Device Eligibility & Compliance

Last updated: July 19, 2026

1. What we buy

Our whole business is built on saying yes to devices other buyers turn away. We buy:

• Fully paid-off devices in any condition, flawless to shattered.
• Financed devices still on a carrier payment plan (see section 5).
• Blacklisted / bad-IMEI devices blocked from carrier networks.
• Activation-locked devices — Find My iPhone, Google FRP, and similar locks you can’t remove.
• Broken and faulty devices — cracked screens, dead batteries, no power, and yes, water damage.

That covers iPhones, Samsung phones, iPads, Apple Watches, MacBooks, and game consoles. Don’t see your model in our device picker? Send us the details through our contact page and we’ll build you a custom offer — we reply within 1 business day.

2. What we never buy

Four things are off the table, no exceptions:

• Devices reported lost or stolen. Not at any price, in any condition.
• Devices obtained by fraud — for example, phones acquired with a stolen identity or a chargeback scheme.
• Counterfeit devices, or devices with an altered serial or IMEI. If the numbers have been tampered with, we can’t touch it.
• Recalled or hazardous devices. A swollen or punctured battery is a fire risk in transit — you must tell us before shipping so we can advise you on safe handling. Never drop a swollen battery in the mail undeclared.

3. How we verify

This is the part we take most seriously. Every phone, tablet, and watch that arrives at our Vancouver facility gets its IMEI or serial number history-checked with Phonecheck against national loss and theft databases — before anything else happens.

If a device comes back confirmed stolen, we report it and surrender it to law enforcement. It is not paid for, and it is not returned. We cooperate fully with police investigations, including providing shipment records when lawfully requested.

We do this on every single device, every single day. It’s how we protect theft victims, our marketplace buyers, and honest sellers like you.

4. Honest mistakes vs. misrepresentation

People make mistakes, and we can tell the difference.

• Honest mistake: you send an ineligible item without realizing — maybe you didn’t know the device was carrier-blacklisted for a reason we can’t accept, or you shipped the wrong model. We’ll return it to you once, free of charge.
• Deliberate misrepresentation: describing a device as something it clearly isn’t — a different model, a hidden defect you knew about, a swapped part passed off as original. That forfeits the free return, and we may charge a flat $15 return fee, which we’ll disclose to you before anything ships back. This applies only to prohibited or ineligible devices passed off as eligible — an ordinary revised offer on an eligible device always includes a free, tracked return, no exceptions.

Either way, we explain our reasoning in plain English, with photos when they help. No mystery deductions, ever.

5. Financed devices

Still making payments on your phone? You can sell it to us — that’s allowed and common. Two things to understand first:

• The remaining balance stays your responsibility. Selling the device does not transfer or cancel what you owe your carrier.
• If the device becomes blacklisted after the sale because payments stopped, that’s a breach of our terms of service.

Keep paying your plan, and everyone stays happy.

6. Modified devices

• Jailbroken or rooted phones and tablets: we accept them, priced at our Broken/Faulty tier.
• Mod-chipped game consoles: not accepted. Hardware modification chips create legal and resale problems we can’t work around.

7. Bulk sellers

Selling 10 or more devices? Start with our contact page. We’ll ask for an inventory manifest listing every serial or IMEI, and for larger or unusual lots we may request sourcing documentation — invoices, purchase records, or a business license. It’s the same standard we hold ourselves to: know where every device comes from.

8. Age & identity

You must be 18 or older, a US resident, and the legal owner of what you’re selling. For high-value orders, we may ask you to verify your identity before payment. It takes a few minutes and protects both of us.

9. Questions

Not sure whether your device qualifies? Ask before you ship — it saves everyone time. Email support@tekbye.com or call (360) 281-6222, Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm PT. A real person in Vancouver, Washington will give you a straight answer.