Disappointing Experience Buying “Excellent” and “Very Good” Condition iPhone 13 Minis on eBay – Any Recommendations?

trantonz on 08/11/2024 - 14:57
Last edited 08/11/2024 - 16:27

I recently had a frustrating experience trying to buy an iPhone 13 mini in good condition from eBay sellers, and I’m hoping to get some advice on finding a Brand new one.

First, I ordered an iPhone 13 mini in “Very Good” condition from perfect_preowned on eBay. The device I received was nowhere near “Acceptable” condition, let alone “Very Good.” The battery health was at 80%, and the overall quality was disappointing. I’ve returned it and am now waiting on a refund.

After that, I bought an iPhone 13 mini 256GB in Green, labeled “Excellent” condition, from GreenGadgets. This one was even worse. The battery health was also at 80%, and the phone had too many scratches to count. The camera lenses had visible scratches with silver rings around them, and the back glass was covered in hairline scratches—far from “Excellent” condition.

Honestly, it feels like these iPhones were previously owned by people who weren’t aware of the existence of phone cases! If a case had been used, there’s no way they would have gotten this scratched up.

Does anyone have recommendations for a reputable place to buy a Pristine Brand new condition iPhone 13 mini? I love the form factor and would really like to find one in great condition. Any help would be much appreciated!

Mobile Apple Mobile Phone

Related Stores

Perfect Preowned
Perfect Preowned
Green Gadgets
Green Gadgets

Comments

  • MS Paint on 08/11/2024 - 15:00
    +16

    Just pony up and buy a new one.

    It's the only way you will be truly happy by the sounds of it.

    • 6079 Smith on 08/11/2024 - 15:15

      The last 13 mini’s disappeared from shelves about 12 months ago

      • MS Paint on 08/11/2024 - 15:21

        There's some brand new iphone 13 minis on eBay in the mid $700's.

        OP seems happy to purchase via eBay.

        • trantonz on 08/11/2024 - 16:09
          +2

          They're definitely not brand new afaik.
          I read reviews online about those sellers and most of the time they sell phones that has been replaced with non genuine parts

    • trantonz on 08/11/2024 - 16:08

      I'm sorry I meant Brand new. I didn't know why I put Pristine condition.

    • eccaz on 08/11/2024 - 17:07

      Where can you buy a new 13 mini from?

      • trantonz on 08/11/2024 - 17:46

        There are plenty of these New/Brand new on eBay but I think their parts have been replaced with low quality, third party parts and then cleaned up to sell as brand new phones

  • djsweet on 08/11/2024 - 15:23

    Pristine? Just buy a new iPhone from the Apple store.
    I recently traded in my 1 year old iPhone and it was literally immaculate. No scratches. Screen protector and case since day 1. So someone is gonna buy that and be happy I'm sure. That was Mobile Monster. You could try them.

    • trantonz on 08/11/2024 - 16:09

      I meant Brand New. Apple don't sell 13 mini since last year

      • djsweet on 08/11/2024 - 16:12
        -2

        ugh does it have to be a 3 gen old mini version. Just go and buy yourself a nice shiny 16pro and be happy.

        • trantonz on 08/11/2024 - 16:14
          +3

          silly me I know. I'm just one of those people who appreciate that form factor.

  • jv on 08/11/2024 - 15:31
    +2

    finding a truly “Pristine” one.

    Try instore so you can see it before you buy.

    Phonebot has a store.

    or buy from someone that accepts returns free of charge.

    • trantonz on 08/11/2024 - 16:23
      +1

      Yeah I might visit phonebot store tomorrow. Now I need to see it before hand over the money. Lesson learnt

      • jv on 08/11/2024 - 16:25

        Yeah I might visit phonebot store tomorrow.

        Call before you go because what is on the website is not always in the store. They have a warehouse were most of the stock is.

  • HopSkipJumpFallSplat on 08/11/2024 - 15:32
    +6

    Ebay sellers with lots of phones for sale that label phone's as Fair, Excellent and Pristine are troublesome, they completely exaggerate the condition, and don't show pictures of the actual phone you'll be receiving.

    If your not going to buy brand new, look for second hand sellers that are selling their own person phone and have plenty of pictures showing the condition, and they'll usually have a case included.

    • trantonz on 08/11/2024 - 16:10

      I don't think Apple's selling the iphone 13 mini anymore. I'm happy to pay RRP for it if it's brand new, sealed from Apple

  • freefall101 on 08/11/2024 - 15:43
    +1

    I bought an "as new" iPhone off ebay with 85% battery life and a small chip on the screen. They pointed me to their return policy and a small disclaimer on their website (not ebay) that phones are over 80%. Never again, I assume they just use the end user as quality control for them and keep reselling until one accepts it how it is.

    • trantonz on 08/11/2024 - 16:12
      +1

      From my recent experiences, that's the case with refurbished ebay sellers.
      From where I came from, no one would buy these phones in this condition. And I came from a third world country.

  • onetwothreefour on 08/11/2024 - 15:46
    +2

    I've bought a couple of phones from reebelo before and have had no issues. Actually got my eye on one for a Christmas present, just waiting to see what the black Friday sales bring.

    • trantonz on 08/11/2024 - 16:13

      How were the condition of those phones? Reebelo is also a marketplace so that's no better than places like ebay

      • onetwothreefour on 08/11/2024 - 16:47

        Actually it was just one phone I bought, was in "as new" condition. I bought it for my teen daughter so I don't really know much else other than 2 years later I am buying her a new one.

