Consumer Tip - Why You Should Buy Refurbished Cell Phones

Warning!: do not read this if you want a used cell phone that downloads movies, has all the latest bells and whistles, and walks your dog. This is intended for those who want to use their cell phone to, well, make phone calls and possibly text messages.

When you have ruined your cell phone by dropping it in the toilet (happens a lot!) or running over it, or if your current contract is running out and your phone is getting old, look into buying a refurbished model. You can probably get one that has more features than your old one and will be way cheaper than buying a new one from the phone service.

Believe it or not, there's a boom going on in the used phone business. If you've owned a few by now you are probably familiar with recycling your old phones by mailing them in a prepaid mailer. It's great for the environment and also gives older cell phones to people in Third World countries.

However, there's a category of "used" phones that's called "buyer's remorse phones". Most major wireless carriers offer a 30-day return, no questions asked policy. And there are a lot of phones returned for various reasons. They weren't defective, they just didn't suit the buyer's needs or tastes. This is where the real deal comes in: even if the phone was used just once in the 30 days, by law it can't be resold as new. It now falls in the used category, along with a significant discount to the customer.

The only difference between one of these and a new cell phone, is the warranty. A new one usually offers a one year warranty, whereas a used one might have a 90-day warranty or none at all. The way I look at it is this: with electronics, it either works or it doesn't. There's no middle ground. And the seller is certifying that it works like new. For the extremely low price, it's worth the very small risk.

As an example, a Cingular LG CU500 flip phone with HSDPA network capability sells for $150 (with a $50 mail in rebate) with a two year contract. The exact same refurbished model goes for $50 with a two year contract. Nice savings,.

If you bought a refurbished Treo 650 for $100 and a two year contract, you would save $300 as the same phone is still selling for $400! It really pays to do your homework.

You can go even cheaper, as Cingular has a pay-as-you-go plan called GoPhone, very similar to the highly successful Tracfone. All of the refurbished GoPhone handsets cost just $30 each.

The U.S. is getting smarter, slowly moving away from a disposable society where we throw away perfectly functioning items to that of a recycling society. We have been buying used cars for a century. It's time to be a smart consumer and buy refurbished electronics.