Tips for Cellular Purchase Problems?

[Bluesun311]

Recently I've had my first rocky transaction here and I thought it was worth a shot posting for some input from folks on buying used cell phones here or from H members on eBay.

1: The seller and I are in contact and I do not feel that I have been trolled tricked or scammed. This is about used cell phone purchase tips and follies. If you don't want detail about how the deal went down, skip to 4.

2: The problems began with a mistake I myself made, by paying with my Bank Account using Amazon Payments for first time (creates undoable hold period of about a week). Seller has HQ feedback and excellent comm. so I paid again with my credit card to speed things along and he courteously refunded bank account transfer when it finally cleared like 9 days later or w/e.

3: Nearly mint and still under warranty Samsung s4 arrived promptly not very well packaged, imo. It was in the manufacturers box uncovered as if it were being sold in a retail environment, no protection around the phone itself like bubble wrap, but w/ charger tucked neatly into original packaging compartment, and this box placed inside a cardboard packaging carton with some decent packing materials to keep THAT box from bouncing around much. I placed it in a sturdy case immediately after activating it.

4. Within an hour of activating the phone, it reported it couldn't read the SIM card and needed to be restarted. Restarting it generally allows it to be read again, but sometimes it gets real pissed and won't work for a while. This behavior has continued throughout my experience with it. Sometimes I get the SIM card set pretty well in there and it will last a few hours or half a day and then at some point if I go somewhere or I'm just sitting at my desk I unlock the phone and it has quietly dropped the SIM card and I have messages waiting when I get back up and running, sometimes hours old.

5. I've tried everything there is from "tape tricks" and prayer. I finally stopped just hoping it would miraculously go away and RMAd it to Samsung. Received it back way too fast to be true yesterday and again within an hour of activating it (new, different SIM card, tried 4 all happen same) cannot read SIM error, restart. It's MORE frequent now. Samsung said they replaced the unnamed "component" (SIM/SD reader unit has clearly been swapped), updated software and something about cosmetics (put a static screen protector for an s3 on it).

6. My conclusion: It needs a new motherboard and it was most likely somehow damaged in shipping. I'm sending it back to Samsung, but I've also ordered a much cheaper iPhone 4s on eBay. I bought an identical iPhone on eBay for my mother recently and it is flawless. If Samsung actually fixes this issue, I'll use the phone (which I mostly like... the proximity sensor doesn't work right during phone calls)... but if I get it back dropping SIMs again I do not know what I will do. I'm not feeling like eating an expensive tiny wifi tablet when I paid for a nice 4G LTE phone.

What do you guys think about this SIM issue? It's super common if you start looking for complaints... it's also apparently pretty common that replacing the SIM/SD unit has no effect on intermittent SIM read failures. I'm feeling both bad for having these phone problems and for causing trouble for the seller.

 

[Etherton]

I have sold lots of phones here on [H] and various other places. I always try to take really detailed photos and package the phone like it is going to be used as a football in the next Texas Oklahoma game - as FedEx or UPS do not give a damn about package care. Seller should have packaged it way better. If I read that right - there is zero chance I would ever ship a phone in just its OEM box for not only risk of damage but the possibility of theft!

As far as the SIM issue, it sounds like a bad phone. I personally do not care for the S3 or S4 (owned both) because of the signal issues and I think their build quality is lacking. I don't expect the S5 to be any better either. Keep on Samsung until they replace it and IMHO sell it.

edit : If it is clear that the SIM issue is a result of bad packaging then that's another story. Return it to the seller. Have you contacted him/her?

 

[jakubp12]

How long has it been since you bought the phone? And did you tell the seller about the no sim issue when you first got it, or did you just send it to Samsung to RMA?

The packaging might have not been as good as you wanted to, but I don't think that would cause an issue with the sim not being able to be read. Just because you have a hunch that the shipping caused damage to the motherboard doesn't mean that it did. If I were you, since you already sent it to Samsung to get repaired, would be to contact them again and tell them the same issue still exists.

It could also just be a SIM card issue. I had a nexus 5 that worked perfectly. Sold it, and the buyer told me their SIM card didn't work it in. I accepted a return, and when I popped in my SIM card everything worked fine.

 

[groebuck]

You say the phone was in the original box as if in a retail store? That is how they ship. I have sold several samsung phones and if I have the original box will always ship that way. It sits in a space cut for the phone with a box top over it. If it is good enough for Samsung it is good enough for me. I doubt the sim card slot could get damaged in transit that way any how, it is inside the phone with a polycarbonite case around it. The sim slot is the most easily damanged on the phone though but if the seller says it was in good working order and has good rep, I guess he would have no reason to lie. Is it a TMO phone? Have you tried going through them?

