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Did I scam this guy?

I don't think you scammed anyone. Sometimes you get good deals on CL. It's the responsibility of the seller to research and set the price he wants to sell it out. This could have been the kids first sale of such an item and in this case he lost the bargaining battle, lesson learn, life lesson, blah blah blah....

You got a good deal, end of story.
 
A.Nonymous said:
Long story short, I bought a phone off a kid and I'm feeling kind of bad about it as I think I may have completely scammed him without meaning to. I looked on ebay, but can't find any phones with the same accessories to really compare the price to and see if I gave him a fair deal.

Basically, I wanted a Rezound so I could play around with it and see if I can get it work for me before committing to it as a daily driver. On ebay, they go for $300-400 in box with all the accessories. Brand new is on the higher end of that, used on the lower end.

The phone I bought did not come with the Beats headphones, the box, or even a charger. I got the phone and the 16 gb SD card that came with it. That's it. The phone has a screen protector on it if that makes any difference.

I bought it from a kid (15-17 I would say) who was asking $280 for it on CL. I offered $200. He countered with $250 and we settled on $225. Is this a fair price? or just a bargain? If this was your kid who sold the phone for that price would you think he was scammed?
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Was this in middle school or something? Down to whatever the kid wants isn't it? Was he happy with the deal at the time?
 
Sounds like you were both satisfied by the transaction, as long as both people are happy post deal, then the word "scam" no longer matters.
 
Mostly Harmless said:
I don't think you scammed anyone. Sometimes you get good deals on CL. It's the responsibility of the seller to research and set the price he wants to sell it out. This could have been the kids first sale of such an item and in this case he lost the bargaining battle, lesson learn, life lesson, blah blah blah....

You got a good deal, end of story.
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This.
 
Maybe next time you can try Swappa when buying/selling an Android phone.
All their Sellers phones have to meet the criteria/standards the site has...

http://www.androidguys.com/2012/03/05/swappa-a-great-place-for-buying-and-selling-android-devices/

This alone is enough for me...

How is Swappa different?

Swappa does not allow junk devices (e.g. no bad ESNs, no cracked screens, no water damage). All listings on Swappa meet the following criteria (according to the Seller):

All devices are fully functional All devices have clean ESNs (have not been reported lost or stolen) and are ready for activation All devices are free of water damage and screen cracks
 
A.Nonymous said:
!$#!#$ I hope that's not the case here. I haven't activated it yet as I'm working on rooting it and putting Cleanrom on it, but haven't had time yet to mess w/it.
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The first thing I do while buying a Craigslist phone that has an ESN is call the carrier right there and then to activate it onto my account.

If the ESN is not activated on your account, the previous owner could easily call it in as lost / stolen and you will be screwed.

But if you had called it in to have it activated, you're somewhat covered because you will have given notification to the carrier that you're buying this phone from the owner.
 
I think you did alright but i dont think you ripped him off. If he sold it cheap it is his fault.

I have a very similar story that might cheer you up.

Im a junior in high school and around march of last year one of my friends picked up the HTC inspire on contract for $100.
His family is very pro apple and when the iphone 4s came out he sold it so he could get the new iphone. He sold it for $170 and thought he was getting a great deal. I heard him bragging about how he ripped this dude off and sold it for 2 times what it is worth. I didnt tell my friend that he was the one getting ripped off because i think it is funny to see ignorant people screwing themselves over

This really goes to show that most kids dont do their homework. This kid could have easily thought he was taking you to the cleaners because he knows his parents only paid $100 and thought that he could get a cool $200 for free
 
AndroidSPCS said:
The first thing I do while buying a Craigslist phone that has an ESN is call the carrier right there and then to activate it onto my account.

If the ESN is not activated on your account, the previous owner could easily call it in as lost / stolen and you will be screwed.

But if you had called it in to have it activated, you're somewhat covered because you will have given notification to the carrier that you're buying this phone from the owner.
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That's good advice. I was able to get it activated without any issues. Whether I'll be able to work out the issues w/battery life or not enough to make me keep it is another issue.
 
I could never buy a used phone from anyone. I guess I have germ issues, I would be afraid of where that phone has been, what it touched and what touched it. I take my phone everywhere... including the bathroom. You can never clean a phone well enough for me.
 
Hey, I'm the kid who sold you the phone and I told my parents that you scammed me. They insist that you send the phone back to me. And since I already spent the money at the food court for dinner with all my buddies, you're SOL.
 
caterham09 said:
This really goes to show that most kids dont do their homework. This kid could have easily thought he was taking you to the cleaners because he knows his parents only paid $100 and thought that he could get a cool $200 for free
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Well, we know you'll do your homework, right Caterham? ;)
 
A.Nonymous said:
That I don't buy. My brother is under 18 and does stuff like this all the time. He gets an upgrade and goes out and buys the greatest phone his carrier has to offer. Then he switches back to his old phone and sell the new one for 2-3 times what the upgrade cost. He does this with his phone and my parents phones. They don't want a smart phone. They're eligible for an upgrade he gets them a smart phone, then sells it and cancels the data plan. I think he splits the money with them, but I'm not sure.
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What you think inst necessarily what the law states. Minors cannot commit to a deal.
 
In most jurisdictions, an infant can enforce a contract if he wants it and he can void it if he does not want it. A parent cannot enter into a contract enforceable against the infant (if the parent wants to to enter into the contract on behalf of the infant they can do so, but in that case the contract is enforceable against the parent not the infant). Usually, only a court can enter into a contract which is enforceable against the infant. I can't recall but once the contract has been completed, it may be too late to rescind it (eg. kid orders and eats a hamburger, and then wants his money back). Each jurisdiction may have different infant laws.

Just remember that one still needs to go to a court to enforce each respective right. So if this infant sold you a phone and then wants his money back and you refuse to give it back, he would still need to go to court to enforce his right, if any.
 
In my opinion you did not scam him, nor did anyone get ripped off. The price you paid for that phone seems about right. And I'm sure the deal was cash so doesn't matter anyways. And the child won't blab it to his parents and if he does, how can they get in contact with you anyways? A phone call? Don't worry about it.
 
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