I recently purchased a "new" sm-g935f from a highly rated seller on eBay. It arrived with a broken seal and scratches on the back. The seller accepted a return and I moved on.
I found another highly rated seller and purchased another. This order, too, came with a broken seal. I don't see any scratches on this one... But I'm confused.
I'm getting a little frustrated trying to figure out whether this is just the norm for international versions of this phone. Why do sellers open the package and then list "new"?
Again, the most recent looks to be in perfect shape; no apparent IMEI lock (T-Mobile sim works), new plastic still on it, but seal is broken. Seller shipped the US adaptor in the outer package, so no reason to break the seal on the phone box, itself.
So, what should I do?
Some seller state this thing in description that " Box seal will be open for warranty purposes".
Please check this thing.
I believe international phones need to be opened and need to place a 5 minute call from the country of origin before they're considered unlocked, I've noticed some sellers do not state this.
Man kann nichts das g935f ins Geschäft in den USA kaufen
Man kann nichts das g935f ins Gescheft in den USA kaufen
And this is why I never buy any electricals from eBay because you always run the risk of your "new" item actually being 3rd, 4th or even 5th hand. Always buy direct from a shop or something moosh!
Sent from my SM-G935F using XDA-Developers mobile app
Unfortunately, in the USA, they do not sell the sm-g935f international variant... and we are stuck with the inferior Qualcomm processor.
If the phone with its accessories are genuine and still with their stickers on and nothing seems suspicious then accept it, maybe the seal is broken because the seller didn't want to pay tax and customs from the country he originally purchsed from, it happens here in my country if you purchase a phone without warranty absolutely at lower price but genuine and brand new.
So, most of you don't think this is a big deal?
Personally, if I was that set on buying a brand new device, I'd buy it directly from a retailer (like Amazon- their prices vary quite often) just so I can get that "fresh plastic film peeling" feeling that I get with a brand new device.
The thing with ebay is that a seller will want their item to go for as much as possible, especially considering eBay take 10% off of the top of the final sale price.
If you feel you can't trust ebay, just buy brand new.
It'll save you a butt-load of unfortunate experiences (like this one), and you'll even get a warranty; it'll be entirely your device!
this is CORRECT. so the phone can work outside of its country of origin and be fully unlocked, you need to make a 5 min call in the country of origin with a country of origin sim card/phone company
Related
Hey I'm going to get an HD2 VERY soon, was just wondering if anyone purchased one from any sellers located in Hong Kong, and if everything was as expected? I Just don't wanna pay for a fake lol.
I suggest not purchasing from a user with low reps, even if they have 100% feedback. If it is something you consider, ive ordered my htc kaiser from hong kong. They used ups, and guess what? When i recieved the phone i got charged atleast 100 from customs, which wasnt needed.. also the box was beat up.
Hope you´ll enjoy the great feeling to get a brick in a box
I once ordered an Universal (anyone remembering it?) from HK a looong time ago. Actually, I go a badly damaged box, had trouble with german customs and the device was a bad chinese copy of something that was was definitely not an universal. How much are you gonna save compared to a purchase in whereever you live?
Sometimes, that is not an option. It wasn't in my case, because nobody in Panama actually sells the HD2, and I think I might be the only person to own one in the entire country.
I generally dont buy these kind of things from Ebay as ive been stung before (even though the loser got caught and is behind bars .
If you must stick to the power sellers, check their feedback,look for volume sellers who have sold many, use paypal for a little more peace of mind in theory etc. good luck.
If you are based in the UK there are plenty of sellers that have got them as afree upgrade. I bought one for £335 in a sealed box and unlocked it to Orange for £7.20.
Someone I know purchased an iPod from a strange ebayer, with good rep, it arrived, looked just like an iPod, but had some weird OS on it which WASNT iPod and very nasty. Just becareful when buying items like this on ebay.
HI all, I just change from Galaxy S3 to Note3 yesterday arrived finally with black color, I like the metal style finishing inner screen better this time from mt S3 white ^^.
Same time my sisters and 2 others family members also change from Apples to note3, 1 take Telco A contract, 1 take Telco B contract and one buy from Samsung retailer. For me I buy online, also a retailer and have Original Samsung Warranty.
Here I notice 1 different from my family purchase, on my Galaxy Note 3 Box which is nice and "green" with recycle material. I have a chop on my box' sticker with word "Legend". I couldn't find out what is that mean even asked my online retailer no reply. Kindly share if you have same chop on box and know what its mean or different from others.
