It’s his money, but I want him to spend wisely. I’ve texted someone advertising one on gumtree, and he/she replied ‘is it the IPhone 6?’ which makes me think he is a dealer or has a load of nicked ones.
Any way to check, or should I just avoid?

Check whether its locked or unlocked to a network, whether its locked to iCloud (remove if so), that the touch Id works ok, that it comes with a supported charger lead, and how much flash its got.

Personally, I would avoid Gumtree and try and see if someone you know, someone trustworthy on here maybe, or failing that a refurb off eBay. The latter will give you some backup if anything goes wrong.

Something like this one: eBay Linky. (Not necessarily this one in particular, but just to show you the sort of thing that’s out there)

How much is the one on Gumtree, and what is the specs?

There’s a few places you can buy refurbish / assured second-hand phones, I’d go down that road or at least eBay / PayPal Road rather than some random off Gumtree.

Ok thanks, it’s a 16gb IPhone 6, £250.

edit: skip the 16, wait to find a 64

Try and find a friend / relation selling one. 64gb is a good size, skip the 16 (there is no 32). Mine is still going strong but getting to an age where a new battery may be required. Unlocked from network and iCloud/find my phine switched off. If you get the long imei number you can check status with Apple.

I’d also avoid Gumtree. eBay at least has some buyer protection.

Apart from being locked to a service provider, the other important factor is whether or not the phone is locked to another Apple ID. You will not be able to do anything with a phone with an Activation Lock, not even a factory reset/restore. Get the serial from the seller and stick it in here:

https://www.icloud.com/activationlock/

Right, thanks. Those refurbished ones look good. £250 for a 64gb with a fingerprint button that doesn’t work.

£250 is what smartfonestore.com are charging for an unlocked ip6 16gb, you’ll also get a fiver off if you use quidco.

http://www.smartfonestore.com/mobile/view_product.aspx?id=3044

I’ve had a few phones from them. One wasn’t unlocked as promised and they offered a refund or an additional 25 quid to buy another phone as they hadn’t the exact same model in stock. Allowed me to get a higher spec version. 😀

Get it insured to the hilt.

Speaking as someone that works with kids I’ve seen more broken iPhones than any other make and model, cracked screens especially. Perhaps its because they’re so popular… perhaps because the kids just don’t look after them.

….and buy a tough case as soon as you get it 🙂

It will get smashed ^^^

They cost us a fortune in our house

I would go for a 5s. They are more robust smaller and the cases are better. The 6 screen is more fragile due to its size. It will get broken! Been there 1 claim on insurance already because my son changed the survivor case we got him for a trendy hard case. My wife now has the 6 and he is very happy with the smaller 5s.

I would also say a 5S or the newer SE would be a better plan.
Great phones, cheaper, and far more rugged too.

And don’t buy used off gumtree/eBay private sale. Pay a few quid more and get a proper refurb from a proper seller.

Stick a wanted ad on the classifieds section of a website populated by middle-aged IT professionals with too much money, and a liking for the latest gadgets.

I can’t think of one off the top of my head, but I’m sure such a place exists 😀

Watch out for them disappearing into an online/textual world which sucks up every minute of the day…despite nothing actually happening.

IMO kids are not going to want a 5S, small screen and clearly “old”. OP keep your eyes out for a 6S too. Maybe I have been lucky but I have never broken a creen and have dripped my phones a lot, up until the 6 I didn’t use a case either. 6 is so thin it needs one.

I thought the 5s would be good. He disagrees.
A survivor case is a good shout.

Watch out for them disappearing into an online/textual world which sucks up every minute of the day…despite nothing actually happening.

CFH 🙂

OP told you (re the 5S) 😉 The 6 is miles better as the screen is larger and its much thinner. HD video too I think which 5S doesn’t have ?

Was offered £320 trade in for my 10mth old 6 64gb – never been out of its Lifeproof Nuud case.
Bought direct from Apple in the end instead of trade in – currently using it with the BMW Connected App in the car for Spotify, Deezer, etc but could be persuaded….

Argos £269

These guys seem pretty legit, I’ll prob be buying a Samsung S7 off them as soon as there’s one in stock 🙂

Just come across this website that rates how trustworthy online retailers are.

https://www.scamadviser.com/check-website/scamadviser.com

Reassuringly it finds itself very trustworthy 😉

Maybe I have been lucky but I have never broken a creen and have dripped my phones a lot, up until the 6 I didn’t use a case either. 6 is so thin it needs one.

Luck seems to have a lot to do with it…
I abused my 4s badly… dropped 4′ onto hard sharp bricks and was fine.. then years later I dropped it less than 2′ onto soft tarmac and it just shattered..

My 6s (replacement for the 4) fell onto a fairly soft laptop charger on a carpet and broke… the 6 is especially fragile not only is it paper thin but it also has a curved screen (subtle but it is curved) that means it can’t take normal sapphire crystal glass type protectors.

On the bike I used a quadlock … on the back its really rugged but the front is just the plastic poncho but its been fine on the bike as a GPS..

I did look at a armoured type but couldn’t find one that protected the front as well as the back (unlike previous models without curved screens) so I used a wallet type protector. Weirdly it was in the quadlock but without poncho on my desk when it fell.

Buying wise I haven’t had a problem off ebay using normal sensible rules like no new sellers or private sellers with loads of possibly nicked goods. It’s just mainly common sense and not falling for too good to be true.

iphone 6 was ebay private seller … seemed legit and was…
Gumtree (sadly) seems to have become a advertising place for stolen goods or scams… and gumtree do nothing about it… (in my experience having flagged a few where the seller has a too cheap to be true item in your town and when you check 20 others but is out of the country but will you wire the money to a dodgy place)

Ordered a refurbished 6, 64gb from an eBay retailer. £250 (fingerprint thing not working).
I’ll let you know how that goes.