verizon wireless phone on ebay - ok?

[shecky]

my girlfriend just dropped her 5 week old RAZR from verizon wireless into the bathtub. assuming it does not work (we are drying it out now), rather than paying for a new RAZR at full price from verizon (she does not have insurance) for $250 or $350 or whatever they want, i was thinking of just getting her a less flashy model off ebay - there are TONS of listings for used/reconditioned phones that say they will work with verizon.

i have to plead ignorance here, but has anyone done this? assuming a reputable seller, does this work as it seems to: buy a phone on ebay for $20 - $50, bring it to verizon, and have the switch the number from the old, dead phone to the new ebay'd phone?

 

[TheDance511]

The way I understand it you buy the phone off ebay then you would simply put your girlfriend's SIM card in the phone you bought from ebay. Simple as that I am very sure all though I have never bought a phone off ebay.

 

[iBrandi]

It is a good idea. I have done this before. Just make sure you read the auction carefully to see the condition of the phone so there are no surprises and always buy from a reputable seller. It also helps if they have a return policy.

 

[RedTomato]

I dunno about the US, but here in the UK, you may need to get the phone unlocked so that it will work with verizon.

There's always a stall in every street market here that does mobile phone unlocking, usually for a tenner. I've done it with one of my phones that was locked to only work with Virgin Mobile. Now I can use it with any sim card from any network.

Its quite cool to see some street trader guy attach a battered old laptop and a bunch of dongles to the guts of your phone on an upturned biscuit carton on a street stall. Very Necromancer-ish.

Seeing that was worth the tenner alone

 

[Policar]

Make sure you buy a phone on eBay that was previously used by a Verizon customer. You won't switch SIM cards; Verizon is CDMA so you call them from the new phone and they can do the swtich for free using some number on it (honestly, I forget the exact process) or you can bring them the phone and get it done for $20.

If it's a Sprint of Cingular phone, unlocking won't matter. Those are GSM and incompatible in the first place.

 

[jaycrew]

I've purchased a phone off ebay to use with Verizon before. Of course, make sure you're buying from a reputable seller

Once you get your phone, you can activate it on your account yourself through the Verizon website. If you have your online Verizon account setup, on your main profile page, there should be an option to switch/upgrade phones. It'll lead you to a page where you basically enter the ESN# (??) from your phone and you'll be good to go!

 

[murdoc158]

A few people have said it. Make sure it's a CDMA phone and was at one time supported by VZW. Also make sure it is E911 capable or VZW will not activate it per federal laws. To be E911 capable the phone should be less than 2 years old or so.

 

[3nm]

be careful... doesn't verizon maintain an IMEI database to keep stolen phones off the network?

 

[Acehigh]

be careful... doesn't verizon maintain an IMEI database to keep stolen phones off the network?

Not just stolen phones, but if the person didnt pay their bill you wont be able to use it. Atleast this is what sprint does.

 

[compuwar]

I'd be wary of it, you're probably ok odds-wise, but if I were cloning phones, I'd sure think it was a good deal to grab the numbers, then sell the phone to someone and wait for them to activate it...