Ebay Phone/Sim/LTE/Upgrade question

Hey all...

I'm eligible to upgrade for the discounted price in mid-February. (I guess the actual contract end date is in June or something but they allow you to do it earlier...) I was really considering picking up the Note II, but if I do, I was told I'll lose my grandfathered in unlimited status. For the most part I don't mind losing it since I usually am often around wi-fi and unless I abuse the unlimited data, I am usually under 2GB per month.

I have purchased a few phones off ebay before just going from iOS to BB and finally to Android. I was curious if anyone knows if I were to get an LTE phone, such as the LG Spectrum, could I get a SIM card and activate it from the local corporate verizon store for free (most ebay phones don't have them included...) and not have it count as losing my unlimited status? I wanted to do this for multiple reasons:

1. This would be my first experience with LTE and I've heard most people often unintentionally use more data. This would allow me to get a feel for my personal usage without being afraid of running over my allowance.

2. I would be able to evaluate the LTE coverage. Campus/workplace are in a market with LTE, but home is about 15-20 miles out of the town LTE is in. It would be nice to know how often LTE would be available for me.

3. I know there are always new phones coming out, but if I could do this method to not use the discounted price offer until I absolutely had to for the latest and greatest phone, I'd prefer that route.


If anyone has any input or advice/recommendations, I'd appreciate hearing them.
Thanks in advance...

Yes, if you buy a phone used from Ebay, Craigslist etc, you can get a sim for free and keep your unlimited data.

All SIM cards are free. Never charged

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note2

Go to a corporate store premium will charge for the sim card.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums