Warning: This review is old and may no longer hold true. Please see the edits at the end of this post.
Using an iPhone and iTunes as a South African user sucks. Every iPhone user I know has registered a US iTunes account to get access to apps that are inexplicably* unavailable in South Africa. The only downside is that, without a US credit card, the only way to buy apps on the AppStore is by using iTunes vouchers/gift cards. Naturally, getting the vouchers in the first place can be a risky endeavour.
I decided to take a chance on http://www.buyfrompowerseller.com/, given their positive eBay feedback profile. The order went in at 18:35 GMT, and 76 minutes later, I had my voucher code; iTunes happily accepted it and my first purchase was entirely without incident. So far I’m entirely happy, although I’ll update this post if anything develops.
* Apparently South African law requires all “games” to be reviewed by the Film & Publications Board. Thus, even if an app is set for global distribution in iTunes, it won’t appear in the South African flavour.
P.S. 2011/07/19: I recently noticed that buyfrompowerseller.com is currently linking to this review on their affiliate page. For the record, I am not an affiliate of theirs, and I have not received anything from them except the iTunes voucher, which I purchased at full price. — Ashley
P.P.S. 2012/11/28: Felix has raised an issue with buyfrompowerseller.com not fulfilling orders, sharing an article that highlights the problem. If one checks buyfrompowerseller’s eBay feedback, you’ll find only one review in the last year. This is worrying, as it shows that they have stopped selling iTunes vouchers through eBay, which also means that customers can no longer rate their experience in an open forum. Please beware when purchasing from this vendor, and do not trust their eBay feedback profile. — Ashley
Glad it worked out for you. I would still suggest that future buyers be cautious. I used buyfrompowerseller when they were still on Ebay, and have no idea how they’ve decided to run their business since they went independent.
Hi,
As I googled reviews for buyfrompowerseller, I found your website as one of the first. I was initially not sure about the website after reading the last review, however I wanted to let you know that I did order an iTunes card from them and received it within 24h and the code was working. Therefore all good. Thanks!
There is a golden rule, “Never believe what you see in Google” or for that matter what you see in ebay and most of all in the actual retailer site reviews. It seems Buyfrompowerseller is doing a lot of bull****!
I caught this site depicting the scam of buyfrompowerseller. Shame on you!!
http://rumpitekno.com/2012/how-to-get-paid-apps-for-free/
I appreciate your review and hope you enjoy your Iphone.
Recently lots of South African iPhone users have bought iTunes cards from me. I believe this review makes an important contribution.
Thank you,
BuyFromPowerSeller.com