A question for the phone experts

My Goal: I'm a Verizon customer, and I want to get either the Motorola Droid 2 or the HTC Droid Incredible, but I have about 6 months before I'm ready to upgrade at the discounted price.

My Question: I've seen slightly used phones on Ebay for a fraction of the cost of the full price from Verizon, but what do I need to look for in buying one? I know you need to be sure it has a clean ESN. Is there anyway to verify this before you buy? I think this goes without saying, but I DON"T want to pay a few hundred bucks for a phone that won't work. Also, what are your opinions on the (2) phones listed above?

I love my Incredible! But I also like the HTC interface better than Motorola. Many reviewers still feel the Incredible is still the best Android phone currently. Nothing in the market now makes me want to upgrade in April when I can upgrade again.

Sent from my HTC Droid Incredible using Tapatalk.

You can call Verizon and give them the ESN, they can verify that it's OK.
Either phone is good, it really depends on what you prefer...do you want a keyboard or not? I love my Droid (original) and really like having a keyboard. Go to your local Verizon store and play with both, see which you really like. The UIs are different, one may fit your needs/wants better than the other. I'm a Moto fan but you may not be ;)