have NO CLUE what I'm talking about! Just so frustrating. Seems like every time I have to deal with them it's more and more crap. They really don't care about anything. If I hear them say, "I understand," one more time I'm slappin someone.

anyone else have this problem today?

I got mine last week from T-Mobile...first come first serve (I was the first person to walk out of the store with it).
However, I did go to Wal-Mart to try and buy one and they said they would only sell it to new contracts.
Seems the stores are all doing something different....

are you dealing with a TMobile corporate store or a franchised location that is privately owned, but only is licensed to operate under the TMobile name? The reason I ask is because Verizon corporate stores have to follow a certain set of rules, but the privately owned locations seem to be able to do their own things. That would make sense if customer service told you they can't make the store do anything...because it may be a privately owned store. It could be there is no such thing as corporate owned stores and they are all franchised, in which case you may be wise to relax and become a welcome customer instead of "that guy" because they could hold out on you for quite some time for fun.

Something like that happened to me today, I called the tmobile store by home yesterday, the dude slip out and said the GS3 was there but he couldn't sell it, I call this morning like at 11am and asked if they had it, they asked me if I was a new customer or upgrade, I said upgrade and they put me on hold well she comes back and tell me sorry not available till Monday :/. Call again and talk to someone else, I lied and told them new customer and they got my name to get the phone, I go to the store to changed my one s for it and they act like they didn't have it, told them ok I just want to return the phone and closed account (you know I wasn't gonna closed it but I wanted to pushed them) manager comes out, we have one sorru for the inconvenience.... Yeah really the hard to get a phone, people is funny sometimes, and annoying too
much
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

B.S.
You should've called corporate right then and there! If they have 20 people on a list, they set aside 20 phones and sell the rest to walk in customers! I'm angry for you! Same with the B.S. some TMO stores are telling people the must upgrade to 5gb data plans.

I went in on the 21st to a tmobile corporate store, salesman said they got 50 in. He goes back and gets one and then starts up like I'm a new customer. I tell him I am an existing one and he says he wont sell it to me. That there only for new customers. I called him a couple names and walked out. I was pissed. Called another corporate store and they said they had 50 also. I explained the deal and they said no problem, come on in. Had to drive 30 miles more and got it. I was still PO'ed so I went back to the first store, with the nice GS3 sealed box in hand, walked in (around 10 salesman and 5 customers in the store) and shouted out "whos the one that wouldnt sell me a GS3 about an hour ago?" Then I held the box up while everyone was looking at me by this time and said " I went to a real tmobile store where they treat an existing customer like they should and look what I have". Man that felt good to put him in his place in front of everyone in the store

Tacjim said:
You should've called corporate right then and there! If they have 20 people on a list, they set aside 20 phones and sell the rest to walk in customers! I'm angry for you! Same with the B.S. some TMO stores are telling people the must upgrade to 5gb data plans.
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Well i was on the list just too far down. Said they only had 4 phones. Must have all been franchise stores I guess.

yzf750 said:
I went in on the 21st to a tmobile corporate store, salesman said they got 50 in. He goes back and gets one and then starts up like I'm a new customer. I tell him I am an existing one and he says he wont sell it to me. That there only for new customers. I called him a couple names and walked out. I was pissed. Called another corporate store and they said they had 50 also. I explained the deal and they said no problem, come on in. Had to drive 30 miles more and got it. I was still PO'ed so I went back to the first store, with the nice GS3 sealed box in hand, walked in (around 10 salesman and 5 customers in the store) and shouted out "whos the one that wouldnt sell me a GS3 about an hour ago?" Then I held the box up while everyone was looking at me by this time and said " I went to a real tmobile store where they treat an existing customer like they should and look what I have". Man that felt good to put him in his place in front of everyone in the store
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Hottest phone out people going to be nuts.

Tacjim said:
You should've called corporate right then and there! If they have 20 people on a list, they set aside 20 phones and sell the rest to walk in customers! I'm angry for you! Same with the B.S. some TMO stores are telling people the must upgrade to 5gb data plans.
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Especially Non corporate stores will only make money on upgrades that have some type of plan change.

This is what happens to a hugely popular product. Look at the iPhone, it wasnt subsidized for how long? I could have swore att wasn't selling phone off contract either. Supply and demand my friend. Try a different store or different time.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

I got mine on the 27th. I called 6 or 8 different T-mobile stores, but no one had any. I finally found one in Atlanta. The woman I talked to there was real nice. They had one GSIII left, and when I asked her if she could hold it for me, she did. I think it's all in who you talk to. And how.

