Whenever you buy a phone from other than a national carrier, i.e. craigslist, ebay, etc., there are two things you must do.
1. Verify that the IMEI is good and activate the phone by calling your cellular service provider.
2. Get WRITTEN PROOF from whoever you are buying the phone from that the phone is paid for IN FULL. Your carrier may, or may not, provide you with that info.
Ebay has a 30 day buyer protection plan and Paypal's is 180 days.
I bought a new S9+, called Verizon about the IMEI which they said was good and they activated the phone for me and I used it for four months only to have Verizon brick it because there was money owing on it which was not being paid. Verizon said it usually took about 120 days to finally cut somebody off when the phone was, in effect, stolen from them because it was obvious it wasn't going to be paid off.
Fortunately Paypal stood by their Buyer Protection Police and refunded my $770.
I now, after considerable research, don't even think the guy I bought it from knew that it was a stolen phone.
Caveat Emptor! I think that means buyer beware.
1. Verify that the IMEI is good and activate the phone by calling your cellular service provider.
2. Get WRITTEN PROOF from whoever you are buying the phone from that the phone is paid for IN FULL. Your carrier may, or may not, provide you with that info.
Ebay has a 30 day buyer protection plan and Paypal's is 180 days.
I bought a new S9+, called Verizon about the IMEI which they said was good and they activated the phone for me and I used it for four months only to have Verizon brick it because there was money owing on it which was not being paid. Verizon said it usually took about 120 days to finally cut somebody off when the phone was, in effect, stolen from them because it was obvious it wasn't going to be paid off.
Fortunately Paypal stood by their Buyer Protection Police and refunded my $770.
I now, after considerable research, don't even think the guy I bought it from knew that it was a stolen phone.
Caveat Emptor! I think that means buyer beware.