Part of the benefit of prepaid plans is the lack of contract. Whenever you want, you can jump ship and find a new carrier on the same or even a different network. That kind of freedom isn’t available with contracts, and it’s one of the many reasons more and more people are switching to prepaid. But, if you plan on having that freedom, then you’ll
need an unlocked phone.
But, when you go to many phone manufacturer websites, only locked carrier versions are available. Prepaid carriers sell phones, but these, too, are frequently locked to the particular carrier until you’ve been with the company for anywhere from six months to a year. But don’t worry, there are some places where you can get an unlocked phone for a reasonable price.
Here are some places to look once you figure out what phone and carrier you’re wanting to try:
- Amazon – While Amazon does have a lot of locked devices, it also has a handful of non-locked devices. Some of them are from overseas while others are not. A lot of the devices are from the Amazon marketplace, so be a little careful and be sure you read the description.
- Expansys – This site has a ton of great, new and used unlocked devices at pretty good prices.
- Newegg – This tech site sells not only computer parts and gear, but also smartphones! The prices are actually pretty good too, although Newegg does take a while to ship, in my experience.
- Swappa – With this site you are actually purchasing directly from other consumers who have devices they wish to sell. It’s a little safer than Ebay, in my opinion, and the phone options are a little more varied.
If you do decide to buy an unlocked phone,
be sure that it is compatible with whatever carrier you intend to use it with. Most unlocked devices will operate on multiple bands, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.]]>
