The price of cell phones

[docellis]

my dad gave me this enormous neon yellow construction type cell phone to get me through this, while I figure out what to do.

the problem is, it doesn't get reception at my house. or anywhere within 3 miles of my house. it doesn't get reception anywhere that i spend any time at all. the only place i have gotten reception is a 1/4 mile stretch of lindbergh.

it took over 2 hours for the sprint people to switch my number to this giant yellow phone.

so no, now wouldn't really be a good time to rick roll me.

oh i miss my cute little phone.

[ThatGuy]

I probably spent way too much on my phone.

[Popeye_Card]

Tell them to eff off, and you won't be re-upping with them when your contract expires, unless they cut you a break on a replacement phone.

Wear a shirt that shows some cleavage to help your bargaining power.

[cardsfansince82]

I've had the same phone for over 2 years and for some reason I was thinking about getting a new one until I saw how expensive they are nowadays. And if you get a fancy one then you pretty much have to get the internet package too which is another huge unnecessary cost. I'm not sure if I would even use it enough to justify it. So I guess I'm just going to ride this phone as long as I can.

[docellis]

Call a customer service representative and plead your case. Say you thought you put insurance on your phone, that you're willing to extend your contract, have paid your bill so far, blah blah blah, but can't pay $300 for a new phone and see what they say. I've done this before when I was eligible for nothing and it worked (I paid like $50 for a new one).

Worst case, check out eBay and get an older one for the same amount.

calling them is worth a shot. (except i can only get reception in Sauget)

i did check out ebay. my phone is going to cost $150 to replace if i want the same model. i saw one that didn't come with any accesories (which I already have, so no big deal) for $90 with a day left to bid....

[haltz]

I don't know about your phone, but you should be able to get something that's at least functional for $50.

You can always threaten to terminate your contract. I think they'd rather take a hit on a marked-up phone discount than lose 22 months of payments and get $200 in return or whatever it is. Just a guess though.

[Simbagal23]

overstock.com has some unlocked/refurbished cell phones for decent prices....not sure if any will work for you:

http://www.overstock.com/Electronics/Ce ... 2/cat.html

[thrill]

If you were with Alltel I could totally steal you an extra used one from my work.

[docellis]

I don't know about your phone, but you should be able to get something that's at least functional for $50.

You can always threaten to terminate your contract. I think they'd rather take a hit on a marked-up phone discount than lose 22 months of payments and get $200 in return or whatever it is. Just a guess though.

I just found a guy at one of those "authorized retailers" who will sell it to me for $30!

[Dillagii]

Does people still use Sprint? Switch to AT&T