Why Buy A Used or Refurbished Cell Phone on eBay?

We have written this guide to clear up a lot of misconceptions and to make you more comfortable purchasing your next phone from us - The Blue Dot (ebay user id - thebluedot).

We have all heard the horror stories about buying cell phones and other items from eBay.

- The phone I received does not work and the seller will not respond!
- I purchased an item and it never was received! I never got my money back!
- I received the phone and it looks like it was thrown off a building!
- I purchased a phone that was supposed to be new and it definitely was not new!

I am sure many of you have your own story.... If you buy from the right sellers you should never have anything but a good story to tell. We want you to feel more confident when purchasing a refurbished or used phone from us and we want you to tell your friends and family to buy from our company. Here is why you should consider us...

Reason Number 1 --- A lot of sellers on eBay sell their phones as "Brand New" even when they are refurbished.

We will never list a phone that is refurbished or used as "brand new". A lot of sellers are selling used and refurbished phones as "Brand New" and selling these phones on ebay in most cases for much more money but there phones are exactly the same as ours, from the same exact sources! If we list a phone as "New" it is "New".

The only way it is new is if it comes with a manufacturers warranty.

Selling a used or refurbished item as new is a federal offense and can be penalized heavily by the law. We run an honest company and try extremely hard to earn an honest living by selling on ebay. Research shows that the top keywords that someone will look for when searching for a phone on eBay is that the item is "New Blackberry" or "New Palm Treo" or "New Smart PDA Cell Phone"--- If a seller sells enough phones, most people do not notice that the phone is refurbished so they do not leave negative feedback and the sellers feedback can still be high.

We use all OEM "Original Equipment Manufactured" parts on every phone we sell unlike some others that are selling the same phones but with cheaper aftermarket pieces that are not made of the same quality as if it were made from the original manufacturer where the phone was made. - For example, if we were to replace a cracked Blackberry housing (the outside of the phone), we would use one that was provided direct from Blackberry and are Brand New. Other sellers are using cheap replacement parts that are being sent in from China, etc.

You may save a few dollars elsewhere, but know that by buying from us you will have a product that we stand behind 100% and it will be of the highest quality and you will receive the condition of the item advertised.

Reason Number 2 ---- Most carriers like AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, Alltel, etc. replace your phones with refurbished ones.

If you or someone you know has an insurance policy for your cell phone, did you know that if you need a replacement you will almost always receive a replacement as a "refurbished" phone? Major carriers like AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, Alltel, T-Mobile and many other carriers will always replace your phone under your insurance policy with a refurbished phone or even a "used" phone.

We purchase the majority of our phones back from the major carriers and purchase our phones from authorized refurbishers. Think about it... How many people do you know that had something go wrong under their brand new phone from the cell phone store and had to send it in for a replacement? These carriers receive thousands of phones every week! They need to do something with them in order to recover their costs, so they sell them back or replace insured phones with the phones that they receive.

I know AT&T for instance sells refurbished version of some of their most popular phones on their website for 2 times more than what we charge here on ebay and our phones are exactly the same. We even purchase the phones in most cases from the same places that AT&T gets their phones repaired to sell on their website. Buying from us will in most cases save you 50% or more when compared to the major retailers. A lot of people even contact us asking if the phones we sell are "real" because of the extremely low prices. I assure you these phones are real!

Reason Number 3 --- Plain and simple! Save Lots of Money!

The main carriers make the most amount of their money on the services they provide you. $50 a month for basic service, then you factor in an internet plan at $30 a month, plus all those extra features such as text messaging and that is where these carriers are making their money. Why not save money on the phone itself? If you can save $100 or more on the cell phone by purchasing from us, the savings can offset several months of actual service. These are tough times, you may as well save money on a quality item that works the same as the new one and is backed by the same warranty (even better in some cases - read reason number 5).


The only time you can get a real good deal on a cell phone at the actual cell phone store is when you lock into an extended long term contract. If you use pre-paid you are out of luck when puchasing a PDA or Smart Device phone or purchasing a phone that is not just a basic phone. Some of the Blackberry and Palm Treo PDA Smart Cell Phones we are selling are less than $50! Try to find that kind of bargain in a cell phone store for a phone without a contract.


Contracts add up. Think about it. You lock into a 2 year contact at $50 a month or more. If your cell phone plan is on the lower side at $50, this is $1200 over the course of 2 years ($50 x 24 months). When you go to purchase a phone and you do not meet the requirements to receive a new phone under a new contract the cell phone store will charge you an arm and leg (not really of course, but they will get you at a premium price).

Reason Number 4 --- Go Green! Help Save The Environment.

 Did you know that the average life span of an American cell phone is less than 18 months? According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, there are more than 260 million cell phones in use in the U.S alone. Approximately 170 million are replaced each year, with 90% thrown into the trash and only 10% reused or recycled. Any way you look at it, that is a lot of waste. Most of these phones are easily fixable and most frequent problems we run into when fixing up these phones is a broken screen, or a beat up housing (outside casing of the phone). If every little cell phone problem was fixed we would be doing a lot of good to mother nature.

Used cell phones are considered electronic waste, or “e-waste.” Cell phones contain hazardous substances such as lead, cadmium, chromium, copper, and precious metals like gold and silver. Cell phones dumped in a landfill or burned in a trash incinerator release hazardous substances into the environment. Buy a refurbished phone to prevent this contamination.

Surprisingly, there is no national legislation requiring cell-phone reuse or recycling. In all but a few states, it is legal to throw your used cell phone into the trash. California, Maine, and New York have recognized the problem and passed laws requiring cell-phone service providers to take back and properly recycle used cell phones.

We make most of the phones we sell back to "like new" condition. So why buy a new phone when you probably are going to replace it in the next year or so. You might as well save money, get the phone that someone else you know paid double for - and not only save money, but save the environment at the same time!

Reason Number 5 --- Better Warranty Than Buying New!

While we offer a 30 day standard warranty on every phone we sell, we also provide the option to extend every phone's warranty up to 3 years (2 years for used phones, 3 years for refurbished) through Square Trade.SquareTade (www.squaretrade.com) offers excellent electronic warranty options at a fraction of the cost of purchasing an extended warranty at the store. We highly recommend their warranties to our friends and family. Check out their reviews by doing a Google search to see for yourself. While they offer warranties for up to 3 years, we feel that there is no need to purchase a warranty for more than a year -- SquareTrades shortest warranty option. We say a year because everyone we know either gets tired with their phone and replaces it or their phone dies or gets lost for some other unforseeable reason (dropped in swimming pool, left in taxi cab, etc - believe me I have heard it all). The cost of the warranty is generally about 10% of the phone (depending on coverage options) and covers your phone for almost anything that could possibly go wrong.

Conclusion

We hope that saving money and saving the environment are reasons enough for making your purchase from us. I hope that you have found this guide helpful and that you consider "thebluedot" when making your next cell phone purchase. If you have any other questions at all, please do not hesitate to drop us an email at - support@thebluedot.net.  We are here to gladly assist you.