{"id":149493,"date":"2025-11-24T00:59:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T00:59:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/149493\/"},"modified":"2025-11-24T00:59:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T00:59:09","slug":"insider-tips-for-buying-used-phones-safely","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/149493\/","title":{"rendered":"Insider tips for buying used phones safely"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been years since the last time I purchased a new phone. I buy mine second-hand, and I haven\u2019t had any bad luck yet. Here\u2019s what I look for to make sure each purchase is legit.<\/p>\n

Stick to reputable sites<\/p>\n

I purchased my last phone from Swappa. Before that? I got two off eBay. And before that, I purchased an open-box device from Best Buy. All three of these have a reputation to uphold and processes in place to deal with scams. While you are exposed to more risk shopping on eBay than from Best Buy, either is better than sharing your address in someone\u2019s DMs on Reddit.<\/p>\n

While these three sites aren\u2019t the only options out there, they are the only ones I personally consider. I generally can find the phones I want there, and when I’m ready to shop, I keep tabs on the model I have in mind until prices drop to the number I\u2019m willing to pay. I\u2019m writing these words on a 512GB Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6<\/a> that I purchased on Swappa when the price dropped below $1000. That was significantly less than the $2000 this phone cost when it was brand new only a few months prior. In general, if you’re patient and look for deals, you’ll find foldable phones are not as pricey as you might think<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Swappa<\/p>\n

Only buy phones in mint or excellent condition<\/p>\n

Personally speaking, I\u2019m not going to even consider old phones with aging batteries or scratched screens. The more a phone has been used, the more risk you take on by placing the order. You never know who took steps to preserve their phone’s battery life<\/a> and who just charged theirs to 100% overnight<\/a>, every night. There’s no way of knowing ahead of time what that device has been through and what condition the internals are in.<\/p>\n

An open box device on eBay is typically brand new or only barely used. In Best Buy’s case, open box simply means used and can be in any condition. There, you’re looking for phones described as “excellent.” On Swappa, the best condition is “mint.”<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

A phone can be in great condition for various reasons. Maybe it was a floor model or a phone that someone returned after quickly changing their mind. Or someone may have used a device for half a year but kept it protected in a case. I personally prefer to shop for open-box deals where I know a device hasn’t yet been used, but I\u2019ll consider \u201clike new\u201d or “mint” for devices that haven\u2019t been out for long.<\/p>\n

This isn’t a hard and fast rule. I see a refurbished model in excellent condition, I’ll give it a look if the price is right. My primary point is that second-hand shopping does not mean walking away with someone’s beat-up old phone. It’s easy to find something that looks as good as new.<\/p>\n

Look for photos and a description that confirm the condition<\/p>\n

Since my latest phone wasn\u2019t an open-box deal, I paid even more attention to the photos than I otherwise would. I wanted to be sure there weren\u2019t any scratches or scuffs that would irk me down the line. Sellers on Swappa, I find, tend to do a decent job of supplying photos.<\/p>\n

On both Swappa and eBay, I make sure to check the description. How did I know my phone had only been used for a few months? Well, the description said as much. The prior owner had only used this phone for a month or two and decided a book-style foldable just wasn\u2019t for them. Based on the accessories they offered alongside the phone, I believed them. The included third-party MagSafe case also helped explain the phone\u2019s condition. In general, if a seller takes the time to provide context that matches the photo, chances are you can take them seriously.<\/p>\n

Pick a phone that has many years of updates ahead<\/p>\n

I love reviewing quirky Android phones like the Minimal Phone<\/a> and the Unihertz Titan 2<\/a>. In the past, niche phones were the ones I was the most excited for. But now, I primarily look for a phone I know will have many years of software support.<\/p>\n

This has been the issue plaguing Moto phones, which used to be my go-to recommendation based on their price and build quality. But as other companies started to offer many more years of software updates, Moto lagged behind. Likewise, as much as I might like the idea of a gaming phone like the ASUS ROG Phone 9<\/a>, I\u2019m not investing that much money on a device that might only get a couple years of updates.<\/p>\n

This is why I say your best bet is to buy a phone from Apple, Samsung, or Google if you want to use a phone for as long as possible. Each of these companies offers seven years of updates or more. Since my Galaxy Z Fold 6 came out in 2024, I can continue using this phone until 2031 (assuming the hardware holds up that long\u2014so far so good<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Make sure it’s an unlocked phone<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re accustomed to buying your phone directly from a carrier, here\u2019s something you might not have had to think about before. If you\u2019re buying a phone outright, you\u2019ll be able to bring it to whichever carrier you want, but you\u2019ll want to make sure the phone\u2019s not locked to any one carrier before you buy. I prefer to buy phones that were unlocked when brand new rather than phones that were previously carrier-locked. In general, just make sure the listing says unlocked in the title, and you\u2019re likely fine.<\/p>\n

I use a foldable phone, and so does my wife. We didn\u2019t pay anywhere near MSRP for either phone. I\u2019m so comfortable shopping for phones used that I almost entirely disregard a new phone’s sales price when reading reviews. If you wait a few months, they\u2019ll be available for much less on the second-hand market. And if you\u2019re concerned with how well they\u2019ll hold up, there\u2019s nothing stopping you from buying phone insurance after the fact. With all the money you\u2019ve saved, you\u2019ll still come out ahead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s been years since the last time I purchased a new phone. I buy mine second-hand, and I…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":149494,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[85,46,321,125],"class_list":{"0":"post-149493","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-il","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-mobile","11":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149493"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149493\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}