Cell Phones Online

[Aaron Beaver]

Anyone ever order a plan and phone off the net? I was wondering because it seems like online is the best place to get deals on the phones with all the rebates they offer, the phones are free or next to nothing. Didn't know if there would be any problems getting a plan from a net store.

I know you have to do a two year contract and to get the rebates its very time sensitive and very specific on how you do the rebate, but other than that, why not get a good deal on a phone? From what I know you are turned over to the service provider you chose for the most part after you have made your purchase online.

Wondering if anyone has done it.
Thanks

[Rick Moyer]

I di this about 5 years ago (still have the same phone). The only problem I had was they gave me a number that was not as local as it should have been and therefor I had some long distance calls that should have been local. Since most all plans now are free long distance I suspect this would no longer be a problem. They corrected it at my request, anyway, so it was short term. (let's talk dot com was the place I used).

[Aaron Beaver]

I di this about 5 years ago (still have the same phone). The only problem I had was they gave me a number that was not as local as it should have been and therefor I had some long distance calls that should have been local. Since most all plans now are free long distance I suspect this would no longer be a problem. They corrected it at my request, anyway, so it was short term. (let's talk dot com was the place I used).


Thanks Rick, that's is who I was looking at going with since they had some of the best deals on phones but thought I would see if anyone had any experience with an online place. I will watch for the number thing though, the last phones I got for my wife and I had different area codes so I had to get that fixed.

[Benjamin Dahl]

if you have an idea what service provider you want to go with you should check their online stores as well. I went with ATT and the online store had much better options than what I could get in their brick and mortar store.

[Bryan Rocker]

Make sure you do your homework. You can usually find great deals on phones but many times they have virtually no support. I have been looking at a Blackberry 8310 and you can get them for almost nothing on Amazon HOWEVER if it breaks RIM will not provide any warranty work on it. The phone becomes worthless and you are stuck with a 2 year plan and no way to use it or get out of the plan without paying exorbendent fees to cancel it.

[Randy Cohen]

i got my LG phone on amazon for a penny and a $50 rebate from verizon. this was about a year and a half ago. i had to get a 2 year contract with verizon but around here they are the only ones offering coverage. i don't know about warranty but i never had any trouble with it.

[Brad Knight]

I went to Newegg dot com did everything but order my phone, select the phone, plan (w/AT&T)... accessories... then I took it to my local AT&T store and they honored the price and plan. They couldn't do the accessories because they didn't have the exact same models, but my wife and I both wound up getting our Blackberry Curves (8310) for free and got a $100 rebate to boot with both phones.

[Brad Knight]

BTW... the AT&T rep threatened my wife and I if we were to share this info with anyone else :)