Gazelle review: Beware - they sold me a stollen phone!

Back in 2023, I purchased an iPhone 14 Pro from them in excellent condition. Upon receiving it, I put it in a nice sturdy case and added a screen protector knowing I’d be wanting to trade it in. This year I decided I wanted to upgrade so I went to Apple. They offered me $300 for trade in against my new phone. I brought the iPhone 14 to the local Apple Store and they inspected it and agreed it was in excellent condition. They checked the serial number and that’s when things went south; the iPhone 14 had been sold as part of a batch to a company and while not reported stollen, it probably was stollen. Apple could not take it.

I left the store and called Gazelle customer service. Told them what happened and the guy admitted that they didn’t normally check and he was sorry this was happening but that I could sell it back to Gazelle for $284. Their offer was lower than Apple and I was not happy I was going to lose money in the deal, but I saw no other option at this point. They told me to go online and set up the sale.

Then I waited for a box to be shipped to me so I could ship the phone back…I got an email there was a problem with my address. I called them, the address was correct but they entered the address again it validated, so all was good now. Waited again but now I started to get emails that the offer would expire if I didn’t send the phone soon…I finally printed the label myself, followed their steps to prepare the phone for shipping and sent it off. Their box never came.

I got an email that they had the phone and after inspecting it, it had “too many scratches and the battery did not hold a charge consistently” so their revised offer was $125. WHAT!

I called them again. Explained the situation again. They agreed to reinspect the phone and get back to me in a few days. I waited and two weeks went by, then an email that they had the phone had not been deleted off Find My and that I needed to complete that step. I sent them a screenshot showing that it was not locked at my end. They thanked me but they still showed the phone “locked” and couldn’t buy it. So now it was worth $0! So of course now I am wondering if the original owner is trying to track down their phone and they locked it.

Called them and requested an explanation, but they didn’t care. I requested my phone back and now am waiting. There was no way I was going to let them sell that phone to anyone else plus I want evidence that they sold me a stollen phone.

I’ve kept all the paperwork and need to explore what recourse is to be had.

They used to be a reputable company, but that is no longer the case. Stay away from doing business with them