1st of all the one you saw in ebay is a GSM phone ( global system for mobile) t-mo, cingular, at&t. they use simcard ( computer chip like) unlock means you can put any sim card from any service provider in the world. tri-band is a frequency that any country use. tri-band phone can be use any where in the world. let say your in england, just buy a local sim card in england and put it to your phone and your ready to go. your phone is verizon. they cdma (code division multiple access) they don't use sim card. if you want a phone that work with verizon, search ebay for cdma phone.

i'm looking on ebay right now for a new phone to use with verizon. i found a nokia 3100 tri-band phone that the owner said is unlocked to any service provider. but there is this thing that lets you type in your zip code and it tells you if the phone will work in your area with your service provider. so i typed in my zip but it said it didn't work with verizon. so how can the phone be able to work with any service provider? thank you