yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[HTC Amaze 4G] KnowledgeBroker:
I've been looking for a month now, easily. I tried buying one on XDA, but it didn't work out and now I'm waiting for a refund(I get it tomorrow), several were listed on craigslist, but either they sold it before I could get to it(prices around 350-375) or they seem sketchy(selling for 400.. oh wait, you don't want to pay 400, how about 200? Buy it now motha&$%&@*..) like they probably just stole it.. found a guy on craigslist right now who wanted to get a sensation xl, but then was thinking about trading for my vibrant with cash on top so he could get the wireless tethering, and NOW is talking about keeping his damn phone and paying me to root it! Sigh..

So where did you guys buy your phones at? I don't want to go the route of going contract to get one on sale(why pay more per month to save 200 bucks?), and the cheapest I see them by sellers on ebay is around $420 if they have a return policy like they run a business..

I would probably keep looking on XDA, but until the mod there removes the negative feedback that the seller left(I didn't do ANYTHING wrong as the buyer), I can't very well expect anyone to take the chance on me.. besides, the guy who was selling sounded safe enough to buy from, but nothing about that deal worked out the way it should have.

So yea, anyone have any suggestions for some other places to get a decent deal? Maybe some other forums? I plan to buy a spare battery and charger, and am trying to keep the price for everything under 400 total.. I figured it would make more sense to ask here since everyone here has probably already done the same research I've been doing!
[HTC Amaze 4G] ebatr8:
How much are you looking to spend mine is like two weeks old and mint. It's been in a case with a screen protector. I might be getting a new phone so I could give it up.
[HTC Amaze 4G] KnowledgeBroker:
I Pm'd you back.. I don't want a mod to move this to the marketplace thinking I am just asking to buy a phone here, if someone here wanted to sell theirs and it seems legit, cool.. but mainly if someone has some advice for some other places to find one, that would be even better. After a month of looking, and drooling over the development forums, and waiting for one to get here, and it never coming.. I just want to get my amaze!

The guy I've been talking about on craigslist sounded like he was game and wanting to meet till I said we should meet at a tmobile. I told him I've been hearing about people selling blacklisted phones(which I have been hearing) and that I would feel safest if they can check the imei.. suddenly he decided he is going to keep it.. so back to the drawing board.

So where are you guys finding yours? I'm seeing the going price about 350-400 depending on condition and extras, but like I said, I haven't found a legit seller in person yet who still has it so..
[HTC Amaze 4G] stratax:
i agree 100% on this! i see them for like $280-$350 in STL but i have no ride there. on ebay they are around $400+ USED <--- wth? The most id pay for this phone is $350. I guess ill wait till the price drops..
[HTC Amaze 4G] KnowledgeBroker:
I guess it is just a matter of getting lucky. If you could get those at that price, you could resell em on ebay for a mint. Im just trying to get a phone and extra battery for $400.. I'd wait if I could, but im stuck with a samsung vibrant till I replace it. The same phone for a year and a half.. what kind of tech geek am I?? Lol.
[HTC Amaze 4G] stratax:
im stuck with this phone till i buy the Amaze http://lexus.letstalk.com/img/prod/cell-phones/att/pantech/pantech-matrix-red-att_xl.gif rofl. cause im sending back my sensation and have no backup phone besides this
[HTC Amaze 4G] KnowledgeBroker:
You're making me feel much better about my vibrant, lol(sorry).

Sadly, the cellphone gods are really trying to teach me patience, paypal says the refund will go through on the 29th, I called them because it hasn't gone through yet.. evidently they have till the end of the business day.

The good part about that is that I have several people who contacted me with a few reasonable offers, and maybe even the best would be local.. so I guess I wait and see who pulls through when I have the cash in hand.

