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Hot tip: Don’t buy a Galaxy Note 7 on eBay today

Published Oct 11th, 2016 1:00PM EDT
Note 7 Recall
Image: eBay

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This morning, Samsung finally bit the bullet, stopped all sales of the Galaxy Note 7, and urged owners to power down their devices immediately. The next steps aren’t fully confirmed yet, but you can already exchange your Note 7 for a different phone at any of the major carriers.

Or, you could flog it for half price on eBay, if you feel so inclined.

DON’T MISS: The end of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 saga is really only the beginning

A quick browse of eBay’s completed listings shows that a number of Note 7 devices have been listed for sale in the past couple days. More worryingly, they’re actually selling pretty well. This Sprint Note 7 went for $450, which is a steal for a piece of electronics that retailed for $800. Conversely, it’s quite a lot of money for a one-use-only handwarmer.

If you have a Galaxy Note 7 and you (understandably) want to get rid of it for a phone that you can use, well done. Take it to the store where you bought it, and demand a refund.

If you bought it from Samsung online and you’re having trouble returning it (as a number of customers have reported), you’re better off powering the phone down, putting it in a box, and leaving it until Samsung sorts out a proper recall and refund policy, as we’re expecting to happen.

But if you’re looking for a good deal on a cheap smartphone, the Galaxy Note 7 is definitely not it. Even if you pick one up for well under retail price, there’s no guarantee that you, not the original owner, will be able to easily exchange it for a refund or alternative smartphone. Save yourself the time, hassle, and many bad eBay scams, and go get something else.

 

Chris Mills
Chris Mills News Editor

Chris Mills has been a news editor and writer for over 15 years, starting at Future Publishing, Gawker Media, and then BGR. He studied at McGill University in Quebec, Canada.