Sold mobile phone to foreigner, help please??

[miklamot]

Hi. I recently sold my Samsung S3 to a buyer in Singapore. It is on the telus network and can be unlocked and any sim card can be used in it. The buyer emails me and said if he can't use a sim card from a mobile phone company in his country, he will want a refund. 

Is it not the buyers responsibility to check in his country to see if he can use the phone there. I don't feel comfortable shipping it to him and then have him request a refund. He will most likely not send the phone back and will get a refund and keep the phone. If I send it to him and he requests a refund, Will eBay wait until I get the item before refunding. 

[mcrlmn]

I'd opt opt now on the basis of uncertainty that a sim card from a mobile phone company in China will work.

If the phone is 'Rooted' it should work fine anywhere.

But the buyer can say whatever is necessary to get refunded.

It will be your word against his.

We all know who will come out on top.... don't we?

My gut says get out of this deal and edit your shipping locations.

[miklamot]

How can I opt out without it affecting my feedback or reputation. I have 100%, albeit it mostly from buying. He already paid so do I just do a refund.

[rosscd57]

You can't - tell him to send it back and he has to pay for the return. You may not get it back but if you get it back - refund him his money.

[miklamot]

so if this buyer gets the phone and requests a refund, does he have to send it back to me first, and once I get the item I refund him. I have read that he can open a claim and that eBay will refund him before I get the item back. I don't want to be out the phone and the money paid for it.

[miklamot]

I found this on wikipedia.

Singapore is the first country that forbids outright SIM locking and contract/phone bundling. Singapore's telecommunications regulator has ruled that the competition clause in mobile carriers' licenses means SIM-locking is not allowed, and has warned at least one operator for selling SIM-locked phones.

Does this not mean that they don't use phones with sim cards, so the phone I sold would not be allowed there.

[femmefan1946]

How can I opt out without it affecting my feedback or reputation.

What would Joan Jett do?

If your customer is a scammer, he is less likely to leave feedback or start a Dispute, since he wants to stay under the radar?

Can you afford to lose the money and the phone?

If your feedback is 100% and you get one neg, so what?

With a FB of 28, abandoning a poisoned account and opening a new one is a matter of having a second credit card. You can continue to use the same Paypal account.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeYn_W14zTU

[mr.elmwood]

Don't want to take a hit to your reputation,don't sell that which you do not know. When you list to worldwide, make sure you know what and where you selling. It is your responsibility to know if the phone works in the country you are selling it to, not the buyer.

You haven't shipped yet and want out? Write the buyer and say you made a mistake and the phone will not work in their country. Doubtful the buyer will do anything except move on.

Only sell to countries where you can guarantee the phone will work. Seller responsibility to know.

[momcqueen]

I'd call eBay Customer Service for advice and ask them how to proceed with this scenario in a way that will reduce potential damage to your feedback rating and/or defect status. (Empty your bladder and pack a lunch first. You will be on the phone for awhile.) Also, take notes, get the name(s) of the person to whom you are speaking, and be prepared to explain it to multiple people until you get one that understands. Follow their instructions exactly. While everyone here ahead of me has given you very sound advice, we are sellers (and buyers) like you. When I find myself in a strange situation like this, I like to go to straight to the source and in this case that is ebay as a corporate entity as opposed to sourcing solutions from the community. Good luck as you carry forward, and let us know how this turns out for you if you think of it afterwards.

[maximus7001]

First of all why were you selling a telus Canada locked phone to any country outside Canada?

Just cancel the transaction picking the option of customer changed their mind. This way you will avoid a defect.

We regularly sell phones on ebay but limit the countries that can buy or bid. On a locked Canadian carrier phone we exclude EVERY country except Canada. On unlocked phones like a Galaxy Nexus (all nexus phones that take SIM cards are unlocked) if the winning bidder is from USA we message them right away to make sure that their carrier uses SIM cards before we ship. USA is the only country left (in the civilized world if you can call it that) that still has some CDMA carriers like verizon who's phones do not use SIM cards.

Last time I was in North Dakota they had no local carriers in state that used SIM cards. The GSM towers that my phone was running on were there only due to national roaming agreements (one of the workers for these T-mobile towers maintenance was staying at the same hotel and we had a conversation).

[tobyshitzu]

Ops listings are clear they are telus locked.   You can buy a code on ebay to unlock them in seconds for ~$15, or likely do maybe free with slightly more effort.  Granted probably would have sold for more if op did and listed it as unlocked

[maximus7001]

Just because an auction clearly states something does not mean it will be read. Most people have no concept of a locked to carrier phone. Locking phones to carriers is a north american thing for the most part.

A phone still ocked to a Canadian carrier should never be listed outside Canada. And what about the charger? The AC plug end only works in north america.

The PO set himself up for this. It is not very hard to exclude countries and or whole continents while listing.

[mr.elmwood]

Max, this is how people who don't know what they are doing, learn how to do things better. I screwed up pretty good when I was new, less so now.

[tobyshitzu]

There was no charger included.  There is a big market for this kind of thing to be sent internationally.   Granted I would have unlocked it myself, but only because being able to advertise "unlocked" raises the value.  No different selling this internationally then selling it to someone in Canada who wants to use it on Rogers etc.  Very simple to make it happen, and completely normal in the used phone market.  Or even new ones, lots of people buy one locked to one carrier with intent to use it on another