Alternative Shopping for Cell Phones

             Trying to save a bit of money, students are buying refurbished phones instead of opting for an entirely new one.

            Chicago senior, Marni Green's phone quit holding a charge and the battery died.

            "I've had my phone for over two years and it just stopped working," Green said.

            Green took her phone to the Verizon store here in Lawrence.

            "My plan allows me to get a new phone, all I had to do was ship it in to the company," Green said. "I didn't have to pay for it."

            Verizon sent Green a refurbished phone to her home in Chicago.

            "Luckily I was going home that next weekend for a wedding or something," Green said.

            Green has had her refurbished Motorola Sliver for a week now.

            Refurbished phones are not only for big name cellular companies. Applied Resource Technologies, based in Kansas City, Kan., deals in this cellular business.

            Brad Hendrick, former owner of Applied Resource Technologies, said refurbished phones are a safe bet.

            "Refurbished phones are just as good if not better; they have all the latest and greatest software."

            Applied Resource Technologies takes old phones, refurbishes them and then sells them back to authorized dealers.

            "Nine out of 10 times when you return a phone and receive a new one it's refurbished."

            Hendrick said it's beneficial to buy refurbished because otherwise those plastics would just end up in landfills.

            "The problem with not buying your phone from a dealer is it has gone through personal use," Hendrick said.

            A phone purchased from eBay or Craig's list may not have been updated with the current technology, Hendrick said. It also may not have had new plastics put on it making it more hygienic.

              "Most phones have sublocks so you may be buying a phone that won't allow access to the carrier," Hendrick said.

            Another component of the refurbished cell phone industry is S.O.S phones. These phones are programmed to call a service station that will connect the customer to the number they want to dial.

"They are primarily for the elderly and emergency situations." Hendrick said.

            These phones are refurbished and call emergency services or another number the user wishes to preset. They even run on alkaline batteries sometimes, Hendrick said.

            Cole Davis, Newton junior, works for Alltel and has a different opinion on refurbished phones.  

            "I would suggest buying an all new one." Davis said.

            Davis said refurbished phones end up having a lot of problems.

            "Alltel's policy is if after three refurbished phones you get an all new one," Davis said.

            Davis does not advise buying phones from places like eBay or Craig's List.  

            "If you buy online you don't know the person and there are no guarantees," Davis said. "Buy from an authorized dealer because they can actually help you if there is a problem with the phone."           

            Max Kozak, Anchorage Ala. senior, deals individually with unlocking refurbished phones to work with other networks.

            "I mainly work with the iPhone," Kozak said. "Business was really good when it first came out because it works only with AT&T."

            Kozak unlocked the iPhone for his own network, TMobile.

            "I was just messing around with it for four or six hours and it worked," Kozak said. "I was just bored."

            Kozak has sold unlocked iPhones on eBay to buyers in Norway and England.

      "I got the idea because my phone broke when it fell out of my pocket and I thought maybe I could make a profit." Kozak said.   

            Kozak's business has gone down some now that Apple has released the iPhone 3G.

            "The 3G is impossible to unlock. I just can't figure it out." Kozak said.

            Kozak has made a profit of $350 to $400 per phone through his online sales.

            "The iPhone will only work for networks that have a SIM card." Kozak said.

            Kozak continues to work on unlocking the iPhone 3G to work with other networks.