How to buy an iPhone on eBay?

For many domestic users, online shopping is considered an extraordinary act. Alas, the residents of Russia are not yet accustomed to online trading, but in recent years the situation has changed for the better. More and more Runet users order goods on Chinese and American trading platforms, and eBay is rapidly gaining popularity in Russia. The advantage of the largest online auction lies in the huge amount of goods and the ability to bargain with the seller. However, most of the items are sold with the "Buy it now" mark. This mark means that the item can be bought at a fixed price without an auction.

Apple's iPhone smartphones are especially popular on eBay. Looking to get yourself an Apple device but don't know how to buy an iPhone on eBay? This article will help you solve your problem, tell you about the risks and pitfalls associated with the purchase.

The entire process of buying an iPhone on eBay can be divided into several steps:

  1. New or Supported?
  2. Register on eBay and PayPal.
  3. Search for a model on the site.
  4. Explore smartphone information.
  5. Purchase iPhone through auction.
  6. Purchase iPhone at a fixed price.
  7. Payment for the purchased smartphone and tracking the parcel.
  8. Receiving a parcel at the post office.

New or Maintained?

The eBay online auction usually sells used iPhone models. Often there are new "apple smarts", but mostly of old generations. It is very difficult to meet a second-hand "iPhone" of the latest generation on eBay, since few people would think of selling a recently purchased device.

First, decide if you want a new or a supported iPhone? If you have a certain amount, then first it is recommended to look at the sites of Russian online stores in order to find out the current price for a smartphone. But before that, decide on the model of the desired smartphone. Apple has little choice, with iPhone 3S, 4, 4S, 5S, and 5C available on eBay.

For example, you decide to purchase an Apple iPhone 4S. Open the official website of "Svyaznoy" http://www.svyaznoy.ru and enter the text "iPhone 4S" in the search box. After pressing the "Enter" button, the site will give you the current price for your smartphone.

If you are quite satisfied with the price of a new "iPhone", you can order it on the website, and get the goods in any Svyaznoy store in your city. Delivery of goods to the store is free, and when ordering a smartphone through the online store, you can get a good discount on certain models.

You are not satisfied with "Messenger"? Open Yandex. Market at http://market.yandex.ru, find iPhone 4S through the search bar and look in the "Prices" section. Sort products by price and check the box next to "including delivery". Compare the prices of the presented online stores. For example, in one of the stores you can buy a "four" for 12,550 rubles, while in Svyaznoy the price for a model "4S" is 14,000 rubles.

The price of an item on eBay is summed up as follows: the cost of a smartphone plus the cost of shipping. If the amount comes out more than the cost of Yablosmart in the Russian Federation, then it is much easier to order a device in our online stores and receive it in a few days.

Sign up on eBay and PayPal

Now that you've decided on your iPhone model, it's time to start looking for it on eBay. But first, you need to register on the site to make purchases. In the address bar of your browser, type the address http://ebay.com and, having loaded the web page, in the upper left part of the screen, click the link "Register".

In the new window, enter your e-mail box, last name and first name, desired password (twice). Click the "Submit" button to complete your eBay registration.

Confirmation of registration via e-mail is not required. You will be logged into eBay immediately. Please note that the site will automatically assign you a login, under which you will log into eBay in the future. Didn't like the nickname suggested to you? Change it through your personal account.

Payment for goods at the largest online auction is carried out mainly using the popular payment system PayPal. Registration in "Paypal" will not take you even 10 minutes. Open the site http://paypal.com and click the "Register" button. Select "personal account", enter your full name, registration address, date of birth and your bank card details, so that you can immediately pay invoices through PayPal.

After creating an account, you need to link it to your eBay account. To do this, on the main page of the eBay website, click the "Hello, name" button at the top of the screen and select "Account Settings".

Open the “Addresses” tab and specify the address to which the parcels should be sent. Then go to the "PayPal Account" tab and click the "Integrate with PayPal" button. Go through the procedure for linking an account to an account.

Now you can start looking for the iPhone you want.

Search for a model on the site

Re-open the main page of the Internet auction, enter “iPhone 4S unlocked” in the search box and click “Find”. Thus, you exclude from the list locked models that are intended for the American market (Verizon, AT

Besides, in addition to the inscription unlocked, the title of the advertisement may contain the following inscriptions:

  • Factory Unlocked - officially unlocked;
  • Jailbroken - smartphone is jailbroken.

The list will display the iPhone 4S available for purchase. On the left side of the screen, it is possible to sort models by memory size, color and condition (new or used).