If you are looking to buy one too, and you have the cash in hand, I would mention it.. maybe one of them would rather sell to you than wait on me?
[HTC Amaze 4G] mikeschevelle:
I work at TMO in STL, if you found a buyer in STL, I could verify the phone and you could paypal me the money to buy, just throwing that out there
[HTC Amaze 4G] stratax:
haha, i dont trust paypal at all tbh. im afraid someone will not even send the phone or something when i give them the money. thats why i trust ebay more than anything. cause its actually protected now.

im actually waiting on my money, i am sending back my sensation and the people said it would take a couple days

---------- Post added at 10:40 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:39 AM ----------

i found a guy but most people on CL wont do paypal.. i live about a hour and a half from stl and have no car so im sol xD
[HTC Amaze 4G] Totòòò:
I HIGHLY doubt you will find an amaze for 350$ unless it has a broken screen :)
[HTC Amaze 4G] mikeschevelle:
You could either send it gift or send it to me and I can give them cash
[HTC Amaze 4G] stratax:
actually, that is wrong. with a broken screen i almost bought one for $280. but didnt feel like dealing with it.

http://stlouis.craigslist.org/mob/2744262215.html actually cheaper than $350. there has been some for $320 as well, there also has been a couple for just $300.

none have broken screens :) i just have no ride to stl, which is my issue.

---------- Post added at 11:37 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:34 AM ----------

how would i get the phone then?

edit: if i can get one for $300 i can give you $50 for taking it to me. i live in Rolla, i could probably meet up closer though maybe.
[HTC Amaze 4G] mikeschevelle:
you would give me the money to buy it, and ship it???
[HTC Amaze 4G] stratax:
im saying if you bought it id meet you and give you the $350 cash. if it was $300, id still give you the $350 for meeting up since i cant get to stl. i dont trust the paypal method, ive hearad of so many people getting screwed from it and $350 is a lot to loose because of a phone.. lol
[HTC Amaze 4G] mikeschevelle:
i hear ya, I dont have the cash to front it though............
[HTC Amaze 4G] KnowledgeBroker:
I saw one with a broken screen get to $90 on ebay, I imagine it got higher but I didn't follow it.. I see them on ebay selling used in good condition now for $400 every day, and locally on craigslist in different cities I see it selling between 300-400. The value of the phone seems to be diminishing a bit more every day..

If you gift the payment, there is no buyer protection. That means ANY payment under the "personal" payment options tab. If you pay for it goods, the person you give the money to will have 3% of it taken as a fee.. so if you pay 3% more than that price it covers the fee, and you will have protection. Just make sure you put in the description/note of the payment exactly what you are paying for, and put your address in the note area as well.

Don't gift payment, pay the 3% extra in fees and buy as "goods".. if there IS a problem you will get a refund. Just be careful the both of you, I don't want this post to cause a problem between members- hopefully the fact that you guys seem pretty local to each other keeps everything honest if you go thru with it!

On a side note, I still want an amaze.. I'm waiting to hear back from ebatr8 about his amaze now that I got my paypal refund, or from someone who said they may know someone locally.. a month of wanting/waiting for this phone is killing me!
[HTC Amaze 4G] stratax:
damn xD that sucks, ill try to figure out something when i actually get the money

---------- Post added at 12:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:51 PM ----------

Yeah they can be a pretty good price if you get it in time, idk what that guy was talking about..

Thanks for the info, i dont really know much about paypal but i dont trust it, as what you have said. lol, thats why i only do ebay or CL. those are the most trusted. Yeah i am dying to get this phone too -_- you would think with all the issues it has it would deffinitely be below 400!
[HTC Amaze 4G] KnowledgeBroker:
Check out this link: Paypal purchase protection

The important thing to realize, if nothing has changed, is that ebay owns paypal.. or maybe it is paypal that owns ebay.. either way, buying from ebay but paying with something other than paypal means you just have dispute resolution through ebay, not protection. Paying with paypal means you actually are protected-- they will collect evidence from buyer and seller, and if the seller can't prove that they have taken the actions needed to get the right product to the buyer, paypal will give you a refund and collect payment from the seller.

I guess the idea I am trying to put out there is that paypal is more protected than just buying through ebay, but a combination of the two is the safest. To sell something on ebay means fees up to 8% of the price, then to accept paypal payment costs another 3% of the price.. that is why the prices are higher on ebay than you will find locally, it costs up to 11% to sell something thru ebay.

Edit: so if I was going to buy on here or locally, and the lowest price for a safe buy on ebay was roughly $400 with free shipping(I see multiple at this price).. I would expect the price shipped to not exceed $360, or roughly 10% less than the ebay price.
[HTC Amaze 4G] stratax:
Oh, i mean buying from Ebay through paypal. That is the safest way that i know. If you buy from paypal and through paypal you have no proof really that you even bought the phone. i just feel safer buying from Gazelle on Ebay because its a actual company and they dont want to loose business and same for other people on ebay. if its just some random person they could probably care less.. as long as they have the money.

