Refurbished iPhone Plug.tech Reviews / Advice

[Robfyntjie]

Hi All!

Hope you are well!

Has anybody bought from plug.tech before? My daughter is looking to buy a iPhone, but being stubborn... (I am completely anti iPhone but that's probably why ;-)

She wants a to try to get a iPhone 15 pro (which they have at plug.tech @ R7999) instead of going for the regular iPhone 13 pro's I can find here in SA for around the same price...

She currently has a Samsung A35 so even the 13 Pro is a significant upgrade, but yes...

Budget she has available is actually only R8 500 but can try to push it to R10 000.

Any advice (other places to look) would be greatly appreciated!

 

[SauRoNZA]

If it’s too good to be true…that’s because it isn’t.

Mysteriously based in the US but selling in ZAR with no mention of customs or shipping.

Refund policy that says no refund on sales items or gifts…but everything is on sale.

Immediate mystery discount advertisements.

And then prices that are ridiculously low.

Nope, it’s a scam.

And even if it’s not, after shipping and import duties it’s not going to be so cheap anymore and the amazing 30 day refunds won’t happen because you’ll only get it 5 days before the 30 days are up.

 

[DTBA]

As far as I know they are legit. I am just not sure on the shipping to SA and the problems that comes with that

 

[Robfyntjie]

Thank you for the feedback! Also came across Revibe.co.za (domain is about 5 years old).. Reviews are only from trustpilot and looks quite generic... Another thing that bothers me about them is the fact that looks like almost anyone can become a seller "for" them? (so anyone can sell dodgy phones through them) Please correct me if I am wrong! Busy doing some research...


Epicdeals.co.za looks nice & I like the fact that each phone has a "full" review of that actual phone on sale (quite detailed).

 

[SauRoNZA]

Thank you for the feedback! Also came across Revibe.co.za (domain is about 5 years old).. Reviews are only from trustpilot and looks quite generic... Another thing that bothers me about them is the fact that looks like almost anyone can become a seller "for" them? (so anyone can sell dodgy phones through them) Please correct me if I am wrong! Busy doing some research...


Epicdeals.co.za looks nice & I like the fact that each phone has a "full" review of that actual phone on sale (quite detailed).

Nope, Revibe is a similar scam out of the UAE.

There’s a whole thread about them here somewhere and been through it personally.

You will not find an iPhone 15 worth having for under 10k I’m afraid.

Carbonite.co.za is worth a look if you don’t want to go with known trusted options like WeFix (available via Makro etc)

iPhone 14 you could have some luck under 10k.

Personally I would say let her save her money and buy an iPhone 17e when she can afford it brand new. Or wait until September when the current range start discounting.

Or spend more now and get a 16e brand new.

Epicdeals is a safe bet but that’s because they are real prices.

 

[Smiggles]

Just get the 16e for R10k https://www.bobshop.co.za/apple-iphone-16e-128gb/p/677794342

 

[William1102]

Just buy from reputable stores, had a family friend ask about revibe but told them to buy at iStore pre owned instead

 

[Willsilk]

So I just recently, well not recently, 16 days ago purchased a device off @Revibe ZA and I've been waiting ever since. After an hour long call with both Revibe followed by DHL, I've come to understand the situation and understand where the problem lies. Revibe needs to be more transparent and educate people on how the processes work. They are not transparent in any way. They hide the fact that they are not a local South African business. They are Dubai based company. All second-hand devices come from Dubai. Then to make matters even worse, they do not educate you on how to go about obtaining your device through customs before DHL can deliver it. They make it seem like within the next two to four days from purchase, DHL courier is going to arrive at your door and hand you your phone. This is not the case The actual honest truth is the device takes about five days to be obtained cleaned wiped and what they call quality checked. Then its exported from Dubai to South Africa. When it arrives in South Africa, you are required to complete a bunch of forms called ITAC in order to obtain your device from Customs Clearance and SARS. No way did Revibe educate me about this, nor does DHL reach out to you to let you know. Should this phone had stayed longer than 14 days at Customs, I would have been forced to pay R5,000 to have it released from state capture. Now, bearing in mind the device is only valued at R4,500. This is absolutely disgusting. I will never ever use Revibe again and I urge everyone to do the same.

 

[SHL]

So I just recently, well not recently, 16 days ago purchased a device off @Revibe ZA and I've been waiting ever since. After an hour long call with both Revibe followed by DHL, I've come to understand the situation and understand where the problem lies. Revibe needs to be more transparent and educate people on how the processes work. They are not transparent in any way. They hide the fact that they are not a local South African business. They are Dubai based company. All second-hand devices come from Dubai. Then to make matters even worse, they do not educate you on how to go about obtaining your device through customs before DHL can deliver it. They make it seem like within the next two to four days from purchase, DHL courier is going to arrive at your door and hand you your phone. This is not the case The actual honest truth is the device takes about five days to be obtained cleaned wiped and what they call quality checked. Then its exported from Dubai to South Africa. When it arrives in South Africa, you are required to complete a bunch of forms called ITAC in order to obtain your device from Customs Clearance and SARS. No way did Revibe educate me about this, nor does DHL reach out to you to let you know. Should this phone had stayed longer than 14 days at Customs, I would have been forced to pay R5,000 to have it released from state capture. Now, bearing in mind the device is only valued at R4,500. This is absolutely disgusting. I will never ever use Revibe again and I urge everyone to do the same.

It says so on their website...