Good place to buy a used cellphone/tablet?

[Tokogon]

I currently have the original Motorola Droid Razr, but its getting slower with every app update and the screen is cracked to hell. The plan I have is for unlimited data with verizon, so I need to get a phone off contract but at a good price. Ebay has some nice looking phones but a lot of the sellers are overseas so if the item isn't described when it arrives, I imagine returning it would be a pain. Is there a good US website where I can buy a cheap used phone? Also I guess I should mention it doesn't have to be a bleeding edge phone maybe something from 2013 and up.

[Kyocere]

Check out http://swappa.com/ they have people from all over selling pretty much any phone you can think of. Just make sure you are looking at Verizon phones as most other unlocked phones from other carriers won't work on Verizon.

[Tokogon]

Omg thanks so much for the link. I'll be checking this out when I get to my desktop at home. Any others you can think of?

[Fascinate]

Be very very careful in buying a used cell phone, in fact i recommend not doing it at all. When you buy used phone you need to check on a ton of things that the carrier cannot even fully disclose in certain situations, for example t-mobile can tell you if the phone has been blacklisted or not (due to theft or non payment etc) but they CANT tell you if its been unlocked OR if its on a payment plan ( a person could have easily been on a payment plan and cancelled their account, here t-mobile cannot give you this info because the account i closed).

My advice to you is buy a quality unlocked device from places like amazon, motorola moto g is 180 bucks and until march when the asus zenfone 2 comes out is the best affordable phone on the market (tho the asus smokes it).

Moto g:
http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-Moto-...eywords=moto+g

Zenfone 2 spec sheet:
http://www.asus.com/Phones/ZenFone_2_ZE551ML/

If you can wait til march the asus is hands down the best phone on the market for the price, its actually ridiculous how much they put into the phone for 199.99.

[Orlong]

The only place I would buy one is https://www.gazelle.com/ They certify their used phones and have decent prices.

[Fascinate]

Unless im missing something....you can only buy iphones and galaxy devices on there lol. High end smartphones are ridiculous anyways, compare the asus i linked above to a smartphone that costs 3x as much.....only differences are ridiculous things like finger print scanners and built in IR remotes lol. It amazes me how many people still use verizon and ATT, they think they are getting a deal on a phone cause its only 200 bucks for a 600 dollar device, but the monthly costs are SOO much more than a service like cricket wireless those savings are gone within a couple months of your 2 year contract you signed.

[Kagthul]

Id say, save a tiny bit of money and get an One Plus One, but it wont work on Verizon's CDMA network.

Buyer beware, if it has a bad ESN (something that is super hard to check) you're pooched.

Id wait for the Asus or the get the Moto G, both are good phones for a good price.

[Vash The Stampede]

If it were me I would install CyanogenMoD 12. Bring life into the phone again. As for the screen just replace it for for $20. Plenty of guides that show you how to replace the screen. The specs of the Droid Razr aren't bad and you won't find a cheap replacement that'll do better. First replace the rom then replace the screen. What do you have to lose? Probably were going to junk the phone anyway.

[Tokogon]

I can't find any price info on the zenphone or if it works on Verizon's network.

[Fascinate]

My bad i didnt realize you were with verizon. Most unlocked phones are GSM, which is ATT/T-mobile. You said you have a contract with verizon, i would call them and ask if you have an upgrade available. If you are in good standing with verizon i bet you could get a really nice phone for cheap, worth a shot.

The reason i missed the fact you are with verizon is i didnt read your original post because like i explained above most people with contracts already have super high end phones that they got discounted when they signed the contract, so you are in a really unique position.

[Orlong]

Unless im missing something....you can only buy iphones and galaxy devices on there lol. High end smartphones are ridiculous anyways, compare the asus i linked above to a smartphone that costs 3x as much.....only differences are ridiculous things like finger print scanners and built in IR remotes lol. It amazes me how many people still use verizon and ATT, they think they are getting a deal on a phone cause its only 200 bucks for a 600 dollar device, but the monthly costs are SOO much more than a service like cricket wireless those savings are gone within a couple months of your 2 year contract you signed.

