I'd say you dont even have to ask for the esn, just ask if its clean and keep the email and buy the phone, if its not clean then just file a claim through paypal/ebay and show them the proof if the guy doesnt send you a clean one and then they'll reimburse you and you might even get to keep the bad esn one for parts etc. But I bought a video set from some guy for 200 paid, and he never sent filed a claim and got all my money back.

PH

most people wont give out the esn's to their phones because of what can happen. look at their feedback and make your own judgement

Exactly I've sold a couple of phones on the bay, and I won't give out the ESN just incase someone was able to clone it.

PH

LOL... your story is at least reasonable. I bought a phone directly from Sprint and when I go to activate it they tell me the phone's ESN number has been activated on someone elses account. I'm like... ummm, I have the phone right in front of me and I'm reading the numbers correctly and I don't know what to tell you. They tell me it was probably just a glitch and they'll reset the ESN number on that other account and they'll be able to activate the phone. NOPE! They confirm that the other account is legit and they won't reset the number so after about 2 hours on the phone with various customer service reps and all these different tech people, I sent that phone back and they sent me a new one.

wierd