 

[Bluesun311]

Thanks for the responses. I appreciate the insights.

It's an AT&T phone. As far as I know my only courses of action at this point are through Samsung or my financial institution. I contacted the seller and asked if I could send the phone back and they directed me to Samsung. I've been in contact about the problems with the SIM since day 1 pretty much, but they don't want the phone back. There was a period of about a week where I didn't bother him about it at all and just tried to ignore it, but now I'm sitting here trying to decide if I should actually send it back to Samsung again or just call my bank.

I'm not calling anyone a liar. All I know is the phone arrived with a bad SIM reader to motherboard connection and is basically unusable. If you look around on the web for SIM card issues with the s4 (and other phones too) there's tons of people who don't have any explanation for why it started doing that, presumably it doesn't take any serious damage to cause one of these things to have this problem start. For all I know temperature change could cause it, sometimes the thing will start buggin out when I go outside and it's cold. Considering Samsung just sent me back a "repaired" phone that must have not even been tested I don't trust them to make a safe package to transport used cell phones in and I would not ship it that way. They shipped the phone back to me surrounded in a cocoon of bubble wrap.

Put it this way--there's 3 possibilities since Samsung has replaced the SIM reader:
1. Phone had some sort of shock to it during shipping and was damaged internally.
2. Seller wanted to get rid of it because of the problem or didn't know about it.
3. I damaged the motherboard while putting my SIM card in the phone.

I'm going with option 1 because that way I don't feel screwed over by someone I just feel like I have bad luck. Either way, I have to decide what to do. I'm not really looking forward to getting the phone back again from "repair" still doing it, especially since I had nothing to do with any of this... I paid for a working phone and it never has worked even ONE whole day without needing to be restarted for SIM cannot read error.

 

[Etherton]

You say the phone was in the original box as if in a retail store? That is how they ship.

Curious, who is your carrier? Verizon or AT&T has never shipped me a phone in its OEM box. It has always been inside a box with air-pillows surrounding it.

I have sold several samsung phones and if I have the original box will always ship that way. It sits in a space cut for the phone with a box top over it. If it is good enough for Samsung it is good enough for me.

Will be steering clear of phone purchases from you... It would cost no more to toss it in an USPS flat rate priority mail box than ship it in the OEM box.

 

[Bluesun311]

I want to be clear that the OEM box was INSIDE another box with packaging material. The phone itself within the OEM box appeared to be tucked in its cradle. Still I would not ship the phone that way. The phone itself should be surrounded by air/soft not hard plastic.

Assuming the problem occurred during shipping may or may not be plausible to you, but the only other explanation is that it was shipped with the defect already occurring. We use same carrier, presumably SIM card are same type/size. The SIM card itself will read fine if its poking way out but held in by the battery... or jiggled, or shimmied this way and that. The error is not being caused by movement of the card itself within the reader. It's being caused at the other end, where the reader meets the motherboard.

 

[Gillbot]

All phones i've purchased were always shipped in this manner. Seems to me like it may be a known issue with that model of phone and while it sucks for the seller, he should make it right if you've been in touch with him from day one about it. If he doesn't, he should have a good explanation as to why.

I hope he didn't catch wind of the issue and dump the phone off on you, but if he refuses to take it back after you've dealt with Samsung, either he knew or he doesn't trust that it has been properly cared for.

 

[Ferris23]

I'm the seller. The phone was shipped out just as ANY phone has been shipped to me. A box within a box, with the phone being protected by the inside layer of the Samsung box. Again JUST like Apple and Samsung have shipped any phone to me. Also like I have shipped numerous phones out on here and eBay. The phone never exhibited a problem prior to the sale, it was only sold because of an upgrade to a 5S for my wife. I have established seller feedback on Heat and Ebay and it's not by selling broken shit.


I offered to swap the phone out for him through AT&T literally the day he told me about the issue (before he even blamed the phone, at the time he thought it was his old SIM). This was on January 16th. Like a day or THE day he got the phone. Again, I never had a problem with it so I didn't offer a refund. I offered to get him the phone replaced...and why not? It's the phone he wanted and why should I just assume that he didn't do something to it and just offer up a full refund. To which he replied on the 19th and then the 21st.