High end phones also have the best quality and highest resolution screens. (The most important thing on the phone).

Also a lot of MVNO companies like Cricket, use towers from T-Mobile and Sprint. Both of which dont have very good coverage outside of the top 50 metro areas in the US, and often limit your data speeds

[Fascinate]

High end phones also have the best quality and highest resolution screens. (The most important thing on the phone).

Also a lot of MVNO companies like Cricket, use towers from T-Mobile and Sprint. Both of which dont have very good coverage outside of the top 50 metro areas in the US, and often limit your data speeds

Eh wrong on both accounts sir. The asus i linked has a full HD display (1080p) and cricket runs off of ATT network which is only behind verizon. Tmobile/sprint suck, ATT+verizon are amazing.

I also agree that screen is the most important part of a phone, luckily the asus is rocking a good one (all for 199.00 off contract!).

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Oh and yes cricket does limit your speeds, (i laugh at this argument everytime lol) on 3g you are throttled to 4gbps and LTE is 8mbps. Im on my phone right now with virgin mobile streaming HD netflix, no stutter at all on 4mbps.....what else do you do on your phone that requires more than that speed? Im genuinely curious as to your answer because this is the one thing people always love to point out why cricket is inferior to the other carriers (yet they dismiss the fact entirely that cricket is nearly 100 dollar cheaper to a comparable plan from ATT or verizon).

[Orlong]

Eh wrong on both accounts sir. The asus i linked has a full HD display (1080p) and cricket runs off of ATT network which is only behind verizon. Tmobile/sprint suck, ATT+verizon are amazing.

I also agree that screen is the most important part of a phone, luckily the asus is rocking a good one (all for 199.00 off contract!).

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Oh and yes cricket does limit your speeds, (i laugh at this argument everytime lol) on 3g you are throttled to 4gbps and LTE is 8mbps. Im on my phone right now with virgin mobile streaming HD netflix, no stutter at all on 4mbps.....what else do you do on your phone that requires more than that speed? Im genuinely curious as to your answer because this is the one thing people always love to point out why cricket is inferior to the other carriers (yet they dismiss the fact entirely that cricket is nearly 100 dollar cheaper to a comparable plan from ATT or verizon).

a 1080p screen doesnt cut it anymore. New phones are starting to come with 4K screens and current ones have in between 1080p and 4K.

The LG G3 is a 2K screen, and with the pixel density companies are achieving, it wont be long before 4K screens are much more common and 8K ones will be coming out

[Kagthul]

As for T-mobile "sucking" - I'm on Metro PCS (which is a wholly owned T-Mo subsidiary now and runs entirely on their network) and i get signal just about everywhere. There are a lot of places where i only get "3G" - but on all but the most boondocks of areas that means HSPA+, which is still getting me on average 12 down and 5 up. In areas where i get LTE (which is most major urban areas and a lot of places in between, along major roadways) i get 55 down and ~15 up.

Couple that with the whole 5$ extra i pay to roam on ATT's network, means i get signal everywhere, pretty much...

And my bill is 55$ a month for unlimited everything, (capped at 5GB of LTE data, and then unlimited HSPA+/3G data) AFTER taxes and fees and all that crap.... And my phone (OnePlus One/64GB) is top-end and cost 350$ brand new off contract and runs CyanogenMod as the default OS.

If you can swing it - get off of Verizon. The amount they charge, i cant believe people still sub to them. I mean, i guess at least they are using some of that money to keep their network in good shape, but my service on T-Mo/Metro hasnt been any worse (indistinguishable, really) and i pay about 40% less per month for the same or better features. And GSM phones (if you travel) can easily be used pretty much everywhere else in the world by simply buying a local SIM (internationally, you can usually pick up a local pre-paid SIM at the airport when you land for not a lot) - CDMA is pretty much only used in the US and only by Sprint and Verizon, meaning if you go abroad, you're stuck using WiFi calling (if you can even do that) or getting a temp phone.

