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Cell Phones on ebay
Summary: jlivingst15701 purchased a phone described as 'new' from a seller on eBay. After attempting to activate it, they discovered it was flagged with theft security, indicating it was stolen. They contacted the seller but have not yet received a reply and are seeking advice on what to do next, as they discarded the box.
I made a purchase of a cell phone that said new in box, never activated. When I went to activate it I was told by total wireless I needed to have the store I purchased it from remove the theft security on it and they cant activate it until it's off. So in short, the phone was stolen from a store and sold on ebay. I have sent the seller 2 messages and I'm waiting for a reply. I have since thrown the box away so basically I'm stuck with a phone I cant do anything with. Any other suggestions?
ten_o_nine
MentorSep 17, 2026 at 3:05 AMEven if a seller writes "no returns" on their listing, eBay's Money Back Guarantee completely overrides their personal store policy when an item is counterfeit, broken, or in this case, stolen/un-activatable. eBay heavily protects buyers against scams like "point-of-sale (POS) tracking blocks" (where a phone isn't scanned at the register during a theft and remains locked).
File an "Item Not As Described" Case Immediately.