To buy..or not to buy...a cellphone from ebay?

Question

Members of my family are regulars on ebay....
I am interested in buying a cell phone right now and I was wondering when you buy a cell phone from ebay how would you be able to get a plan for the phone so you can actually use it?
I have no idea how this works!!

Answer 1

The cellphones from ebay are split between small shops that are selling the plans along with phone or just individual like me who's just trying to get rid of my phone. If you are buying from a small shop with the plans then you will have to choose your phone and sign a contract with them. If you are buying from an individual, make sure the phone is compatible types. For example, GSM phone are all compatible granted that the phone is "unlocked". Unlocked phone can take any GSM SIM card off your current GSM phone and it will work by switching the SIM to the new phone. If the GSM phone doesn't state it's unlocked then you will not be able to use it because the locked phones will require an unlock key. However, this is only the case if you are trying to use a GSM phone from different provider. If you currently have a Sprint GSM phone then any Sprint GSM phone will work. Like wise Cingular GSM phone will work with any Cingular GSM phone. The lock and unlocked are only concerned if you are trying to use phone from different provider. i.e. Sprint phone will not work when locked with a Cingular code but Sprint phone will work when used with an unlocked Cingular phone.

If you have a CDMA phone then you will also need to get the CDMA phone from the same provider. There is no lock or unlock with CDMA except that you will have to call the provider and give them your new ESN number in the back of the battery. I'm pretty sure CDMA phones are all provider dependent and it cannot be changed to a different provider since ESN are what the provider uses to track the phone unlike GSM phones which uses the GSM chip to track the phone. I've seen however, foreign country CDMA phone can be ported since those phones will not conflict within US. Meaning foreign CDMA phone's ESN were never registered with any US based service provider hence you could use foreign ones but it'll be a lot of head ache for the provider to get those work in their system.

Answer 2

Here's a better option

http://pinurl.com/r4

They are verified members of Fair Trade Authority and the Better Business Bureau . Many Powersellers on ebay get stuff to sell from here .

Answer 3

I have purchased a couple of cell phones for over $300 each on e-bay and have had good luck - even getting my money back when one seller couldn't deliver. Just make sure you look at the sellers feedback. If they have over 99.2% positive and no recent negatives you probably won't have any problem. Also, using paypal is a very good idea.

Answer 4

As far as I know , you must already have service. The phones on ebay are not activated, you purchase to upgrade your existing phone. There for the phone you purchase must be compatible with your service provider.