Cell Phones Forum

I am looking at some phones on ebay to replace the LG 6100 I have (I'm not
up for NE2 for another year but don't want to continue to crappy service
with the 6100 and don't want to renew too soon).

One seller brought up an interesting point, when I asked for the ESN, that
they didn't want to release it for fear of cloning if I had the MIN.

I had never heard of this, so I googled it, and learned about cloning very
quickly.

Is cloning still possible with current-day phones (up to 5 years ago) on
Verizon's network)?  The models I'm looking at are AMPS/CDMA.  If cloning
is NOT possible anymore with Verizon, I would want a definitive, reputable
web site saying so.   It would be nice to refer other skeptical sellers
the links when I ask for the ESN prior to bid.

Thanks.

Scott

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

Scott Ehrlich  wrote:
>
> Is cloning still possible with current-day phones (up to 5 years ago)
> on Verizon's network)?  The models I'm looking at are AMPS/CDMA.  If
> cloning is NOT possible anymore with Verizon, I would want a
> definitive, reputable web site saying so.   It would be nice to refer
> other skeptical sellers the links when I ask for the ESN prior to bid.

Why bother? If they don't give the ESN don't buy.

If they don't want to give you the ESN it's likely the case they
are just moving used phones (buy on eBay, turn around and sell on
eBay, etc.). They're dealing with a lot of phones and don't want to
bother looking up ESNs and responding with them. If it's someone
selling only 1 or 2 phones it's probably worse than that.

-Quick

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

Yea,  I'm an eBay seller and I've had a few bad experiences where people
wanted to ESN only to do an ESN swap and an acct that they no longer wanted
to use.  They took my ESN, added it to their acct, and then sold thier phone
to offset the costs of the monthly bill, rather than pay the $175 term
penalty.

My advise..  Don't ever give out an ESN as anyone can use it to add that
phone to an acct.   If they do (Even though they have no plan on using it)
no one else will be able to activate that phone.

If your a seller, buyers should trust in your feedback, or your willingness
to guarantee the ESN to work (Refundable if not)

-
-
-


"Quick" <Quick7135-news@NOSPAMyahoo.com> wrote in message
news:0fc2f.21$q%.3@newssvr12.news.prodigy.com...
> Scott Ehrlich wrote: 
>
> Why bother? If they don't give the ESN don't buy.
>
> If they don't want to give you the ESN it's likely the case they
> are just moving used phones (buy on eBay, turn around and sell on
> eBay, etc.). They're dealing with a lot of phones and don't want to
> bother looking up ESNs and responding with them. If it's someone
> selling only 1 or 2 phones it's probably worse than that.
>
> -Quick
>
>
>

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

Uhhh, yea, right. Always a good idea to buy from large
sellers with lots of good feedback. But as a buyer why
should I take any risk at all? I'm not going to buy unless
I get an ESN I can verify with a call to VZW. I'm going
to let the seller take the risk. I figure that's part of your
cost of doing business. I don't see any reason for me to
even risk hassling with a return with a reputable seller.

-Quick

TH  wrote:[color=darkred
]
>
> If your a seller, buyers should trust in your feedback, or your
> willingness to guarantee the ESN to work (Refundable if not)
>
> -
> -
> -
>
>
> "Quick" <Quick7135-news@NOSPAMyahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:0fc2f.21$q%.3@newssvr12.news.prodigy.com... 

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

Fair point.    As a seller, I'd probably have to ensure your feedback is
good as well before providing that info.

Good luck!
TH


-
-
"Quick" <Quick7135-news@NOSPAMyahoo.com> wrote in message
news:4Mc2f.28$q%.10@newssvr12.news.prodigy.com...
> Uhhh, yea, right. Always a good idea to buy from large
> sellers with lots of good feedback. But as a buyer why
> should I take any risk at all? I'm not going to buy unless
> I get an ESN I can verify with a call to VZW. I'm going
> to let the seller take the risk. I figure that's part of your
> cost of doing business. I don't see any reason for me to
> even risk hassling with a return with a reputable seller.
>
> -Quick
>
> TH wrote: 
>
>

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

In article <_3d2f.22377$WR2.16360@fed1read03>, TH <threeew@hotmail.com> wrote:
>Fair point.    As a seller, I'd probably have to ensure your feedback is
>good as well before providing that info.
>
>Good luck!
>TH
>

As a point/counterpoint - as a buyer, how do I know the provided ESN is
valid for that phone?   What is to prevent a seller from giving me some
other, good ESN and give me a phone that cannot be activated?

