[mgmueller]

Unbelievable...
A friend of mine sold her iPhone 4S via my Amazon account.
It's like new, no signs of usage, no problems whatsoever.

The first buyer, after 1 week, wrote:
"I'd like to back down from the purchase, as defined in the Amazon regulations (14 days)".
I'm not even sure, whether this (being able to back down) applies to used goods.
In the past, regulations of Amazon said "if the seller is a professional trader". This definition is gone from the Amazon regulations, maybe they've changed it.
We didn't want to bother, so she took it back.

Being an iPhone 4S, it was sold again within a day.
Just now, the second buyer wrote:
"I've got problems with the payment. Please don't send it yet. Can I back down? I can't log into my account anymore.".

I really ask myself:
Is iPhone mainly attracting losers?
Or is the number of losers in general increasing drastically?

I'm using the word "loser" deliberately.
I know: Lots of you will protest:
"They are allowed to back down".
"Problems with payments can happen".

But quite frankly, I see this issue entirely differently.
In my whole life, I've sent 4 products back to Amazon.
2 had been defect, the 3rd one had been different than the product photo. The 4th one had been replaced by a successor product the very same day I had ordered the "outdated one".
That's totally okay.
But that's not "backing down from a purchase".
It's exchanging a defective product. Or terminating a void contract.

But here, in the 2 cases described, it's totally different.
The iPhone is in perfect condition, my friend even took pictures of the housing before sending it.
And the first guy didn't say: "I've got this and that problem". He just wanted to back down.
My only explanation:
"It's sooooo expensive. I'd like to try it and then I decide, whether I can afford it and keep it".

And the second guy is even worse.
How can there be problems with payment?
The price is fixed. And Amazon requests the money instantly, as always.
Some might say:" Shit happens. Maybe he expected some commission or anything like that and the money isn't there yet".
But: If you pay by credit card, you don't have to pay instantly. If you pay via bank debit, you can overdraw your account.
So, what can be the problem?
Only explanation: They guy simply can't afford it.

I really don't get it.
And this really pisses me off...
"If you can't afford it, don't buy it". Simple as that...

And:
A recent statistic from Vodafone states:
On average, smartphone users spend between € 30 and € 70 per month.
This equals to € 720 respectively € 1.680 over a 2 years period (the typical contract duration for a sponsored smartphone).
Meaning: If one already can't afford the € 400 for a used iPhone: What does he want a smartphone for? The monthly rates obviously will kill him (financially).
Why don't they just buy an iPod touch instead? Or forget about it altogether?