Google lifts ban on customers who resold Pixel phones

According to Ars Technica, a site named Dan’s Deals was suggesting that folks who buy the Google Pixel and Google Pixel with Project Fi could make a small profit by shipping the devices to his shop. Numerous accounts suspended were created for the sole goal of this scheme. The users tried to take advantage of a tax loophole in the U.S. and make profits on Google Pixel Phones.

Unfortunately, it turns out that this practice actually does violate Google’s terms and conditions, because the products sold on the online store are actually only meant to be bought for personal use or to be given as a gift, and can not be commercially resold. Interestingly, the people affected purchased the Google Pixel phones through the company’s carrier, Project Fi, and shipped them to New Hampshire – a region with no sales tax. Word on the street has started to trickle in, citing that Verizon introduced a BOGO (Buy One, Get One) 50% off program that will allow their customers to pick up the second Google Pixel handset at half the price.

The company added that it could terminate their accounts again if users are found in repeated violation of the company’s terms.

The AP described the company’s harsh measure as a death sentence because those accounts suddenly vanished as if they had never existed.

This week it became apparent that Google was banning a number of accounts because of a Pixel phone flipping scheme. Dan’s Deals is reporting that the suspended accounts have been reactivated.

That being said, Huawei’s decision to turn down Google’s deal seems logical considering the fact that the Chinese company is trying to move up in the tech world, and manufacturing Google’s new devices would have been just what the doctor ordered. Resale of the devices goes against Google’s policy which states that customers, “may only purchase Devices for your personal use [and] may not commercially resell any Device”.

But none of the accounts had been unlocked as of Thursday night, and Google didn’t say when access would be restored. The affected users lost access to their Gmail accounts, photos, and voicemails. Google unveils new products including the Google Pixel Phone making a jump into the mobile device market.

Obviously, this is a pretty shady arrangement on all the participants’ parts, and it does warrant a response of some kind from Google. The whole incident does raise concerns about the state of your Google account data.