Hello all

Gumtree is swamped with S4 Phones at the moment and they are down to around £225.

I have bought off the Gumtree before (meeting people at tube stations) and not had a problem but that is probably not a good idea,

What are dos and don't from buying from the Gumtree?

Many of Gumtree items are stolen.

Make sure you have full IDs of seller and verify their address.

I would try and find a sim free version with a reciept less chance of the phone being blocked after you bought it.

Thanks guys, I am going for one that is a little bit more but it is still in box with screen cover on that it came with. Sim free.

Picking it up from their house

Does SIM free really mean it's any less likely to be IMEI blocked if a seller decides to claim it as stolen under their insurance as seems a common trick these days?

bit like buying a car

go to there house if you can

That went OK, I ended up meeting at Wimbledon Station and she had paper work etc etc

Never been used, immaculate condition. I ended up paying £265 but that is fine with me

Oh dear. Why do people do this? Always go to the persons house. That way you see where they actually live, and if there's any problem, you can go back and "have a chat" with them.

The paperwork you saw, could still be rubbish.

Surely there is a risk that the 'seller' knows you are coming with a ton of cash (unless it's a cheque which I assume wouldn't happen) and just rob you. I wouldn't take the risk

Which, again, if you went to where they live, would make it easy to report to the police.

The paperwork was her passport and a couple of utility bills

Could've said that

I bought and sold things in all sorts of places and never had an issue so far:

Toughbook laptop at about £900... was on ebay but met at a B&Q car park and paid via paypal there and then with another laptop and internet connection

Sold a phone on ebay, delivered it to a guys office in London.

Bought a Galaxy Gear watch from Gumtree, met the guy at a tesco car park.

Suppose sometimes you have to use gut instinct as well.

Why do you think she was selling it?

Work gave it her for free or something but she wanted an iphone.

Met people off a forum i use a lot and met them in a carpark to buy a phone.
More recently on gumtree I bought my iphone5 from someone's house(no issues) and then went about 20 miles to get my misses iphone but again from their house.

Always go to their house, I mean let's face it, why wouldn't you want to do a genuine deal at your home? If it's legit then everyone's happy. I mean I understand if you were a young woman you wouldn't want a random bloke turning up though......

If i was to buy a phone from gumtree I would always go to there house.. if they want to meet in a carpark etc walk away.