Refurbished LG G4 (Verizon) for $85 [UPDATED]

UPDATE 3/1/18 at 10pm ET: the price has dropped from $100 to $85. Same seller and shipping situation…

If you are looking for a former flagship that is running on the Verizon network, and $100 is all you are willing to pay, then head on over to Amazon where marketplace seller Kanga Supply is offering certified refurbished LG G4 (Verizon) smartphones for $100 with free shipping.

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HTC One M9 (32GB, Unlocked, No Contract) for $350

With current generation flagships priced so high, a previous generation flagship may be an alternative if none of the mid-tier flagships from upstarts and big names alike strike your fancy. Which brings us to the new condition factory-unlocked no-contract 32GB HTC One M9 going for $350 at amazon.com. Make sure you check that Amazon actual is the seller and not any of the iffy marketplace sellers. Amazon actual is authorized, so you get the USA warranty. The marketplace sellers, I have no clue, so don’t buy from them unless you know for certain.

Note that Amazon’s compatibility listing appears to be inaccurate. Check the reviews and answered-questions and HTC’s own website for more details.

The M8 and M9 were a bit divisive, some people did not like them and prefer the the M7/M10 releases, while others are fine with them. It’s good to have choices in the market, as long as you are willing to do the necessary research to get the phone that best fits your priorities. The M9, just like the M8 (but not the M7) support microSD cards.

[DEAD] Motorola Moto G (3rd gen) drops to $120 (VM)

The new year came (2016) and with it, all the Virgin Mobile USA phone discounts got washed away… But I’m sure they’ll have more sales in the next few days… CES is already underway and more phones are getting announced, so it’s natural for the existing models to eventually go through the discounting and clearance cycle…

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32GB HTC One M7 (AT&T Unlocked) for $150

Things move fast in the world of smartphones, which means you can get previous flagships for less a couple of years later. But they also rarely run the latest version of Android, so you have a tug-of-war of trade-offs to make. Be that as it may, among the latest offers on eBay you can get the new condition unlocked 32GB HTC One M7 for $150 with free shipping, in either the black or silver color schemes. The seller of record is QualityCellz (99.2%).

This is the last HTC flagship before they re-embraced microSD cards with the M8. So if 32GB is enough for you, and you don’t care for a microSD slot, keep on reading. The listing describes it as “factory unlocked” but it says multiples times this is “AT&T unlocked”. So if you are planning to use it with other GSM carriers that do not operate in the AT&T universe, you may want to check the bands or your favorite Android phones first.

As a quick refresher, this is powered by Snapdragon 600 processor with 2GB RAM, a 1920 x 1080 Gorilla Glass 2 screen, and such. It originally came out during the reign of Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean).

Seller-refurbished Samsung Galaxy S5 (T-Mobile, Unlocked) for $210

If today’s Uncarrier X announcements got you excited about T-Mobile, but you don’t want to pay the big bucks for a new phone and you don’t want to sign up for those monthly plans, among the latest offers on eBay you can get the seller-refurbished Samsung Galaxy S5 (T-Mobile, but unlocked now) for $210 with free shipping by eBay seller “chubbiestech” (98.7%). This is available in either black or white, with a limit of 50 per customer. The gold color is sold-out.

The description over there states “phone in fair to good condition, Unit will have scuffs or scratches on body and screen. Comes packaged in after market box with compatible charger & battery”. If you are comfortable with the higher risk of seller-refurbished items, and you are not a perfectionist in terms of the cosmetic product condition, you may get a great deal out of this.

Since this is a T-Mobile unlocked phone, it should work great with T-Mobile. For other GSM carriers, check the bands to make sure it’s a good match. Of particular interest if you are a fan of microSD cards and removable batteries since Samsung yanked both of those features out of the Galaxy S6 🙁

No contract, you own the phone right away. You can always use it as a Wifi-only media device, or use it for development purposes or other experiments, or have it “eat” data from your mobile hotspot or other phones.

Seller-refurbished Samsung Galaxy S4 (Verizon) for $90

If you are not a perfectionist, and you are comfortable with the higher risk of seller-refurbished products, the Verizon version of the 16GB Samsung Galaxy S4, model i545, is offered in seller refurbished condition for $90 with free shipping, in three of the four colors (blue is sold-out), by eBay seller “GuaranteeCellular” (98.4%). Limit five per customer. No contract!

The description there stresses that it has “noticeable scratches or scuff mark”, but promises that it will be fully functional and have a clean ESN. As of posting time, over 1900 units got sold from this particular listing, despite the higher risk and the lower percentage of the seller. If you are risk-averse or a perfectionist, you may want to sit this one out.

FreedomPop: pre-owned Samsung Galaxy S3 for $80 w/free S&H [or Galaxy S4 for $140]

If you want to try out the Freedom Pop service, and could use a Samsung Galaxy S3 phone with the service (or if the service doesn’t work out, you can use it as a media player or in-house remote control), you can get the certified pre-owned Samsung Galaxy S3 for $80 with free shipping. It comes with a 30 day warranty.

This is a 4G LTE phone, which is important existentially for the cellular part of the service, because Freedom Pop exists on Sprint’s network, and the older “4G WiMaX” is going away. So if you buy anything from Freedompop that you want to use over cellular, make sure it is 4G LTE, not 4G WiMax.

