Can you use an icloud locked iphone as, an ipod?

I bid on 2 iphones on ebay and 1 is icloud locked. Could you use it as an ipod? Like not activate it on a cell carrier

It depends

If its stolen then you can't shut off find my iphone either, which means as soon as you use it will notify them of the exact map location where the phone is located, doesn't' matter if its Wi-Fi or cell tower.

Depends of the model, for iPhone 4 probably will be able after doing a jailbreak, but is a risky thing buying an icloud locked, because it means was either lost or stolen and can't be sure if the right owner or police are still looking for the phone or not