[dvprasad]

Hi all.

I was looking at buying an Android mobile, and a thought struck me.

My current phone is hardly a year old & resale value is less than half its price.

I typically buy a new mobile phone every year & so do most people i know.

So i should be able to get a Galaxy S which sold for 27k less than a year ago for about 12 or 13 k now.

I could sell this of half its price a year later when i again upgrade this phone..

So i effectively get a high end android phone at the cost of a mid level phone today & save on re sale value as well.

pleat let me know your thoughts on this & best/reliable places in chennai to get used mobile phones,

[NIP]

Wishful thinking about the Galaxy S. Let me know if you can pick it up for those prices.

[Tapish]

Not a bad idea, however a lot depenthe phone has been used. In case of heavy usage on a Galaxy like platform, i'm sure the performance etc would be down.
To find a good used phone, head to any shop (not in a mall). Usually people exchange phones and those are the ones you might lay your hands on.
Also, in such a case, i dont see anybody upgrading from Galaxy S. (well, vertu maybe )
Good luck with your find.

[shankar.balan]

Suggest you try Flipkart.com for mobile phones. You get them brand new and at a pretty solid price off from MRP.
A pal just bought Samsung Galaxy S 9000 or something from them and paid some 4grand less than MRP.

In my opinion it is better to buy mobile phones brand new than buy used unless you are taking an used phone off a friend/ family member who maintains their phones well.

[@Chaand]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Suggest you try Flipkart.com for mobile phones. You get them brand new and at a pretty solid price off from MRP.

My experience is different. I am not happy with Flipkart.com or Naaptol.com or most of the online shops for the that matter. A friend of mine bought a brand new Blackberry off ebay.in and found that it was actually a refurbished piece.

Any decent retail shop like Croma or Next gives an off on the MRP. the higher the price of the device, the more the discounts on MRP. This is true for smaller dealers as well. (Mumbaites will connect with Alfa at Irla on this matter). Add to that the flexibility of having a look at the phone before you buy it.
To come back to the topic, @dvprasad has a point. For touch screen phones, the parameters to check would be:

1. Battery (which is difficult to check other than look and feel)
2. The screen sensitivity/condition
3. Working of the side buttons .
4. Camera
5. Outer body

Worse come worse, only the battery may have to be replaced.

[sudev]

Only trouble is how to make sure it is not a stolen phone?? There is no stolen imei registry anywhere which could have easily
1. prevented stolen and reported phones to be used by blocking them
2. allowed buyers of pre-owned phones assurance

[kailashnj]

Galaxy S does not loose its value so much, in fact I sold my wifes Galaxy S after 5 months usage for 23K which was bought for Rs 28k - mint condition. Most of the phones have lost their market value but Galaxy S has still not redcued.

For eg. I bought my wife's phone in Aug 2010 for 28k, mine in Oct 2010 for 27k and the current market price in March 2011 is still 25k

Cell Phone prices in the second hand market are driven by the current market new prices of the same phone. Yes you might find some phone in that prices like the HTC legend should be around 12 to 14k in the second market.

[h@r$h@l]

I recently picked up a Used BB 9780 for a very reasonable price from a BB retailer. It was purchased from his shop only & has a Bill for Jan 2011. A college Kid bought and later wanted to upgrade to BB Torch. So i stuck a deal at the shop by handing over my BB8520 ( Dec 2010 Billed) + 8k cash and got hold of the BB9780 with Jan bill. This was i am sure that atleast the phone is not stolen or a handset bought from over seas and it still has a 15 month warranty on it.

I am sure if you hunt a little you can find great deals and after this experience i am pretty convinced on buying using mobiles. I saw some Galaxy S (UK piece) for about 14K. Iphone 3Gs forabout 19.5k. All these phones were with full box and accessories but purchased from abroad.

I also came across a X10 purchased from Croma but out of warranty now for about 12K.

[greenhorn]

phones in warranty are okay. Otherwise you might want to consider issues like
1. cosmetic damage
2. Repairing in case something goes wrong
3. living with minor issues like less battery life, certain buttons missing etc
4. Information assymetry, especially in case you are buying online
5. parts of exotic phones in short supply, and the fact that most bodies/displays/boards have to be replaced as a whole bit, which is very pricey.

Not that I'm against it, I use a Galaxy spica bought off a user when it was 2 months old, when he was upgrading to an S, but its residuals are so nice, dont think I'll be selling it off.

[MileCruncher]

Few days back, I lost my Blackberry one night. Woke up in the morning to find only the holster with no phone inside. Since it was a 3 year old handset which I was planning to change for the last few months, didn't feel the pinch.

My target was the BlackBerry 9300 but due was out of reach immediately due to the impending car purchase. So went to the Jagdish Market here and found various shops selling used BB 8520 from 5.5 k - 8K. Picked up the one for 5.5K and it came with all the accessories and box making it certain that it wasn't a stolen piece.
The only problem was a slightly corrupted OS which I fixed by upgrading to OS5.0. Problem solved.

I think 5.5K for a few month old 8520 which is retailing at 10K now is a steal.

[SRK]

Pre-worshipped phones are a nice idea.

If lucky you can find good phones with warranty too.

I had a chance to get a Galaxy S for around 22k (with bill & warranty) but got a new N8 instead (Nokia fan)

If anyone in Mumbai requires a pre-worshipped phone do let me know, I know someone who might help you.

Currently the phones in demand are:
Iphone4
Samsung Galaxy S
Blackberry Bold2 & 3
Blackberry Curve

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by dvprasad

So i should be able to get a Galaxy S which sold for 27k less than a year ago for about 12 or 13 k now.

Galaxy S is now available new for 25k and from ebay you can get a new one for about 24500 inclusive of shipping.

You have another choice too which is almost as good as Galaxy S. Its the Galaxy SL which costs around 19k new and without b&w it might be lower. Galaxy SL is a value version of S, SLCD instead of SAMOLED and eventhough running at 1GHz its got slightly lower specced processor and graphics chip compared to S. But retains other goodies like 4" screen size, Gorilla glass and same design.

For 12k to 13k its really hard to find a used S in good condition. For 6k more get SL and you get a new phone+warranty+peace of mind for a year and i don't think SL's value is going to halve in an year's time. SL looks like a good value proposition.

[dhanushs]

Unless you get it from a reliable source, even if its got warranty, I would not suggest a used mobile.

I once bought a SE k850i and the mobile spent most of its 'warranty' days in the SC, and eventually, had to sell it off.

If from a reliable source, go for it. Nothing can be compared to the VFM it offers.

[StrangeWizard]

I just purchased a 5 month old BB 8520 for 7K. Phone's in pretty good condition but had to get the body replaced because of some scratches here and there. But all the functions are working properly. I got the phone with all accessories including box.
Must say its worth the 7K I spent on it.
Though I recommend checking the phone thoroughly before buying. Just don't go on the external condition of the phone, check whether all functions are working properly or not
Also check whether the phone's IMEI number matches with the number written on the box.

[rock18]

I bought a Samsung Pixon 8MP phone for 10k last year.Phone had 6 months warranty left.
Phone's MRP was 23k that time but out of production as Pixon 12MP was launched.
Replaced the display under warranty..Definitely worth the 10k.