Need advice for very basic cell phone

The stuff Steve listed that I looked at was USED. Why did the last guy get rid of it? What if it packs up and heads south? You can also get used toothbrushes at a bargain price so .... :)

Louise, who is your service provider?

Steve's answer begs the question. Why two phones now and a handful of others over the years? As stated I've had one for seven evers -- one -- one stinking phone, not a bunch at some cheap price. I have no more to say on the subject.

Frank: I am with Sprint, and my husband has Verizon.

I had no idea people would be so...passionate...about cell phones. :)

Another consideration I haven't seen mentioned. At most big European airports, you can rent a cell phone. Because you only seem to be using it as a point of contact, this may be a good economical option.

When I bought my phone from Mobal they overnighted it to me for about $15. The phone and permanent number cost $49, and calls you make are charged to your credit card as you make them, so there are no monthly charges or unused minutes at the end.

www.mobal.com

If this is a one-time trip and you'll never leave the country again, do what Steve said.

However, be mindful that sim cards self-expire, eat up time when you have to reload them, and may well not be "world" at the bargain price.

I'm with Nancy. Mobal is the all-time deal for people who travel a lot and don't talk much. Mine goes all over the world. I've never opened it since I bought it years ago.

The permanent number is the main thing for me. I don't have to change SIM cards and numbers when I change countries, so I don't have to keep giving my family different numbers in case of emergency.

I've recently priced unlocked phones on eBay, and I have yet to find one for less than $50 (not $35, or $30, or $20), though I'm sure you could find the occasional one at that price.

Tom:
Thank you for suggestion of renting a cell phone when I get there. I don't think that's an option for me because I plan to email the tour guides my phone number before we leave, so I'd like to have the number beforehand.

I just called my carrier, Sprint, and the phone I have now won't work in two of the places we're going. They want me to upgrade my phone (!) for an "investment" of 599. Then I would have the opportunity to pay them 2.49/minute. What a racket.

I'd read the info about Truphone very carefully before using it, if I were you. According to the website, in order to get the "local" price, you have to add a local number to your SIM. This has a per-month cost of $12.99, and the only other country right now is the UK. And adding another "local country" is an additional $19.99/year - again, the only other country available is the UK. Otherwise, you are roaming. Their rate structure is very complex, and I saw nothing about a free SIM with 5 GBP on it, only a "starter" SIM for $24.99 with $15.00 of calling credit on it. Once again, reading the website instead of just linking to it is a really good idea.

If you are travelling in the UK you can buy very cheap phones and get good deals on Pay as You Go plans eg 5 pence a minute for calls to the USA, free texts etc. It's best to discuss your particular needs with a store assistant before deciding on which plan to buy. Phone stores seem to be on every corner so it's no hassle to buy one.

http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/mobiles/pay-as-you-go

BTW I usually have a great deal of time for Slow Travel advice but their statement that it is difficult to buy cheap phones in the UK is so wrong!

Nancy: I think I'm going to go with your suggestion of Mobal. They're running a special, $40.00 credit with purchase of $99 phone. No other charges except for talk time, and I get my phone number before we leave.
Maybe someday getting a global cell phone will be as easy as buying an adapter.
Thank you all for your help.

Ed wrote: "Steve's answer begs the question. Why two phones now and a handful of others over the years? As stated I've had one for seven evers -- one -- one stinking phone, not a bunch at some cheap price. I have no more to say on the subject."

Lest any reader get the wrong idea, buying a used phone isn't that risky a proposition. I, too, have bought countless phones off ebay -- used and new. I've only had problems with one and I got my money back for that one. Many, many people use a phone for a short period and then get a different phone. This is the source of many of the used phones online. The average time a cell phone is used is about 18 months, but the phones themselves last a lot longer. I have about six or seven phones myself that my wife wishes I'd put on ebay because I'm not presently using any of them.

The trick to buying off ebay is to buy only from a seller who has 1) been selling for more than a few years (click on the seller's name to see when he or she joined ebay); 2) has sold a significant number of things (over 200 or so sales); and 3) who has a high percentage of favorable ratings.

For emergency and very limited use, most European carrier SIM cards work throughout Europe, rates may increase a bit out of the 'home' area, but you would keep the one number.
T-Mobile and O2 were ones recommended when we were in London 2 weeks ago. Went to T-Mobile and got a 10pound SIM with 10pound credit and it worked just fine in Ireland.

You can get pay as you go, and not give a credit card number, just pay cash. You may not get to participate in some of the top-up bonus offers, but if you weren't going to be using a lot it doesn't matter.

I bought a unlocked quad band phone from New Egg, can use it in US with AT&T or US T-Mobile as Pay as you go as well. Can lend it to family and friends for future trips as well.

We had spare phones, and had them unlocked. Use T-Mobile in the UK for SIM card. Was perfect! Even had all sorts of bonus offers like free minutes, free text etc.

The bonus for using a phone like this is that no one back home could call you up to chat! :-)

We went to car phone warehouse in London, and purchased our unlocked cell phone for 5 GBP, and 10 GBP for the minutes, if you used a credit card. It was 25 GBP altogether if you paid cash. We found that to be the best deal for us, and now we have a phone we can use whenever we travel outside the country.

Kim --- credit card was cheaper than cash?

Was that because more minutes were added to credit card when you need them or what?