# How does an iPhone sell for $1000+? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 17, 2010, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-an-iphone-sell-for-1000/554144 "2010-09-17T23:12:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Evil\_Prince\_Zorte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@The\_Evil\_Prince\_Zorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Evil_Prince_Zorte)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-an-iphone-sell-for-1000/554144/1 "2010-09-17T23:12:16Z")
I’m looking into financing my iPhone upgrade by selling the old one on Ebay and ran across these completed listings- (you may need to have an account and log in to see them) [$1225](http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=260663716155) One bidder jumped it from $300 to $1200, and another bidder bumped to $1225. [$1009](http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=270632232207) A bidder bumped it from $349 to $999 and a new bidder won with $1009 [$1925](http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=280561945879) Crazy Bidder #1 jumps it from $400 to $900, Crazy Bidder #2 bids $1900, and #1 comes back to win at $1925. There is nothing unique about these listings, only one ships worldwide, they all use Paypal. Some high priced sales look like people trying to cancel their auction. There is one bid for a ridiculous amount, and the item gets relisted. These examples have more than one bidder boosting the price. If these are scams, what kind would it be? Can they still do the “I pay $1000 over the price and you send me the difference” scam with Paypal? ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-an-iphone-sell-for-1000/554144/2 "2010-09-17T23:42:27Z")
I guess it is for people who want a “jailbroken” iPhone but cannot figure out how to do it. That the phones have Cydia on them is the clue. No way you can get Cydia on an iPhone unless it is Jailbroken. And generally that means you can put anyone’s GSM SIM in it and use it anywhere in the world. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Evil\_Prince\_Zorte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@The\_Evil\_Prince\_Zorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Evil_Prince_Zorte)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2010, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-an-iphone-sell-for-1000/554144/3 "2010-09-18T00:12:41Z")
Jailbreak and Unlock is easy to do, and those phones run $350 to $400. Phones that are brand new, factory unlocked, or still under warranty might get $500-550. These prices are for 16GB 3GS. I’ve seen a couple go to $800, which looked like people that just ran the bidding too high and couldn’t seem to let it go and catch the next auction. These $1000+ auctions are something different. The bidding approaches market value, and then someone comes in at $500 more. Actually now that I think of it, if you want to back out of an auction that already has bids, would you need 2 sock puppets? One to make a giant max bid, and another to force it to appear? ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2010, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-an-iphone-sell-for-1000/554144/4 "2010-09-18T07:48:30Z")
As other have implied, bids that go over market value are probably ‘friend’ accounts of the lister, which try to get the bid up past a reasonable level. If their bluff gets called, they just relist. Definitely list yours on ebay or whatever, but don’t expect it to list above market value unless it’s jail broken and also you have your wife bidding on it. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2010, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-an-iphone-sell-for-1000/554144/5 "2010-09-18T22:29:52Z")
Those winning bids are from people with low to no feedback. They are probably not legit–the bidders have no intention on paying. Notice how the high feedback bids end at a reasonable level. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2010, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-an-iphone-sell-for-1000/554144/6 "2010-09-18T22:38:32Z")
> [@The\_Evil\_Prince\_Zorte](#): > > Actually now that I think of it, if you want to back out of an auction that already has bids, would you need 2 sock puppets? One to make a giant max bid, and another to force it to appear? Not really. They can’t win unless they exceed the sock puppet’s max bid. Example: Current top bid by Joe: $100 Sock puppet bids $9999. Current top bid by sock puppet: $120 Joe bids $140. Current top bid (automatic) by sock puppet: $160. Joe bids $400. Current top bid (automatic) by sock puppet: $420. Etc. ---
**Author:** ![Hero\_From\_Sector\_7G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@Hero\_From\_Sector\_7G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hero_From_Sector_7G)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2010, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-an-iphone-sell-for-1000/554144/7 "2010-09-18T23:21:04Z")
Scammer 1: Bid $100 Scammer’s Sock: Bid $9999 —Wait— 5 Seconds before auction end retract Sock bid. Scammer “wins” auction with crazy low bid. ---
**Author:** ![Cleophus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@Cleophus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cleophus)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2010, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-an-iphone-sell-for-1000/554144/8 "2010-09-19T04:16:14Z")
> [@Hero\_From\_Sector\_7G](#): > > Scammer 1: Bid $100 > Scammer’s Sock: Bid $9999 > —Wait— > 5 Seconds before auction end retract Sock bid. > Scammer “wins” auction with crazy low bid. eBay doesn’t work like that. Bidding for a given price doesn’t automatically raise the auction price to the bid price. That is why all the examples given by the OP have two throwaway accounts bidding at the top end: one to enter the high maximum and the other to invoke it with an incrementally higher bid. In the example you gave, what would actually happen is the $9999 bid would cause the current item price to become $102.50, the next highest bid increment. Other people would continue to bid on the phone, of course, and eBay would continue to bid on behalf of the shill up to the maximum bid of $9999. When the shill goes to retract the bid, the auction would go to the next highest bidder, not the scammer with the original low bid. In the OP’s examples, what probably happened is the winning bidder planned on scamming the seller through PayPal by paying with stolen funds, claiming the item never arrived, or trying to send a phishing email ahead of the real auction closure notices. PayPal fraud is particularly easy if the phone is to be shipped internationally. On PayPal, Seller Protection only applies if the item is shipped to a confirmed address. That is not available internationally. As an aside, shill bidding on eBay is very rare. There was [a thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=573819&highlight=ebay+shill) about it recently - the upshot is that it’s easy to catch and not worth the payoff to try. