Buying/Selling Guide For eBay

[bjsguess]

First post, long time lurker.

I used the search function and couldn't find anything that resembled a buyers/sellers guide for eBay transactions. If there is one available please post the link. I want to avoid making any costly mistakes.

I just bought a new Curve. It is sitting in the box - untouched. I want to buy a Touch from eBay. To maximize my money I wonder if someone had insight on the following questions:

1. Does the Curve need to be activated before I sell it? Can it still be in the box, never turned on?

2. Do I need to receive my Touch and activate it PRIOR to selling my Curve?

3. There appears to be conflicting information about TEP - can I add TEP to a phone that was bought on eBay (even if it was slightly used)?

4. Will selling my Curve (and activating the eBay Touch) prior to receiving my rebate effect my rebate status? Some say yes, some say no. Definitive answer?

Thank you for your time.

[TheTruckGuy]

The Curve. You say its still in the box unactivated.. what do you use now? Now.. did you buy the curve off sprint? TEP? Ebay or where?

If you are able to use your present phone and the Curve is still in the box, then the curve is not activated and has clear ESN for you to sell it on ebay anytime... (remember not to give out your esn (if required) only to the buyer and not to anyone else). you can always call sprint and check if the esn is free and can be activated on any account.

You can buy a Touch anytime from anywhere without any dependancy on what you do with your curve.
But make sure you buy the HTC Touch for sprint. Make sure its a trusted seller with many good reviews. No harm in asking for esn to call sprint and check if its clear, usually the seller may not give (just like you'd do). Sometimes the seller will give you once you are the winning bidder before the payment.
Once you have your Touch with you, do an esn swap either online or thru customer serivce. I'd recommend customer service as you can tell them that you dont want the rebate/upgrade eligility to be reset as you are only changing to an used from from a more used phone and you are still looking to upgrade to a new phone when you are eligible.
I dont know if the online esn swap resets rebate/upgrade eligibility automatically. But I know it should not renew your contract.

[bjsguess]

Thanks TruckGuy.

I am still on contract w/ T-Mobile thru the end of the month. That's why the Curve isn't activated yet. I did buy the Curve through the Sprint website earlier this week.

Again, I really appreciate your insight.

Any ideas if Sprint will allow TEP on a phone that was bought used from eBay?

[TheTruckGuy]

Any ideas if Sprint will allow TEP on a phone that was bought used from eBay?

You are welcome. Am glad it helps you.

Two things.

1. If sprint sent/sold you the phone and has setup for a new line to activate, then the phone is maybe already activated or set to activate soon. Meaning sprint has the esn and is looking forward or has already have activated the Curve. So, for you to sell the phone on ebay, you'd have to clear the ESN by doing an ESN swap onto another phone (not necessary the Touch but any sprint phone with clear Esn). I'd recommend calling sprint and checking with them if the ESN is clear.

2. If you got the phone from a Third party retailer at a discounted price, or are waiting for a mail-in-rebate from sprint, I'd recommend checking the policies since there may be conditions that you HAVE to activate the keep in the service for certain (6months or so) amout of time.

I know TEP gets carried over to any phone active on your account, but am not sure if you can add it to a phone bought off ebay. If the curve is activated on your account (see point #1) activate TEP before you do an ESN Swap.

[bjsguess]

Thanks again for the information. This is super helpful!

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