Buying Used Cell Phones

Find the Right Handset

• GSM or CDMA: One absolutely fundamental concern is whether you need a GSM or CDMA handset. Wireless service providers are either one or the other: T-Mobile and Cingular are the biggest players in the GSM business in the United States, whereas Verizon and Sprint do the CDMA dance.

• Camera: Most of the handsets that have been released in the past little while have an integrated camera, but the vast majority only contain VGA picture takers. If you don't plan on taking a lot of pictures, or you're okay with webcam quality shots, then this won't be a concern to you anyways.

• Multimedia: Musicphones have become incredibly popular lately, allowing people to eliminate the need for a separate MP3 player. Several handsets are also capable of playing back video as well, but bear in mind that you will likely need to purchase additional memory to store any adequate amount of multimedia. MiniSD cards and the like can get quite expensive.

• Form Factor: This is largely personal preference -- each shape has its advantages and disadvantages -- but there are several options out there for a phone's form factor: candybar, clamshell/flip, slider, or swivel.

• Aesthetics: For many people, the look of a phone is more important than any of its features. That might be you; it might not.

• Ringtones: One of the hottest trends these days is the use of "real music" ringtones. I'm sure you've seen the commercials on TV to text a message to a five digit number in order to receive a clip of a hot track from the radio. If you want in, you'll need a phone that is capable of MP3 ringtones.

Things to Check For

Okay, so you've narrowed your selection down to your desired phone model and have started perusing the online classifieds on Howard Forums, Craigslist, and maybe even eBay. How can you know that if that specific phone is up to snuff? Just as checking out a used car requires more than just a kick of the tires, cell phones need to be thoroughly inspected before purchase as well.

• Lifetimer: Much like an automobile, the "mileage" put on a cell phone is just as -- if not more -- important than its calendar age. Be sure to check the lifetimer to see how much the phone has actually been used.

• Battery Life: Significantly related to the lifetimer, you want to know how well the battery holds up. Any rechargeable battery starts to degrade with prolonged use, and eventually will not "hold a charge" as well as when it was new. It is difficult to test this when buying a used phone, so you often just have to take the seller's word for it. As such, the lifetimer is probably the best indicator you can go with.

• Wear and Tear: It can only be expected that a cell phone will suffer wear and tear because it is a gadget that is taken just about everywhere and used just about every day. Check for scratches and chips to the casing, ensure that ALL the buttons are working as they should be and not "sticking", and have a good look at the screen/display for any warping, dead pixels, and the like.

• Accessories: This shouldn't make or break the deal, but it is always nice when the potential seller throws in a few extras like a car charger, leather or silicon case, extra memory cards, and USB cables. That said, a used mobile handset -- at the very least -- should come with a basic AC adapter/charger.

• Warranty: This is more for the "if worse comes to worst" situation, but if the phone still comes with a warranty that is transferable, you can rest a little easier knowing that should anything go wrong with the phone, you have the safety net in place. Ideally, you want to be able to go into a local office or shop, rather than having to ship it away at your own expense.

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