Yeah to this day $400 would be safe. I only like to buy stuff on ebay if you are able to return it as well, makes you feel like they are real. Gazelle has a amaze for about $410 or something. they are who i bought my sensation from and im about to send it back cause the screen is messed up. Im going to wait till i can find an Amaze for cheaper or Find someone to meet up
[HTC Amaze 4G] KnowledgeBroker:
This one was listed at $419 the other day free shipping, buy it now, it didn't sell.. now is relisted at $399. Considering they do 7 day returns and have such good feedback, but it still hasn't sold yet.. I would say they aren't worth $400 anymore. After all, the value isn't based on what they are being sold for, but what someone is actually willing to pay. So if they aren't selling at $400 on ebay, I would say in person it is worth 10% less(they are tacking on their fees after all).. so $360+/- sounds like what the current value should be.

I'd prefer to do it locally, but it sounds like you have more options in STL than I do in Jacksonville.. or gainesville, daytona.. sigh.
[HTC Amaze 4G] stratax:
it looks legit to me. if you are willing to go that high for that phone id go for it. Yeah $360 doesnt sound bad, but what about the screen bleed and all those problems. it makes me even want to go less.. haha, look at the HTC radar it was expensive when it was first released now you can buy it new for $300. Id wait a week or so and see if the prices drop.
[HTC Amaze 4G] KnowledgeBroker:
I've been patient about replacing my phone though, I've wanted to replace it for about 6 months, and I managed to wait till the amaze, the first phone I really think would be worth upgrading to. I've read about the screen bleed, but this seems like an easy fix.. My vibrant doesn't have a notification light, so roms/kernels made it possible to use those lights as that, but since this phone has a notification light- I could just turn off the softkeys and I'd be happy.

So to anyone who might read this thread-- Anyone willing to sell for 350 shipped? I could pay 360 total to cover any kind of paypal fees.. but it would beat waiting to find one locally, and I would feel better about buying from someone here, versus the marketplace.. otherwise I'm thinking stratax has a point, I'll bet the value will drop over the next few weeks, especially since there are newer phones coming out every day.
[HTC Amaze 4G] stratax:
Yeah, i am getting impatiant as well. but you have to think about buying one then a week later the price drops $30 lol, id be mad.. and i think i might wait for one of Sonys new phones http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1380098 they look so nice. if the Amazes price doesnt drop ill wait that is xD
[HTC Amaze 4G] Totòòò:
I am starting to have it really difficult to not think that you are just one of those samsung fans that likes making this phone look really bad in the eyes of prospective buyers. This phone is great, I do not see any of the hardware issues you talk about and the fact that you gonna wait for it cost less doesn't mean the phone sucks, it just means you just a jew. So stop repeating it in every post since the thread was about suggesting merchant places selling this phone and not repeating yourself about how many hardware issues this phone has or about the fact you wont spend more than 300 to buy this phone :)
[HTC Amaze 4G] stratax:
lol excuse me, i got all the information i posted from this site and from other sites. if i was a fanboy of any manufacture it would be HTC or Sony, Samsung makes good tvs lol. when did i ever say this phone sucked? i never did once, this is the phone i am trying to get for myself, if i liked samsung i wouldnt be on this forum at all. i could get the SGS II right now, they have them pretty cheap compared to this on ebay atm. The last one i owned was a behold 2 and never touched one after that.

what if i was jewish? do you have something against them? haha, no. i just wont pay for something if its not worth it. i would never pay over $400 cash for ANY phone in the world, that is nonsense. and if you can read i said i would spend $350 on this phone, which is a reasonable price. same for the other guy. not one device on the phone market is perfect, they all have their problems. and id like you to show me where i said "The HTC Amaze sucks".

because you dont know how to search and think your device is perfect: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1341679

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1300124

I dont even own the device, I got my info from these threads and from reviews.

