Ten minutes that saves you the whole price
The short answer
Three checks matter more than everything else: set the phone up from scratch so an account lock cannot hide, put your own SIM in and make a call, and read the IMEI on the handset itself and check it. Everything after that is condition rather than whether the phone is usable at all.
The three that decide whether the phone is usable
If all three pass, the phone is legally and practically usable. Everything below is about what it is worth, which is a different question and a less painful one to get wrong.
- Set it up from scratch, in front of the sellerIf the device is still tied to somebody's account it asks for a password at exactly this point, and there is no way to hide it. A seller who will not let you do this is telling you something.
- Put your own SIM in and make a callSettles the network lock question in ten seconds. If it works, the phone is not locked to a carrier.
- Dial *#06# and check the IMEIOn the handset, not a number read out to you. Check it matches the SIM tray and the box, and run it through a free stolen-device check.
Then the condition checks
- Battery health and cycle count. Settings, Battery on most phones. Ask for a photo of it before you travel
- The screen, at an angle under a bright light, and with a plain white image to show marks and dead pixels
- The screen again with a plain black image in a dim room, which shows uneven backlighting and burn-in
- Touch across the whole panel, including the corners and the very edges
- Every camera, front and back, and each lens where there are several. Photograph something plain and look for haze
- Speakers, both of them, and the microphone with a voice note
- Every button, and the charging port with your own cable
- Face unlock or fingerprint, registered fresh, which also proves the biometric hardware is intact
Signs it has been repaired before
That is not automatically bad. A phone with a properly fitted new screen and a documented warranty can be a better buy than an original one with a tired battery. What matters is whether you were told.
The signs: a panel gap you can catch a fingernail in, adhesive squeezed out at an edge, screw heads that are burred, a screen colour that does not quite match the bezel, a rear camera that sits at a slight angle, and a phone that no longer sits flat.
Ask directly. A seller who says yes and produces a receipt is more trustworthy than one who says no on a phone with obvious evidence.
- Panel gaps or lifting at an edge
- Adhesive residue around the screen or the back
- Burred or mismatched screws
- A display whose colour or brightness looks slightly off against the bezel
- A parts notice in settings, which tells you a component was changed
- The phone rocking on a flat table, which is a swelling battery rather than a repair
Where to buy, and what a warranty is worth
A private sale is cheapest and carries no protection at all. Once the money is gone you have whatever you checked and nothing else, which is why the checks above matter most there.
A shop is dearer and comes with a warranty and someone to go back to. That difference is the whole reason the price gap exists, and whether it is worth paying depends on how confident you are with the list above.
Every device we sell has been through the account, IMEI and function checks on this page, and it carries a warranty. That is what you are paying the difference for.
Red flags worth walking away from
- A price meaningfully below the going rate. There is always a reason and it is rarely generosity
- A seller who will not let you set the phone up or put a SIM in
- An IMEI that does not match between the phone, the tray and the box
- "It just needs an iCloud unlock", which means the phone is not usable
- Meeting somewhere that makes checking awkward, in the dark, in a hurry
- No receipt and no willingness to write one
Common questions.
Set the phone up from scratch in front of the seller. An account lock asks for a password at exactly that point and cannot be hidden, and it is the one fault that makes a phone completely unusable.
Dial *#06# on the handset to get the IMEI, check it matches the SIM tray and the box, and run it through a free stolen-device check. Do it on the phone rather than trusting a number read out to you.
Somewhat, and it depends entirely on the repair. A properly fitted screen with a warranty behind it can make a phone a better buy than an unrepaired one with a tired battery. What matters is whether you were told.
Above 85 per cent is comfortable. Between 80 and 85 is usable and you should price a replacement into your offer. Below 80 the phone will be throttling itself, so treat the battery as a repair you are going to do.
It is if you would rather not do the checks on this page yourself. The gap buys you a warranty and somebody to go back to, which a private sale cannot offer at any price.
Where this leads.
Something actually broken? Bring it in.
Free diagnostic, a firm price before any work, and a 360-day warranty on every completed repair.
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