has anyone bought a cell phone on ebay? - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

dtheriault · 04-20-2005, 11:16 PM

i hate my current cingular cell phone, but my annual contract isn't up so i can't switch it. i heard that you can buy a phone on ebay and just switch the smart chips.

has anyone done this? what should i look for or beware of?

thanks.

vinaur · 04-21-2005, 12:52 PM

Never bought a phone on eBay, but I wouldn't pay a whole lot more for an unlocked phone than for a locked, since unlocking phones is really easy (especially nokias, which, I think, are the best phones out there, probably after Samsung, since I don't like flip phones).

soccerchamp76 · 04-21-2005, 01:52 PM

I bought my Motorola V400 on Ebay. It was $200, unlocked and has worked perfectly. It was expensive but I had the cheap free Nokia phone and I wanted to color/camera phone with polyphonic ringtones. The biggest thing to watch out for is whether or not the phone is unlocked and whether or not it is new, "like-new", or used.

asshopo · 04-26-2005, 07:56 AM

A friend of mine has bought 3 different phones off ebay without issues. 1 was an unlocked phone and the other 2 were sprint phones.

killeena · 04-27-2005, 08:14 AM

I kinda got hosed on a phone I bought off of ebay. I bought it, but didn't check into the ID of it to make sure it wasn't reported as lost/stolen. Sure enough, when I got it, I couldn't activate it because of it's lost/stolen status. If you do buy one, make sure that you ask the seller for the ID to be sure you will be able to activate it.

Melka · 04-27-2005, 01:51 PM

My roommate and I just bought Cingular phones off ebay. Her's is great; but for mine I stupidly assumed that if it worked with AT&T it would work with Cingular, it does not. Phonescoop.com seemed like a good place to check out user reviews of all sorts of phones. Also watch the shipping, some people were charging like $20, which seemed ridiculous.

04-20-2005, 11:16 PM	#1 (permalink)
dtheriault Psycho Location: maybe utah	has anyone bought a cell phone on ebay? i hate my current cingular cell phone, but my annual contract isn't up so i can't switch it. i heard that you can buy a phone on ebay and just switch the smart chips. has anyone done this? what should i look for or beware of? thanks. __________________ "Remember, it takes two to lie. One to lie and one to listen." -Homer Unless you are the freakin Highlander, what is the point in learning how to fight with a sword?

04-21-2005, 12:52 PM	#2 (permalink)
vinaur Insane	Never bought a phone on eBay, but I wouldn't pay a whole lot more for an unlocked phone than for a locked, since unlocking phones is really easy (especially nokias, which, I think, are the best phones out there, probably after Samsung, since I don't like flip phones). __________________ If you multiply that by infinity and take it to the depths of forever, you will, perhaps, get just a glimpse of what I am talking about. --Meet Joe Black--

04-21-2005, 01:52 PM	#3 (permalink)
soccerchamp76 Go Cardinals Location: St. Louis/Cincinnati	I bought my Motorola V400 on Ebay. It was $200, unlocked and has worked perfectly. It was expensive but I had the cheap free Nokia phone and I wanted to color/camera phone with polyphonic ringtones. The biggest thing to watch out for is whether or not the phone is unlocked and whether or not it is new, "like-new", or used. __________________ Brian Griffin: Ah, if my memory serves me, this is the physics department. Chris Griffin: That would explain all the gravity.

04-26-2005, 07:56 AM	#4 (permalink)
asshopo Insane Location: Michigan	A friend of mine has bought 3 different phones off ebay without issues. 1 was an unlocked phone and the other 2 were sprint phones. __________________ Patterns have a habit of repeating themselves.

04-27-2005, 08:14 AM	#5 (permalink)
killeena Crazy Location: Meechigan	I kinda got hosed on a phone I bought off of ebay. I bought it, but didn't check into the ID of it to make sure it wasn't reported as lost/stolen. Sure enough, when I got it, I couldn't activate it because of it's lost/stolen status. If you do buy one, make sure that you ask the seller for the ID to be sure you will be able to activate it. __________________ Freedom would be not to choose between black and white but to abjure such prescribed choices. - Theodor Adorno

04-27-2005, 01:51 PM	#6 (permalink)
Melka Upright	My roommate and I just bought Cingular phones off ebay. Her's is great; but for mine I stupidly assumed that if it worked with AT&T it would work with Cingular, it does not. Phonescoop.com seemed like a good place to check out user reviews of all sorts of phones. Also watch the shipping, some people were charging like $20, which seemed ridiculous.