How To Protect Yourself When Buying Used Tech Online

Nothing can match the feeling of unboxing a brand-new product. However, there may be situations when you eagerly want a product like an iPhone but don't have the budget to purchase a new one. That's when you can consider purchasing a used product, which is usually available at a cheaper price than the brand-new copy.

For instance, you can get a refurbished version of the iPhone 15 Pro 128 GB for $759, which is $140 less than the price of a brand-new iPhone 15 Pro of the same configuration. However, a big risk that comes with buying a used or refurbished tech product online is the likelihood of getting scammed.

There's many people who've reported how they got scammed by purchasing a tech product on the internet. If you don't want to become the next target of these scammers and wish to ensure that you get a product that's worth every penny you spent on it, take these measures when purchasing used tech products online.

Why are you selling the product? That should always be your first question to the seller when you're buying a used tech product online. The answer should give you a better understanding of the background of the sale, and might indicate if there's something wrong with the product.

You should always try to purchase used products from big retailers to minimize risk. For instance, Apple has its refurbished program from which you can purchase used Apple products. However, although more secure retailers like Apple often sell used products at a higher price than other places like eBay and Facebook Marketplace. If you're buying a product from any of these sites, you should thoroughly check the seller's history. 

Look for any unclear, inconsistent, or suspicious entries in the information they've provided about themselves and the product. Carefully go through the reviews and ratings other customers have given to the seller. Avoid purchasing products from a seller that has a lot of negative reviews or low ratings. Furthermore, always try to ignore used tech products posted by newly created accounts.

Before purchasing, you should also ask the seller to show the original bill for the product. This will allow you to make sure that the seller is not selling you a stolen product. Additionally, carefully monitor the product pricing. If it looks too good to be true, then most likely it actually is. For instance, if you find a seller selling the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold 16 for $100, then that's definitely a scam. 

Lastly, carefully review the seller's return and warranty policy. A seller whose intention is to scam will most likely not offer any warranty on its product, nor will it allow you to return it, if your demand with the product is not met.

Once you're sure that the seller is genuine, the next thing you should check is the product condition. If it's possible, meet the seller in person and ask them to show you the product. Alternatively, you can ask them to photograph the product from each angle and send the photos to you to check. This way you can try to ensure that the product isn't physically damaged in any way.

Most tech products come with batteries, so make sure to check the battery health of the product you're buying. If you're purchasing products like a laptop, you should ask the seller to send a picture of the laptop's internals so that you can ensure that it still has the original battery, RAM, and SSD present. If it's possible, you should ask the seller to allow you to use the product for a couple of hours so that you can test it and make sure it's actually in good condition.

If you're purchasing a smartphone, make sure it's genuine. For instance, if you're purchasing an iPhone, ask the seller to send the IMEI number so that you can visit the Apple coverage page to check the product is real. If you're getting an Android phone, you can verify the smartphone's originality by checking its IMEI number through the IMEI.info website.

Once you're sure that the product is authentic, you can move forward to the payment procedure. However, make sure you're only making the payment via the method that the chosen platform has put in place; otherwise, the platform will not be able to track it. Also, if you get scammed, the platform won't be able to offer any help since the alternative payment method will have voided the buyer's protection on offer.