Should You Buy a Used Phone on eBay? Here’s What You Need to Know
The iPhone 15 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra have incredible features, but they come at a hefty price. Even Google’s more affordable Pixel 8A still costs $499, which is still a lot of money to throw down all at once, especially during a time when many of us are being much more mindful of our spending.
Buying a slightly older phone on the second-hand market can save you a lot of money and still put some seriously powerful mobile hardware in your pocket. These phones have all the essentials you need for everyday use, plus they can do things like photo editing, gaming, and video streaming. And even better, it keeps a phone out of the landfill, which we all think is a good idea.
Read more: Best Phone to Buy for 2024
But there are important things to keep in mind if you want to get the best phone for your money and stay safe when you do get it. Here are our top tips on how to safely buy a great second-hand phone, whether you want an iPhone or an Android phone.
What features do you need in a phone?
First, think about what you actually need from your phone, as this will determine what level (and budget) you need. If you just want something basic to handle casual WhatsApp messages and play Spotify on your commute, you don’t need flagship levels of performance. Therefore, a lower-end phone with a smaller price tag will be just fine.
The Pixel 6 Pro is guaranteed to receive security updates until October 2026, so this phone should be around for a long time to come.
However, if you’re really into phone photography, you might want to spend a little more on something with a decent camera. In that case, something like a more recent Galaxy S23 (only one generation old), with its more powerful multi-camera array, might be better. You’ll have to strike a balance between the performance you need and the price you’re willing to pay. Newer phones with more modern features and better performance will come with a higher price tag.
Buy from a trusted source
Not every phone salesperson has your best interests at heart, so it’s important to be smart when you shop. Some places to avoid are obvious; for example, don’t buy from the phone salesman on the street corner of a big box store. Other places can be hit or miss.
The site eBay is a well-known source for buying used items and there is a huge selection of phones for sale. Some of these are sold by refurbishment companies that deal exclusively in buying and selling used devices. Others are just regular people trying to sell their old devices when they upgrade. The result is that sometimes it feels like panning for gold, looking for those nuggets that you really want. Check out the next section for more tips on buying on eBay.
My best advice though is to go to trusted companies that buy old phones, refurbish them and resell them. I have MusicMagpie in the UK and had no problems. The online catalogue is huge, the condition of the phones is clearly stated, every handset has been factory reset and you get a 12 month warranty with every purchase. The prices may be a little higher than eBay but the peace of mind more than makes up for it. They also offer rental options if you can’t afford to pay the money up front. Gazelle offer a similar service in the US, although we haven’t tested it ourselves so can’t vouch for the overall quality of the service.
On the MusicMagpie product pages you can easily check the condition of the phone you are purchasing.
Please check the details on the offer
Whether you buy from eBay, Amazon Marketplace or elsewhere, it’s important to pay close attention to what you’re actually getting. Read the listing carefullyincluding any fine print that may be hidden further down, among other details. Phrases like “not working” or “battery defective” may be deliberately hidden to trick people into buying a phone that no longer works. They will also likely explain whether you will receive the original charging cable, packaging, and what kind of dents and scratches you can expect.
Use your common sense here: if a $1,000 iPhone is selling for just $100, there’s probably something fishy going on. Don’t be the one who bought a photo of an Xbox One for $735.
You can check when a security patch was last released for your phone and download any update via the settings.
Don’t buy a phone that doesn’t get security updates
I’ll make it as clear as possible: don’t buy a phone that no longer receives security updates from the manufacturer. Unsupported phones are susceptible to all sorts of vulnerabilities that can give hackers easy access to every piece of information on your device — or even take complete control of it. Those bank details, cute pictures of your kids, sexy selfies you sent to your partner — all of it can be accessed and stolen.
Most Android phone manufacturers typically support their devices for at least two to three years, though both Google and Samsung have taken that further, offering up to seven years of security support on their latest launches. Likewise, Apple’s iOS 17 is still officially supported on the 2018 iPhone XR, making that phone still safe to use. Google’s Pixel 6 Pro, released in October 2021, is guaranteed to get security updates until “at least” October 2026, according to google support page.
It’s encouraging to see companies offering extended support periods for their phones, as the hardware is often still more than capable of handling all your day-to-day needs for much longer than the software support could provide. However, outdated software leaves the phones vulnerable and it’s simply not advisable to continue using phones beyond their support period.
Your best bet is to look at phones that have been released in the last two years and are therefore likely to still receive security updates. When you find a phone that fits, search for the model name and try to find out if it is still receiving updates and if there is an indication of how long they will continue to receive them. Companies are often not very forthcoming with information about when they will release a product, but by looking at what other models are supported you should be able to make a reasonable estimate.
The Samsung Galaxy S9, released in 2018, no longer gets any form of security support. Do not buy this phone.
You may just need a temporary phone to tide you over until you can justify a proper upgrade, so a phone with only a year of support left may not be a problem. When your phone of choice gets delivered, make sure you do a full factory reset yourself and check for any available software updates before doing anything else.