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[DEAD] Scratch and Dent Samsung Galaxy Former-Flagship deals

This daily deal expired…
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Certified Preowned Samsung Galaxy Note 3 for $240 with coupon (T-Mobile)

Note temptations! Without a contract. Certified pre-owned. Okay, let’s start from the beginning. Coupon code CPO60 (CPO for Certified Pre Owned) is a $60 off discount on the current price of the certified pre-owned Samsung Galaxy Note 3 at the T-Mobile website. This drops it from $300 to $240.

That’s yours to keep, no contract, no payments if you pay the full $240 upfront. If you are a new customer, their shopping cart will automatically add a $15 SIM Starter Kit to your shopping cart, and it won’t let you remove it. Not a very Uncarrier thing to do 🙂

This phone came out during the reign of Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean), and has a Snapdragon processor, with 3GB RAM, 32GB on-board plus microSD slot, the all-important S-Pen, and things like that.

Refurbished Samsung Galaxy S4 (Verizon) for $120

If you are fond of the Verizon network and refurbished by 3rd parties (not the manufacturer) smartphones without a contract, Groupon is offering one such thing. It is the refurbished condition Samsung Galaxy S4, in either black or white, going for $120 with free shipping and free returns but only a 30-day warranty from an unspecified Vendor.

So if you are comfortable with taking on some risk, you may find it interesting. Otherwise, if you are more risk-averse, you are better off with certified-refurbished/manufacturer-refurbished and new condition.

This was the flagship two years ago, with a 5-inch AMOLED 1080p display, 2GB RAM, 16GB on-board, microSD, and such. It come out at Android 4.3 time. The official model names are SCH-I545ZW (white) and SCH-I545ZK (black).

Unlocked 32GB Motorola Nexus 6 (XT1103) for $300

If the new Nexus 5X and 6P devices are not to your liking, there’s further discounting on last year’s Nexus 6 by Motorola. You can get it in new condition, carrier unlocked, in the 32GB denomination for $300 with free shipping, with a choice of blue or white, with a limit of five per customer, from eBay seller “QualityCellz” (99.2%). This is model XT1103.

This does not have a microSD, but it is one of only a few phones at the moment that can work with Google’s Project FI, whose defining feature is giving you an account credit for unused data in your account.

Refurbished LG G2 D801 (T-Mobile locked, No Contract) for $130

If you are fond of former flagship phones, you can find many and more of those at the eBay Deals. Case in point, you can get the manufacturer refurbished LG G2 (D801, T-Mobile, 4G LTE) for just $130 with free shipping from eBay seller “Pangea Deals” (98.9%). One of the reason the price is low is because this is locked to T-Mobile, so you have to use it there for cellular. As always, you can use it as a Wifi-only device. No contract!

This phone has been out for a while, so there are plenty of reviews and tips and hacks available on the interwebs for you. As a refresher, this is a 4G LTE device, running on the Snapdragon 800, with 2GB RAM, a 5.2-inch 1920 x 1080 Gorilla Glass 3 display, 32GB on-board storage, microUSB, OTG, etc. As you can see, this is not a bad spec sheet.

Good Candidate for the T-Mobile 10GB/month Family Plans
Particularly of interest if you are planning to sign up for T-Mobile’s 10GB/line family plan that requires a minimum of two lines, and it is a data-hungry user’s dream. Each line gets 10GB of its own per month, with a 12-month Data Stash (their name for rollover).

Two lines are $100 total, so you get 20GB per month, with rollover. Optionally, for +$10/month, you can add an extra 10GB per line, so $130 gets you 30GB/month, $140 gets you 40GB/month. Nom nom indeed. Plus music streaming and Speedtest does NOT count against this limit. On top of that, you can use up to 10GB per line for hotspot/tethering (this of course comes out of your total 10GB line bucket).

[DEAD] refurbished FreedomPop sale [LG G2 for $100, Galaxy S3 for $80, Moto E (2nd g) for $80]

This daily deal expired, but things have a way of resurfacing every few days at Woot…
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LG G3 (D851, 32GB, T-Mobile Unlocked GSM, No Contract) for $250

If you like the sweet value of former flagships, and also prefer no-contract GSM unlocked smartphones, there’s another temptation among the latest eBay Deals, you can get the new condition LG G3 (32GB, D851), T-Mobile Unlocked GSM smartphone, no contract, for $250 with free shipping. Limit five per customer. The seller of record is MobilePros1 (97.7%). Over 1900 units got moved so far from this listing.

This was opened for unlocking purposes but it is otherwise new. As a refresher, it has a 5.5-inch screen, 3GB RAM, 32GB on-board, comes with Kit Kat and can be upgraded to Lollipop, and such. As a former high profile release, there’s plenty of information, reviews and hacks posted about it.

Certified PreOwned Samsung Galaxy S5 for $350 with 12 months warranty [no contract; choice of AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile]

It’s a good year to be buying smartphones. So many options out there pushing prices down. Case in point, if you like the Samsung Galaxy S, and value the microSD and removable battery a lot, you can get the Galaxy S5 in certified pre-owned condition for $350 at amazon.com in your choice of AT&T or Verizon or T-Mobile. No contract – you own these the moment the payment clears!

The description says it comes with all original accessories and it is “like new”. There is also notes that it comes with a 12 month warranty! The only downside is that they are probably locked to their respective carriers, which partially leads to the lower prices you see. But if you are planning to use these as Wifi-only, not an issue.

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