Where to safely buy a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 for T-Mobile?

[heron61]

I'm in the US & using t-mobile pre-paid (which I love) and want to buy a Note 3. My normal go-to place is Negri, but in addition to the ""for international use only" disclaimer, the ones they have for sale also have a second disclaimer "no returns or refunds", which basically tells me that I'd be buying a bad IMEI phone.

So, other than paying $717.60 or taking my (highly dubious) chances on ebay or craigslist, does anyone know of a reputable site or sites where I can purchase a new or refurbished Note 3 for t-mobile for a reasonable price ($600 or less). My on-line searches are turning up blank except for various resellers that I'm very dubious about.

 

[kurpaige]

Trying this myself. There really isn't a safe place. There's a lot of people trying to sell blacklisted phones. Just a crapshoot at this point


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jpr]

There are none at that price. The only totally safe place to buy for prepaid is at a T-mobile store. And you will be charged about $40 extra for not buying it with a simple choice plan.

There used to be a great way to buy online from an authorized reseller with no extra charge and no taxes and full warranty but company closed down a few months ago.

 

[heron61]

There are none at that price. The only totally safe place to buy for prepaid is at a T-mobile store. And you will be charged about $40 extra for not buying it with a simple choice plan.

There used to be a great way to buy online from an authorized reseller with no extra charge and no taxes and full warranty but company closed down a few months ago.

Well that sucks. I guess I'll see if I can get T-Mobile to sell me a refurbished Note 3, since even with +$40, it's still a bit less than $600.

 

[IAmSixNine]

what about swappa? i have not used it personally but isnt that supposed to be a trusted site?
craigslist isnt so bad as long as you use a lot of common sense and also use your gut feeling when meeting a person.
Meeting someone at their place of business or at a TMO store should deter most scammers.

 

[jpr]

what about swappa? i have not used it personally but isnt that supposed to be a trusted site?
craigslist isnt so bad as long as you use a lot of common sense and also use your gut feeling when meeting a person.
Meeting someone at their place of business or at a TMO store should deter most scammers.

The only thing swappa offers that craigslist or ebay doesn't is that at the moment the phone is listed it has to have a clear imei. That is a false sense of security, just like people who meet CL sellers at a TMO store to check the IMEI, since what many scammers do is sell it clean and then stop making payments so that it is blacklisted later. Many many people have been ripped off on swappa and swappa does nothing to help them. And the Paypal protection they tout is useless and not covered in the above scenario and paypal will not help you either. If you don't want to throw away $600, you can't buy from any of those places.

 

[dpham00]

Fry's electronics had it for $600 a few months ago but price went back up I think

dpham00, Android Central Moderator
Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 3

 

[jpr]

Fry's electronics had it for $600 a few months ago but price went back up I think

dpham00, Android Central Moderator
Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 3

They don't sell it prepaid anymore. You have to get it with a simple choice plan.

 

[dpham00]

They don't sell it prepaid anymore. You have to get it with a simple choice plan.

Must have been a recent change then. My friend got one without having to sign a contract a few months back.

dpham00, Android Central Moderator
Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 3

 

[jpr]

Must have been a recent change then. My friend got one without having to sign a contract a few months back.

dpham00, Android Central Moderator
Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 3

Yeah, they use to sell without a contract as an affiliate of the same company that I mentioned closed down a few months ago. Now you can't buy from any authorized reseller without simple choice.

Well, technically simple choice is considered without a contract as well, so I guess we should call it postpaid as opposed to prepaid.