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  #11  
Old 04-12-2005, 12:58 AM
scrub scrub is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Princeton, NJ
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Default Re: Buying a used cell phone on eBay

[ QUOTE ]
My cell phone is about 3 years old and I'm thinking of buying a new one. I have a Sprint PCS phone/plan and I'm not interested in switching carriers.

Has anyone out there bought a used cell phone on eBay? It seems like a much better bargain than buying a brand new one without any rebates for being a new signup. There seem to be fairly reputable sellers than specialize in reselling cell phones, and I think Sprint can accomodate the switch fairly easily.

[/ QUOTE ]

FWIW, I'd be worried about getting sold a stolen phone.

Flushed had hers stolen and when she reported it, the company claimed that they had made it impossible for the thief to activate the phone again.

Not sure if Ebay gives you enough protection against this, but I figured I'd mention it.

scrub
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  #12  
Old 04-12-2005, 01:08 AM
mmbt0ne mmbt0ne is offline
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Default Re: Buying a used cell phone on eBay

I'm 99% sure they just disable the SIM card. So long as he moves his SIM card over from his current phone, there will be no problems concerning the phone's usability.
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  #13  
Old 04-12-2005, 01:24 AM
manpower manpower is offline
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Default Re: Buying a used cell phone on eBay

I bought a used, cheap and crappy phone off ebay after I sank my previous one. It saved me over $100 and there were no hitches. Of course I prefer crappy phones so I have no worries in the event they are sunk during a good night of drinking.

I'm not sure how I'd feel about buying a more top of the line model; I might go new for the warranty/reliability.
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  #14  
Old 04-12-2005, 01:27 AM
jason_t jason_t is offline
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Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Another downswing?
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Default Re: Buying a used cell phone on eBay

[ QUOTE ]
My cell phone is about 3 years old and I'm thinking of buying a new one. I have a Sprint PCS phone/plan and I'm not interested in switching carriers.

Has anyone out there bought a used cell phone on eBay? It seems like a much better bargain than buying a brand new one without any rebates for being a new signup. There seem to be fairly reputable sellers than specialize in reselling cell phones, and I think Sprint can accomodate the switch fairly easily.

[/ QUOTE ]

My ex-gf and a buddy have both bought phones on eBay that they continue to use to this day. Switching the phones (with Verizon) was easy in both cases.
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  #15  
Old 04-12-2005, 12:03 PM
Flushed Flushed is offline
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Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Princeton, NJ
Posts: 25
Default Re: Buying a used cell phone on eBay

Yep, true story. AT&T assured me that from that point on my cell phone can only be used as a mildly attractive paperweight. It was an older phone, however - a Motorola v60ish or something like that - so I'm not sure it had a removable SIM card.
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  #16  
Old 04-12-2005, 12:07 PM
beerbandit beerbandit is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: 13 deep at Moe\'s
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Default Re: Buying a used cell phone on eBay

im pretty sure that if you are using sprint and have had your phone/plan for that long they offer an upgrade program

where you get a deal on a new phone -- so you would most likely be playing close to the new signup account price

atleast this is what it seemed like when they explained it to me before


cheers
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  #17  
Old 04-12-2005, 12:13 PM
ceyoung ceyoung is offline
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Port Jefferson, NY (Long Island)
Posts: 354
Default Re: Buying a used cell phone on eBay

[ QUOTE ]
Do it. It's really easy, and you're right about it being a lot cheaper. Also, Sprint, or any other carrier has to do dick about accomodating it. All you do is take the SIM card out of you phone, and put it in the new phone. Voila, now the new phone works on your old network with your same number.

Make sure the phone you buy is either a Sprint phone, or is unlocked (meaning you can use it on any network). Unlocked phones are nice because you can use it between carriers, plus you can feel special that 99.5% of people with Sprint don't have your phone.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sprint and Verizon are on CDMA and don't use sim cards so you can't do this. if you had a tmobile or cingular phone you could get an unlocked phone and use your sim card.

Sprint and Verizon register the phone directly using a serial number. However, when you buy a new Sprint phone they dont charge you to activate it. if you are going to stay with sprint, and have been with them for two years, they usually offer a $150 rebate on a replacement phone. the only stipulation is that you have to extend your contract for 2-years. even though sprint and verizon use the same technology, you cant use a verizon phone with sprint and vice versa, unless you hack the firmware.
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  #18  
Old 04-12-2005, 02:47 PM
MtnDave MtnDave is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Bay Area
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Default Re: Buying a used cell phone on eBay

Thanks! Googling worked.
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