I also cant rave enough about the OnePlus. Its a great phone for not a lot of money, and it runs CM11 (with a forthcoming OTA update to CM12) out of the box.

[Fascinate]

a 1080p screen doesnt cut it anymore. New phones are starting to come with 4K screens and current ones have in between 1080p and 4K

Your high as a kite lol. Have you seen any LG G3 reviews??? Almost every single one of them said the screen is a TERRIBLE idea for many reasons, mainly because they couldnt tell a difference between it and a 1080p at such a small screen, and more importantly that the battery life took a major toll having to push all those extra pixels over a 1080p screen. G2 had amazing battery life with a 1080p screen, G3 has mediocre to poor life with a 2560x1440 screen. Not only that but ALSO the fact almost no content is being streamed at anything over 1080p right now, the only advantage a 1440 screen has over 1080 is native content or the small numbers of 1440 videos on youtube. 1080 truly is the best resolution right now for a smartphone, the reason you are seeing more phones come out with 1440 panels is the spec race, you have to keep up with the jones's even when its not the best thing to do.

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As for T-mobile "sucking" - I'm on Metro PCS (which is a wholly owned T-Mo subsidiary now and runs entirely on their network) and i get signal just about everywhere. There are a lot of places where i only get "3G" - but on all but the most boondocks of areas that means HSPA+, which is still getting me on average 12 down and 5 up. In areas where i get LTE (which is most major urban areas and a lot of places in between, along major roadways) i get 55 down and ~15 up.

Couple that with the whole 5$ extra i pay to roam on ATT's network, means i get signal everywhere, pretty much...

And my bill is 55$ a month for unlimited everything, (capped at 5GB of LTE data, and then unlimited HSPA+/3G data) AFTER taxes and fees and all that crap.... And my phone (OnePlus One/64GB) is top-end and cost 350$ brand new off contract and runs CyanogenMod as the default OS.

If you can swing it - get off of Verizon. The amount they charge, i cant believe people still sub to them. I mean, i guess at least they are using some of that money to keep their network in good shape, but my service on T-Mo/Metro hasnt been any worse (indistinguishable, really) and i pay about 40% less per month for the same or better features. And GSM phones (if you travel) can easily be used pretty much everywhere else in the world by simply buying a local SIM (internationally, you can usually pick up a local pre-paid SIM at the airport when you land for not a lot) - CDMA is pretty much only used in the US and only by Sprint and Verizon, meaning if you go abroad, you're stuck using WiFi calling (if you can even do that) or getting a temp phone.

I also cant rave enough about the OnePlus. Its a great phone for not a lot of money, and it runs CM11 (with a forthcoming OTA update to CM12) out of the box.

T-mobile is great in big cities, but go outside one and see how that treats you. ATT/verizon on the other hand work EVERYWHERE. Not only that but get this, say you are streaming something....twitch tv for example, what good does your super fast LTE do for you if its constantly going between 3g and lte (something that happens a LOT more on sprint/t-mobile that it does on ATT or verizoN).

One plus one is a good phone, but it gets absolutely obliterated by the zenfone (similar specs, 150 dollars cheaper, EASY TO BUY NO INVITE SYSTEM LOL).

[Kagthul]

T-mobile is great in big cities, but go outside one and see how that treats you. ATT/verizon on the other hand work EVERYWHERE. Not only that but get this, say you are streaming something....twitch tv for example, what good does your super fast LTE do for you if its constantly going between 3g and lte (something that happens a LOT more on sprint/t-mobile that it does on ATT or verizoN).