My local corporate TM store has white & the blue version!
Sent from my GT-I9000 using xda premium

I know that the T-Mobile's employee store already had the phones in stock a while ago before the retail stores actually had them. It's unfortunate some of the stores out there don't really want to sell a phone...
Seems to be a huge delay thou; apparently Canada had priority so shipments went there first.

I love that. I gotta do that someday lol.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app

I used to work at T-Mobile and most stores did stock some before launch. Most stores won't sell to upgrades and will be reserved for new activations. That's most places, even your big box stores.

[Q] Lesson learned when buying on craigslist

So yeah, I have learned today to always be wary of where things come from, especially on Craigslist.
The story of how I got my Note 2. Normally I buy my phones full price and I found an incredible deal on a white iPhone 5 16GB for a mere $500 at launch date. Fast forward to a few months a so, I found someone selling a brand new wrapped T-mobile Note II. Offered the guy a direct trade, he agrees. Fast forward again to Dec. 26,
BAM!
Found out my phone has been blacklisted. Asked T-mobile about it, they says the owner defaulted on their bill so it was claimed lost or stolen.
Yeah, It was depressing. I though only CDMA carriers enforced the whole IMEI blacklisting thing, but I guess now GSM carriers in the US started blacklisting as well back in November. I never suspected the phone to be stolen or anything, and I was under the assumption that being a GSM phone I'd be ok. Guess not...
Moral of story: When buying phones even if its GSM, make sure its legit and you wont get screwed over somehow. Maybe ask for a receipt so you can track him down and beat his... I mean, have records to be safe and do business near a carrier store.
And now I come to the XDA gods, being that its been 18 hours without my beloved Note II, is it worth me dishing out money to buy full price (again, sorta) and buy another one at the T-Mo store? Or maybe look into newer and better options, if any? I'm leaning towards getting another one but yeah, I need the approval of the internet. :good:
FWIW I sold the Note on Craigslist for 300 ducks, clearly stating that it was blacklisted. Hate being scammed and I wont stoop down to that level.

Yeah, best thing is to call the carrier before purchase, or better yet have them meet you at a tmo store. Sorry ya lost out dude.

KillaHurtz said:
Yeah, best thing is to call the carrier before purchase, or better yet have them meet you at a tmo store. Sorry ya lost out dude.
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Doesnt matter, sure the phone might be good that date but the original owner can stop paying their bill then default on it later, days/weeks/months whenever...
The best thing you can do is get a signed bill of sale with the IMEI number written on there, most craiglist sellers wont do it. actually here... just listen to my story.
So I sold my asus padfone last thursday 12/20/12. And immediately after that I started surfing craigslist for a new note 2 for tmobile, they were running from 550-570 brand new. I contacted MANY MANY people. Maybe 20 or so, everyone first asking if the phone was brand new then telling them I have cash in hand ready and ready to pay if they will sign a simple bill of sale with the IMEI of the phone written on there. Every single one of those 20 declined to sign anything. Now after using a phone I found in my closet (nokia 6800 from 2005) I was getting ancy because I felt like my life was crumbling around me since I didnt have internet on my phone. I went into a small korean owned tmobile store and asked if I could buy a note 2 straight out and how much it would be. They said 700 + tax and I asked if they had any used ones or if they could give me a better price cash. It just so happens that the owner bought a note 2 to test it out like he does all the phones and would sell one for 650 cash with a actual printed bill of sale. So thats how I got mine... got an extra battery, 32 gb samsung micro sd, case and screen protector thrown in for free. So it really wasnt a bad deal...

Damn dude. I would have called the cops & gotten your original phone back.

