Why is it so hard to buy a cell phone?

[TheFied]

I have Sprint and a Razr. It works but would like a newer Razr, maybe the V9. My current one, the 9 key can be a ***** and one of the volume keys doesn't work.

But it seems that you cannot buy a phone anywhere but directly from the cell phone providers. And on top of that, the phones are like $500 unless you want to re-up a $200 2 year contract. What a joke.

I can google for a laptop and find a ton of places to buy one but with a cell phone, I cannot. Makes no sense to me.

And annoying as hell.

 

[DallasCMD]

Well, from my experience, and I am also with Sprint, is that you can find pretty good deals on craigslist and ebay. For Sprint, the phone must have a clean and clear ESN. This is the serial number for the phone and is how Sprint attaches the phone to a person's contract. I bought my wife a Treo 700wx off of Ebay, brand new in box, from a reputable seller for $125. Wife was only about a year into her contract, so Sprint wanted too much for the same phone and the discount they were offering at one year was nothing.

Couple of months later, my son wants a new phone. I meet a guy here in Dallas who is selling an HTC touch new in box for $150. I meet up with him, tell him I am going to call Sprint customer service (*2) to verify the ESN before I hand over the cash. Call Sprint, and lo and behold, the phone is currently under contract, and no, I would not be able to activate it on my account. My guess is it was probably stolen!

Decide to call another on craigslist, now that I feel the wiser, and ask the seller to meet me at a Sprint store for money exchange and to verify the ESN. Brand new HTC Mogul everything in the box. Sprint employee runs the numbers, everything checks okay, hand the seller $175 for a phone that goes $399 at Sprint, no contract. Six months later, no problems to report.

Give it a shot. If you are just looking for another Razr, those can be found easily going either route and far less than you would pay with Sprint. Good luck.

 

[johnny chimpo]

I bought a (used) Blackberry off Craigslist dirt cheap, put my SIM card in and was ready to go.

 

[TheFied]

Dallas, I bought my current Razr on craigslist new in the box also.

It puzzles me that I can find 20 vendors to buy a GPS system but finding a cell phone is like 10 years ago or something.

 

[MilkmanDan]

If you want to buy a non-subsidized handset, here you go.