> we are unfortunately not able to guarantee bootloader unlocking, as it is not feasible for us to search through thousands of devices in order to find one that is

Ohhhh, is that how it works? Maybe I should try that next time. Instead of selling broken hardware as "NOT TESTED, AS IS, PARTS MACHINE" I should sell them as "100% working!" and when someone asks, I'll tell them "sorry, it's not feasible to search through all devices and find the working ones"

Swappa became a no-go for me when they started making exceptions to their rules for commercial sellers, justifying it by saying they were inherently more reliable. For example, using stock photos for multiple devices instead of the device you actually receive. All of three of these phones, based on the seller names, were those reliable sellers.

In the context of an online marketplace "Unlocked" means "Not carrier locked". This has _nothing_ to do with the bootloader.

I've used eBay to buy several used Pixels for GrapheneOS, without problem.

The easy way is to search for ones for which the seller explicitly says "OEM" or "bootloader" unlockable/unlocked (or seller says it already has "grapheneos", "graphene", "calyxos", etc., installed).

For awhile, I came up with some tricks to try to get a better price by identifying ones that were bought directly from Google (rather than through a carrier, which are who has been disabling bootloader unlocking thus far), but decided it wasn't worth the effort.

Of course, you can also just buy a new one from Google.

I had a similar experience with eBay. The problem is that “unlocked“ typically refers to being able to use it on a different carrier—not related to the bootloader.

So I bought an “unlocked” Pixel that had a locked bootloader. Returned it. Felt bad because the seller correctly classified it.

Ultimately I found an eBay seller (thegizmotrader) that explicitly lists the bootloader as unlockable.

When buying secondhand, I suggest looking for Pixels not associated with any particular carrier (as are sold by Google online store), and especially not Verizon.

Swappa is great for sellers and bad for buyers. They use a Paypal marketplace product and have no actual authority in a transaction, they just match buyers and sellers. If the phone is not as described, you'll have to pay return shipping yourself.

Bummer of an experience. About a month ago I bought an unlocked 8a from a seller on Swappa and had no issue getting GrapheneOS (which works well!) on it.

Well never needed an unlocked bootloader specifically, but have found Swappa to be solid place to buy used gear more generally - purchased 4 used iPhones and 1 Macbook Air so far.

I went through this cycle myself a few months back. It seems like many sellers conflate bootloader unlocking with carrier unlocking.

I was just about to buy something from them, but maybe not now. I want a used pixel--where is the best marketplace for that?

Did you try disputing through your payment method or is that not an option with how Swappa processes things?

I wonder why almost no one in these GrapheneOS praise topic mentions that you won't be able to pay with your phone, and often even bank apps refuse to install on it - it was a deal breaker for me personally, and now I'm back under Google umbrella :<

Unlocked bootloader, grapheneOS, etc etc are all technical terms and nerd culture no one knows outside of technical world, most of these sellers are not technical people, nor they have the time to check it, and unless the seller is technical dude himself, highly unlikely you will get a definitive answer.

This has a downside like your scenario, but also a positive side when you find gems in used markets but the owner doesn’t know its potentials.

Swappa has been "ok" in my experience

I had issues with receiving incompatible "variants" of compatible devices when shopping for used phone for custom roms

I've had good experiences with gazelle.com for used devices but never tried to load GrapheneOS on anything from them.

I got scammed on Swappa about six months ago. I was buying a used Google Pixel tablet in "mint" condition. It was really used and terribly scratched up.

Swappa staff were unhelpful and only after I opened a dispute with Paypal did I get my money back.

I don't blame Swappa for a random dodgy seller, but this was an "Enterprise" seller, whom is still selling on Swappa today!

See this reddit review, which isn't mine, but is almost exactly what I dealt with.

https://reddit.com/r/Scams/comments/1d8emzf/suckered_on_swap...

Reading OP's post, I can't help but wonder if they bought a Verizon Pixel. This is a very very well-known gotcha. Verizon locks their bootloaders and you can't bootloader-unlock Verizon Pixels, even after they are carrier-unlocked.

Uh oh. I just brought a pixel 6a from Swappa, was hoping to use a different os. Not arrived yet though.

I just bought an official Pixel 9 to install GrapheneOS, and the process couldn't be simpler. Their webusb installer is extremely polished. You just plug your phone in, click through a few steps, and you're done. There's absolutely no reason to bother looking for a phone with GrapheneOS already preinstalled.

As a side note, I've been using it for a few months now, and it works great. All the apps I use run on it just fine. Battery life is great, and you don't have a bunch of cruft from Google running on your device. Can highly recommend for anybody looking for a phone you actually own.