Picture the scene. After the untimely demise of a beloved device, you’ve spent your hard-earned cash on a second-hand replacement. You don’t know the seller, but they seem reputable. You’re feeling pretty proud; the price was well within your budget. Everything’s coming up rosy.
Until the device arrives. And it’s… not what you ordered. A closer examination reveals that it’s a counterfeit, and not even a particularly good one.
You’ve been duped. Another sleazy seller, using black-hat tactics. And when you try to contact them for a refund, they’re nowhere to be found.
According to a 2024 study by Which?, 1 in 3 consumers have fallen victim to some type of online scam, receiving either counterfeits, incorrect goods, or, in some cases, no goods at all.
And these scams aren’t platform-specific. Unethical sellers operate across almost all major platforms, including heavy-hitters like eBay, Amazon Marketplace, Gumtree, and Facebook Marketplace.
But the scammers aren't as clever as they think they are, and there are plenty of telltale signs of a dishonest seller.
We’ve teamed up with Stone Refurb, who know a thing or two about refurbished tech, to help you identify swindlers and the red flags when buying second-hand tech online.
Too-Good-To-Be-True Prices
We’ve all experienced this at some point. That little rush you get when you see the device you want at a price that won’t require too much grappling with your monthly budget.
But this is the go-to scammer tactic. The bait on the hook, if you like.
Because behind the bots are people, and they know that the currently eye-wateringly high cost of living is forcing consumers to find cheaper alternatives for, well… everything, especially tech, which is simultaneously a non-negotiable of daily life and a hefty household expense.
Basically, if the price tag is tantalizingly low, especially for a more recent model, there’s a good chance that it’s a scam.
Pressure Selling Tactics
Ever feel like a listing is shouting at you, or trying to spike your anxiety levels? That’s another major red flag to look out for when buying second-hand tech.
In commerce, less tends to be more. The harder someone tries to sell you something, or the more they lean into panic-inducing scarcity tactics, the more likely there’s deception afoot.
That’s not to say that all hard sells are dishonest — sometimes it’s just plain old poor marketing.
Think of it as if an in-the-flesh person was hounding you to buy their product, literally wouldn’t leave you alone or berated you for not purchasing now. You’d probably steer clear.
Poor Quality or Stock Images
If you’re buying a second-hand device, you want to see it. As in, the actual device, so you can judge its condition before clicking ‘add to basket’.
It doesn’t need to be a perfectly lit, artfully staged photoshoot. Just a decent-quality snap of the tech you’re interested in.
But scammers, especially those who don’t even have the products, would rather you didn’t get a look at the goods, so they rely on stock imagery or, more frequently, AI-generated imagery.
So, as you’re browsing their wares, be mindful of the images they use, paying particular attention to blurry or frequently reused stock images.
Anonymous or Evasive Sellers
Trustworthy sellers are rarely slippery. Fraudsters, on the other hand, are notoriously difficult to pin down. But it’s to their detriment, as it gives us another major red flag to watch for.
Actually, it gives us several. Whether it’s a brand-new profile with no picture, a refusal to offer a video demo of the device, or a reluctance to allow collection, scammers operate in the opaque.
Even the bolder black hats use anonymity to their advantage, flooding their pages with glowing, oddly generic reviews. (No seller, not even the big ones, is beyond a dissatisfied customer.)
As dishonest second-hand tech sellers become more common, it’s important to stay savvy to the tricks they use to swindle you out of your money.
If you’re eager to avoid the dishonesty altogether, always opt for a reputable retailer of refurbished laptops, tablets, or desktops and put the scammers firmly in their place.