[bigshooter44]

That's how my girlfriend feels right about now.

She purchased a Nextel 7100i on ebay a couple of days and ago and when it arrived she called her provider to get it up and going. Well, that's where the problem started. The Nextel rep told her that that phone shows in their system to be suspended and belonging to someone out of Illinois.

They told her that she would have to contact the previous owner and have him remove his name from the phone. Now she is stuck with a useless BB.

She went back into the ebay website and discovered that the seller of the phone just bought it herself on July 20th and then put it back up for sale. She probably had the same problem and now she will not return any emails.

Any ideas you wizards....

[ezrunner]

guess she is hosed. Tell lesson learned ALWAYS get IMEI and check with provider before purchasing from Ebay. She could list it on Ebay for parts!

[Dawg]

DONT BUY BBs OFF EBAY

[aiharkness]

Wirelessly posted (8700g: BlackBerry8700/4.2.1 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/100)

Originally Posted by Dawg

DONT BUY BBs OFF EBAY

That's my advice. Seems like many are learning the hard way, though.

[LunkHead]

For future reference... Some steps still apply reference your situation

Buying a BlackBerry off eBay - BlackBerryFAQ

Kris

[gadgetjunkies]

I wouldn't go that far. Just make sure you have the IMEI # and check it with your provider. I have sold two BB's on ebay and the buyers were very happy with their purchase. You just have to do a little homework, which is good advice for any ebay purchase.

[bigshooter44]

Well thanks anyway guys. I was sure hoping for some magical trick that I could do to get it working but I guess she is SOL.

Lesson learned for sure.

[bigshooter44]

Someone did tell het that if she went to a Nextel store and sweet talked the staff there that maybe they could correct the problem for her.

Not sure about that though.

[ngregory00]

Don't give up yet! Your girlfriend should still attempt to go through eBay and her credit card company / PayPal (depending on what payment method was used) to rectify the matter. The steps below are from BlackberryFAQ which Lunkhead posted the link to:

What to do if the device is not as it was described

1. Contact the seller and demand a full and immediate refund. If they refuse follow steps 2-4
2. Contact credit card company and file for fraud protection or file a dispute with PayPal
3. Report the fraud to your local police department
4. Take photos of the device as it was received so that they may be compared with the photos listed in the auction and with the additional photos you previously asked for
5. Leave negative feedback for the seller on eBay

Hope this helps!

[Galvatron]

never buy CDMA go GSM

[Dawg]

Originally Posted by Galvatron

never buy CDMA go GSM

no one asked you! its not about CDMA or GSM. Your way off topic; but at least you spelled it correctly for a change.

[Dawg]

Originally Posted by gadgetjunkies

I wouldn't go that far. Just make sure you have the IMEI # and check it with your provider. I have sold two BB's on ebay and the buyers were very happy with their purchase. You just have to do a little homework, which is good advice for any ebay purchase.

If the seller does the homework then you will always come out to the good. But you are a BB user selling most arent and dont know what they have when they sell it. They buy them whole sale from ppl and resell to unknowing public.

[aiharkness]

Wirelessly posted (8700g: BlackBerry8700/4.2.1 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/100)

Originally Posted by gadgetjunkies

I wouldn't go that far. Just make sure you have the IMEI # and check it with your provider. I have sold two BB's on ebay and the buyers were very happy with their purchase. You just have to do a little homework, which is good advice for any ebay purchase.

Knowing what to know about blackberrys is only part of it, and probably the small part. The big thing is picking the seller and knowing the seller is going to make good if there's a problem.

[JGBerry]

agreed. ask the seller for the IMEI number and check with the provider. also ask the seller if the BB is locked, as IT policies on it, etc. there is a whole laundry list of things to ask. you're best bet is to just buy a new one. i bought an 8700 on ebay a while back and the "R" button didn't depress properly. it was listed as "like new, barely used"...the whole sha-bang. the funny thing is...it ended up having connection problems and i called t-mobile and they actually replaced my ebay 8700 with a refurbished 8700 from them. they said that b/c i was still within my 14 day trial period, i was eligible for that. i never would have guessed... haha

[Spectral]

Seems like T-Mobile will bend over backwards for customers who are within the trial period, but as soon as it's over, you're SOL.

[KamileonX]

I actually bought my 8300R Curve off of ebay. However, Mine was a local pickup, cash deal. To top it off, the seller was an authorized Rogers dealer (the Blackberry was locked to Rogers, and Rogers is my Wireless Service Provider) and gave a reciept. Even though the box was sealed (obviously never used) I tested the unit before I gave him the money.

Transaction was smooth, and the seller was respectful and professional. So not all ebay Blackberries are scams. You just have to know what to look for and filter out the "fishy" deals.

[rambo47]

I'd much rather deal with forum members. If a guy has a good post count and he's an active member of the BB community he's much less likely to pull any shennanigans.

[Mystic Mi]

I have to agree with KamileonX, not all ebayers are con artists, i bought a few things off of ebay including my BB 8100 about 2 months ago. I looked at every phone that was listed and picked a seller that had 100% feed back and was all good. I contacted him as well and he replyed every time. I do hope that you get your problem resolved.

Michelle

[cdysthe]

I dropped my T-Mo 8700g in the pool. Wanted a 8800. It was sold out at the T-Mo stores and online. Did eBay. Got the IMEI and PIN from the seller and checked with T-Mo. Purchased and I am very happy with my new phone. One question: Why does it matter if it's GSM or CDMA in these cases? They all have IMEI's don't they? I've been with T-Mo since last century so I know very little about CDMA.

Another thing I do not understand. If a carries can get proof that a phone has a new owner who intend to pay, why would they want to keep the suspension on the phone? It's not like the suspension is effective towards the origincal owner anymore.

//C

[Dubdub]

Originally Posted by cdysthe

I dropped my T-Mo 8700g in the pool. Wanted a 8800. It was sold out at the T-Mo stores and online. Did eBay. Got the IMEI and PIN from the seller and checked with T-Mo. Purchased and I am very happy with my new phone. One question: Why does it matter if it's GSM or CDMA in these cases? They all have IMEI's don't they? I've been with T-Mo since last century so I know very little about CDMA.

Another thing I do not understand. If a carries can get proof that a phone has a new owner who intend to pay, why would they want to keep the suspension on the phone? It's not like the suspension is effective towards the origincal owner anymore.

//C

CDMA and GSM are two different technologies. It isn't about IMEIs or anything else. But CDMA phones have an ESN.

Verizon and Sprint use CDMA here in the US, but Verizon will not activate a non-Verizon branded phone on their network. Sprint has a similar policy, but it seems that they have been less reluctant to enforce in the recent past.

GSM is used in the US by ATT and T-Mobile. Most of Europe also uses GSM. An unlocked GSM can be used with a SIM card of most other GSM carriers.