It's not that they defaulted on the their bill, it's if they defaulted on their eip (financing over 12 or 20 months.) still a bummer!
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2

I also bought GS3 from craigslist that got blacklisted a week later. Luckily I tracked down the guy who sold it to me and got my money back.
If you could live without a sd slot and removable memory you might want to give Oppo Find 5 a try. If I didn't bought the Note 2 I would have probably gone with that phone.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2

That's the risk you take when buying off craiglist or even ebay.
I've had good experience so far on craiglist but my expense never exceeded $300

I would for sure track the guy down with the phone number or email. Also I would file charges with the police. I would go after him with every means possible including small claims court. Sometimes it's not just about the money, but the principle of the matter. Make sure he NEVER does it to anyone else!
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium

I would try to take this up with Tmobile. If the phone was blacklisted then they know the address of the person that got it blacklisted. If it was stolen it would have been blacklisted when you originally got the phone. Not sure how you would legally go after TMobile but without a doubt if you had TMobile service with the phone and then they blacklisted it they are full of ****. Also you said the phone was "brand new wrapped" did it have the original sticker on the screen? too many times people allow big companies to rip them off thinking they have no recourse. sprint tried that **** with me and with a quick call from my lawyer my contract was ended and i didn't have to pay an etf. BTW i always get the plate number of teh person I buy a phone from. and recently started to take a photo of their DL.

Its a shame that you cant trust anybody these days. Ruins it for the few of us honest people left.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app

bad4life07 said:
So yeah, I have learned today to always be wary of where things come from, especially on Craigslist.
The story of how I got my Note 2. Normally I buy my phones full price and I found an incredible deal on a white iPhone 5 16GB for a mere $500 at launch date. Fast forward to a few months a so, I found someone selling a brand new wrapped T-mobile Note II. Offered the guy a direct trade, he agrees. Fast forward again to Dec. 26,
BAM!
Found out my phone has been blacklisted. Asked T-mobile about it, they says the owner defaulted on their bill so it was claimed lost or stolen.
Yeah, It was depressing. I though only CDMA carriers enforced the whole IMEI blacklisting thing, but I guess now GSM carriers in the US started blacklisting as well back in November. I never suspected the phone to be stolen or anything, and I was under the assumption that being a GSM phone I'd be ok. Guess not...
Moral of story: When buying phones even if its GSM, make sure its legit and you wont get screwed over somehow. Maybe ask for a receipt so you can track him down and beat his... I mean, have records to be safe and do business near a carrier store.
And now I come to the XDA gods, being that its been 18 hours without my beloved Note II, is it worth me dishing out money to buy full price (again, sorta) and buy another one at the T-Mo store? Or maybe look into newer and better options, if any? I'm leaning towards getting another one but yeah, I need the approval of the internet. :good:
FWIW I sold the Note on Craigslist for 300 ducks, clearly stating that it was blacklisted. Hate being scammed and I wont stoop down to that level.
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Click to collapse
Man, you sold it WAYYY too cheap. If you would've put it on ebay you would've gotten at least 450 AFTER final value fees and shipping cost.

Hmm, now I'm worried. I did a trade from a guy who got it from a guy. Its unlocked. Been working fine for a month and a half...now I'm afraid it will eventually be reported as stolen or some other financial default due to it's shady past.
Great.

Sorry to hear that :/ Would it work on simple mobile if it's black listed on T-mobile? You could also try to unlock it and sell it to someone who uses AT&T...

bad4life07 said:
So yeah, I have learned today to always be wary of where things come from, especially on Craigslist.
The story of how I got my Note 2. Normally I buy my phones full price and I found an incredible deal on a white iPhone 5 16GB for a mere $500 at launch date. Fast forward to a few months a so, I found someone selling a brand new wrapped T-mobile Note II. Offered the guy a direct trade, he agrees. Fast forward again to Dec. 26,
BAM!
Found out my phone has been blacklisted. Asked T-mobile about it, they says the owner defaulted on their bill so it was claimed lost or stolen.
Yeah, It was depressing. I though only CDMA carriers enforced the whole IMEI blacklisting thing, but I guess now GSM carriers in the US started blacklisting as well back in November. I never suspected the phone to be stolen or anything, and I was under the assumption that being a GSM phone I'd be ok. Guess not...
Moral of story: When buying phones even if its GSM, make sure its legit and you wont get screwed over somehow. Maybe ask for a receipt so you can track him down and beat his... I mean, have records to be safe and do business near a carrier store.
And now I come to the XDA gods, being that its been 18 hours without my beloved Note II, is it worth me dishing out money to buy full price (again, sorta) and buy another one at the T-Mo store? Or maybe look into newer and better options, if any? I'm leaning towards getting another one but yeah, I need the approval of the internet. :good:
FWIW I sold the Note on Craigslist for 300 ducks, clearly stating that it was blacklisted. Hate being scammed and I wont stoop down to that level.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What I would of done is contacted t mobile and told em you want to run the imei number before u bought it. And if they blacklist it still contact the better business Bureau and tell em your story and u will see how fast they change their tone. When someone breaks contract t mobile needs to go after them for all of it.they cant black list it if they gonna collect the retail price for it.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app