Sweet! Thanks again, man. You are a fantastic trader. Just as an update I got wise and took some canned air to the sim port. Hehe. It reads the card faster on boot so that is a good sign =)

Heh. Got SIM card replaced. Smooth as silk now. Almost bummed because I had researched the card reader swap and it looked like cake. Was gonna cost me 12 dollars for the part but oh well. Lol take care Mike!

That's the last I heard from him....until January 31st (10 days later) 10 days, with a device that I am assuming is working perfectly, but then when I hear back it sounds like literally an hour doesn't pass without the problem?

well, I still haven't gone so far as to replace the Sim card and SD unit, but I haven't had a single day without a SIM error and I've had the SIM card replaced. Kinda not sure what to do because from my research an intermittent SIM error like this is probably not the reader but the connector on the motherboard and it's very common. Bit frustrating. I guess at this point I'd like to send it back to you but I know that is not going to be fun for anyone. Not sure where to go from here... Been avoiding it and hoping it would go away. Could have easily happened during shipping... I think? But no way for me to know and it's just inconvenient but functional enough that it seems slightly fishy. I must confess the Sim card reader looked dirty when I received it--frankly it looked like it had had tape on it. I hate to have to do it, but I'm going to have to see what can be done about getting this settled. Let me know if you have any ideas or information for me, I'm certainly open to suggestions about fixing the problem, but I'm pretty sick of the phone itself at the moment and have been looking for a replacement.

So almost 2 weeks pass not hearing anything, thinking we are both done and over the sale. I offered to try and resolve this January 16th. I just don't understand why I should be on responsible for a refund on this when I am still offering to help get it replaced. The phone worked when I sent it out just as every device I have ever sent out has.


eBay - Mcavfish
Heat- Ferris23

 

[Bluesun311]

You are kinda doing your best to make this transaction look legit, thing is, no one was ever saying it wasn't. I suggested the phone got damaged in shipping. Either way I got a malfunctioning phone from day 1 and let you know about it.

You've never once apologized to me for the trouble and what you offered was not a swap:

On Jan 30, 2014 12:03 PM, "Me" <redacted> wrote:
I did happen to see the Samsung service center is in Texas. I'm doing what I can to locate an invoice to see if AT&T could help. I have done an advanced RMA with AT&T where they send the phone first, put a hold on the credit card, then you send it in once the new one arrives. Could you maybe contact a local authorized and then a non authorized AT&T store to see if they can assist?

I'd call my local shops but like with everything else, it often depends on who you speak to with how much they will help. So you might have better luck trying that locally

Otherwise I can't imagine it taking too long to have it replaced since they are at least in the same state as you.

On Thu, Jan 30, 2014 at 12:35 PM, Me <redacted> wrote:
Sorry. Not a great day here either. Certainly wasn't planning on dealing with this.

I didn't offer suggestions because you basically told me you don't have time for the warranty process and made it seem like you were basically done with the phone.

You must have not read my offer 2 weeks ago but if you refer to our email history I said I would warranty the phone out.

I don't have any of the phone info so there's not much I can find out. If you can provide the serial number or something I can check. Or I'm sure if you just call your ATT store they might have a suggestion. I'm willing to help with the process in any way I can. Like I said I just assumed from your last email that you weren't open to that option.

Sent from my iPhone

On Jan 30, 2014, at 12:26 PM, <311bluesun> wrote:

I don't remember you offering to help with this 2 weeks ago? Not a good idea to suggest I take it up with my financial institution. I hadn't brought that up yet but yep we can do it that way if you prefer, that's not my intention and I've never done that. In fact this is only the second time I've ever received defective merchandise from an online trade like eBay in my life, and the other time I just ate it. You may not be a storefront and yes your response came off abrasive but all I did was ask for suggestions or advice. Tell me where to send the phone or I'll try to find out about RMA but you gave me no original invoice so I didn't expect that to be a possibility. Sorry I didn't keep you posted about the issue but like I said I kept hoping it would go away and I was trying not to be any more annoying than I already had been. I have a lot more going on right now than just intermittent phone problems.

On Jan 30, 2014 11:10 AM, "Me" <redacted> wrote:
My offer is to do a warranty exchange for you, which I also offered 2 weeks ago when you first told me about the problem you were having. Even then you made it seem like you were actually hoping it was broke after you said it was working because you were looking forward to fixing it, which makes your response a little confusing. You told me everything was fine, smooth as silk as you stated, left feedback and I haven't heard anything in over a week. Then you tell me 8 days later that this problem has been a daily occurrence, even every couple hours but you never told me once until now?

