I just bought a $94 iPhone on eBay. Here’s what it was like

With the iPhone 11 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra With over $ 1,000 and even the “affordable” OnePlus 8 Pro for $ 899, I wanted to see how much phone I could get without spending a fortune. So I started hunting with $ 650 CNET money (thanks guys!) To see what quality of handset you can get when you buy a used handset.

I am based in the UK so I mainly used eBay and a service called MusicMagpiewho buys, refurbishes and resells old, unwanted phones. There are similar services in the US to gazelle. It also means the phones were paid in pounds, but I’ve consistently given currency conversions for reference.

Currently running:
Look at that:

How used phones look like $ 650

11:03

I have the following without further ado.

Amount paid: £ 120 ($ 150, AU $ 230)

Originally published: April 2015

Buyed by: eBay, from the renovation company

Announced condition: Grade A, “excellent”

It’s on: Almost new. No scratches on the front or back of the glass, no significant scratches on the metal edges, slight cosmetic signs of wear on the metal edges around the camera unit. Screen and headphone jack in perfect condition. The micro USB socket may be loose and sometimes requires the cable to wiggle before it is charged.

I trust him
Despite the small problem with the charging cable, this phone works well and everything else works fine. I had no unexpected crashes or other glitches that would indicate hardware failure. I would have no problem using this as my main phone.

Amount paid: £ 56 ($ 70, AU $ 110)

Originally published: March 2014

Buyed by: eBay, private seller

Announced condition: “Used”

It’s on: Except for a few small marks in the upper right and lower left corners, there are very few signs of wear on the phone housing. Display, charging port and headphone jack work perfectly.

I trust him
Absolutely. I had no crashes, no restarts and the phone seems to be as smooth as I remember when I tested another model in 2014.

Amount paid: £ 50 ($ 60, AU $ 95)

Originally published: September 2015

Buyed by: eBay, private seller

Announced condition: “Used – condition is excellent”

It’s on: Little wear on the rubber base material of the phone, otherwise no significant traces worth mentioning. The screen is scratch-free and works well.

However, the battery seems to have serious problems. The phone was shut down several times without warning, even though the battery level is over 50%. The phone will blink an empty battery icon and won’t turn on until it is connected to a power source. At this point the same battery level would be displayed (over 50%) and I could restart the phone. On other occasions, it was only turned on to be shut down immediately.

I trust him
No. It’s difficult to determine whether the issues I’ve seen so far are related to an aging battery (which would be expected to a certain extent on a six-year-old phone) or some other issue. Regardless, shutting down the phone like this is a big problem, and I would not like to use it without knowing if it will exit without warning.

It’s a shame that the “Pure Edition” Android of the Moto X – a reduced version of the operating system – works extremely smoothly for such an old device, with no noticeable delay when swiping. This phone is not considered “excellent” and I will try to return it for a refund – check out this area.

Amount paid: £ 75 ($ 95, AU $ 145)

Originally published: September 2014

Buyed by: eBay, renovation company

Announced condition: “Class B: Good Condition – The case may have slight scratches and scratches. There may be signs of scratches on the screen that may have been picked up from everyday use.”

It’s on: Almost no visible wear and tear on the body or on the display of the phone. Comed with a pre-applied screen protector. However, the battery has aged. The phone was shutdown without warning and the following message was displayed when restarting:

“This iPhone shutdown unexpectedly because the battery couldn’t deliver the peak power required. Power management was used to prevent this from happening again.”

I trust him
Not really. The warning message is a sign of an outdated battery. The result is that the phone’s performance is throttled to prevent further crashes. Or, in the settings, I could choose to endure more crashes without throttling performance. Neither is an ideal option.

The “Battery level” section in the phone’s settings says that the battery has a maximum capacity of 91% compared to new, which doesn’t seem too bad. However, the message “Unexpected shutdown” is repeated in the same settings menu.

My options would be to just settle in on the problem and continue with a throttled phone or trying to get the battery replaced by Apple or a third party. Apple is quoting a price of £ 49 ($ 49, AU $ 79) for the battery change, which costs a lot of money since the phone initially cost only £ 75.

Amount paid: £ 215 ($ 270, AU $ 415)

Originally published: April 2017

Buyed by: MusicMagpie

Announced condition: “Good – This product shows signs of wear, but has been fully tested and works perfectly.”

It’s on: Very small scratches on the display and a few small chips on the corners of the metal edge. The display itself is fully functional, as is the camera, the USB-C charging port and the headphone jack.

I trust him
During the first few hours on the phone, I found no problems with the handset. I would feel very comfortable using this as my main handheld.

What have I learned

As with everything, you get what you pay for. The Galaxy S8 works very well and offers the certainty of a 12-month warranty from MusicMagpie. But at £ 215 ($ 270) it was by far the most expensive in the bunch.

The Moto X was a big disappointment despite its low price of £ 50. It doesn’t work and I can’t use this phone as the main device. The iPhone’s battery problem lives up to the expectations of an older battery, and the phone will be perfectly usable for at least some time, albeit with reduced performance. Not bad for 75 pounds.

Neither the HTC One M8 nor the Galaxy S6 have shown any problems so far, and I’m looking forward to testing them further to see what you can get out of used phones at these prices.

When buying used phones yourself, keep in mind that there are advantages and disadvantages no matter how much you spend. An older phone will cost you less, but aged batteries and other potential hardware failures can cause you to not really get the bargain you hoped for.

It’s also important to keep in mind that these older phones don’t have current versions of Android on board. Not only does this mean that some new apps are not compatible with your phone, but the phones may not contain important security updates that could make you vulnerable.