Why so many used phones being sold as new when they are Refurbished?

[estimator15]

So many sellers that advertise as new, but are actually refurbished warranty returns from overseas. 

It's false and misleading advertising but ebay allows multitudes of them. 

I understand the volume of business is a good persuasion. 

A friend of mine recently purchased as above.

He was shocked when I ran a utility that shows it was an AT&T 2 year old USA phone manufacturer based in Korea.

They are repaired and have new cases fixed. 

It should say, As New.

[kopenhagen5]

Caveat emptor my friend.

Electronic products are best bought in a reputable B&M store with a genuine warranty. 

[*tippy*toes*]

But it's on eBay......and it's cheap.......and eBay is the place for cheap bargains......it's on eBay, therefore it must be legit.

[estimator15]

It's an area that's pushing the small personal sellers away from eBay and the fees they charge.

You try to look for a genuine product and Australian sourced.

You get umpteen of these advertised like said.  

Supposed to be new.

Listed as new.

But not new.

And majority of them are sent from overseas to an Australian supplier. 

When someone calls thier bluff they just offer a few dollars off, or return for a refund. 

I just cannot see how fair trading, consumer affairs and Ebay allows it.

It needs to be stopped.

Once there was an avenue to complain about this.(to ebay).

But not any more.

[*tippy*toes*]

You also have to be really careful of ads that say the phone is brand new in box, but the box has been opened to check to make sure the phone works. People fall for it! Why would the box need to be opened if it wasn't a second hand phone? Brand new in box means a sealed box, not one that has been open to be checked.

[estimator15]

I actually got on to eBay Australia and highlighted the number of sellers doing this and they have acted on several.
Be it warning or changes to the wording.
But I noticed more with refurbished in the description.

It's like when is new not new?

One of the people who bought in good faith as New.
Found the previous owners pictures on the phone when they turned it on..

It's not right.
Is it?

[davewil1964]

It's not difficult.

New phones aren't that expensive. If they are, keep your old one. I have an almost 4 year old Samsung S4. I have yet to find a need to spend a grand on the 'latest and greatest', which would be incremental at best.

If, however, I needed to replace my phone, I would go to Telstra, or Optus, or Vodaphone, and buy one from them. That way I would get a new phone and a real warranty.

Or Nokia. They've finally gone 'smart' and their phones are cheaper. Being Nokia there is a fair chance they are at least as good as $1k others, as Nokia give good phone.

[*tippy*toes*]

Only reason I replaced my S4 was because the screen died. Some expensive chip blew up or something. The phone would turn on but the touch screen didn't work. I went up to an S5. Only because I couldn't get another S4. This one will get replaced when it dies and nt before. I don't need the latest and greatest.

My phone was about $320 outright from Officeworks......locally.

[springyzone]

You're correct, it is not right.

If something is refurbished, it should be advertised as such.

What it highlights is that ebay is a really risky site for some purchases. Yours isn't the only tale like this. There have been countless people on these boards who have complained about getting out of warranty items, refurbished items, faulty items, items where the warranty isn't honoured.

Phones & computers are a minefield.

There are strict limits to what I would buy on ebay, it isn't reliable in some areas and if you're buying from China, you might even end up with something totally unsafe if you buy electricals.

Ebay can cull some of the more obvious rogues but the main problem is ebay isn't selling anything except the space for people to load their ads. They aren't really in control of the products.

For that reason, if i wanted a phone, a camera, a computer, a charger etc, I'd head to a real store.

[chameleon54]

I,m still  using an old Samsung flip phone that is probably 12 years old. It still makes calls and is just about bullet proof. I drop it regularly and it gets exposed to moisture and just keeps going and going.

The kids wreck their glass screen phones within 6 months and are always replacing them. .........A phone made out of glass. Who was it that thought that was a great idea ????   Who-ever it was they where not farmers.....LOL

PS.      Sounds like something you would come up with if you wanted to suck people into replacing them regularly when they break.