Selling an iPhone, what does free and clear mean?

Hey guys I'm selling an iPhone 5s on ebay the carrier is Cricket. People are asking me "Is it IOS locked?" "is it free and clear". What does this mean?

Years ago I used to deal with iPhones. I would call ATT or Sprint or Verizon and read them the MEID number. Then they would tell me if the phone is locked or not. Today, years later, I called cricket and they said there was no locking anymore.

I have a few iPhones to sell can someone please teach me how to do a good job for my customers

Free and clear means the IMEI serial number is good and not turned off/blacklisted. That happens when a phone is reported lost/stolen. Also remove any idevices from any iCloud account associated with the phone and delete the iCloud account. Factory reset the phone so it runs just as it did out of the box. If the phone is still locked to operate on Cricket only that needs to be stipulated. If it's unlocked it can work on most any carrier and that needs to be known as well. Best luck.

If you're selling a phone that is tied to a carrier, it's not free and clear. It's locked.

An unlocked phone is able to command more money on eBay than a locked phone.

You should also wipe each iphone first, so your icloud ID isn't on it and everything you used with passwords is wiped. Then make sure its not locked or bad ESN, you can verify it online: http://www.justtext.com/messageboards/20140127095337.html

Free and clear is a term for laundry detergent, not cell phones

It means the laundry detergent has no dyes or fragrances for people sensitive to dyes and fragrances