PSA: Don’t buy a $4,400 gray market Samsung TriFold on eBay

I had to bargain Samsung’s Galaxy Z TriFold from eBay for $4,399 and I’m beautiful judge that’s because Samsung doesn’t want anyone to really person this phone. I’m besides acrophobic to move it on.

Not that turning it connected does overmuch good. Whenever I pat “start” to group it up, a punctual to proviso a “USIM” pops up and refuses to fto maine advancement without one. I do not spot this telephone capable to put a SIM paper successful it. The telephone continues to want a SIM. We are astatine an impasse.

In theory, Samsung’s eager TriFold has been on waste successful the US since January 30th (retail price: $2,899), but it has been damn adjacent intolerable to get one. For immoderate different telephone motorboat we would typically usage a reappraisal portion connected indebtedness from the manufacturer; Samsung PR did not supply a TriFold reappraisal portion to The Verge. We resigned to buying our own, but the telephone was retired of banal wrong minutes of going connected waste the first time.

Weeks went by — weeks successful which I asked Samsung’s PR successful vain if they were perfectly judge they didn’t person 1 I could get — and the TriFold remained stubbornly retired of stock. I called unit stores; they didn’t person immoderate to waste me. The telephone went back successful banal concisely successful February, but erstwhile again, it sold retired earlier we could get each of the firm in installments paper specifications punched in. Truly, really galore of these astir $3,000 phones is Samsung trading successful a matter of minutes? I powerfully fishy not very many, and the scarcity effect is simply a characteristic of offering conscionable a fistful of phones astatine a time, not a bug.

In desperation, we turned to eBay. Sifting done the sellers without ratings, who someway wanted to move astir and waste a very costly telephone they conscionable bought for very small profit, we landed connected Moderntek. The seller had tons of affirmative ratings and seemingly a bunch of TriFolds to waste for a cool $4,399 each. (We’re not recommending you bargain it here, fto unsocial astatine all.) It’s worthy noting that while the TriFold has been connected waste longer successful different parts of the world, they’re not, like, abundant anyplace other correct now. It’s besides listed arsenic retired of banal connected Samsung’s Korean, Chinese, and Taiwanese websites.

We were promised the telephone would get successful early March; early March came and we discovered it hadn’t moreover shipped yet. The seller responded quickly to our questions pinch a confusing connection astir logistics issues and orders being overlooked. Suddenly, it was slated to get wrong a mates of days — shipping from Scottsdale, Arizona, not Hong Kong, arsenic the original search number indicated.

The package arrived connected Monday without immoderate fanfare — conscionable a unit container wrong a FedEx bubble mailer. Covering the seam connected 1 broadside of the container were 2 seals — 1 successful Chinese and a achromatic 1 connected apical successful English. I’d ne'er seen this benignant of explanation connected a telephone shipped by the manufacturer. It read: “DO NOT ACCEPT IF SEAL IS BROKEN.” Underneath the sticker, the insubstantial of the container was bubbling. Big “my anti-tamper seal has group asking a batch of questions already answered by my anti-tamper seal” energy.

I trim some seals and opened the box. There it was: the TriFold I’d been truthful eager to get my hands on. The protective movie connected the soul surface peeled distant easily, and I could spot why: bits of hairsbreadth and crumbs lined the adhesive. I’m beautiful judge Samsung doesn’t nonstop phones from the mill for illustration that.

There was different unpleasant astonishment waiting for me: When I powered the telephone on, it was already group up. On apical of that, an app I didn’t admit prompted a pop-up almost immediately, asking for a agelong database of sketchy permissions. I deed contradict and mill reset the phone. The telephone obliged, but now insists that I request a SIM to proceed pinch setup. I can’t find a measurement to bypass this requirement, and I’ve group up loads of Android phones without a beingness SIM. I don’t moreover person 1 astatine the infinitesimal anyhow (thanks a bunch, eSIM).

So that’s wherever I am. Do I person a $4,400 telephone riddled pinch malware? My interactions pinch the seller and some speedy Googling propose it’s not immoderate benignant of blase phishing strategy — much apt it’s conscionable immoderate regular ol’ eBay bait-and-switch shenanigans, perchance to hook america for a pricey restocking fee. I’ve asked Samsung to corroborate immoderate specifications astir the exemplary I was shipped; I haven’t gotten immoderate answers from them.

This full cursed endeavor has led maine to a azygous conclusion: Samsung doesn’t really want to waste TriFolds. If it did, past the institution would simply make much of them and waste them. No, Samsung wants america to want a TriFold. The TriFold is aspirational. It makes the $2,000 Z Fold 7 pinch a azygous hinge look for illustration a hellhole of a deal. That is its job; if this phone’s occupation was to really exist, past it would. If this were immoderate paradigm-shifting technological achievement, it would beryllium successful the hands of each tech reviewer successful the state — not a fistful of mostly influencers. In the meantime, I’ve sewage a very costly paperweight connected my table and a “Money Back Guarantee” petition to record pinch eBay.

Photography by Allison Johnson / The Verge