Cellular Complements

Buying a Used Cell Phone | What to Look For

So you decided that you want or need to replace your cell phone and you don’t want to pay the ridiculous prices to buy it brand new. Well here are some tips that will help you make sure that you don’t get ripped off and get the best value for your money. These tips will help whether you’re buying an apple iphone, a pocket pc, or what ever cell phone you decide to get, you won’t regret it at the end of the day.

1. Before you plunk down cash for a used phone, remove the battery cover and look for a red dot. If you don’t see a red dot look for a white dot. If you don’t see the white dot ask what happened to the white dot. That white circular dot about the size of a hole punch on a piece of paper lets you know if the phone has been wet before or not. If you find a phone that works and the dot is red, it may not give you any problems but it will give you something to think about.
2. Do not pay extra for a charger for a phone that costs you more than $30. Some cell phone dealers I know will try to rip their customers off and try to nickel and dime them to death by charging them extra for things that should be included. If your phone cost less than $30, then go ahead and pay for the charger. I charge $10 for after market chargers by the way so hopefully that is around what you will find or maybe cheaper.
3. Always, always, always test the phone fully before you leave the store you are at. If the dealer will not let you test the cameras, and the ringtones, and do a test call and everything else, then leave the store. I will let a customer test a phone for 30 minutes if necessary and I encourage it.
4. Make sure you check to see that the phone charges. Especially if you purchase some Sony Ericsson cell phones. They have the dumbest charging ports of all the brands and it is easy to tear up if you don’t properly know how to insert and remove the charger.
5. If you are buying a Sprint, Verizon, Alltel, Metro Pcs, US Cellular, Cricket, or any other CDMA carrier, dial 611 and try to change it over right there in the store. You are doing this to make sure that the dealer isn’t selling you a phone with a bad ESN. I know Metro PCS ESN’s stay bad for about 2 months then you can activate them, the rest especially Sprint, Verizon, and Alltel should be considered as paper weights unless you know someone that can do something naughty with the ESNs. T-Mobile, AT&T, and Nextel you should be good to go. Unless you want to add insurance then you could possibly run into a problem with the IMEI numbers.
6. Speaking of insurance, don’t insure a used phone! It is a waste of your time. And sometimes the carrier won’t even do it anyway.
7. Unlocked phones with the exception of the Apple Iphone and maybe a few others, will give you problems when it comes to using all of the features. You should expect some problems with getting on the internet or sending multi media messages sometimes on some unlocked phones. Each cell phone is different but just expect that.

Well that will do it for about now. I apologize for not finishing the 10 Hottest Cell Phones of All Time yet. When I complete it, I will just publish the rest of the whole list instead of stretching it out like I planned. So whether you’re buying used Motorola cell phones, nokia cell phones, unlocked phones, or prepaid phones, keep these tips in mind and you can’t go wrong.