Now go troll somewhere else.

edit: ive been with HTC since the G1 was release, had every mytouch on the line besides the 4g slide. have had a ton of HTCs, WINmo, WP7, and android. ive had 1 samsung and 2 motorolas. and im sticking with HTC. im just tired of these issues

Other people have been reporting

, not me. and its mostly screen issues. Ive never said any HTC has sucked, besides the mytouch line. because they do lol. my point was that if this phone has all the issues people are saying then why the hell would someone pay $400 for it. the vivid doesnt have these issues (that i know of).
[HTC Amaze 4G] Totòòò:
It is crystal clear you do not own the device that is why you keep blabla here. The first link you posted is just lameass excuse. of course there will be more flash intensity on the right side of the picture because that is where the flash is located, on the right side of the phone ;) their pics are on purpose taken close distance so they evidence that kind of stuff. as it regards the screen bleeding that is one of those things that remind me of kindergarden when kids used to complain all the time about minor things. There might be some screen bleeding but is not a life threatening issue that will make u blind. And a friendly advice, go test the phone yourself instead of reading forum "reviews"
[HTC Amaze 4G] stratax:
lame ass excuse? no, its an actual issue because it didnt happen to my sensation or other peoples, Go through the thread lol. people said it was fixed when they put tape by it. this issue has never happened to me on any devices. and about the screen bleeding. Some people like to get what they pay for, i wouldnt mind if the phone wasnt their flagship phone and wasnt $600. Another reason why i wont pay over $350 for it. I still want it, i think the phone is great from what ive heard. every one of the best phones on the market has a screen problem. galaxy nexus has the worse, sgs ii has lines and burn, amaze has bleed, sensation i had a horrible issue where my digitizer would press down on my lcd and so did a couple other people. the only phones that dont are the ones on Verizon lol. the screen bleed isnt enough of a issue to me for me not to get it. ill just make the capacitive buttons more dim and off completely.

read this: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=19895665&postcount=16 its no lame excuse. you may call me picky or whatnot, but if im going to be paying $300+ on a phone i want it to be good out of the box.

I would love to test the phone myself but i do live by a T-Mobile, the closest one is 50 miles away and im not driving that far to test it.

edit: here are two pics i took with flash from my sensation

http://i43.tinypic.com/rc9fyp.jpg

http://i41.tinypic.com/4qkmcw.jpg

clearly the issue is not as bad, or even close. it looks like there is a crap ton of mist or something on the right of his photo or something xD and the first photo was taken at some weird thing in the sky, it wasnt from the camera
[HTC Amaze 4G] ebatr8:
If anyone is interested in an amaze I have one its mint only used for 2 weeks been in a diztronic case with a screen protecter no flaws at all. Or a brand new Samsung galaxy s 2 in white, I need to get rid of one didn't put in a market place because I may keep em but just wondering for any of you guys who want an amaze. I'm a legit seller I have good feedback on another forum for cars it's called clubrsx.com I can unlock the phone if needed, let me know I originally offered to the OP but it seems he is no longer interested.
[HTC Amaze 4G] stratax:
ill buy either one of them for $350 if the other guy doesnt want the amaze, is the galaxy s ii for tmo?

edit: on your current device why does it say sensation?
[HTC Amaze 4G] ebatr8:
Edit sent you a pm
[HTC Amaze 4G] mikeschevelle:
trade you my amaze for the white gs2
[HTC Amaze 4G] KnowledgeBroker:
Sorry I didn't reply earlier to you, it isn't that im not interested, I just found a seller locally for $375 on Saturday, which is quicker than I'd get it.. if you can beat that price by a fair margin I'd still be interested. If you read my post I'm thinking $350 is about the price I'm aiming for, otherwise $375 locally is the best I've found.
[HTC Amaze 4G] stratax:
Thats a great! Post how it goes when you get the phone and all :)
[HTC Amaze 4G] KnowledgeBroker:
This may work out for you and your price range.. $339 with free shipping on ebay buy it now. It looks like you'd need a usb cable, but you can't really beat that price. Looks legit to me, thought I'd point it out to ya in case ;)

