If you are in market looking for flagship you need to pay nearly 30K to 60K for an Android flagship and for iPhones upto 90K. But if you want to save money or under a tight budget then you need to think twice before spending that huge amount for an flagship or even an mid range smartphone. You can consider an Used phone as affordable prices than shelling out a big hole for the same smartphone.
Where you can save money and also gets extra accessories which seller used with the smartphone for free ( it depends upon user to user, some user give extra accessories & some may not).
The websites which might help you for buying used smartphone is OLX & Quikr.
Here are the some tips which might help you while buying an used smartphone.
#1. Smartphone details: If you are buying a specific smartphone or you have no idea about specification then just a basic Google search by typing the Model name or Model number will give you the details about the specs and even the pricing details for the unused smartphone. If it is not launched in India and the seller is selling it then you need to compare prices from eBay or just a Google search will also get the pricing details.
#2.Condition of the Smartphone: Price depends upon the condition of the used smartphone.If the condition is not so good or average try to negotiate by Rs.500 to Rs.1000. If the condition is below average then try to negotiate beyond Rs.1000 and if screen is damaged or broken then please don’t buy it you will be in huge loss as replacing a smartphone screen in India is very costly as the service center must import the display from other countries and even it takes lot of time and even money. And some seller may fool you by telling for free they will replace the display which is not true maximum of the smartphone manufacturer will not consider screen damage or broken display under warranty as it will be broken by the user and company will not provide warranty for replacement of display.So before buy please ignore such ads placed by seller and buy only the good or below average smartphone without any damage to the screen.
#3. Check all the connectivity options are working: Many buyers just forget to check the features like Bluetooth, Wifi, GPS,speaker,Vibration & Call quality as they think it will be working after buying it they will come to know that Bluetooth or Wifi is not working properly. So you need to check this in order to save your money and even you can negotiate if anyone of the feature is not working.There are few apps which might help you in finding the defects if the used smartphone has. Here is one app called Phone Tester or CPU Hardware and System info which is for Android.For iPhone there is no such app but better you check it manually & please don’t forget to check the silent key which will be dead in most of the used iPhones which are more than 2-3 years old and even the touch will be not so smooth so better check the touch by browsing the web.
#4. Meet the Seller at safe location: I have a bad experience while purchasing used smartphone via OLX & Quikr as most of the seller will choose their own location and call you to come to pick the phone an sometimes the smartphone will have some issues which seller did not mention in add and even he didn’t tell about it on call but after going to there location we come to know about the issue and seller denies to sell for cheap price or after reaching his location he sells to another person without informing, so it is better to call the seller at mid point of both seller and buyer location where there is CCTV which is plus if the seller sells you stolen smartphone or he simply pick your cash and runaway.It is always better to take your friend or elder with you while buying used smartphones.It is better to meet in the mall nearby than meeting on the streets or roads.
#5. Negotiating: Check if seller has bill, box and all the accessories which came with the smartphone when he purchased.It is better to buy used smartphone which is under warranty than buying non warranty smartphone. If seller doesn’t have the bill and tells you that the phone is under warranty then don’t believe him as no bill means no warranty for any Android smartphone.If it is iPhone then you can check the warranty status by just entering the IMEI number and will also get the purchase dates with also iCloud is locked or unlocked even carrier details.You can also check the details from Apple website by entering the serial number.If the seller is not providing Charger or earphone then try to reduce the price by Rs.500 for Android charger or earphones and Rs.1000 for iPhone charger or earpods.Even if box is missing then to reduce the price upto Rs.500. If the seller only have phone and nothing then please always ask for and valid Photo ID proof as if in case it is stolen phone then you can show that to the police or the real owner that I purchased it from this person.
Last but not the least always save the contact details of the seller if any issues comes in the smartphone or anything else you can try to contact him for help.
Hope this article will help you to save money and also help you to buy used smartphone at affordable prices.
