According to statistics from a recent survey on the site, it turned out that only 40% of iPhone owners purchased their phones in Russia from authorized dealers. The remaining 60% use gray phones that came to us from America and Europe. At the moment, there are no official Apple Store stores in our country, and all sold devices are sold through various intermediaries, the same telecom operators. Not surprisingly, their prices are higher than global prices. In view of the fact that civilization does not rush into our country, but I want to join it faster, I’ll try to describe an alternative way to buy a phone.
We will consider the option of how to buy an iPhone in the USA at the famous eBay.com auction, in view of the large number of offers and the method I personally tested.
First register on the auction site.
After that, you can watch what is for sale and even place bets. But to pay for purchases you need to have a paypal account. Unfortunately, you cannot put money directly into a paypal account, but you can connect a credit card. When paying for lots through an auction, money will be debited from the account automatically. It is advisable to connect a dollar account to paypal, and, very important! make payment settings so as to avoid unnecessary conversions.
If you have any questions about eBay, I recommend reading the forum http://www.ebay-forum.ru
HOW TO CHOOSE iPhone
1. Decide on a budget. See auctions coming to an end soon. You will have an idea of what you can buy for your money. Please note – almost all bids are made 3-10 seconds before the end of the auction. In order not to wait for the end of bidding and find out the latest price, add the necessary positions to watch (the Watch button) and then calmly look at how much the lot has gone.
2. Please note whether the seller is ready to ship the goods to your country.
In the Advanced search settings, check the Location item – search only for those auctions that are available for your country. Look at the shipping costs, these will also be your expenses.
The cost of phones that are sold only for the United States, with shipping within the country, will be below $ 100. Now there are many intermediary companies offering their services. They agree to buy an iPhone in the USA, receive goods domestically and forward them to you.
I recommend not to contact resellers, as as a result, the cost of their services will be equivalent to the amount saved. And in case of loss of the parcel, there will be no one to ask.
On ebay, in this case, there is a money back procedure.
3. Look at the seller’s rating. If more than 100, then the person is clearly trustworthy. If less, read the negative reviews.
4. Pay attention to the description and photo of the phone.
In the Brand field must be written Apple, otherwise you can get a Chinese copy and no one will return anything to you.
5. If possible, check the age of the phone. Sometimes sellers write the serial number of the device.
Then on the website http://www.chipmunk.nl/klantenservice/applemodel.html you can get information about the production date and even whether the iPhone was under repair.
Ask to send a serial number if it is not in the description of the lot. You can find it by going to settings-> general-> about.
Here you can see more detailed information on how to check your iPhone before buying.
6. Look at the firmware version, many phones in the states are locked to a certain operator (iPhones are mainly on ATT), but there are those that are already sold by jailbreak. Decide whether you will do a jailbreak yourself.
7. Carefully read the seller’s description about scratches, any problems, if there is nothing about it in the description and the “Condition Used” phone, then ask a question about the problems.
HOW TO BUY
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Basically, all auctions in the states end when we have a late night or morning. When making a bet, set the ebay setting to the maximum price at which you are ready to bargain, and go to sleep. If the price rises above, it’s not your day today, buy tomorrow.
HOW TO SEND
In the description of the lot, on the tab "Shipping and Payments" there is information on how the seller will send the goods.
The best way for us is USPS Priority Mail.
And although a tracking number is not officially provided for this type of shipment, you can track the parcel by the number of the customs declaration. Ask the seller to send the number of the customs declaration CP 72, he must fill it out.
Having received this number, you can track any package:
in the USA – http://www.usps.com
on the territory of the Russian Federation – http://www.russianpost.ru
Basically, the EMS method should be better: expedited customs inspection, fast delivery. The parcel does not come by post, but is delivered by courier to you personally.
It costs more. But until recently, there were many cases when packets came open. Although I think in Moscow and other major cities there should not be any special problems.
The seller must indicate in the declaration:
iPhone IMEI XXXXXXX (XXX – iPhone serial number) and insure the shipment.
The number is necessary to protect you from substitution.
If within 40 days you do not receive the phone by mail, open a dispute on ebay and paypal. The seller will be required to return the money to your account, and he must be paid insurance.
HOW TO GET A
Receive the package only in the mail.
Fill out the notice but do not sign in receipt.
Mail workers usually require that you sign before receiving the package. Try to agree on the good thing to sign when you make sure the integrity of the package. Otherwise, you will not prove anything.
If in doubt, ask to open the parcel in the presence of the postal worker and draw up an act.
If you find package breaks or weight mismatch, refuse.
After customs, if the parcel is opened, it usually comes in a sealed bag.
If all the same, it’s not what you expected, you will have a chance to return the money, but the time may be delayed (3-12 months).
If you refuse immediately, paypal will return the money in 2-3 weeks to your bank account.
Enjoy the shopping.
Chief editor of the blog – Erika J. Wells .