I travel extensively for work, through some very backwoods areas (because i have to drive everywhere, as an equipment provider for conventions and gaming events - i easily put 45-60,000 miles a year on the road). I have yet to be anywhere where i dont get *at least* 3G (which has been remarkably fast on T-mobile's network, at a pretty consistent 2.1 down/1.2 up, which for baseband 3G is pretty good) and those places are truly out in the middle of nowhere (the kinds of places where the next sign of civilization is the next rest stop - 50 miles away). 90% of the time i get HSPA+ or better; HSPA+ has been averaging 12Mbps down/4-5up on the T-mobile network, and is something that is not even available on Verizon (you either get CDMA 3G or LTE, that's it) or Sprint and only in a few very limited areas on AT&T (and they are removing it as they "upgrade" their network).

Ive never had a problem with the network constantly flopping on either Sprint or T-mobile/Metro. Maybe buy a phone without a shit LTE antenna.

One plus one is a good phone, but it gets absolutely obliterated by the zenfone (similar specs, 150 dollars cheaper, EASY TO BUY NO INVITE SYSTEM LOL).

Ahh.. no. Looking up the specs for the entire Zenfone line... the 200$ Zenphone (the 6) is 2GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage on a pokey 2 Ghz, power-sucking Intel Atom... and that killer 2100mAh battery! (OnePlus is 3200 mAh). And the screen is 720p, not 1080p (like the OnePlus)

Perhaps you're referring to the as-yet unreleased Zenfone 2? (that was literally just announced at CES)

Okay - base model (199$) is 2GB of RAM, 2.4 Ghz Atom, and 16GB of storage, and 1080p. 3000mAh battery.
the 4GB RAM model, with 64GB of storage, is 399$... more expensive than the OnePlus by a decent margin for relatively the same specs (an extra GB of RAM - largely useless - and a slightly slower CPU (not by enough to matter, though, so well call it even) that sucks down 50% more power (big negative here).

Not seeing how that's "absolutely obliterating" the OnePlus. At best, you're getting parity. At worst, you're getting something that will have significantly worse battery life and no real performance gain. I'd call it a complete wash.

OnePlus has also been selling the phone without an invite since Thanksgiving. That's how i got both mine and my wifes. And if you needed an invite, they give them out like candy to people who own one (ive had 22 to give away since i got the phone in early December) - and a place on their web forum that you can ask for an invite. My business partner got one - took him 90 seconds to get an invite.

The ZoneFone, however, isn't even available in the US; you'd have to import from a third party dealer. No thanks.

[Fascinate]

Wow just lol.

Of COURSE im talking about the zenfone 2. Lets break this down shall we, it has a 5.5" 1080p IPS screen, 2 gigs of ram, LTE, AC wifi, 3000mah battery, 64 bit intel quad core which is faster than a qualcomm 801, 32gigs of storage (16gigs is for the CHEAPER 720p model that hasnt been announced). On top of that out of the box it comes with lollipop and its support for 64bit cpu's!

The model with 4gigs of ram hasnt even been priced yet, but i can guarantee its not 399.00, you are probably looking at the asus zenfone ZOOM which is the one with the massive camera, im talking about the model that is priced at 199.99 (all these specs im listing are for the unlocked model for 199.99).

One plus one is a good phone dont get me wrong, but for 150 dollars less you get nearly an identical phone man. On top of all i just wrote you get it from a reputable company with US support where you can actually BUY IT. Once the zenfone 2 releases the one plus one will be a distant memory.

[Kagthul]

Wow just lol.

Of COURSE im talking about the zenfone 2.

Except you didn't say that, so how anyone is supposed to know that - read your mind or something?

Lets break this down shall we,

Yes, lets.

it has a 5.5" 1080p IPS screen, 2 gigs of ram,

So, so far, same or worse specs than the OnePlus, check.

LTE, AC wifi, 3000mah battery,

Right, again, same or worse specs, oh, except that battery isn't going to last as long with that pig of an Atom CPU.

64 bit intel quad core which is faster than a qualcomm 801,

No it isn't. It's slower, actually, in App performance. You should go read some benchmarks. Intel is struggling to get into the phone and tablet market, to this day, because their products DONT perform as well as ARM based solutions. Thats part of the reason the phone is so cheap - Intel is basically giving these things away to try to get market share.

