Good deal? Virgin Mobile Apple iPhone 5s 16GB refurb at BB

[wwikman]

I want to stay with Virgin Mobile, and BB has this iPhone for $299. I have used desktop macs since the 1990s, love my iPad, but could never bring myself to spending the money for an iPhone. But after struggling with cheap phones for years, i am fed up enough to pay for an iPhone though $299 is about my price limit.
Is there any reason to stay away from this deal? (it looks like some people have had a hard time getting this activated with Virgin)

Thanks!

 

[AppleFanatic10]

$299 is kinda high for a 3 year old phone, and it's only 16GB... I wouldn't.

 

[CNeufeld]

I want to stay with Virgin Mobile, and BB has this iPhone for $299. I have used desktop macs since the 1990s, love my iPad, but could never bring myself to spending the money for an iPhone. But after struggling with cheap phones for years, i am fed up enough to pay for an iPhone though $299 is about my price limit.
Is there any reason to stay away from this deal? (it looks like some people have had a hard time getting this activated with Virgin)

Thanks!

If you can't get it hooked up to your provider, then it's a poor deal at any price. Have you shopped around to see what used phones you can buy for $300 in your area?

C

 

[wwikman]

It looks like it takes a bit of work with tech support to get it to work, which i also had to do with my current phone. If it didn't connect i could return the phone, which is not an option with a used phone.

 

[Paddle1]

$299 is kinda high for a 3 year old phone, and it's only 16GB... I wouldn't.

iPhone 5s is 2 years old.

 

[AppleFanatic10]

iPhone 5s is 2 years old.

It's still too much.

 

[CNeufeld]

Locally, used 16GB 5s's sell for around $300 (in Canadian $$$), so getting a refurb one for that price doesn't sound like the end of the world, even if it's not my cup of tea. But for $300 in the iPhone world, it's likely one of your better (only?) candidates.

C

 

[skiltrip]

If you're on VM your options become limited. The 5S is still a very solid performing phone. If the size fits your needs and you think the 16GB (really about 12GB usable) limit won't be an issue, go for it.

I'm sure any activation issues that may come up can be worked out with tech support.

People may say that $300 is too much for a 5S, but considering it costs almost $600 after tax to buy an off contract 16GB iPhone 6, the $300 for the 5S doesn't look at all like an out of the ordinary price tag for half that.

 

[CNeufeld]

People may say that $300 is too much for a 5S, but considering it costs almost $600 after tax to buy an off contract 16GB iPhone 6, the $300 for the 5S doesn't look at all like an out of the ordinary price tag for half that.

While that may be the price of an off-contract 6, what's the price of a used one? I suspect it will likely be in the $400 to $450 range in a lot of areas... Personally, I'd rather shop around for one of those. But that's just my opinion.

C

 

[wwikman]

Thanks all for the thoughts on this. I will keep an eye out for other options, and maybe see if BB runs any discounts before Christmas.

 

[AppleFanatic10]

Thanks all for the thoughts on this. I will keep an eye out for other options, and maybe see if BB runs any discounts before Christmas.

Have you tried Swappa? You could probably get something cheap on there instead of going to BB. I think Virgin Mobile works off of Sprint's network.

 

[skiltrip]

Have you tried Swappa? You could probably get something cheap on there instead of going to BB. I think Virgin Mobile works off of Sprint's network.

It does run on Sprint, but Virgin Mobile only works with phones that are factory locked to, and intended for, Virgin Mobile. That's one of the drawbacks. I used to be on VM before switching to T-Mobile a few years back. My wife is still on VM, and phone options are very limited because of the way VM works.