How do you buy your phones?

Associate
Joined
16 Nov 2014
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1,329
My last few phones have been bought sim free but taking advantage of interest free credit offers where possible.

My HTC 10 I ended up with 30% off RRP by buying on credit.

iPhone 7 through Apple 20month interest free financing.

iPhone 11 Pro ended up with £360 off - Credit order + Cashback from TCB.

Never had a traditional contract phone.
 
Permabanned
Joined
13 Nov 2005
Posts
4,158
I always buy them unlocked, online, sometimes Chinese imports if the price is right.

I've only bought one on contract and never did again, that must have have been 20+ years ago.

Currently on a OnePlus 7 Pro which I bought on sale, no interest in the current high end devices.
 
Soldato
Joined
13 Jan 2004
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12,709
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Leicestershire
I haven't been in contract for about 15yrs? Got a half price deal through an old company years ago, buy SIM free phones and enjoy unlimited texts, unlimited mobile data, unlimited PC data and oodles of minutes for less than a tenner a month. :cool:
 
Associate
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19 Jan 2005
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548
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Legoland
There's a few decent phone sellers on the bay based in switzerland/germany/france/spain, used them 5+ times especially for chinese phones for the extra ram and storage, never let me down, can get them on the phone and a 2 year warranty.. oh did I mention they are cheap as chips? :)
 
Soldato
Joined
1 Mar 2008
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6,265
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Deep North
Sim free outright and usually use a 30 day rolling simo contract sim.

Last phone I bought on contract was iPhone 4 back in 2011. Never again.

What I don't get is folk who take out contracts for the latest super duper phone at an absurd £60 odd a month etc but the data allowance is so low that they are desperate for wifi everywhere they go. Yet I can get simo contracts with unlimited data for £12 a month and I never use public wifi anywhere.
 
Associate
Joined
25 Mar 2015
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568
I use amazon, as they can provide you with 5 months to pay for a handset interest free, 02 refresh as they have some good deals at times and pay off in 5 months and only recently discovered Wanda mobile and they seem to have reasonably priced phones.
 
Associate
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26 Feb 2010
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Location
Oswestry
I have been using the Samsung upgrade program for the last couple of years, buy the phone over 24 months interest free but have the option to upgrade to latest every 12 months, or not, depends how you feel :)
 
Soldato
Joined
22 May 2007
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3,158
I buy mine on Amazon, my Motorola Moto G8 Power is better than anything in the local shops at the same price range. There is a chinese phone the XIAOMI Redmi Note 9 on sale in one of the local shops which is as good as my Motorola but it costs more and you can get it on Amazon cheaper anyway.

I’m a bit weary about buying chinese phones due to warranty and support issues.
 
Associate
Joined
26 Jan 2018
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1,089
Location
Southampton
Used to jump from contract to contract every 2 years, then the technology peaked and every new release had minor incremental updates, yet for some reason prices shot up. Still on a Note 8 and struggling to find a reason to upgrade.

When they stop taking advantage of the mugs that'll pay £1000+ for yet another rehash of last years model and they start to produce something interesting again I'll likely jump back on another contract :)
 
Soldato
Joined
22 May 2007
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3,158
These are the only phones I could buy in local shops in the same or lower price bracket then the Motorola Moto G8 Power I bought on Amazon...

Samsung Galaxy A10
Sony Xperia L4
Samsung Galaxy A21s

None of which have the same CPU power or memory and storage as my Motorola Moto G8 Power.
 
Associate
Joined
27 May 2003
Posts
1,626
Last few phones have generally been 2nd hand a couple of generations old. Plenty good enough for what I need and I keep for 2-3 years or so.
Only downside is that by the time it gets to me, updates and support have generally stopped.
 
Soldato
Joined
22 May 2007
Posts
3,158
I’ve bought second hand twice both from eBay. First was an iPhone 3GS which I gave to my mother when I upgraded to a new iPhone 4S. Second was a Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini a cheap phone to use with Android Auto primarily. Sold that and put the money towards a new Motorola Moto G8 Power.
 
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