Hi there!

I was originally planning to buy an Ipad 2 to use the skritter iOS app on, seeing that they now sell for 3000 RMB here in China. However, upon further thought I came to the conclusion that an Iphone would fit my purposes much better. Since I want to be able to store some music and one or two movies on it my preference would be 16+ GB.

However, buying a new one for 5000 RMB would not be in line with my personal budget. Therefore I decided to see if I could find a second-hand one in China a bit cheaper. So I went to the electronics market.

When asking the shopkeepers if they sold second-hand Iphones they would either bring me a broken one, trying to pass it off as fully working, or they would give me their own phone and give me a lewd price :(

I am not a fan of Ebay but I know that its possible to buy a second-hand Iphone 4 16 GB from the US in acceptable condition for 300 dollars, including international shipping. So I have this as a relative benchmark. In fact I would be willing to pay as much as 3500 RMB for an Iphone here in China knowing this.

In the market that I went to I was only offered one phone for this price, but I did not buy it because I did not feel comfortable about whether or not I was getting scammed in some way. I thought that perhaps there was something wrong with it which I could not see. They did however try to assure me that it was a good deal by offer me their own 3 month warranty, but I have no idea if this is actually worth anything if something happens to it.

Being a foreigner in China and having been scammed before I would like to ask if somebody has some tips to give on how to go about buying a second-hand Iphone in China.

Thanks!!

Honest opinion: I'm not sure it's worth the effort and stress.

I'd either order from the US or save up for a new one.

Is an iPod touch an option?

Ebay has cost me a lot of time and stress..

Already tried to buy an Iphone from Ebay twice. First one the user had two sold items, and I should have known better than buying from him. I never received the phone and it took me one and a half month to get my money back. Second guy had more reputation but he still did not send the phone in the end. I might just be unlucky though.

About the Ipod touch, I havent really thought about it that much, but it is definately interesting and I apprecite you mentioned it. It is basically the same as an Iphone except I cant call with it? I would also like to have Pleco on it and be able to look up characters by writing them. Is this possible?

In that case I might go for one. They sell for 1500 new. I suppose there is little point in buying a second hand one right, or what do you think?

To the skitter team: Are there any limitations with using an Ipod touch with the iOS app compared to using an Iphone?

The limitation is you need to be online to add new words. That's it.

Pleco runs fine on it.

If it's an ipod, make sure it's the latest generation...

When I got my iPhone in China I used a Taobao seller with a sufficiently high reputation. No bargaining, standard price, no problems with the unit afterwards. Have a Chinese friend that is a Taobao addict (surely you have one!) give you a hand in finding a reputable seller.

You would have much better luck with used prices in the US or Hong Kong, based strictly on the respective taxes applied to new iPhones in China (which push up the price for used ones also).

@funchinese

There are no limitations for the iPod 4G, like all other apps (that don't need sms/calling/GPS abilities) the Skrit app is the same on both devices. For more info on the difference you can google iPhone 4 vs iPod 4G, there are some differences in specs and features. All I know is that the test app is running great on the iPod. Just an iPhone is the complete package which makes it hard to chose.

The iPhones have more horsepower, more memory, and a better camera. We're getting the Skritter app running smoothly on the iPod Touches, but it takes doing. It's possible that you'll see slightly better performance on the phone. But yeah, the iPod Touch 4th gen is a good way to go.

As Nick says, plus you want to keep in mind that the first year is a critical one for the iPod Touch. Due to its lower build quality, it would actually be better to buy a one year old one instead of a new one. At least you will know that it survived that first year. And do not worry about movies. You will be too busy learning Chinese. ;-)

Might be a good idea. The thing with buying second-hand Iphones is that there can be antenna problems and so on. Ipod Touch is a simpler product and is not as expensive as an Iphone, in other words I could buy one second hand and not feel as worried about getting scammed or that it would break. You can get one 32GB on Taobao for 1000:- but I prefer not to buy it online and have it sent.

I would buy one tomorrow, but I have no time then and on Monday it is 清明节 and I am not sure if shops are open... In worst case it will have to wait until Thursday next week.

Many thanks for all responses to my initial question. I think I came to a good decision in buying the Ipod Touch!