Apple

If the seller cannot do a simple thing like showing you the settings section then walk away, they are either dodgy or not interested in selling

Just buy from the store.

You don’t need apple id to access settings lol.

The only thing you need to sign in to an apple id is to see the coverage on settings

Check my other comment OP you can skip past during set up and get to Home Screen to check

If he tries to rush you , than I wouldn’t take the deal - if there isn’t any issues and he’s trust worthy , he wouldn’t mind you setting it up as new without signing in and skipping through the setup menu to get into to the phones - only reason he would have an issue with it is if he’s tryna scam you

When I bought a used phone, the condition I insisted on was I would not try to haggle the price and we would meet at the Verizon store and let Verizon do the check for lost or stolen. After being cleared, THEN I paid. That four year old Samsung flagship was down to $125, and is still my WiFi device and backup if my iPhone pukes or lost.

Any legit seller will be prepared.

Definitely a scam, you don’t need to be logged into an Apple ID to see the settings.

lolscam

Not a red flag to me if he’s done a factory reset before selling. Sounds like you’re meeting in person. Just take the 15 min with the seller and put in your sim and login with your Apple ID. Check the battery settings and download an app at least.

Seems like it was just fully reset so he has to sign in just to make sure

You definitely don’t need to be logged in to see settings. Just play it safe. There are plenty of iPhones for sale, don’t choose the shady one to save a couple bucks. Not worth it.

The iPhone wants you to login to Apple before activation after a reset. But you can bypass that by pressing create apple ID and then sign in later

Not true, you can skip the Apple ID sign in

Ah he’s right cause you can’t get into settings when they (I assume) reset it to transfer to you.

It needs an Apple ID because it’s stolen.

Otherwise he could quickly use his and take the pics.

If you want to get a reliable iPhone that you know is not stolen, get a certified refurbished phone from a reputable company like Backmarket.com or go directly to Apple. This way you get a phone that you know is useable and it comes with a warranty. Don't mess around with sketchy idiots, that's a sure way to get ripped off. If you know the person thats one thing, but some random from the internet? Not in a million years would I trust them. I got my 13 pro max from Backmarket and I am happy. Good Luck