Gazelle has long been a popular choice for conveniently turning a used iPhone or iPad into cash, and today the electronics trade-in service announced its own certified pre-owned store for buying “gently used devices” at a discounted price. While the pre-owned store lists categories including iPhone, cell phones, iPads, and tablets, Gazelle inventory is currently limited to pre-owned Apple devices including iPhone 4 and up, iPad 2 and up, and iPad mini.
The benefits of Gazelle’s certified pre-owned devices include a “30-point quality inspection” and a 30 day return period with devices starting at $159. This varies from Gazelle’s existing eBay store, which lists devices for purchase with a 14 day return period and potential 20% restocking fee.
Gazelle’s pre-owened store currently lists the iPhone 4 from $159, iPhone 4s from $219, iPhone 5 from $274, and iPhone 5s from $379 with AT&T, Verizon, and unlocked models as in stock. On the tablet side Gazelle currently lists the iPad 2 from $249, iPad 3 from $309, iPad 4 from $339, and iPad mini from $239. These vary in storage capacity and color, but cellular models are currently not stocked.
Be sure to price check diligently before purchasing from Gazelle. We’ve tracked better deals at 9to5Toys for several of the same products. For example, we had the iPad mini for $200 brand new (Gazelle charges $239 for used) and a certified refurbished iPhone 5 (unlocked) with a one year warranty for $330 (Gazelle charges $334 for ‘like new’).
You can check out the new Gazelle pre-owned store here, and our own 9to5Toys.com for additional deals.
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I’ve been buying from Gazelle on eBay for a long time. Great service. Hopefully doing this instead of using eBay will keep costs down for them and prices down for us.
But are they running iOS 6? Can’t imagine they would be, so thanks but no thanks.
How’s 2012 treating you?
would you like iTunes on a floppy disk with it?
Time to list my 4S for 218 on craigslist! Thanks Gazelle!
i’d rather buy a refurb from apple store
apple store doesn’t sell refurbished iPhones
Apple sell their refurbished iPhones (with 1 year warranty) on their eBay page
tl;dr Phones sold by Gazelle can still be blacklisted.
I purchased two iphone 5’s from Gazelle last December 2013, for a Christmas gift for my mother-in-law and one for my wife.
A few days ago, my mother-in-law contacted me to tell me the phone was no longer receiving service.
After trying everything I could find about fixing it, I finally contacted T-Mobile, and discovered that the phone’s IMEI has just been blocked due to non-payment by the original owner(!)
Just to clarify, this phone has been in daily use since Xmas Day 2013 (~11 mos)!
The T-Mobile rep told me that the original owner had been making payments all this time, but recently closed their account, and were sent a final bill. The bill was 10 days past due and at that time T-Mobile automatically blacklists the IMEI.
I bought these phones specifically from gazelle and paid more for them as a result, as I believed they were essentially guaranteed against this sort of thing.
I even contacted them before my purchase asking them if their phones were checked:
“Thank you for your interest! We do test all items to confirm availability for activation by you upon receipt. Unless otherwise noted in the listing, this item has been tested and is clear.”
It turns out, this doesn’t mean the device will remain that way after you receive it. An important fact that they continue to omit in their eBay listings.
I contacted their support yesterday and was told that the unit is outside of their 30-day return window and they can not help me further.
As far as I’m concerned, they didn’t actually sell me anything. They sold a device that still had a lien against it, and now that it is blacklisted, I basically paid $400+ to rent it for the past 11 months. Technically, this iPhone is still the property of T-Mobile…
I’ve since opened a complaint with the BBB and am hopeful they will come to a resolution on this issue.
Moral of the story is: Don’t think that just because you’re buying from a bigger operation, that your phone is free and clear and ownership has been legally transferred to YOU.
As a matter of fact, you can even read Swappa’s TOS and you will find a very loose policy on blacklisted IMEI/ESN’s. They basically say you’re only recourse is PayPal’s 45-day dispute window.
Buying from these sites is really not any different than craigslist or a random seller on eBay.
Update: Just to follow up, I got into contact with a senior Gazelle representative through their Facebook page. They then offered me an exchange unit, which I happily accepted.
I received the exchange iPhone yesterday and my issue is now resolved to my relief and satisfaction.
I am happy to say that Gazelle came through and made things right for me in the end. They also told me they are working with carriers on new ways to determine if devices are still under contract and/or still financed, to avoid issues like mine down the road.
Be careful out there!
It is still cheaper to buy any iPhones from the Craigslist, – just make sure to check the IMEI number with your service provider over the phone or at your local store. This year I sold my AT&T iPhone 5s for $340 on CellCashier and then bought an almost new iPhone 6 on Craigslist for $520. You can not go wrong with Craigslist prices if you shop around for a few days!