It does say something about wear on the back, but if it is the battery door, you can buy a replacement pretty cheap.
[HTC Amaze 4G] stratax:
I'm actually going to buy ebatr8 HTC Amaze for $360 whenever i recieve my money from Gazelle. and that listening is already ended. the cheapest back cover on there is about $60 lol. there were some for $80
[HTC Amaze 4G] KnowledgeBroker:
Oh, well at the least I was showing that the prices are coming down more each day, 360 is a good price I'd say. I hopefully am getting one in the morning for 370 in "new" condition from a guy on craigslist, but we shall see. Even if that doesn't work out there is someone else I may end up buying from.. Ebatr8 seems like an alright guy, I would have bought it from him if I wasn't such an impatient guy ;)
[HTC Amaze 4G] stratax:
Yeah, agreed 100%. I can honestly see the Amaze sell for $350 easily soon. The guy seems legit and the phone looks great and im a bit impatiant as well so $360 sounds perfect :) $350 was my highest but $10 isnt much more to include, especially if insurance is added to the shipping.
[HTC Amaze 4G] jcparks:
Just bought mine today new in box for $350 cash off craigslist. Seattle area. I advise patience. Good luck man.
[HTC Amaze 4G] stratax:
nice :D how you liking the phone?
[HTC Amaze 4G] Bronyr:
They are hard to get even in Canada Windmobile $99 on windtab+, offer expires today, but I'm sure they'll extend it for a week or two.

Like it was said before, craigslist, kijiji your best bet.

BTW, great phone, indeed :)
[HTC Amaze 4G] KnowledgeBroker:
Well my day didn't exactly go as planned, the one guy never texted or responded, and now I'm having stupid car issue.. something is trying to force me to learn even more patience..
[HTC Amaze 4G] jcparks:
came from a G2 with MIUI, but definitely enjoying it. Sense is taking some time to get used to. Still can't figure out how to turn off 4g to save battery. Camera is great as advertised. NFC is a bonus I didn't realize it had (really want to hack my orca card) Already prepared to root to get rid of the 15+ bloatware apps. Can't wait to hook this thing up to my bigscreen and test it out. Good luck!
[HTC Amaze 4G] ebatr8:
Its under mobile network settings change from wcdma/gsm auto to just gsm, only negative is running on 2g kinda sucks. But on the brightside the advantage of hspa+ is that it uses the same internals as 3g so it doesn't drain the battery like other 4g tech like LTE and wimax. The phone is incredibly powerful for multimedia streaming videos off of it to my ps3 was smooth even while I was using the phone still and it never got hot.
[HTC Amaze 4G] jcparks:
That worked, different wording than I was used to. Plus if you are on WiFi in a low cell coverage area, you can't change this option, which confused me even more.

OP - What area are you looking for phones in? I noticed when looking on craigslist in Seattle, the were below $400, but in Portland they were all over $400. So maybe a little more travel could get you a better deal?

In regards to stolen phones - T-Mobile rep told me that they can't figure it out on the spot with serial # or IMEI, just have to stick your sim in and try it.
[HTC Amaze 4G] ebatr8:
Great glad you found it, weird that it doesnt let you switch at times though. T-mobile doesn't proactively look for if your phone is stolen, what they do is block the imei of the device so your right you would just have to try its best to buy a phone that comes in its original box really that way you don't get a bad phone. Phones that are never paid for, reported not delivered, and never returned typically get blocked. I saw someone on the gs2 forum say they claimed there device lost and ordered one from insurance to sell it made me just smh as they could potentially be screwing someone over.
[HTC Amaze 4G] KnowledgeBroker:
I'm in Jacksonville Florida, if you check this link, you will see how few posts exist..

The one guy who just re-posted his on the 2nd said he was going to sell to me on new years eve for a decent price, so I told another guy who I would have had to drive to st augustine to meet that I had found one.. but the guy didn't respond, and now has it on craigslist again. Sigh.

So I still don't have one, but I'm gonna call that guy again and see what he is willing to do..

Edit: sigh, he found someone who was willing to trade an iphone4.. so back to the drawing board :(
[HTC Amaze 4G] stratax:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HTC-Amaze-4...0622900107?pt=Cell_Phones&hash=item2c62029f8b

they are getting cheaper already, there is a scratch on the screen but with a screen protector on you wouldnt notice it
[HTC Amaze 4G] KnowledgeBroker:
I actually just went and got one just now, $375 used.. only a little chip on the back cover, seems to work pretty good. I had to drive about 40 minutes to get it, but I did some shopping while I was there so it worked out fine.. This makes me a happy guy.
[HTC Amaze 4G] stratax:
well hows the phone! :)
[HTC Amaze 4G] evohog:
I'm selling mine for 400, its in flawless condition and have a spare back cover. I'm in Tucson if anyone wants it. I have two so ehh.

amazing!