32gigs of storage (16gigs is for the CHEAPER 720p model that hasnt been announced).

No, the announced low-end, 1080p model is 16GB. Or, as their press release states "is available in 16, 32, and 64GB configurations". No mention at all of some mystery 720p version.

On top of that out of the box it comes with lollipop and its support for 64bit cpu's!

K? If i wanted to try the beta build, i could have Lollipop on my OnePlus right now. Or if i had wanted to unlock the bootloader (as of yet, i havent had to), i could have been on Lollipop the moment there were nightly builds of CM12, six+ weeks ago. As it stands, the CM12 OnePlus stable build will be available in about 3 weeks at the outside. And it's CM, not some buggered up, skinned bloatware inflated manufacturer custom build that gets updates whenever the company gets around to it, after having to check with the carriers before pushing the build out...

The model with 4gigs of ram hasnt even been priced yet, but i can guarantee its not 399.00, you are probably looking at the asus zenfone ZOOM which is the one with the massive camera, im talking about the model that is priced at 199.99 (all these specs im listing are for the unlocked model for 199.99).

No, im definitely talking about the 64GB version that they announced at CES at 399. Its noted in pretty much every single hands on review of the phone. Reading is hard.

One plus one is a good phone dont get me wrong, but for 150 dollars less you get nearly an identical phone man. On top of all i just wrote you get it from a reputable company with US support where you can actually BUY IT. Once the zenfone 2 releases the one plus one will be a distant memory.

Except it ISNT AVAILABLE IN THE US AND WONT BE.

You'd have to order it through a third party reseller and hope it works on your carrier (and pay some expensive overseas shipping); also, it doesnt cover the full spread of LTE bands on AT&T or T-Mo (the only carriers it will work on in the US even if you import it.)

Im not saying it's a shit phone or anything. It clearly isn't. But it doesn't "trounce" the OnePlus - at all. Its relatively equivalent to a OnePlus, for slightly more (maybe the 32GB configuration will have a ~300$ price, which would bring it somewhere close). But it isnt available in the US and carriers wont support it.

The OnePlus is available in the US, doesn't have an import fee or expensive shipping, and is supported by both carriers (and their subsidiaries) in the US that you can use the phone on.

All of this is a moot point anyway, unless the OP is going to be leaving Verizon, as both the OPO and Zenfone are GSM. Verizon is not.

[Fascinate]

Where are you coming up with this non sense lol. The phone hasnt released yet its dropping in march, and will 100% be available in the US for purchase. I am pretty sure you are looking at the wrong spec sheet or something because nearly all of what you said is incorrect:

http://www.asus.com/Phones/ZenFone_2_ZE551ML/

Sure looks to me that it has all of the ATT LTE bands.

Nearly every review on youtube says there is a 720p version coming to the market UNDER 199.99, here is just one example with one of the most popular phone review sites:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6I3Y_Ezjh5Q



I will concede i was wrong on the memory, its 16 gigs on the 199.00 model.

[Orlong]

Your high as a kite lol. Have you seen any LG G3 reviews??? Almost every single one of them said the screen is a TERRIBLE idea for many reasons, mainly because they couldnt tell a difference between it and a 1080p at such a small screen, and more importantly that the battery life took a major toll having to push all those extra pixels over a 1080p screen. G2 had amazing battery life with a 1080p screen, G3 has mediocre to poor life with a 2560x1440 screen. Not only that but ALSO the fact almost no content is being streamed at anything over 1080p right now, the only advantage a 1440 screen has over 1080 is native content or the small numbers of 1440 videos on youtube. 1080 truly is the best resolution right now for a smartphone, the reason you are seeing more phones come out with 1440 panels is the spec race, you have to keep up with the jones's even when its not the best thing to do.

4K screens are great for reproducing small text in a clear and easily readable format. When youre reading 2pt font sizes. Its important