How a protected purchase works
- You pay through buyphonesja checkout. Your payment is held by buyphonesja — the seller is not paid when you pay.
- A delivery partner verifies the phone. For delivery orders, a buyphonesja partner collects the phone from the seller and checks it against the listing — model, condition, battery health, IMEI — before marking it condition verified. If it doesn't match, it never leaves.
- Photo-confirmed handoff — released only to you. The partner delivers to you, photographs the handoff, and hands the phone over only when you sign on their device or give them your delivery code — a code shown only in your buyphonesja order, so nobody else can accept your phone. You get an email at every step: payment confirmed, condition verified, out for delivery, and delivered.
- You get a 48-hour inspection window. Test everything — battery, cameras, speakers, charging, SIM, and that activation lock is off. If something is materially different from the listing, open a dispute from your order page.
- Then the seller is paid.The payout releases only after your inspection window closes with no dispute, or after a dispute resolves in the seller's favour.
What's covered
- The phone never arrives.
- The phone is materially different from the listing — wrong model or storage, undisclosed damage, lower battery health than stated, or missing items the listing included.
- The phone is activation-locked, blacklisted, or reported stolen.
- The phone stops working during the inspection window.
What's not covered
- Cash deals. Some sellers accept cash at pickup — those sales settle in person, outside buyphonesja checkout, and are not protected. The listing always tells you which payments a seller accepts.
- Payments made outside buyphonesja. Bank transfers, payment apps, deposits, or anything a seller asks for off the platform. If anyone asks you to pay outside the app, report it.
- Change of mind after the inspection window closes.
- Wear that was accurately disclosed in the listing.
Listings can't change under you
The moment a phone is reserved or purchased, its listing freezes — the description, photos, and price you bought against stay exactly as you saw them. That frozen record is what your dispute is judged on, so a seller can never quietly edit away a promise after the fact.
If something is wrong
Open a dispute from your order page within the 48-hour window. Describe the problem and add photos or video. The seller's payout stays paused while buyphonesja moderation reviews the case, and decisions can be appealed within 7 days. See Disputes & returns for the full process.
The one rule that keeps you protected: keep the conversation and the payment on buyphonesja. Verified sellers, held payments, partner checks, and disputes only apply to orders placed through buyphonesja checkout.
