Would you still buy this? - iPhone Question

[Luxor]

I bought a white iPhone 3gs 16gb from a guy on t'bay (good feedback, great communications) who works for o2 retail. This is a private sale and nothing to do with o2 itself.

It was £275 for a 2 week old replacement from Apple, locked to o2 with a griffin car window holder and case (It's got a mirrored screen protector on at the moment which I'd remove to check the screen). Immaculate condition with no scratches.

Was going to pick it up tomorrow morning with cash but get a lengthy email apologising saying he managed to knock it off his desk today at work and now it has a "very slight surface scratch " above the mute button. He says everything else is unmarked though and would knock an extra £15 off the price. It's now £260 and I asked for a few photographs.

These photos came via email and the damage is shown. It's a bit of a journey to pick it up tomorrow but could do with an iPhone again but am really stumped whether to go for it or not now. Would apple still honour warranty on these marks if there were any problems? The scratches look more like a drop to me now... I'm unsure, it seems a good price but after staring at the pics for about half an hour it's not helping me make a decision.

Help appreciated!

 

[SeraphX]

if the screen works then get it, if the screen stops working though depending on the tech you speak to at an apple shop they may or may not service it based purely on the tech who see's it, some will scoff and sort it, and others will say not a chance, ask him to provide pictures without the mirror screen cover with the screen working then make your choice

 

[Andybtsn]

The amount of people selling these right now you have endless options. Personally I'd want a mint one so wouldn't touch that, I sold my 32gb 3GS in as new condition so I think you can get a better one.

 

[Wingz]

look around on gumtree or avforums, I would hate having to see that on my iphone.

 

[Luxor]

I'm in agreement with youl. Although, when you're so geared up to buying something and you get a mail through like this happen it's very annoying to say to least. Personally, when I sell something on ebay and someone wins it either by auction or buy it now I immediately consider it sold and stop messing around with it!

I'd hate to have to argue with an Apple Genius over an obvious drop if something went wrong down the line. I'll let this one go and look out for another.

 

[JamesRJ]

Looks very minor I would still buy it though would try to haggle a bit more off say £250

 

[Gas Panic!]

If you had brought that to me when I worked as a Genius, and pleaded your case, I would probably have swapped it - but as others have said, it depends on who you see. If you have issues related to the ringer on/off switch or the headphone jack, I'd probably decline service because there has been an impact in that area.

 

[pumaz]

Honestly I wouldn't buy it, it will always niggle you that there's damage. Like has been said already there's plenty of iphones available right now, to coin a phrase "it's a buyers market"

 

[Luxor]

I actually declined to buy it last night which under the circumstances he quite understood but I have had some reconsiderations today and emailed the chap this evening. I really need to get some better shots of that side damage. Looking at the pricing around the net, it's still a good deal and he seems trustworthy.

A few questions which I fired off were

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You know you said the phone is two weeks old insurance replacement, would it therefore come with just over 11 months Apple warranty (you probably know anyway, but you can check by entering the serial number into the apple support website) and comes with a receipt?

Have you got another few photos of the side of the phone perhaps showing the whole length of the iphone to get a better shot of that mark.

Apologies for the message out of ebay but it could potentially save you some expensive fees in the process. I'd be personally quite happy to deal with you out of ebay if the questions come in ok.

Many thanks and hope you had a good day at work

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He demos it in the o2 store, so it does work and it would be a cash on collection check anyway

 

[Luxor]

This just came in.....

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Thanks for getting in touch. No the phone hasn't been sold, re-listed OR dropped I can safely say! Left it at home wrapped in cotton wool today!
I have just checked on Apples website, warranty runs until 18th May 2011 I think, if you want to check yourself the serial number is: 86**********, where you'll find all the details. As for the receipt, i'm not too sure if I still have it, could be anywhere, but bonus of working for o2 is that I can easily find the receipt on the till using the IMEI number and just do a reprint of the proof of purchase if necessary. Also spoke to our in-store iPhone specialist who said he is 100% sure Apple would service the phone in the condition its in.


Can't photograph at the moment, was using a friends iPhone to take the photos which I don't have available at the moment, I will get him round asap and take a few more photo's.


Any questions at all?


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The question is... do I have any questions at all? Seems very promising from that response.

*edit* I've sent a message back to say I'll wait for the photos and take it from there.

 

[Burned_Alive]

I believe its £55 to have the casing replaced by Apple, so might be worth using that as a bargaining tool if you're happyy with the phone otherwise.