(dropbox.com) /s/bmtgntjic9rwt57/2013-11-04%2009.11.26.jpg
Many thanks in advance and have a great day onward.
Legendary superphone? Samsung's true flagship?
Might be a retailers security sticker so you cant return anything else in a differet box etc... maby.
If it was bought online it might be a grey import product. To use your sim card it would have to 1st be activated. After turning on, activating the phone with a regional sim card they may have sealed the box again and the sticker is an anti- tamper sticker they have put back on to show it is a new product after they set it up 1st...
I bought one from and it came from Malaysia, I live in Oz, and that was the case...
Ic, that make scense, I also brought @ Malaysia online. Hooray To grey import, that why its a bit cheaper too compare to retailer shop.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using xda app-developers app
Hey guys,
Whether you have the phone purchased outright or subsidised on a plan from your service provider - did you receive your box SEALED by LG at all? If yes, please advise how or what it was sealed with (sticker?) or if it looked opened and re-sealed (eg: tape).
If no, please comment where you purchased from. My last 6 phones have been from Samsung...and from what I'm hearing which I'm yet to confirm, is LG don't have a seal on their G4 box. Or does it vary by model/location? It shouldn't, but i don't know. Please SHARE your experience.
Thanks!
RoOSTA
I got mine from Vodafone when I prolonged my contract and the box was originally sealed with a label
Bell, Canada. Sealed with a transparent-circular sticker.
Mine yes, the guy on the store opened it right in front of me. Was brand new phones, i got it on release day in my country. The seal is this one btw:
http://i.imgur.com/qAcqKiY.jpg
no seal on mine with o2 contract ordered two days b4 launch. some guy in a unmarked car dropped it off in a sealed bag but no seal on the box what do ever I'm in the UK Manchester
T-Mobile USA - it was sealed with two clear T-Mobile stickers with warning text on them.
didi_ghost said:
Mine yes, the guy on the store opened it right in front of me. Was brand new phones, i got it on release day in my country. The seal is this one btw:
http://i.imgur.com/qAcqKiY.jpg
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Thanks! Appreciate that.
I'm beginning to believe it depends on where the G4 model is sourced from...whether it be direct from LG, checked and re-sealed by a carrier or a 3rd party, or not sealed at all.
My story is for dual sim H818P model. JadoPado (in UAE) are a retailer who advise their "supplier" (not direct from LG) don't have seals (or broken ones, for that matter) on them. So my one is without I actually expected this to be the same everywhere, especially if buying outright - ie ONE standard brand-name seal...but it's not the case!
roOSTA
I got mine from tropical mobile. It had a sticker but there was glue from a previous sticker that had been removed.
My Verizon model came with no seal.
Amazon us had two clear circles. I do think what you get is regional.
Also in the US I know best buy and sprint will sell opened phones. They have opened new phones right in front of me to show me a feature ( the best buy demo did not have the leather back so the guy opened a new one for me). I also rejected an opened phone once and left the store...
Yes straight from lg
Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk
Bought from T-Mobile, no seal.
From Sprint - Sealed on both sides of the box.
I bought mine sim free from Carphone Warehouse with no seal. I thought it was really unusual, there was no evidence that the box had ever been sealed. First phone I've ever bought that didn't have a seal.
Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk
AT&T no seals.
Sent from my LG-H810 using XDA Free mobile app
Bought from Amazon Italy, no seal
pimfram said:
My Verizon model came with no seal.
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same verizon just comes in box without seal
I picked up 3 of them through US Cellular and all 3 had those clear circular pieces of tape on them
815 TW version from seller on Amazon. Long rectangular seal.
I bought my Euro H815 from Handtec.co.uk. No seal.
I had previously purchased an H815T from NeverMSRP and that one was sealed.
I just want to warn the forum readers from buying phones from the AliExpress-store called Origianl Meizu Store.
The store sells refurbished phones which they claim to be new… The phones has no serial number and the IMEI-numbers are not valid.
