Buying second-hand phones is an art, and I’ve been doing it since I was 13. In fact, my first phone was a used HTC Tattoo, and before I dedicated myself to testing mobile phones and was lucky enough to have loaner units, I replaced my phone almost every year. It wasn’t because I had extra money, it was because I was always buying second-hand bargains.

With the rise of apps like Wallapop, I became interested in buying and selling devices again. When a friend asks me for a mobile phone at a certain price, I don’t think of the current RRP, what comes to my mind is which is the best second-hand purchase. A mid-range model for 500 euros or a second-hand upper-class model for the same price? I understood clearly.

Unit quest

I will explain what my process is like in the process of searching for a second-hand mobile phone, from the filtering units to how I get along with the person and the checks I make. The app I use most is Wallapop. Milanuncios also has chat, number of units loaded, etc. There is, but purely for convenience (the interface is much friendlier) I started limiting myself to Wallapop only. This is one of my first keys: I want to spend as little time as possible searching, and using just one app helps.

When I go to buy a second-hand cell phone, I always limit the search to an area of ​​about 100 kilometers. Because? There is often no cell phone worth more than an hour’s drive. If I’m looking for a specific top unit and the best unit isn’t in my area, I’m not afraid to go too far. The most comfortable option is to limit the radius to around 20 kilometers and search only within our city, but we are reducing the number of options.

Once the filter is in place it is time to search for units. Here, even before looking at his situation, The most important thing for me is the seller. We’re all new, but I’m really sorry, I only buy from (very) reputable sellers. Wallapop has become such a widespread giant that today it is very easy to find profiles with more than 30-40 sales. If they’re all five stars (and we verify one by one that these are real profiles with action, not accounts created just to inflate the stars), that’s a good sign.

After verifying that the seller is trustworthy, I review the ad. Do you have a full explanation? It says a lot about the person selling it. Are the photos up to date or can we see in the launcher that the date is quite distant? This may indicate that the phone has not been sold for a long time.

If everything goes well, it’s time to talk to the seller. This is usually where I ask for the phone number so send me photos and videos From Whatsapp. I am the first person who does not give my phone number to anyone, and I directly warn that if the product is cheap, I will not give it to anyone. However, I find it consistent to communicate a little closer for products with a certain cost. I had no problems with this as I have a good profile that offers extra confidence.

stay with the person

We have already examined the product, talked to the seller, agreed on the price… now it’s time to meet. One important point that I always ask before doing this: I ask the seller do not format the phone. I want to be able to test everything without doing the initial configuration.

The rules to follow when choosing a location here are simple: There must be cameras nearby. We don’t know if we can access them, we don’t know what they’re recording (and whether they’re actually recording), but generally speaking, someone whose intentions aren’t the best is reluctant to stay in crowded areas. record. If this happens, he won’t be the one I buy the phone from.

We have the place, we have the person, and we have the phone. What should you pay attention to when buying a second-hand phone?

• Overview and cleaning. Not all sellers are the same but in general being handed a freshly disinfected mobile phone (wipe with alcohol within two minutes) is a good sign. We watch for scratches and dents (necessary to reduce the price if there is any undisclosed damage).
• We introduce our SIM card. It is tedious and takes some time, but inserting the SIM card is important. First we will check if the phone is properly connected to different 4G/5G networks then we will call and ask them to call us. It’s surprising to see how many mobile phones work perfectly, you insert the SIM and… “Well, I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”.
• We test the hardware. Checking the hardware is relatively simple if we follow certain guidelines. It is good to examine the panel from the settings or with a uniform background to see if there are any irregularities in the pixels. We can control the volume by increasing the volume to maximum during the call. It is checked using the camera and making sure there are no scratches on the lens (this is important, if the lens is scratched you may experience distortions when taking photos) and we will also look at the battery from time to time while testing. telephone. If it drops faster than expected in the 5/10 minute test, something weird may be going on.

Once everything has been checked, all that remains is to make the refund, keeping a very good eye on any strangers who might make the phone in the first days of use. If something does not suit us, we can always report it to the seller, and if there is no result, we can contact the support team of the second-hand application we use.

Image | Xataka

in Xataka | People are buying fewer and fewer new mobile phones. Sales of refurbished mobile phones are on the rise