Worth the extra price?

[jmedina]

I want to buy a used blackberry and have been looking on ebay. I have two choices one only costs only $45 and the other one costs about $60. The first one is in average condition and the other one is in good condition. What would you get?

[TBOL3]

How much money do you have to spend?

[jmedina]

About $50. I think I am going to wait a few weeks to decide.

[damphoud]

I'm not sure which model you are looking at, how what kind of contract you are looking to get into. I have a 8703e for free on a 3 year contract with Telus Canada.

[TBOL3]

Waiting a week = good.

However, if you only have $50, isn't a no-brainier, you can't afford a $60 one, unless you wait and get more money? Anyway, I would do several things,

A. check out the sellors rating, get a feel of what they really mean by 'good'.

B. Check other sites. I cannot tell how many times I've seen someone selling their used and abused products they bought, for 10x more then the seller charges for a new product. And not only this, but the seller is still selling the product.

[jmedina]

Good idea I will wait a few weeks. Maybe if I wait a while I can get a better one.

[jmedina]

OK, this is a bad story. I finally have gotten one and the seller said there were minor scratches on the screen, but they are all over the screen. You can even see the scratches when the screen is on. Also, the end key is starting to come off. Would you return it?

[init1]

OK, this is a bad story. I finally have gotten one and the seller said there were minor scratches on the screen, but they are all over the screen. You can even see the scratches when the screen is on. Also, the end key is starting to come off. Would you return it?
Yeah, you might want to tell him that you weren't expecting the scratches to be so severe and that you would like to return it. Might be more trouble than its' worth though.

[jmedina]

I was just looking on ebay and found out that I can replace the screen lens and the keypad for only $18 with shipping. Which would be about the same amount to ship it back to him. Sadly, you have to take apart the whole phone. But, I found a Youtube video that shows you how to do it. I am going to keep this in mind.

[TBOL3]

Ouch, that hurts.

Well, if you feel adventures, then I would buy the parts, and try to put it together. Otherwise, I would probably give it back, and look for another deal.

Oh, and I haven't done much shopping on ebay, so it's difficult to compare, but I have had very positive experiences when shopping on amazon.

[jmedina]

Thanks TBOL3. The seller should have listed the problems. I am just so scared to open it because it will void my return policy. If you were in my position, what would you do?

[jmedina]

My seller agreed to pay for the parts:) It is going to take about 2 weeks to get since it is coming from Hong Kong. The fun part is going to be installation:(

[nkri]

Whoa, be VERY careful when taking it apart, unless you don't get near the circuit board and important hardware by taking off the screen and keyboard. One false move could completely break the phone and all the money and work would be wasted. On a happier note, it is very fun taking things apart and I wish you good luck with it, just be careful:)!

[jmedina]

Thank You! I sadly have to take out the motherboard to get to the screen and keypad. But, I e-mailed the link to the Youtube video to my seller and he even admits it looks easy. Also, I found a website and what I am going to be doing is a piece of cake to what some people have to do to their Blackberry 7100t. They showed how to solder a new USB port in. That I would be scared of:) Take a look at:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZMeKr9zwWDw
Tell me what you think.

[jmedina]

Yay. I got the parts today. I was expecting for them to come next week, but got them earlier then I thought. I am going to install them sometime this weekend. I need to still find an alternative to a case opener tool. But, I will go down to my hardware store and try to hunt one down. Wish me Luck!!!!!!!

[jmedina]

I installed the parts and it went great! It was a big pain to find the screwdriver, but I finally found one. Also, in the video they recommended to use a case opener tool. But, instead I used a putty knife which worked just as well. It turned out that the new keypad was defective. But, luckily the old keypad was not broken, it turned out that the END key just needed to be adjusted. I finally closed it up and one of the plastic parts was becoming loose. I noticed a small hair inside the lens.:mad: But, I promised myself that I am never going to open it up again. I can finally activate it!:)