The market saturation for cell phones is now at an all time high. When we listen to the market, we hear newcomers like Apple claiming they will eventually sell over 10 million iPhones in 2008. And, if they do sell this many, that will only be a small percentage of the market. Imagine! So for those looking to find the best cell phone deals around, they are aplenty. A person can scour various sites for cheap cell phones, or dutifully read the classifieds in newspapers for the specific model that is desired. Choosing a cell phone does not have to be a chore. We have outlined a checklist to help you qualify cheap cell phones.

Cheap Cell Phones Criteria Checklist 

• Is the display color?
• Does it require a service agreement?
• Does your current service provider support the cell phone band? Remember CDMA is different than GSM.
• Is the Phone used? Does this matter to you?
• Will it go online?
• Is the menu intuitive?

There may be other questions to ask yourself before qualifying a cheap cell phone for purchase. Be sure to add them to the list, and you will be better off in the search for cell phone deals.

Cell Phone Deals not Service Agreements

Cell phone service providers offer deals on the phones for one reason – they need your monthly payment. That is where they make the money. They lose money by giving away phones, but make it all back tenfold throughout the course of a year. For this reason, finding a cheap cell phones may be one thing, but locating the right service for the phone afterwards may be a new problem altogether. To help in your search for a good service plan a site like WireFly.com may help. They offer listings of current cell phone providers and their service agreement deals.

The common denominator should be how often you use the phone, which relates to how many minutes you need a month, the cost of a monthly plan, and when the minutes change from daytime to nighttime. Once a consumer understands these options, then they can choose the right service plan for their phone.

Cheap Cell Phone Deals Online Auction Style

It may come as no surprise that eBay is hands down the best place to find cheap cell phone deals. When searching through their auctions, we will find millions of phones and accessories waiting to be purchased. A word of warning though, some of the phones may require a service agreement, so be sure to check the auction listing for more information before purchasing a phone. Also, some GSM phones are locked to a certain service provider, meaning someone had a contract with a company like Cingular then cancelled. Now they may have already unlocked the phone so you can use it with your service provider, but if it has not been done, then you may have to do it yourself. There are sites online that help locate the code to unlock a phone or your service provider may do it for you, sometimes at a small price. A site like UniquePhones.com may be able to help you unlock a phone for a discounted rate.

Buy from Your Current Cell Phone Carrier

For those who already own a cell phone and simply want to upgrade, buying from the current carrier can bring great savings. The cell phone deals they offer may be available after completing one to two years of contract service with them. The cell phone deals usually consist of a free phone, or a portion of the cost of a higher end model. This can mean great savings, but be sure you want to enter into another year long contract with them. Other providers may entice you to switch services by offering the same or better deal. At least be armed with the knowledge of what your current provider is offering for your continued loyalty.

Unlock, Buy Used, and Loyalty for Cell Phone Deals

Cheap cell phones do not fall from the sky, and if they do it probably belonged to someone. However, we can snatch them up at greatly reduced rates by buying used or refurbished. If you already have a cell phone, continued loyalty to a service provider may provide the best deal on an upgrade.

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