tbukkos said:
Sorry to hear that :/ Would it work on simple mobile if it's black listed on T-mobile? You could also try to unlock it and sell it to someone who uses AT&T...
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Click to collapse
I believe tmo and att are gonna start cross checking their imei database. So if its blacklisted with either company, lets att, tmo's system will be able to see that its blacklisted for att or vice versa. Now im not sure when thatll take effect but I read it on one of the more popular tech blogs I.e engadget, verge..
When I deal with CL now, I request the person meet me at the store just like I did with sprint phones. No other way to do it. Then at that time maybe you can get the rep to document the his/her acciunt stating they sold the phone to you. Idk something...
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Man, now you're scaring me. I've always been super honest on all my Craigslist and eBay posts and done my best to offer tip top service even if I only meet them once. So far I've only been annoyed once by a buyer who negliged on wanting to buy some video cards and wasted my time, but other than that I've been pretty successful in selling things.

To all that are worried about buying phones off of Craigslist:
They only blacklist the phones that are purchased under the EIP. You can call T-mobile with the IMEI to verify that the phone was not purchased under EIP before you buy it. If the phone was purchased subsidized with a classic plan, they can't blacklist the phone for an unpaid bill, because you own the phone. If it was purchased under EIP, you would have to go with the seller to a T-mobile store to pay off the balance to guarantee it won't be blacklisted.

That's nothing I got a warranty replacement device from mdpa insurance which I got when I bought it through wire fly. Worked fine for about a month then It suddenly dropped from tmobile network went to store got three new simcards etc etc. Called customer support then they told me it was blacklisted from it being associated with somebody else's account and the didnt pay there bill so I got screwed. But wait I got if from my insurance company ? So I called them and they sent me out a new one after stating my case. Any ways I got screwed with one through my insurance company so really your not safe a times unless I you buy new straight from a source I.e. bestbuy, tmobile, walmart get me. Cool then buy buy.
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lowandbehold said:
To all that are worried about buying phones off of Craigslist:
They only blacklist the phones that are purchased under the EIP. You can call T-mobile with the IMEI to verify that the phone was not purchased under EIP before you buy it. If the phone was purchased subsidized with a classic plan, they can't blacklist the phone for an unpaid bill, because you own the phone. If it was purchased under EIP, you would have to go with the seller to a T-mobile store to pay off the balance to guarantee it won't be blacklisted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can have a phone blocked for many reasons. Not just lack of EIP payoff. It can be black listed even if the person got the 2 yr contract discount. And more importantly, people can sell a phone that works just fine the day of sale(passing all IMEI checks) then have it blacklisted days later. Buying on CL is a gamble. Also, there is no legal action you can take if someone sells you a phone and then does not pay the EIP. You bought a used phone. It's not stolen because you don't return the phone if you end your service. They just bill you for it. That's the cost of doing business.
Also, ATT and Tmobile are already using the cross check system on our phones. You would have to unlock it and use it on verizon or some network not att tmobile related.

SGH-T999L Bad ESN

I bought an almost new S3 LTE SGH-T999L for my son off CL. It checked OK on swappa and it worked for a week, then unable to connect to network. Swappa now says blacklisted. DOH!
It sucks to have a $350 paper weight! I tried to contact the seller with no luck.
Couple questions...
Any way to fix it?
Can this model be downgraded to 4.1.1 to use free unlock method and even then will it possibly work on anther carrier is the US. I know it will work outside the US if unlocked.
I contacted T-Mobile and they said nothing I can do, only the original owner can have the blacklist lifted.
Any help or advice much appreciated!
Also let this be a lesson to all...just because it works when you buy it, don't mean it wont go belly-up in a week. :crying:

