Has anyone bought a phone from eBay?

[Imdanny]

This seller with a 99.7 positive feedback rating is selling a Motorola phone I want for $189 that's $389 at the online Motorola store.

Actually I think the eBay seller is selling a close version of the phone but not the exact one (although I'm confused about that- I don't know).

The eBay phone-

http://cgi.ebay.com/NIB-MOTOROLA-V8...d=ViewItem&pt=Cell_Phones&hash=item3a55cc365a

The phone at the Motorola online store-

http://www.store.motorola.com/Motor...olor_map,price,size_name&searchRank=salesrank

Have you done this?

Do you know anyone who has?

Do you think it's a good idea/ a bad idea?

Where do these sellers get these phones?

SO wants to buy a phone from eBay to save the money. I kind of think it's a risk and would rather buy the phone from Motorola (but it is a lot more money).

What you think?

 

[MissMina]

I have been on eBay since 1996.
I have bought many items from dolls to diamonds and have never had a bad experience.
BUT I would not buy electronics from eBay.
For me there is just too big a chance of getting a faulty product or one that is not quite
what you thought you were getting.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

DH has bought several phones off of ebay, some of them quite high-end (over $500 retail). We've never had a problem with the purchases. You just take them in to the store and have them activated.

 

[oobiecoo]

I've helped a friend buy a refurbished phone on ebay and it was perfectly fine but never a brand new one.

I don't know which phone service provider you have but usually they have discounts and rebates that end up making the phone the same price or close to the ebay price anyway... you just don't have to wait 3 months to get your rebate back.

 

[Imdanny]

Thanks, everyone. I'm thrilled about the idea of doing this. What if the phone was refurbished but sold as new, what if the battery was no good, that kind of thing.

 

[Hera]

I did this one time and didn't have any problems.
You can look up all the negative feedback on Toolhaus.org. I wasn't thrilled with the feedback on the listing you provided.

How about this seller? They seem to get issues resolved a bit better:
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-BLACK-MOTOROLA- ... ell_Phones

 

[diamondringlover]

My son did this in the past and he didnt have any problem, he just took the phone to the store and had it activated.