iTorg
en

Trading safely

The vast majority of deals on iTorg go well. Three simple steps make sure yours does too, whether you’re buying or selling.

Last updated 31 October 2026

  1. Step 1

    Meet and test

    Somewhere busy, with the device in your hands.

  2. Step 2

    Check the lock

    Nobody may be signed in to the device.

  3. Step 3

    Pay in person

    Money and device change hands at the same time.

Step 1

Meet and test the device

A busy place, such as a café or a shopping centre, works well. Give yourself ten minutes with the device before payment comes up. No honest seller minds.

  • Turns on and starts up normally
  • The screen: no cracks, dead pixels or marks
  • Every camera, front and back
  • Speaker, microphone and the mute switch
  • Charging with a cable, and wirelessly if the device supports it
  • Face ID or Touch ID
  • All the buttons

Step 2

Is the device locked to the previous owner?

Apple devices are tied to the owner’s Apple Account. While a phone is still tied to the previous owner it is useless to you, and there is nothing you can do about it afterwards. One test is enough.

  1. 1

    Ask the seller to erase everything while you watch

    The phone restarts and shows “Hello”. If it then asks for the previous owner’s Apple Account or password, it is still locked. Walk away, no discussion needed.SettingsGeneralTransfer or Reset iPhoneErase All Content and Settings

  2. 2

    The shortcut, if there is no time to erase

    Open Settings. At the top it should say “Sign in to your iPhone” instead of a name. Then nobody is signed in and the lock is off. If a name is there, the phone is still tied to whoever owns that name.

9:41

Settings

Sign in to your iPhone

Set up iCloud, the App Store and more.

This is how the top should look: nobody signed in.

The same applies to iPad, Mac and Apple Watch: nobody may be signed in when you take over. AirPods and accessories have no such lock.

Step 2

Look at the numbers

Four things in the settings that say more than the description in the listing. They take a minute to check.

The serial number

Should match the box and the receipt, if they come with it. At checkcoverage.apple.com you can see whether the device is still under warranty.

SettingsGeneralAbout

The battery

The number shows how much the battery holds compared with a new one. Apple’s line is 80%: below that, Apple recommends a new battery, which isn’t cheap.

SettingsBatteryBattery Health

Parts and service history

Shows whether the screen, battery or camera has been replaced, and whether the parts came from Apple. The line only appears if something has been replaced. If you don’t see it, nothing has been recorded.

SettingsGeneralAboutParts and Service History

On a Mac

Chip, memory and storage should match the listing. The battery’s cycle count is in System Information under Power.

Apple menuAbout This Mac

Step 3

Payment

One rule is enough: the money and the device change hands at the same time, in the same place.

Do this

  • Test the device first, then pay. A bank transfer or payment app on the spot works well.
  • Seller: wait until the payment shows up in your own banking app before handing the device over. Transfers in Iceland arrive straight away.
  • If it has to be shipped, use cash on delivery (póstkrafa) with Pósturinn: the buyer pays when collecting the parcel and Pósturinn pays the amount to the seller.
  • Keep the conversation on iTorg. Then it is on record if anything comes up.

Skip this

  • Don’t pay in advance for an item to be shipped by someone you don’t know.
  • Don’t accept a screenshot of a transfer as payment. It is a picture, and pictures can be edited.
  • Don’t hand the device to a courier or a third party on the buyer’s behalf.
  • Don’t move the conversation straight to another app just because the other person asks.

Good to know

Three patterns worth knowing

They are rare, but they always look the same. What they have in common: you are supposed to let go of the device or the money before the other half has reached you. Once you know the pattern, saying no is easy.

A “receipt” for a payment that hasn’t arrived

What is going on
A screenshot of a transfer is just a picture. Changing the amount, name or date on a picture takes a minute.
How to see through it
A payment has arrived when it shows in your own banking app, not in a screenshot from the other person. Transfers in Iceland arrive within seconds, so “the bank is slow” rarely holds up.
BBuyerExample

  1. Here’s the receipt

  2. Screenshot · Transfer

    150,000 ISK

    Confirmed

  3. Nothing has come into my bank.

  4. The bank is slow, it’ll come tomorrow. Can you send it today?

Wants to be paid up front for an item that “will be shipped”

What is going on
The price is a little better than elsewhere, the seller is out of town or abroad, and the item goes in the post as soon as you transfer. Then nothing comes.
How to see through it
You are being asked to take all the risk. Offer cash on delivery, so you pay when you collect the parcel, or to meet. A seller who refuses both and only wants a transfer is telling you enough.
SSellerExample

  1. I’m up north but can send it with Pósturinn tomorrow if you transfer today.

  2. Can’t we do cash on delivery?

  3. No, that’s such a hassle. Just transfer, I’ll send you a photo of the receipt from Pósturinn.

“Can’t remember the password” and wants to sell the phone locked

What is going on
The phone is still tied to an Apple Account, often not the seller’s. The story is that the password is lost, the email address is old, or the phone came from a relative. The price is lowered so you stop asking.
How to see through it
A phone nobody can sign out of can’t be used, whatever the price. Ask for everything to be erased in front of you. If the seller can’t, they don’t really own the phone, or don’t know how to release it, and the answer is no either way.
SSellerExample

  1. Like new, I’ve just forgotten the Apple password. You can set it up yourself.

  2. Can you sign out in front of me?

  3. No, I don’t have access to that email any more. I’ll knock 20k off.

Selling? Three things before you hand it over

This takes a quarter of an hour and makes sure the buyer gets a device that works straight away, and that nothing of yours is left on it.

  1. 1

    Make a backup

    To iCloud or a computer, so your photos and everything else follow you to the next device.

  2. 2

    Erase all content and settings

    The phone asks for your password, signs you out and turns off Find My at the same time. It then starts up like new. Take the SIM card out first.SettingsGeneralTransfer or Reset iPhoneErase All Content and Settings

  3. 3

    Check that it worked

    The phone should show “Hello” and not ask for your account. Then it is ready for the next owner.

On a Mac: sign out of iCloud in System Settings, then erase all content and settings. Apple Watch: unpair the watch in the Watch app on your phone, which erases it at the same time.

If something feels off

Then just walk away. You don’t have to explain anything, and you miss out on nothing. There is always another phone.

Let us knowWith the “Report listing” button on the listing or at itorg@itorg.is. We look into it and remove the listing if there is reason to.
If you have been defraudedReport it to the police at logreglan.is or by phone on 444 1000. Keep the conversation and any receipts. The emergency number 112 is for emergencies.