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2010, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-an-iphone-sell-for-1000/554144/9 "2010-09-19T15:55:20Z")
Could be money laundering. A way between two people to make a lot of stolen money or drug money appear legit through a sale ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2010, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-an-iphone-sell-for-1000/554144/10 "2010-09-19T20:34:24Z")
> [@JKilez](#): > > Those winning bids are from people with low to no feedback. They are probably not legit–the bidders have no intention on paying. Notice how the high feedback bids end at a reasonable level. Yep, this is probably it. Someone tried the same thing with me a couple of years back with a Dell Axim PDA I was selling. Paid well over the odds - zero bidder with an address registered in Malta, but the shipping address was Nigeria :rolleyes: I received what appeared to be a paypal confirmation email, complete with some guff about how there was scheduled maintenance so the money might not show on my account for a day or two but this email was confirmation that the payment had gone through. I would imagine with those iPhones that an invoice is sent to the top bidder, who responds with a faked paypal confirmation email in the hope that the seller will ship promptly before they notice the cash isn’t in their account. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2010, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-an-iphone-sell-for-1000/554144/11 "2010-09-19T21:30:27Z")
> [@The\_Evil\_Prince\_Zorte](#): > > Jailbreak and Unlock is easy to do, and those phones run $350 to $400. Phones that are brand new, factory unlocked, or still under warranty might get $500-550. I guess I should go look at eBay. The _best_ price I’ve even been able to consider buying a factory unlocked iPhone at was about $1,000, directly from a foreign Apple store (say, The Netherlands or apparently now in Canada). ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-an-iphone-sell-for-1000/554144/12 "2010-09-20T00:34:08Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > > [@The\_Evil\_Prince\_Zorte](#): > > > > Jailbreak and Unlock is easy to do, and those phones run $350 to $400. Phones that are brand new, factory unlocked, or still under warranty might get $500-550. > > I guess I should go look at eBay. The _best_ price I’ve even been able to consider buying a factory unlocked iPhone at was about $1,000, directly from a foreign Apple store (say, The Netherlands or apparently now in Canada). Unlocked Canadian 4’s go for $659 or $779 depending on storage. This is, of course, less in US dollars. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-an-iphone-sell-for-1000/554144/13 "2010-09-20T06:47:15Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > > [@The\_Evil\_Prince\_Zorte](#): > > > > Jailbreak and Unlock is easy to do, and those phones run $350 to $400. Phones that are brand new, factory unlocked, or still under warranty might get $500-550. > > I guess I should go look at eBay. The _best_ price I’ve even been able to consider buying a factory unlocked iPhone at was about $1,000, directly from a foreign Apple store (say, The Netherlands or apparently now in Canada). No wonder there is a shortage of 4’s in Canada , if some of the Apple stores are holding back shipments to sell online. Declan ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-an-iphone-sell-for-1000/554144/14 "2010-09-20T13:37:07Z")
> [@kushiel](#): > > > [@Balthisar](#): > > > > I guess I should go look at eBay. The _best_ price I’ve even been able to consider buying a factory unlocked iPhone at was about $1,000, directly from a foreign Apple store (say, The Netherlands or apparently now in Canada). > > Unlocked Canadian 4’s go for $659 or $779 depending on storage. This is, of course, less in US dollars. I admit I’ve not checked pricing in Canada. Is that a non-contract price? The Belgium example was without a contract, so that may be part of it. If it’s contract-free, I foresee a visit to Sarnia in my near future… ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-an-iphone-sell-for-1000/554144/15 "2010-09-20T15:15:39Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > > [@kushiel](#): > > > > Unlocked Canadian 4’s go for $659 or $779 depending on storage. This is, of course, less in US dollars. > > I admit I’ve not checked pricing in Canada. Is that a non-contract price? The Belgium example was without a contract, so that may be part of it. If it’s contract-free, I foresee a visit to Sarnia in my near future… Unlocked = can take to any carrier. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-an-iphone-sell-for-1000/554144/16 "2010-09-20T16:29:19Z")
> [@kushiel](#): > > > [@Balthisar](#): > > > > I admit I’ve not checked pricing in Canada. Is that a non-contract price? The Belgium example was without a contract, so that may be part of it. If it’s contract-free, I foresee a visit to Sarnia in my near future… > > Unlocked = can take to any carrier. But unlocked \<\> unsubsidized (necessarily). Meaning you’re stuck in a two-year contract with Rogers, even if you go to another carrier. Although I finally just overcame my laziness and looked it up, and it looks like Apple directly sells them contract free. So instead of Rogers in Sarnia, it looks like I’ll have to contemplate a trip to wherever the closest Apple store is (probably the GTA).