Safe to Buy Phantom 4 through Craigslist?

[Anuj Ankit]

I recently found a Craigslist ad which advertised a selling price of $1200 for a Phantom 4. He bought 2 for a project but only ended up using 1 of them. Brand new, unopened box. The person left his cell phone # on the ad and so I texted him.

I am 1 hour away from him. Luckily, I am driving to vacation on Thursday in his direction, so I can drop by his area to take a look at his Phantom 4 and possibly purchase it.

I am looking for any and all advice on this. Is it too good to be true? What precautions should I take? How should I check if the Phantom 4 box was indeed unopened.

Also, this would be my first drone. I have flown a Phantom 3 Standard a couple times though, but how should I test his Phantom 4 to make sure it works like perfectly new?

Thank you in advance!

Edit: He is now offering it to me for $1100 if I come soon. His drone is also on eBay with bids of around $1200. I think he wants cash I guess, but does this seem fishy at all? Furthermore, he cannot provide the receipt because "it belongs to the company" and for "write off reasons". With the eBay ad though, it seems he is legit. What do you think?

 

[MasterBlaster]

Will he fly it for you?
Should give you an idea of how he navigates thru the go app etc and fly's it if it could be legit. I know this is not definitive, but its something I would look for. Do you know the name of the company he works for? Is it legit? I'd take a close look at it and possibly pull the trigger.
Just me though...
I just realized it was brand new in the box. I would be careful as it could be stolen.
Maybe you offer him much less seeing there is no receipt which means no warranty......
If you get it for much less you can put the savings towards an insurance plane with State's m for 60 bucks or others....

 

[LuvMyTJ]

It is a pleasure to welcome you to the Phantom Pilots forum. I hope that you will take advantage of the benefits that come with membership and that you will be able to use the forum for the exchange of innovative ideas and as a resource for current developments in Phantom quadcopter’s.

I would be very careful. If you can't get an original receipt from an authorized DJI dealer you will be out of luck for any warranties. You could pick up a new one from a dealer for about $1300. If it is new in the box you can not test it without registering it with DJI. Just keep in mind you have no recourse if there is a problem. Caveat emptor.

 

[Jussaguy]

It is a pleasure to welcome you to the Phantom Pilots forum. I hope that you will take advantage of the benefits that come with membership and that you will be able to use the forum for the exchange of innovative ideas and as a resource for current developments in Phantom quadcopter’s.

I would be very careful. If you can't get an original receipt from an authorized DJI dealer you will be out of luck for any warranties. You could pick up a new one from a dealer for about $1300. If it is new in the box you can not test it without registering it with DJI. Just keep in mind you have no recourse if there is a problem. Caveat emptor.

I agree completely.

If you're buying on the black market, the upside should be a lot more than $100 since the warranty is worth that alone. The ability to hide major problems with the bird and the fact that there are a million problems with the bird would lead me to not buy on the black market and get not only an authorized dealer but a good one.

For the bird, I would not mess around unless it was to save a lot more than that.

 

[Reed L]

I agree completely.

If you're buying on the black market, the upside should be a lot more than $100 since the warranty is worth that alone. The ability to hide major problems with the bird and the fact that there are a million problems with the bird would lead me to not buy on the black market and get not only an authorized dealer but a good one.

For the bird, I would not mess around unless it was to save a lot more than that.

+1 - $900 tops. You should be able to start it up and register it if it's an unopened box. Then you can make sure that it works and that the battery has no charges on it. You should be able to get the warranty if it's truly unopened. I bought mine used and still got the warranty also because it was used once for an aviation class and had the one charge on the battery.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Wonder what they did....


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[craigsdal]

Craigslist = Buyer Beware!!! Before you exchange your cash I would open the box and if possible do a test flight. Ask the seller before you meet him if you will be able to test it before you give him the cash.