CHECKMEND: Advice for selling mobile phones safely on eBay

(Article copyright eBay: http://pages.ebay.co.uk/buy/guides/mobile-phone-advice/#1)

It's a criminal offence to sell a stolen mobile phone or to have the handset / SIM card un-blocked without authorisation from the phone manufacturer. Such listings will be removed from the eBay as they are in breach of eBay's policy on Encouraging Illegal Activity.

For these reasons, and to maintain the level playing field within the marketplace, please check that the mobile phone you're intending to sell is in full working order.

Additionally, eBay recommends taking the following steps when listing your item:

To reassure buyers that your mobile phone is legitimate, the police recommend that you get a CheckMEND certificate (http://www.checkmend.com). CheckMEND is a database of lost and stolen property and a certificate will show that you have verified that the item that you are selling is not stolen. There is a small fee for this service.

Be ready to provide potential buyers with the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number (serial) of the mobile phone you're selling. They may use this to search the CheckMEND database if you haven't provided a certificate. You can get this number by typing in *#06# on the handset or looking inside the phone where the SIM card is housed.

Be prepared to answer questions from buyers. They'll want to be reassured that the item is yours to sell (or whether you're selling on behalf of someone else), why you're selling it, and if you operate as a business seller, your location, company number or whether you have shops on the high street.

To save time answering buyers questions, you could create a list of frequently asked questions, which will be displayed to buyers when they click on the Ask Seller a Question link from your item listing. You'll be able to display up to 15 FAQs as well as any questions (and answers) that you've already posted in your listing. To customise your Ask Seller a Question page, go to your Preferences in My eBay. In the Selling Preferences section, click on "Show" next to "Ask Seller a Question". From there, click simply click "Edit" and begin customizing.

Links:
http://pages.ebay.co.uk/buy/guides/mobile-phone-advice/#1
http://www.checkmend.com