Sorry I didn't answer your PM before. Wasn't ignoring you. Unfortunately your options are extremely limited.
You will have to pay for an unlock code online (see the last couple pages of the unlock thread), and then sell overseas. Just please be honest about it to whoever you sell it to in case they plan on bringing it to the states.
Personally, I'd also file a police report. May not come to anything, but if the guy gets arrested for anything else, or enough people file a report against him for similar stuff, you may then have some recourse against him. But he has twice committed fraud, or theft by deception (or something like that). First against T-Mobile, then against you.
Once unlocked, it might work on other carriers here, but not for long. I'm told all US carriers will be sharing the same blacklist by year's end. I've also heard it may also be shared with Canadian carriers as well.
Sorry to hear that happened to you. You're definitely not alone! This happens all the time, unfortunately.
Never buy used unless you make the transaction in person at a T-Mobile store where the seller can prove they have paid for the device in full and are allowed to sell it. Also, have a note made on both accounts (preferably by a manager) that the sale is made so they can't report it stolen a few weeks later.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 4

I hear you, but it never goes down like that. I've bought and sold 30 or 40 smartphones. First time I've ever got burnt. I make small profit along, but this one is a stinger. I've had people want to meet me at Verizon, ATT and T-Mobile and every time I met them there all the store employees would say is if the sim card works it's ok.
Of course you could ask for a receipt...but what if it's a reseller like myself? I've had one receipt the whole time. Most of the time you can spot a fraud and steer clear. I check esn on swappa and/or Verizon site. I guess it's just a risky thing and I've been very lucky so far.
I did get a guy on ebay to unlock the phone for $10 last night. It works with a Lycamobile sim(T-Mobile reseller) and also works with a new LTE ATT Straight Talk sim...recieves LTE even. Maybe not for long...but it works fine now and it's been blacklisted about a month.
Guy on ebay unlocks clean phones for $5 & blacklisted for $10, he does remote into your pc to do it, but it only takes 2-3 minutes. He gave me the code, but it was never needed.
I'm a PagePlus dealer and I do alot of carrier flashing, not to beat blacklist, but to get more use from older 3G devices. Anytime I sell a phone I always give a 2 days return policy if they change their mind.

The seller of the phone should be able to get some sort of confirmation off of his own account showing he is not currently making payments on it. If the employees are only saying to see if the SIM works, they are just being lazy or ignorant! With the owners permission they can look it up, or call support from the phone and have him ask them to verify on speaker so you can hear. I'm just trying to say there's other ways to get the info before buying.
I'd say that if you've bought that many you are pretty lucky. But for the blacklisted one that worked on other carriers...expect it not to on AT&T very soon and all other US carriers around the end of the year. Right now T-Mobile and AT&T share their lists, but don't use the same one, so it'll often take a few weeks to catch up. As I understand it, once the national list is in place, all carriers will be using the same one so it'll be more instant.
I have spoken to a few people who bought their phone used and all seemed good, but then nearly 2 months later it got blacklisted! Some people are apparently selling it, but then waiting a month or two to report it stolen!
I just hope that if one of your customers gets blacklisted a few weeks after buying from you, you will be willing to at least exchange it.
But before you try and sell this one, please consider that it's practically a given that it's not gonna work for very long.
Also, (and I'm not sure of the ramifications here) keep in mind that you are knowingly in possession of stolen property. That by itself is probably not a big deal for you, legally speaking, since it happens to so many people and hardly no one knows what they are buying when this happens to them. But if you sell it, you will be knowingly selling stolen goods. If one of your customers gets blacklisted, you could be the one held liable.
Don't take it wrong, I'm just trying to help!
And I'm just curious, what do you mean by "carrier flashing"?
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 4

I understand where you're coming from and I will not sell this phone except to one particular customer who takes them outside the country. My son is using it now on LycaMobile which is a UK based reseller using T-Molile towers. We will see how long it lasts...strange circumstance there since the provider is not from the US, will they also adhere to universal blacklist? I dunno...time will tell. At $30 per month they are cheapest unlimited I know of(Only 50MB 4G data, then 2G/3G).
I run a legitimate part time business and have rarely had phones returned, but always made the customer happy. Happy customers come back and most of my profit is selling refills and flashing/rooting/unlocking...not the actual phone sales.
Carrier flashing: Mainly I've flashed older Metro phones to work on PagePlus and GS3's from Sprint or Verizon must be flashed for pageplus because they don't yet allow 4G phones. I never do any ESN changes. I'm an old techie and I go way back to Nextel mods in mid 90's. lol
BTW I installed CM 10.1.2 RC2 right from the phone yesterday after originally flashing the CM10 linked in Doc's T999L thread. It flashed perfect right through CM update utility automatically and seems to run perfectly.