Not really sure what to tell you at this point. If you want to take it up with your financial institution I guess we can go that route or as I said I will gladly assist in getting it exchanged. You can most likely do it yourself even and have it sent directly, which would not take long (I believe they even offer advanced RMA's where they send first so you wouldn't be without).

Sorry if this comes off as abrasive but I'm not a storefront. I am an honest trader with well established feedback, never once had this problem. That money is spent and I sent a working phone out and offered to do something when this first started. I even waited to touch the funds until you were satisfied and left feedback, and apparently even that wasn't long enough.


On Thu, Jan 30, 2014 at 11:41 AM, <311bluesun> wrote:
Nah the s3 was my first smartphone. Don't know much about these things. Considering how common this SIM issue is it could have easily happened during shipping. Either way it's not functioning properly and I can't wait for you to warranty it to get another phone. Every time I go anywhere it drops the SIM. It happened within a couple hours of receiving the phone. Sorry.

On Jan 30, 2014 5:42 AM, "Me" <redacted> wrote:
I'm curious if there is a way for you to warranty it to avoid shipping it here. Or if I did it just use your address?

Have you done it before?

On Jan 30, 2014 6:36 AM, "Me" <redacted> wrote:
Hi again. Gotta say I wasn't expecting this. The SIM card wasn't a problem and it was never tampered with. The case was on since day one. The phone was sold because of an upgrade to a 5S.

If you want to send it back I'd be willing to do a warranty exchange on it so long as it hasn't been rooted or anything like that. The phone is still covered and turn around time shouldn't be too bad.

Samsung doesn't do replacements they do "repairs". Period. Also it was 7 days between when I said smooth as silk and when I told you it was still happening every day. My bad for not keeping you up to date on my trouble with the phone but obviously, I wanted it to work, and I wanted it to go away. Why else would I go to the trouble of warrantying it to Samsung as you suggested. Anyway, chargeback in progress. That's how it goes. Need your address to send you the phone back.

 

[Ferris23]

AT&T does replacements.You told me about the SIM being smooth as silk on the 21st. Then you told me it was still a problem on the 30th. Not 7 days.


So to anyone who has experience with this? If I don't agree with the charge back...which I don't...I just have accept it as a loss?

That seems to make selling on here quite the risk if anyone at any time can just refuse a charge.

 

[Ferris23]

And just explain my somewhat abrasive response (mind you we have 68 emails back and forth, just about every one friendly)

I wanted this to be a smooth transaction like all mine have been. Just when I would think it was in the clear and both parties happy, I'd get an email a few days...or weeks... later completely contradicting the one that I got saying it's all good. It's frustrating. lol As it is for both parties I'm sure. I didn't want this and I sure as hell didn't know about it before I sold the phone. I can get it replaced....if it was broke I would have done that. AT&T DOES do replacements.

Hey man,
Thanks for sending that refund so quick. Was really a nice experience as usual w [H] traders. Left you heat a few days ago and I'm super happy with the phone. Looks like we scratched the SIM card taking it out of the s3.
Sorry for the complicated transaction, btw. I always make things harder than they need to be lol.
Best Regards,
Dave

Heh. Got SIM card replaced. Smooth as silk now. Almost bummed because I had researched the card reader swap and it looked like cake. Was gonna cost me 12 dollars for the part but oh well. Lol take care Mike!

Wow... The warranty travels w the phone. Had no idea. They set up the repair so you are totally in the clear. No receipt needed. Sorry if I gave you a scare, man. Take it easy.

Yeah, totally in the clear. brb initiating a charge back. And I always got these at work when I tend to be a little tense because my job is stressful. So there ya go. As a seller I'm sure you can understand a little thinking everything is cool...numerous times...and it ends up not being the case.

:-/

 

[Bluesun311]

You would have been in the clear if Samsung had repaired the phone. Unfortunately they didn't and your response to that news:

"No kidding? Same phone?"

followed by 10 hours of nothing, followed by slightly nasty response to my totally professional and totally anonymous thread about this. Then chargeback initiated. Attitude makes a big difference. You were the one that suggested I take this up with my financial institution several weeks ago, before I went to the trouble of having the phone RMA'd with Samsung rather than take you up on your chargeback suggestion. Indeed if Samsung hadn't tried to cheap out on the "repair" and/or you'd been real sweet about the absolute nightmare this transaction has been you probably would be in the clear. The phone isn't in any different condition than I received it, although they apparently updated the "software"? So you can RMA it yourself and see if they will replace the motherboard for you.

