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So, here's my tale of woe: I bought a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 off eBay - Seller said it had a clean ESN, the online ESN checker said it was clean (and still says it's clean) but Sprint says it's flagged as lost/stolen and I have a $520 Paperweight.
I'll get my $$$ back from paypal through buyer protection, but if my last encounter with the service is any yardstick, it will take between 1-2 months where I'll have neither working phone nor cash. With the economy being what it is, this is only going to get more common (and not only this but I've read stories where people bought a phone and after the ebay protection period was up the seller reported it lost/stolen and the buyer had no recourse at that point)
So, my question is wheather any major companies offer used/refurbished phones at good prices off-contract. I dont see a point in wasting upto $300 on a new device when there are plenty of good, often pristine used ones out there (and the tree-hugger in me is yelling about buying a new device means a used one gets thrown in a landfill) but after all this, I'm spooked from buying a used CDMA phone off eBay (and it's considered the safest place to get them >.<)
I'll get my $$$ back from paypal through buyer protection, but if my last encounter with the service is any yardstick, it will take between 1-2 months where I'll have neither working phone nor cash. With the economy being what it is, this is only going to get more common (and not only this but I've read stories where people bought a phone and after the ebay protection period was up the seller reported it lost/stolen and the buyer had no recourse at that point)
So, my question is wheather any major companies offer used/refurbished phones at good prices off-contract. I dont see a point in wasting upto $300 on a new device when there are plenty of good, often pristine used ones out there (and the tree-hugger in me is yelling about buying a new device means a used one gets thrown in a landfill) but after all this, I'm spooked from buying a used CDMA phone off eBay (and it's considered the safest place to get them >.<)
