Hello Ebayers...

My name is A.y. (ayploholla1986) and I am here to guide you on how to buy a verizon phone on EBAY. I personally used to work for Verizon Wireless and I know exactly what phones you should get and what prices are the best for you. I will also give you some rules and tips about Verizon Cell phones.

First of all when you are on Ebay searching for a VZW phone you should make sure you know about the product. Ebay offers descriptions of each cell phone but you can also go to verizonwireless online and find more information about each specific phone. My personal recommendation would be for you to get an LG or Samsung phone. They are great in quality. Not to say that Motorola, Audiovox, and other manufacturers do not make good quality phones, but LG and Samsung are simply better in many ways. Also Motorola phones will give you a big headache with the charger and charger port. I can remember watching the technicians at my old Verizon Job laughing at customers who had motorola phones. Why?Because the customers were shoving the chargers inside the port because they never knew when it was in or not. It is such a difficult task. I had a Motorola phone at one point and it drove me crazy. I had to repair my phone 3 times and I also had to buy 2 different chargers. Hopefully you can get the picture now.. lg or samsung!!!

Second... it would be very important for you guys to know something about the prices of the phones and the rules about upgrades. It is difficult to understand but my experience will hopefully be helpful.

New Verizon Customers can buy new verizon wrls phones at the discounted prices. When you go to the store you will see these discounted prices on the price tag. They are in large numbers and it is obvious that not anyone can get the phone at this price. 2 YR AGREEMENT REQ ( 1 YR EXTRA $50)

Customers who have had their phones for more than 22 months will be eligible for the New Every 2 program meaning they get the same discounted price as the new customer and in additon a 100 dollar credit off the phone price. 2 YR AGREEMENT REQ (1 YR EXTRA $50)

Last but not least, if you are a verizon customer and have had your phone for less than 2 years. You need one b/c you broke yours or lost it or whatever the case. Your options are limited. It really depends on who you talk to. If you go to the store and try to upgrade your phone many salespeople will say SORRY NOT ELIGIBLE. the truth is you might be eligible for the discount price if you had the phone for at least 1 year. You should speak to the manager or call customer service for an approval. But even if they allow you to get the early upgrade your facing a dilemma.

1. YOU MUST FORFEIT YOUR FUTURE 100 DOLLAR CREDIT.

2. YOU MUST SIGN A 2 YR AGREEMENT WITH A 59.99 PLAN OR HIGHER.

3. THIS IS THE LAST TIME YOU CAN GET AN EARLY UPGRADE.

THESE RESULTS ARE ACTUALLY WORSE THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE. THEY WILL BOTHER YOU IN THE LONGRUN. THEREFORE MY SUGGESTION WOULD BE TO TRY TO FIND AN ALTERNATE ROUTE. EBAY IS ONE GOOD ALT. ROUTE B/C YOU CAN FIND A GOOD PHONE FOR LESS THAN $100 AND YOU WONT FORFEIT YOUR 100 DOLLAR CREDIT OR RENEW YOUR CONTRACT.

A GOOD EXAMPLE OF A DISCOUNTED PRICE:

LG VX 8100           149.99  (FULL VALUE 379.99)

SAMS  970               79.99  (FULL VALUE 229.99)

Now that you guys know who can get the discounted price you might want to think about your situation. If you are not a new customer and not elgible for the New Every 2 upgrade, but you really want or need a phone. What do you do?  There are several options but if the best options dont work out for you you need to come back to EBAY and youll be happy with the results!

Lets say you were that person who just signed up a new activation with VZ wireless and bought a new phone costing you 52.99 with tax!  Suppose you declined getting the 5.99 per month insurance program. Suppose you had the phone for 3 weeks or 3 months and you either lost it, dropped it in the toilet, broke it in half, broke it in pieces, or simply got robbed for it!  WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU CAN DO? the answer is  NOTHING AT ALL!  Go back to the store and they will not help you. They might even laugh at you for your funny story! But you might say ok no biggie ill buy a new one for 52.99 the discounted price. Sorry You can't do this either. Now your only option at any Retail Verizon Store is to pay the Full Value of a phone. so 52.99 now is impossible . The reality of the price is up around 250.00 You can get cheaper, boring, and ugly phones for 179.99 at the store but what for when you have EBAY!

LAST BIG ADVICE :

GOING ON EBAY AND BUYING A PHONE:

remember the full prices at the verizon stores run 180 and higher!

Make sure that your not paying too much. A good price range for non camera verizon phones on EBAY 40 to 100 dollars.Camera phones can run between 70 and 200 but just pay attention to the quality of the phone and how old it is. Read Reviews.

you should know that the only verizon phones that work on the VErizon system have to be 911/GPS ENABLED. This is the most important feature you need to look for. If the phone is not 911/gps enabled you will not be able to activate it. It is impossible. So please ask the seller about the phone. Dont waste your own time even if the seller tries to convince you it will work.

Go for LGS and Samsungs. They are great!

Make sure that you get really close up pictures of the phone. Contact the buyer, ask him for enlarged and close up pictures. Make note that you should see at least one phone picture where the display is on. If not ask for the seller to email you it with the power and display on.Sellers will hide minor or major scratches and cracks on the phone. The damage might look minor but it can damage the phone internally. Ask your buyer good questions about the phone quality. Don't hesitate because its your money and time. Hopefully the seller will have his own description of the phone. If he has an email address or phone number available contact him. In business it is important for you to get to know who your dealing with. Sometimes you can tell who is honest just by hearing their voice. Now one important thing in terms of cell phones is to know about the phone itself. Ask For the ESN or the electronic serial number. Call Verizon and ask them if this phone is good to be activated. Sometimes on Ebay sellers might have stolen or lost phones. These types of phones can not be activated by you. The serial number will be blocked until its in the hands of the owner. Last but not least, dont be so picky. You will rarely find a perfect conditioned phone that is not new. Minor scratches are not a big deal if you get a good price. Find out if the phones faceplate is replacable. If so, you can go on ebay and buy one for $5 or less. This will take care of the scratches on the faceplate which are so common. If not you can buy a  cell phone skin for the same price. A skin is more like a thick sticker that wont leave a mark on your phone. They are really good accessories and you can find them on ebay. Last but not least, lets talk accessories, returns, and shipping.

Accessories: For batteries, ask the seller how old the battery is. If it is around 10 months or older, you might want to buy one of Ebay as well. They are cheap 10 dollars or less. Most of the time the seller will include some type of a charger. This is important b/c you dont want to go search for a charger. What if you get the phone and the battery is dead. Then you need to buy a charger and you never know what happens next. For cases and clips, if the seller has it that is a plus, but its not a big deal. You can get a great leather case from EBAY for less than 5 $

Returns: For Returns just make sure that if you can't return it the phone you get matches its description and pictures. Dont be so picky. If you find an extra scratch or two don't try to return it. Just make sure the quality is as described. If you can return it be reasonable and return it in the same condition you got it. Any problems with returns just report it to EBAY. They can help you.

Shipping: For shipping, the only thing I would have to say is that if your buying your phone from an inexperienced seller. Warn him about how he packages it. It is very easy for the phone to get damaged while it gets shipped. That is the case in many situations. If your seller is new at EBAY, give him advice on shipping. Tell him/her to use foam or something to protect the phone. Understand that priority mail the most commone cell phone shipping system, is around 4.50, so a 6 to 8 $ shipping fee is not bad at all.

Thank you EBAYers... Feel free to check what Verizon phones I have for sale. my ebay account name is ayploholla1986 .... Good luck!