  • Meho2026 on 08/11/2024 - 16:21

    I have bought 2 excellent refurb iphones from the boost store, who I think sell for allegre. The last one, which is my current phone had 80% battery (the minimum they state) which I was initially disappointed in but its not been a problem, had it 18 months now

  • eccaz on 08/11/2024 - 17:13
    +1

    I’ve bought three 13 minis for family members over the last year, 1 on marketplace and 2 on eBay. I didn’t even bother looking at the businesses selling phones, condition is always exaggerated and their prices are high. You need to play the waiting game and search a few times a day because the good deals generally disappear within a few hours.

    • trantonz on 08/11/2024 - 17:43

      Thanks. Any recommendation on where to look for? I search on ebay regularly and it's flooded with phone selling businesses.

      • eccaz on 09/11/2024 - 00:34
        +1

        Search a few times and sort results by “Time newly listed”. If the seller hasn’t put up enough photos then ask for more, and always ask for the battery percentage and if there have been any modifications made to the phone. Give it a good looking over when you receive it as eBay effectively gives you a 1 month warranty.

  • Transient on 08/11/2024 - 22:35
    +1

    I bought an iphone mini 13 about a month ago from Loop mobile that was graded to be in pristine condition. I found the grading pretty accurate. Battery was 100%. I had Googled "iphone 13 mini pristine" and found several sellers but stock numbers vary a lot. YMMV. Good luck!

    • trantonz on 09/11/2024 - 14:23

      thank you. I actually have a 13 mini in "As New" condition from Loop Mobile in my eBay cart but I don't know if I should try my luck one more time.

  • Bilbo Barggains on 09/11/2024 - 09:17
    +2

    Sorry to hear that mate. I’ve never had any issues with green gadgets and have bought 3-4 phones off them.. I just recent got a 256gb 12 mini in excellent condition from eBay seller “Mobile World AU” and it looks absolutely brand new with 92% battery. Maybe just bad luck or maybe they’re just trying to move old stock.

    • trantonz on 09/11/2024 - 14:27

      I've seen an iphone 13 mini 256Gb Green on GreenGadgets listings with a "Good condition". It disappeared after couple of days on the listing, and then a listing for a iphone 13 mini 256Gb Green in "Excellent condition" popping up. I guess they (hopefully) made a mistake and it should have been listed as Good condition because it matches exactly their device condition description.

    • kmwa on 09/11/2024 - 15:35

      I had a good experience with Green Gadgets five months ago: iPhone SE (2020) 256GB Red Excellent $289.
      It came refurbished with a new battery.
      Very pleased with it.
      It had some scratches on the bezel round the camera lens, but at that price, I'm not whining.

  • 2esc on 09/11/2024 - 10:04

    The terms Excellent and Very Good standards i dont trust are the phones taken out of the box then returned immediately?

    • trantonz on 09/11/2024 - 14:30

      I reckon most of the time they come from people that don't use a phone case or rarely use a phone case. Hence these companies would pay pennies for the trade in and then make good enough profit on top.
      I would say I had better experience buying on facebook marketplace from regular people because regular people use phone cases. But at the moment buying on facebook marketplace is sketchy as

  • Dejaar on 09/11/2024 - 17:01

    Hi. I have gone thru the process of looking for samsung s20 on ebay and Amazon. Green Gadgets had ordinery reviews. I ended up buying a foreign variant s20 on ebay which is brand new. So far a month in it seems perfect…but I accepted that it was not covered by Aust Samsung warranty. I dont kno how apple works..if they have different variants for each country but if u find a cheap brand new one find out about it's Australian warranty status before u buy.
    I think 80% battery life is probably not too bad for a second hand ph.

  • hibijibis on 14/11/2024 - 02:33
    +1

    Its a shame the mini was discontinued!

    • Ghost47 on 15/11/2024 - 00:25

      SUVs have become super popular so it's no surprise to me large phones are more popular these days even though they are heavier and more unwieldy to use one-handed (if they can be used one-handed at all) compared to small phones. Just like the car market it sucks the direction the phone market has gone.

  • Ghost47 on 15/11/2024 - 00:02

    I reckon for something like this it's like you're searching for a rare collectible (only in the sense that an unopened/pristine iPhone 13 Mini isn't going to be a common thing), so you want to buy from a private seller and not a store that refurbishes them (if it has to be in pristine/brand new condition), you just need to keep your eye out and check FB Marketplace/eBay/Gumtree regularly until someone who has a BNIB one wants to part with it and puts it up for sale, although you'll also need to weed out any dodgy sellers.

    For instance I have a brand new 512 gb 13 Mini that I've been planning on replacing my iPhone 8 with. I've had it for a couple of years now and haven't opened it simply because I love Touch ID and I think Face ID sucks hard. I've contemplated getting a bigger phone due to some of the games I've been playing lately, but I still really like the form factor of the iPhone 13 Mini. I'm not trying to brag or whatever, I'm just saying that there might be other people out there doing the same as me but they might actually want an iPhone 15 or 16 now instead so they might look to sell their 13 Mini online somewhere.

    In saying that, if you do stumble upon one from a private seller it could cost multiple thousands of dollars, a quick eBay search shows people overseas selling them for $2,000 to $4,000). Do you honestly want to spend that much money on a 13 Mini? Because although I like smaller phones, I don't think I'd pay that for a BNIB 13 Mini so I'd just find one from a place like Boost mobile in "Excellent condition" and buy one from there because paying a few hundred or couple thousand dollars more to have a few less microscratches on the screen and back isn't worth it IMO. Someone else mentioned Boost above, I'm pretty sure their refurbs are quite decent and will actually reflect the level of newness that they assign to it.

    Oh, and someone else mentioned Reebelo. I know people who have bought Macs from Reebelo before and they were happy with the quality, so I would +1 them too.

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