Before you jump on eBay to buy a used iPhone or iPad, READ THIS!

A few weeks ago I had a meeting with a prospect and I quickly picked up that he was extremely cost conscious. He shared with me that he had gone to a local repair shop and picked up a used iPad Pro for a song. Proud of his find, he promptly went home to get it activated and set up.

All was going well until...

He fired up the iPad and started to go through the activation process but once he began connecting to iCloud the unthinkable happened... the iPad had been reported stolen and it was no longer operational. As it turns out, the previous owner sold it to the shop, then reported it stolen to collect on insurance. With little to no recourse, his find was now a very expensive brick.

What to do?

Buy your used Apple gear from a reputable shop and ask about the previous owner. Also, Apple now offers an online tool to check the status of Activation Lock, the feature that ruined my prospect's day.  The tool is available here.

The good news!

As of the release of iOS 8, Activation Lock is now a mandatory feature and according to PCWorld, data is showing a decreased occurrence of iPhone and iPad theft that can be attributed to this feature! So buy your phone from a reputable source then activate and lock it right away.