 

[Ferris23]

I said "You've got to me kidding me? Same phone?" Shows a little more concern when you type what I actually wrote.

As in, that's a question, they sent you the same phone? I've never done a warranty deal with Samsung. I do it with AT&T...because...they swap the phone. Not this repair crap. Which is why when this first started I said hey...Ill get that phone swapped out for you. Swapped. Meaning exchanging it for a different phone...not a motherboard replacement.

Also sorry, I was at work and was busy. I work 8 hours...so there's that. The phone will..again..be going back to AT&T or being exchange through their warranty service. It will not be in Samsung's hands again.

 

[Bluesun311]

I didn't buy a phone so I could send it back to you when it turns up defective so you could RMA it and then send it back to me, i had NO PHONE... if you want me to send you the phone back because it's defective, then I want my money back, and that's what we will have here.

 

[Ferris23]

What?

No you're sending the phone back because you initiated a charge back. I didn't want any of this. Not really sure what that last part even means but at this point it doesn't matter.

I think the worst part of this all is that you ended up with an iPhone. Lol

Jk

 

[Bluesun311]

What?

No you're sending the phone back because you initiated a charge back. I didn't want any of this. Not really sure what that last part even means but at this point it doesn't matter.

No. I'm sending the phone back because it showed up DEFECTIVE. I initiated a chargeback because you refused to accept the return merchandise for a refund. What the statement that was confusing that you asked about means is that if you sell an item here and it shows up defective you don't get to make the terms of the return after the fact, you don't get to say, "you can send it back and I'll see if I can get you a refurbished phone and send you that one instead", you just get your refund money ready or prepare for a CB inquiry (Chargeback is undesirable because your bank will hit you with a fee for every one). If you had said up front, this phone is completely AS IS, that would be another story. But it was supposed to be in perfect working order.

From Amazon Payments (which I guess you thought would keep you safe from issues like this) under a big banner that reads "avoiding chargebacks":

If your customer service policy prohibits refunds or is unsatisfactory to buyers, you may receive more chargebacks than average.

They figured out they don't need to bother with any Paypal-style protection because the credit card companies will do it for them.

I know you weren't trying to scam me because all you would have had to do is refund my Debit Card payment instead of the Bank Account payment and I would have been SOL, there are no chargebacks on electronic checks.

I think the worst part of this all is that you ended up with an iPhone. Lol

Jk

Possibly. Definitely the only funny part to me as I generally despise Apple products It's certainly less desirable but I didn't have much money left what with 2 POS Eizos waiting to be refunded in cash. Working iPhone 4s-priceless ($205). Broken s4-useless ($350) Like I said, I'm sending you the case I bought for the galaxy s4, as I no longer have any use for it. I'd like to think we would get along really well in person but selling shit through the internet/mail is risky and doesn't work out sometimes. I hate it that this happened to either of us, tbh. You don't seem to deserve the BS at all, and even though I probably do deserve it, it sucks.

 

[Crosshairs]

You guys are in contact so now you can work this out through PM..nothing good will come from airing it out in public

 

[Bluesun311]

Just wanted to report that Ferris23 has been stand up about this and sent me a refund, and I've called the chargeback off--it was going to take like 90 days and I'm pretty sure we both wanted this to be over last month lol.

He was able to swap the phone out with his AT&T store and they even overnight shipped
the replacement to him, so it would have been a lot smarter for me to just send it back to him when he first offered that option. Unfortunately, I missed the email where he offered to do that and went on to trying repair service through Sumsung.

I wanted to say that even though this transaction went KABOOM Ferris23 is a good seller and I'm an honest buyer. He kept up communication in about the most frustrating position one can be put in. He never accused me of damaging the phone, and when he got it back he let me know he had it and that it was in good condition. All I can say is when I got it it had problems. I wanted a phone so it delayed things that I tried to fix it hoping it wasn't a permanent problem. I also didn't want to cause problems for the seller. In the end I had no choice because Samsung wasn't helping and sometimes you just don't want what you bought anymore, if the first one has major problems, in those cases I think a refund is in order if it hasn't already been exclusively ruled out with a NO RETURNS AS IS warning.

Sometimes stuff breaks. On its own. While it's just sitting there. No doubt in my mind that phone "broke" while in transit. Just keep an open mind about that possibility. You can't really ever know what happened in a situation like this, but if you get an item back someone says arrived DOA (or messed up) but physically undamaged, and it really is DOA and undamaged when you take a look... well this isn't rocket science. It's a long way from point A to point B sometimes.