Buy Ledger Nano used? Why we definitely do not recommend buying used hardware wallets:
Recovery Phrase
One of the safest ways to store your crypto assets is on a hardware wallet like the Ledger Nano S. However, there have been more and more stories lately of people buying a used or "new" hardware wallet on eBay and then losing all their crypto assets.
In Germany, the Ledger Nano S is the most popular hardware wallet. However, recently there have been more and more cases of fraud surrounding the Ledger Nano S. The problem often starts with users not buying the wallet directly from the manufacturer but second-hand or supposedly new on eBay. What many people don't know at first is that the hardware wallet can be completely restored even if it is lost.
For this purpose, you get a so-called "recovery phrase" when you first set it up, which consists of 24 words. If you have these 24 words, you can restore the keys that are stored on the hardware wallet even if you don't have the wallet.
In the cases of fraud known so far, reported by Reddit users for example, the "recovery phrase" was already set up and the enclosed slip of paper with the 24 words was filled in. Of course, anyone who has not used a hardware wallet before does not necessarily know that it does not have to be like this.
The sellers of the hardware wallets do not have to do anything other than wait until the buyers have transferred their cryptocurrencies to the hardware wallets and can then set up a new wallet using the recovery phrase and thus gain access to the assets. Afterwards, they only have to withdraw the funds.
So if you want to be on the safe side, you should definitely order a new hardware wallet from the manufacturer.