Unfortunately I was stupid enough to by a “new” MX4 PRO from them… and I experience a seller that is not interested in helping me. The name of the contact at the store is Kety Wu
My MX4 PRO died today (RIP). There is no way to get in contact with it anymore. It is not possible to turn it on. It does not respond on any combination of keys, and it is not registered when I connect it to my computer
So I opened it... As the pictures shows, it has definately been repaired at some point before it was sold as “new”
I'm sorry to hear that but I'm not surprised. I definitely not recommend to buy any smartphone on aliexpress, only accessories.
open a dispute on aliexpress
ChocholateMaster said:
open a dispute on aliexpress
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I would, but the dispute timer has counted down a short while ago. Tried AliExpress customer service today.... they promised to contact the seller, but I'm not convinced that it will help me
I confirm what you said. I bought my first MX4 in this shop and I suspect the same thing. I had no problem with but I have not kept long as it is hard bricked now (its my fault). But many shops sell refurbished on this kind of product I don't recommend to buy through aliexpress.
ouigo said:
I confirm what you said. I bought my first MX4 in this shop and I suspect the same thing. I had no problem with but I have not kept long as it is hard bricked now (its my fault). But many shops sell refurbished on this kind of product I don't recommend to buy through aliexpress.
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Aliexpress isn't always bad, there are some good shops out there. Don't blame it on aliexpress, it's just some shops that sell fakes, clones or scam people.
I'm not saying it's always a bad idea. But there are many shops that sell refurbished phones and it's sold as new. Especially since many do not have products in stock, the shipping delays are long. So it is often a bad idea.
yes if i would buy a phone i definitly wouldn't buy it form aliexpress okay i bought here arduino + some parts relays etc. but for that money i wouldn't pay without paypal
All my meizus are bought in Aliexpress and no problem. The key is to buy reliable sellers
Feel free to share your links to shops, personally I'm interested. And I want to say that often it is not clear that this is a refurbished product, I'm not noticed before disassembly. I even had a sticker that sealed the box...
I have bought 4 meizus from this shops and no problem:
http://es.aliexpress.com/store/900031
http://es.aliexpress.com/store/1194377
One thing you can do to check if the phone is reburfished is to see if the imei of the box matches with the imei of the phone.
aliexpress store NO COSTUM!!!!
i bought mine here : http://www.aliexpress.com/store/342812
if you order from here there is no TAX to EU and DHL shipping is basic.
my MX5 PRO is new (but i guess there are not much refurbished one yet)
seller communicative.
I agree with snoopyrider80.
I ordered a Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 and it got delivered in 8 days, no customs no import tax. What they do is ship from China to the England and from England they then repackage it and ship it to the rest of Europe. And since England is part of Europe, there is no import tax or customs. I can recommend that particular shop also.
I bought a s8 dual sim (on 6.9.2017), where the seal on the package was broken. The package looked suspicious, so I filmed the unboxing. Someone put a seal over the original one. The Samsung seal below was cut.
So I returned to the dealer and he told me it must have been the importer who checked the phone. Now Im trying to find out if the phone was used before. Used the "Phone INFO ★Samsung★" App to check
Congratulations!
Your phone is ORIGINAL.
NOTE: Manufacturing date does not match with the Serial Number.
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The manufacturing date is: 2017.04.30
I checked the serial number on imei24.com and get following results:
Division: Mobile Phone (HHP)
Production location: Korea SEC
Manufacture line: 8-Line
Production month: May 2017
Factory warranty till: 31-07-2019
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the price was around 615 euro, thats 25 euro more than the cheapest new non dual sim s8 around. but 150 euro less than the average price for a s8 duos.
What do you think happened here. Is it a refurbished/used phone? Or did someone just check the package. What would you do? I really appreciate any help. Thanks in advance
For what you are getting at the price, I wouldn't really be worried about the Seal, If you are buying from a company like eglobal central which is a UK website but phone ships from Korea etc, the phones always come with the seal broken but the device itself is new, I have read somewhere also that although some models will work outside of their country of sale, but you need to make a 5 minutes call from the country of original release before it can be used from another country, I am not sure how true this is.
Read the comment on this link https://www.techwalls.com/samsung-galaxy-s8-sm-g950-g955-model-number-differences/
Most of these devices coming from outside of europe will probably arrive with the seal broken especially if buying from ebay so I wouldnt be worried really.
I am just about to buy a SM-G955 (Korea) 6GB/128GB on ebay UK, coming from ireland or Korea. I intend to flash with a Europe/Uk CSC once I receive it.
Yeah sounds reasonable. That's also the reason why I didn't return the phone immediately, because I remembered reading on a website from a legit dealer that they open the package to remove the region lock. But I got a little bit paranoid because the dealer seemed suspicious and after checking with the phone info app i got this weird warning that the manufacturing date does not match with the serial number, which is weird.
Thanks for your advice.