Pawn shops

Yesterday a friend had to replace his cell phone after leaving it in his jeans which went into the washing machine. He went to Nextel for a replacement phone but in order to get a free one the clerk told him that he would have to upgrade his plan from $39.95 to $59.95. At that rate, $60 per month, he could buy a new one and save himself mega bucks after the first year. What surprised us is that the clerk told him to check out the local pawn shops. That they got them in all the time and he could get a slightly used one for a fraction of the cost of a new one.

So he and CD went shopping. Guess what! He got a replacement phone for $100. The guy at the pawn shop said that even Nextel buys Blackberries from them. All the pawn shop has to do is call them and they will come and get them. He said he didn't call them, that he prefers to sell to customers and they fly out the door. He didn't know if Nextel resold them or just wanted to get them off the market.

Apparently, as long as you have a newer model cellphone that has a chip that is transferable to another phone, you can buy any discount phone you want. I just thought I'd share this with you cellphone buffs out there. It doesn't do me any good, my cellphone is so old that I would have sign a new contract.