Explore information about your smartphone

Open any product you are interested in. First, take a look at the way you buy. On eBay there is an opportunity to purchase an item at a fixed price - the "Buy Now" option, as well as a classic auction with buyers' bids, the winner (buyer) of which is the one who offers the highest bid for the item. More details about buying a smartphone in the above ways - in the following paragraphs.

The first thing to consider is the cost of a smartphone.

Please note that the final price for iPhone is made up of the price of the device plus shipping, which is not always free. Scroll down the page and take a look at the method and cost of shipping your smartphone. If it's paid, add both numbers to get the final price for the iPhone 4S.

Also check the Payment Details section to make sure the merchant accepts PayPal.

If the total amount suits you, it's time to look at the product itself. As a rule, sellers of used smartphones post photos of devices so that the buyer can see all the scratches and defects. Often, instead of pictures, videos are uploaded to the site, which allow you to better examine the product being sold.

In addition, in a special section "Description of goods", the seller must indicate all the information about the smartphone, its condition and packaging.

If there are no smartphone photos or descriptions, you can always ask the seller to post pictures of the iPhone being sold.

Also, do not forget to look at the seller's data, or rather the number of positive reviews. As a rule, if the seller has sold more than a hundred products and the percentage of reviews is above 97, then you should not worry about the quality of the smartphone.

Buying an iPhone through the auction

If you decide to participate in the auction, then be prepared to compete for the item. The auction lasts for a certain time and the winner is the one who at the end of the auction offers the maximum bid for the product. To start the "fight" for the purchase of a smartphone, open the ad, enter the amount in the special window and click the "Place a bid" button.

If the rate you entered is less than the minimum, the system will notify you of this and ask you to re-enter the rate.

After re-entering, click the "Confirm bet" button.

The system will notify you that you have become a leading bidder. But keep in mind that your bid may be “outbid” by other auction participants at any time. In this regard, you will have to closely monitor the current auction and, if something happens, repeat the procedure, each time entering a larger and larger amount.

In order not to forget about the bets made, on the page with the lot, click the "Add to watchlist" button. In addition, at any time you can increase the maximum bid, but this is not recommended, as this will only increase the final price of the smartphone.

Buying an iPhone at a fixed price

Participation in the auction is a protracted business, and it does not always end with the purchase of a smartphone. You can place bids for several days, and as a result, another person wins who, a minute before the end of the auction, makes the last bid on the lot. Of course, buying a smartphone at a fixed price will cost a little more, but you can immediately pay for it and receive it after a certain time, depending on the delivery method.

Open an ad marked “Buy it now”. Complete all procedures in the "Finding out information about your smartphone" section. Are you satisfied with the price, shipping cost, product quality and seller rating? If everything is ok, click the Buy Now button.

On the next page, check the cost of goods, delivery method and click "Commit to buy".

Each seller has the right to establish requirements for buyers. Generally, a PayPal account is required. If you saw the following window when purchasing, then by all means link your personal Paypal account to your eBay account.

Payment for the purchased smartphone and tracking the parcel

You can always pay for the goods within a couple of days after its "booking". The payment procedure is presented on the eBay page under " How to Pay for Your Purchase on eBay".

As a rule, after sending the goods, the seller gives the buyer a special tracking number of the parcel. With the help of "tracking number" on special sites you can track where your package is. For example, you can use the service on the Russian Post website at http://www.russianpost.ru/tracking/ or EMS ( http://www.emspost.ru/ru/ )

Sometimes you need to pay a couple of dollars for the track code. But it is better to give this money in order to be aware of the location of the purchased smartphone. The approximate delivery time of the goods is from 7 to 30 days.

Receiving a parcel by mail

If, when checking the track code, you see an inscription that the parcel has been delivered to the place of receipt, or received a notification from the postman, then feel free to take your own passport and go to the Russian Post office behind the parcel. You cannot receive a parcel with a smartphone without a passport. In addition, be sure to open the parcel at the post office and make sure that the goods are intact.

This manual is quite suitable for buying any device, not just an "apple smartphone". But keep in mind that soon the threshold for duty-free import of goods in Russia will be reduced from 1000 to 500 euros. If you still want to buy an iPhone on eBay at a price of 25,000 rubles or more, then hurry up until the duty-free threshold is lowered. Otherwise, you will have to pay extra 30% of the cost of the goods for "customs clearance", which will make the purchase of an expensive smartphone from abroad pointless. Although it is possible to ask the seller to reduce the cost of the goods and increase the cost of delivery in order to avoid unnecessary costs for customs duties.

Remember that thanks to PayPal, you can always return your money if the goods arrive of poor quality or there is a conflict situation. Visually and in detail about buying an iPhone is described in this video:

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