I do like Apple products, very high quality and famous for reliability. At this time, I can buy an iPhone 6+ 64GB from Apple for $35/month for 24 months with 0% financing which doesn’t seem much for many people, but it’s for 2 years. The price of their products are pretty steep for me, I don’t want to make payments or bind to any contract of any sort. If I want to get a brand new iPhone 6 or 6+ @64GB (I think 16GB is made just to have a lower price option which is useless since the IOS already takes 7GB), cash price will be $649+tax = $712 or $822. iPad Air 2 64GB would be $599+tax = $657, that’s a lot of money for phones and gadgets.
Last year, I bought a brand new iPhone 6 64GB on Craigslist.org for $600 cash and it’s been doing very well still. I’m writing this post to show how I got my used Apple products on Craigslist.org.
“I had to kiss lots of Frogs to find my Prince or Princess” which every the case may be, and it’s true, but I did save quite a few bucks for my iPhone and iPad.
Craigslist.org is a website that people sell everything, even dealers advertise their products there too. There are flaky and legitimate sellers, it’s our job is to screen them and get the best one for our money. Then people will say “if it’s too risky and much work, why don’t you just buy a brand new one from Apple store”, yes, but I like the challenge and feeling great when I got a good one for a good price.
[title]Apple iCloud and IMEI Database[/title][body]
The most important thing with used Apple products is the iCloud lock.
Any Apple product is iCloud locked by the owner, the device is practically worthless regardless on how many websites claiming they could unlock the iCloud. That’s why Apple product is protected and great. So, if you haven’t lock your devices with iCloud, do it now. The amazing thing is many Apple users don’t lock their devices and don’t even have an Apple id.
For iPhone, another important thing is IMEI being blacklisted. If it’s blacklisted on one carrier, it may be blacklisted on all carriers when time comes, and you can’t use the phone function at all, it will just be an expensive iPod Touch if the iCloud is NOT locked. So, without IMEI number – NO Deal!!!.
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[title2]Know and Set A Price That Makes Sense To Buy[/title2][body2]
I wanted to buy an iPhone 6+ 64GB and an iPad Air 2 64GB for my wife. For an iPad Air 2, when it’s on sale at Best Buy, it was $474 brand new ($125 discount) and people are still selling used for $500 and $550 (either they’re not serious or just brain fade). I also check the Apple refurbished Website to see the prices (these devices come with 1 year warranty from Apple), other websites refurbished don’t even come close? BTW, I prefer original Apple devices over the refurbished ones. When it’s opened already, it won’t be as solid as the one made from the factory.
So, for an iPad Air 2 64GB full price is $657, I would buy $400 and iPhone 6+ 64GB $500-$550 if they’re from original owners or well kept, with at least 4 months of Apple warranty, the best is if it has AppleCare Plus associated with it. Applecare+ is better than original warranty because it does cover accidental occurrences (2), although you have to pay $79 for deductible, but god knows how often we drop our devices and break them.
The most important thing is make sure these devices are really what you want to have, ask yourself a question “why do I buy it? what do I use with it?” Many people bought Apple products because they’re nice and trendy, but after spending tons of money at let it sit around for months, Apple Watch? At least you can wear an look sporty or hip?
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[title1]Actual Work On Screening Craigslist Ads[/title1][body1]
iPad Air 2 64GB.
iPad Air 2 is the newest, which is different from iPad 2 (older iPad) so read the ads carefully, if it’s too cheap, it’s an iPad 2. There are 2 types of iPad Air 2: Wifi and Wifi and Cellular, I think the latter one is useless since all phones have hotspot capability unless you have to pay more for it. For my T-Mobile, it’s free and unlimited. For those who want to use iPad for graphics, iPad Air 2 has new screen and it’s not compatible with many stylus out there, better off get the iPad Air 1st generation. BTW, iPad mini is little one. So, I found one owner with 4 months left on the warranty iPad Air 2, with original box, receipt and an $80 leather cover for $385. The iPad was like new. One good thing about buying used is we can get something else included in the price.
iPhone 6 Plus 64GB
Avoid all ads that look too good to be true and stay away from people ask to email to xxx@gmail.com, they just want to get your email or phone # and spam you later. The average iPhone 6+ 64GB at this time is $400-$550. Some don’t have box or chargers, although we could buy them very inexpensively for under $40, but I rather to pay more for a good one with warranty and original charger. The best is to buy the phone unlocked which means we can use with any carrier instead of being locked to one carrier. Make sure the one for our carrier is working. Make sure the people who sell these phones are legitimate, honest. Many phones are sold, the phone is cleared at the time of purchase, then later (can be months) be blacklisted due to being reported stolen. If there’s no history of the phone, just skip. Again, it’s more than luck to find a nice and legitimate owner, research and communication. There are many iPhone “gift” sold on Craigslist, even gifted phone should have history and original receipts. I found one iPhone 6+ 64GB for $550 with Applecare+ good until October 2016. Yes, I did pay more, but the phone is like new with everything original, not refurbished with 9 months peace of mind. BTW, the warranty goes with the phone, not the owner. We have a preteen daughter, she will have my iPhone 6 in a few years and I’m sure my phone would last that long, it’s an iPhone.
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When we get our phone, we need to set it up.
Cheers and good luck,