Buying a Phone on Facebook Marketplace, Jiji or eBay: Safety Checklist

Marketplaces are where the best used-phone deals live — and where most phone scams happen. Facebook Marketplace, Jiji and eBay each work differently: one is mostly local meet-ups, one is a classifieds site popular across Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana, and one is a shipping platform with buyer protection. The risks change with the platform, but the defense is the same: verify the seller, verify the phone, then pay.

This checklist covers all three, in the order you’ll actually use it — from the first message to the moment you walk away with the phone.

Know how each platform protects you (or doesn’t)

The key rule: local meet-up deals have little or no platform protection, so your checks are the protection. On eBay, buying through eBay’s own checkout keeps you eligible for the eBay Money Back Guarantee if the item doesn’t arrive or isn’t as described. The moment a seller asks you to pay by direct transfer, gift card or “friends and family” payment outside the platform, that protection is gone. Read each platform’s current safety rules in its help center, because terms change.

Vet the listing and the seller

Before you message anyone, spend two minutes on the listing itself:

• Photos: are they real photos of this phone, or stock images? Ask for a photo of the phone showing the *#06# screen next to a piece of paper with today’s date and your name.
• Price: compare with five similar listings. A price 30–50% below the market is how stolen, locked and fake phones get sold.
• Profile: on Facebook, look for an account with history, friends and a real location. On Jiji, check how long the seller has been registered and their feedback. On eBay, read recent feedback for phones specifically, not just total score.
• Story: “Selling because I got a gift”, “traveling tomorrow”, “many buyers waiting” are pressure lines, not reasons.

Check the IMEI before you travel

Ask the seller for the IMEI (or the serial on an iPhone). Genuine sellers share it; people selling locked or stolen phones often won’t. Then run three checks:

1. Identity: the All-in-one Basic Info check confirms model, color, storage and — for iPhones — Find My status. For Samsung, use the Samsung Info report.
2. Theft: a GSMA blacklist check shows whether the phone was reported lost or stolen. For US phones, add the USA blacklist / barred check.
3. Network: a carrier + SIM-lock check tells you if the phone is locked to a carrier — very common with US iPhones sold in Africa and Europe as “factory unlocked”.

Your first All-in-one check is free:

If the report doesn’t match the listing, ask the seller why. A wrong model, “Find My: ON” or a blacklisted result ends the conversation. Our guide on how to check if a phone is stolen explains each result in depth.

Meet safely and inspect properly

For local deals, choose the place yourself:

• A busy, well-lit public place — a mall, a bank lobby or a police station “safe exchange zone” where one exists.
• Daytime, and bring a friend. Tell someone where you’re going.
• Bring your own SIM card, a charger or power bank, and a pair of earphones.

At the meeting, inspect the phone in your own hands:

1. Dial *#06# and confirm the IMEI is the one you checked.
2. For iPhones, confirm Find My is off and watch the seller sign out of their Apple ID and erase the phone. For Android, watch them remove their Google and Samsung accounts and factory reset.
3. Insert your SIM, make a call and use mobile data.
4. Test the screen, cameras, speakers, buttons and charging.

The detailed tests are in our used iPhone checklist and used Samsung checklist.

Pay safely

• Cash: count it in a safe place, and only after the phone is in your hands and fully checked.
• Bank transfer: fine, but only once you’ve inspected the phone. Sellers: never accept a screenshot or SMS as proof — wait until the money shows in your banking app.
• eBay: always pay through eBay checkout. Never accept an invoice or payment link sent by message or email.
• Get a receipt: a short written note with the date, price, phone model, IMEI and the seller’s name and phone number. It costs nothing and helps if anything goes wrong.

If you’re buying on eBay or with shipping

You can’t inspect a shipped phone before paying, so lean on the IMEI and the platform:

• Ask for the IMEI before buying and run the checks above. Many good eBay sellers list the IMEI or a check result in the description.
• Read the listing for words like “iCloud locked”, “for parts”, “bad ESN”, “blacklisted” or “financed”. These are legal disclosures — the seller is telling you the phone may never work.
• When the phone arrives, record yourself unboxing it and check it the same day. Open a return quickly if it isn’t as described.

After you buy

Set the phone up with your own account, turn on Find My or Find My Device, and save the IMEI with your receipt. If the phone later turns out to be locked or blacklisted, report the listing to the platform and, for theft, contact the police with the IMEI and chat history. If you’re still unsure, run any specific report here:

Want to know the tricks to watch for? Read our list of common used-phone scams.

Quick checklist to save on your phone

1. Price within the normal range for the model and condition.
2. Seller profile with history; no deposit requested.
3. IMEI shared before meeting; identity, blacklist and carrier checks clean.
4. Public meeting place, daylight, a friend with you.
5. IMEI on screen matches the one you checked.
6. Accounts removed and phone reset in front of you.
7. Your SIM works; hardware tested.
8. Paid only after checks, with a receipt showing the IMEI.

Screenshot this list before you go. For brand-specific steps and every check in one place, use our check a phone before buying page.