By Christopher G SamarasReason #1 - Save Money Buying a Used or Refurbished Cell Phone - On average you will spend at least 33% or less on the refurbished version of a brand new cell phone model. Save even more if you decide to go pre-owned. Use the money you saved towards a vacation, or something else you want. You can save several hundreds of dollars buying used or refurbished.
Reason #2 - Buy Refurbished or Used Cell Phones - Keep the Planet Cleaner - Did you know that well over 100 million cell phones are dumped into landfills every year? If more and more people buy refurbished or used cell phones we can really make a dent in this number. Look around you. You probably don't know anyone that does not use a cell phone. Think about where that phone is going once they upgrade...
Reason #3 - Get a Refurbished Cell Phone with More Features - Can't afford the latest and greatest phone that just came out on the market? Maybe the latest and greatest thing doesn't appeal to you because you know it is going to be half the price in 3 months anyway. Why not buy the phone that was the hottest thing just a few months ago and get more features than you would if you were on a new model of the same price (most likely more expensive). The refurbished Blackberry model from 3 months ago will most likely be less expensive and have all the features you could possibly want in a phone.
Reason #4 - No Need for Lengthy Contract Extensions - The big cell phone carriers probably do not want you to know this but if you buy a used or refurbished phone online, most likely it will not require any type of contract extension. If you decide to downgrade your plan after several months or something goes wrong and god forbid you can't pay your cell phone bill you won't be signed into a contract and pay any cancellation fees if you decide to switch carriers, etc. I do not like being forced into long term contracts and like the freedom of doing what I want, when I want.
Reason #5 - A Longer Warranty on Refurbished and Used Cell Phones - Most people do not know this, but a lot of vendors of used and refurbished cell phones are offering extended third party warranties on their phones that will give you coverage in case something goes wrong for up to 3 years. Companies such as SquareTrade offer extended coverage options that won't break the bank. The average person usually gets a different phone every 18 months so a 1 or 2 years warranty option is plenty of time. Pay about 10% of the price of the refurbished or used phone (a fraction of what you just saved from the new version) to extend your warranty to longer than you would ever need.