Yes, there is the feedback system, but maybe one or two bad responses out
of many would likely get lost?

Just another perspective...

Scott

>
>-
>-
>"Quick" <Quick7135-news@NOSPAMyahoo.com> wrote in message
>news:4Mc2f.28$q%.10@newssvr12.news.prodigy.com... 
>
>

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

If you get ripped off there is the feedback system.
If you get ripped off you can file a complaint or report with eBay.
eBay is constantly policing and weeding out bad sellers and buyers.
If you don't want any "what if's" at all, deal only with your local
B&M stores.

-Quick

Scott Ehrlich  wrote:[color=darkred
]
> In article <_3d2f.22377$WR2.16360@fed1read03>, TH
> <threeew@hotmail.com> wrote: 
>
> As a point/counterpoint - as a buyer, how do I know the provided ESN
> is
> valid for that phone?   What is to prevent a seller from giving me
> some other, good ESN and give me a phone that cannot be activated?
>
> Yes, there is the feedback system, but maybe one or two bad responses
> out
> of many would likely get lost?
>
> Just another perspective...
>
> Scott
> 

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

Agreed.   If you eBay it, buy with Paypal only and ALWAYS pay with your
credit card.   Paypal has a buyer protection policy, but if they can't
recover funds, you can always dispute the purchase with your CC company.



"Quick" <Quick7135-news@NOSPAMyahoo.com> wrote in message
news:Ake2f.80$BZ5.75@newssvr13.news.prodigy.com...
> If you get ripped off there is the feedback system.
> If you get ripped off you can file a complaint or report with eBay.
> eBay is constantly policing and weeding out bad sellers and buyers.
> If you don't want any "what if's" at all, deal only with your local
> B&M stores.
>
> -Quick
>
> Scott Ehrlich wrote: 
>
>

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

I don't quite understand that.

I want out of my contract, and don't want to pay the ETF.

I change the ESN on my account over to another phone, then sell my original
phone, whose ESN is now clear.

But my name and credit are still obligated to pay the monthly bill until the
end of my contract.

Other than the profit on the original phone, where do I gain?

Dean
 ____________________
_____________
"TH" <threeew@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:cpc2f.21838$WR2.8020@fed1read03...
> Yea,  I'm an eBay seller and I've had a few bad experiences where people
> wanted to ESN only to do an ESN swap and an acct that they no longer
> wanted to use.  They took my ESN, added it to their acct, and then sold
> thier phone to offset the costs of the monthly bill, rather than pay the
> $175 term penalty.
>
> My advise..  Don't ever give out an ESN as anyone can use it to add that
> phone to an acct.   If they do (Even though they have no plan on using it)
> no one else will be able to activate that phone.
>
> If your a seller, buyers should trust in your feedback, or your
> willingness to guarantee the ESN to work (Refundable if not)
>
> -
> -
> -
>
>
> "Quick" <Quick7135-news@NOSPAMyahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:0fc2f.21$q%.3@newssvr12.news.prodigy.com... 
>
>

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

Dean  wrote:
> I don't quite understand that.
>
> I want out of my contract, and don't want to pay the ETF.
>
> I change the ESN on my account over to another phone,
> then sell my original phone, whose ESN is now clear.
>
> But my name and credit are still obligated to pay the
> monthly bill until the end of my contract.
>
> Other than the profit on the original phone, where do I
> gain?

Just that. So you decide you are no longer going to
use your phone but are still under contract. Maybe
switched to another carrier. Maybe only a couple of
months to go. You don't want to pay the ETF and
you're not going to use that phone any more. You
can't sell it since the buyer won't be able to activate
it since it's already activated on your account.
(Is this true?). I don't believe you have the option to
simply deactivate an ESN on the website. I think
you can only activate another ESN which replaces
the existing one.  That would free up your phone
to sell it. something like that anyway.

-Quick

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]