Sprint phones from E-bay usable?

[email protected] (Aravind) wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> Hello friends,
>
> My existing Sprint PCS phone (LG TP-5250) is not giving reception in
> my new apartment and I was told that I may have to buy a new phone,
> preferrably a Sanyo to get better reception. I found a couple of them
> in ebay (Sanyo PM-8200), they are cheaper and without a contract, I
> presume?

There are folks who sell phones on ebay with a contract being necessary.
This should be stated in the auction.
The vast majority of auctions are for used phones.

>
> The question is, can I buy these phones off of ebay and will Sprint
> activate these phones in place of my existing ones (we have two phones
> sharing mins, my wife and me) without insisting on a fresh contract
> (meaning 'month-to-month)?
>
> Would appreciate some help and thanks in advance.
>
> Aravind

As others suggest, it would be wise to get the ESN # and check it through
sprint - Though this can be a pain if, like alot of people do, you are
bidding in the last hours/minutes of the auction.
I've sold quite a few sprint phones on ebay, and have always stated the ESN
right in the auction to avoid that little complication.
I've bought sprint phones on ebay at the last minute without knowing the
ESN,and luckily have never been burned.

---

› See More: Sprint phones from E-bay usable?

Thomas T. Veldhouse wrote:

>
> And what if you don't buy the phone from them at all? Suppose you buy a
> used phone, or perhaps a phone from Costco.

A phone from Costco is still a Sprint subsidized phone. In fact Sprint
is probably paying a slightly heavier subsidy so that Costco can give
you a bigger break.

As for a used phone, there's no subsidy, but then Sprint isn't setting
the price; the person ebaying the phone is.




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In article <[email protected]>, veldy71
@yahoo.com says...
> And what if you don't buy the phone from them at all? Suppose you buy a
> used phone, or perhaps a phone from Costco.
>


Actually, as long as you're not activating a brand-spanking new phone,
the 18-month "clock" isn't supposed to reset. Only a phone that has
never been activated on another account would reset the clock.

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O/Siris
-+-
"A thing moderately good is not so good
as it ought to be. Moderation in temper
is always a virtue, but moderation in
principle is always a vice."

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"O/Siris" <0siris@sprîntpcs.côm> wrote in message news:1098210942.+lpvr9Bl7WOkrEwtqp4y9A@teranews...
>
> Actually, as long as you're not activating a brand-spanking new phone,
> the 18-month "clock" isn't supposed to reset. Only a phone that has
> never been activated on another account would reset the clock.

But why would a brand-new phone bought from Costco or another
retailer reset Sprint's clock?
The clock should reset only when Sprint pays for a rebate.

--
John Richards

"O/Siris" <0siris@sprîntpcs.côm> wrote in message news:1098210942.+lpvr9Bl7WOkrEwtqp4y9A@teranews...
>
> Actually, as long as you're not activating a brand-spanking new phone,
> the 18-month "clock" isn't supposed to reset. Only a phone that has
> never been activated on another account would reset the clock.

But why would a brand-new phone bought from Costco or another
retailer reset Sprint's clock?
The clock should reset only when Sprint pays for a rebate.

--
John Richards

Thomas T. Veldhouse wrote:

>>A phone from Costco is still a Sprint subsidized phone. In fact Sprint
>>is probably paying a slightly heavier subsidy so that Costco can give
>>you a bigger break.
>
>
> If it is, I don't see how. Anybody from Costco can buy that phone
> without having a Sprint PCS account.

Yes, and the same is true of any phones you buy as Best Buy or Radio
Shack. You are not required to get an account on the spot to get the
subsidy. You *are* required to activate to get the $150 additional
rebate on the spot, however, or you can sign a contract later and get
the rebate in the form of a service credit.

However, the phones *are* subsidy locked, meaning they will not accept
activation from a carrier other than Sprint. This is how Sprint makes
sure they recoup their costs.


> That phone can be used and it does
> not require any changes to an account (i.e. contract extension).

Again, the same is true of any phone you buy elsewhere (I've never had a
contract extension when buying from Best Buy, RadioShack, and even
directly from Sprint).

> So, if Sprint PCS is subsidizing this phone, then they are not putting
> the usual contract restrictions on the subsidy.

From what I've seen, the restrictions are the same. The only way to
get service on these phones (theorectically at least) is through Sprint,
so they virtually ensure that eventually, they will get their money back
on the loss they took on the phone.

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In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
> "O/Siris" <0siris@sprîntpcs.côm> wrote in message news:1098210942.+lpvr9Bl7WOkrEwtqp4y9A@teranews...
> >
> > Actually, as long as you're not activating a brand-spanking new phone,
> > the 18-month "clock" isn't supposed to reset. Only a phone that has
> > never been activated on another account would reset the clock.
>
> But why would a brand-new phone bought from Costco or another
> retailer reset Sprint's clock?
> The clock should reset only when Sprint pays for a rebate.
>
>

This is just speculation, but I think you basically gave the answer
yourself: "Sprint pays for a rebate." The rebate in CostCo's case goes
to CostCo, and you get the phone cheaper. It's not much, I know, but
it's something, so I can see why it might rest the clock. Others...

Well... if you're buying a phone faster than every 18 months, then
Sprint basically has you already. I mean, the rebate is *both* an
assurance of future loyalty and a reward for past loyalty. I would
suppose that buying new phones more often is a pretty good indicator of
both.

I don't know. As I said, I'm speculating.

--
RØß
O/Siris
-+-
"A thing moderately good is not so good
as it ought to be. Moderation in temper
is always a virtue, but moderation in
principle is always a vice."

Thomas Paine, "The Rights of Man", 1792

John Richards wrote:
> "O/Siris" <0siris@sprîntpcs.côm> wrote in message
> news:1098210942.+lpvr9Bl7WOkrEwtqp4y9A@teranews...
>
>>
>> Actually, as long as you're not activating a brand-spanking new phone,
>> the 18-month "clock" isn't supposed to reset. Only a phone that has
>> never been activated on another account would reset the clock.
>
>
> But why would a brand-new phone bought from Costco or another
> retailer reset Sprint's clock?
> The clock should reset only when Sprint pays for a rebate.
>

Why should Sprint force a contract extension for a simple calling plan change
that does not involve taking any promotions? I think the answer is the same as
the answer to your question -- Sprint just has a handful of policies that are
quite customer-unfriendly. Both examples fall into that category. Sprint
doesn't have enough stupid policies to convince me that I should use someone
else, but they DO have a few of them.

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