Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Thrifty Smart Phones and Phone Aps: How to Get a Phone for Cheap

As a professional working in the technology field it's ironic that I don't have a smart phone. I'm not a phone fan and prefer to do computing on a computer! Yet I knew I needed to use the square smart phone aps for running credit cards on-the-go. Not to mention tweeting about thrift finds and researching their value while browsing the thrifts and fleas! And so, my thrifty smart phone adventures began...


I started trying to procure the recommended Samsung Galaxy S II phone at T Mobile with my unofficial IT Guy and buddy Greg in tow. When I was told the phone would cost $600 we made a hasty retreat. All the while thinking:


Greg and I did some research and I found the phone I wanted for $59.99! Much better! I love a $540 dollar savings! Here are more ways to get high quality cell phones for the best deals possible:

  • Amazon Wireless is what I used to get my phone.
  • Let's Talk has amazing deals on a wide variety of phones.
  • Wire Fly has more delicious deals on the phones you want. 
  • Older Models: you can often get older phone models for free or close to it.
  • Upgrade: Call your provider before your contract is up and ask if you can upgrade
  • Employee Discounts: See the company you work for provides cell phone discounts

So as I wait for my phone to arrive and say goodbye to my faithful old flip phone, I'd love for us to discuss how to utilize smart hones for thrifting, reselling, and being thrifty. How do you use your smart phone to thrift, resell and stay organized?

What smart phone aps do you  use? Please share in the comments!
I want to try and review as many as possible as soon as my phone comes in.
Daily thrifting updates, information, & Inspiration: Follow Thrift Core on Twitter and Facebook.

31 comments:

  1. Welcome to our century Vanessa! I'm glad I badgered you enough to become one of us. I'm not sure about your phone, but my phone was "thrifted" through AT&T so even that was thrifty.

    Of course I'd recommend having facebook, twitter, and instagram on your phone. You can usually link them all together and when you find something cool you can take a picture and post it to all those platforms (and a few more) so everyone knows what you've found before you even take it to the register

    Also whichever device your using will have a free downloadable library of apps. I'd suggest doing searches for "thrift" or "thrifting" and see what comes up. You'll be surprised how many cool apps are out there finally!

    WELCOME TO OUR WORLD!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HA! Wasn't due to your badgering, I just needed it for work and work alone, fool!

      I'm not sure if instagram will work on my phone since it's not an iphone?

      Delete
  2. instagram started as an iPhone app, but it's on android as well. EVERYONE has it. Get with it sista!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll play around with it. There's a snob in me that doesn't like how it makes people think adding a filter to a crappy blurry photo equates good photography...among other issues.

      But you gotta go where the people are to market your wares.

      Delete
  3. I'm not there yet. I KNOW a smart phone would help me make more money, but at the moment I don't have enough money to get one. Isn't that just ass-backwards?

    Thank you for sharing your "ancient" phone. I am an ancient, I guess, and a young one at that!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I forgot to add that, at 25 I'm one of the few in my age group without a smart phone. I don't text message, either.

      Do you feel like you can't afford the plan? Because when you sign up for contracts you can often get an "older" (but still miles ahead of a flip phone) phone for free or dirt cheap. There are some free deals on the sites I've listed in this post as well.

      Delete
    2. I don't have a lot of money myself. I'm lucky that I've been with AT&T for a while (back when it was bellsouth here.. then cingular). Their site offers refurbished phones (phones returned for no reason, but are checked and available and are almost new) for a cheap price. I got an iPhone 3gs for only $7 used as opposed to $250 new. I'm not sure who your provider is (if you have one) but a refurbished phone is good 90% of the time. No one knows my phone was ever used until I brag about my thriftiness.

      Delete
  4. I upgraded to a smart phone about 6 months ago, and lets just say it is a real game changer. I actually do feel smarter for owning it, and while it's hard to say if upgrading to a fancy internet plan has paid for itself, I think it has.

    It's great to access GPS when you get lost looking for yard sales. It's great to do quick internet searches when you see a logo...but just don't know. It really fantastic to be able to get back to people quickly when they send you an inquiry on an item you are selling.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That one big reason why I'm getting one as well, I'd love to be able to answers buyer's inquiries immediately even when I'm away from my computer. The GPS and internet searches sound wonderful, too!

      Delete
  5. Wow, we are on the same page! Until an hour ago, I too had an old timey cellular device. I just got back from the mall where I got my first smart phone. You see, I just returned from vacation in Florida and was staying in a condo that belongs to our family (passed down) and there was no wifi! I wanted to use your blog to find ideas on thrift stores! (I totally drove by that flea market location but no one else wanted to sweat out their weekend there.)Interestingly enough, the beach had free wifi so I could use my iPod to update facebook and check email.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow, we are on the same page! Until an hour ago, I too had an old timey cellular device. I just got back from the mall where I got my first smart phone. You see, I just returned from vacation in Florida and was staying in a condo that belongs to our family (passed down) and there was no wifi! I wanted to use your blog to find ideas on thrift stores! (I totally drove by that flea market location but no one else wanted to sweat out their weekend there.)Interestingly enough, the beach had free wifi so I could use my iPod to update facebook and check email.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A smart phone is definitely a huge help when there's no PC around on vacations, too! So funny that we're on the same page here ;) !

      Delete
  7. I just got an I phone recently when I upgraded my phone, I had another android smart phone before it. It's nice to have for checking email and other things on vacation when I don't have computer access. I don't have many "apps" but on my old phone I did have a "find Goodwill" app, but mostly I just use regular google when we're somewhere new and I'm looking for antique shops etc. There are usually a lot of yard sales on the weekend in my area and it's good to use the google maps for directions, or if I find something cool I can look it up online on etsy or ebay to see what it is worth

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It sucked not being able to check mail and other small computer things when I was on vacation. I suppose I won't have that problem anymore once the phone comes in.

      Delete
  8. we just got smart phones last week. and it was for thrifty reasons too! my husband has been selling things on ebay (to great success) and wanted a way to look things up while he was at the goodwill outlet. since his new hobby is bringing in more than our phone bill will cost now, we took the plunge!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's definitely helpful when you're out at the thrifts and need to look up the value of items. I'll certainly be using mine that way.

      Delete
  9. I got my first smart phone last week. I love using the ebay app when thrifting. You can refine your search to see completed/sold only items.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll definitely try that one out when I'm on eBay.

      Delete
  10. As cheap as I am, the only way I ever took the pluge into smartphoneland was via Virgin Mobile. The phones aren't top of the line, but such a step up from my old flip phone, like you said (plus I have a weird Richard Branson crush thing...). Anyway I use it thrifting all the time, and when I'm out somewhere and have 20 minutes to spare between other things, I just check the GPS for a nearby thrift store. I've also played around with the Goggles app - sometimes it can help ID vintage labels and things!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great suggestions. I can't wait to use mine on-the-go, too.

      Delete
  11. Funny you should mention this! I'm working on a thrifty iphone app post right now!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll have to check that out. I'm going to write one of my own...once I have a phone and can use 'em :)

      Delete
  12. Way to go girl! You will never know how great the smarthphones can help you. I can't do things without my smartphone. I know it will be all worth it.

    ReplyDelete
  13. My husband and I have droids on Virgin Mobile (they buy their service from Sprint so we figure it's better than all the other no contract plans) and only pay $25 a month. We love not being tied to a crazy contract and not having to pay crazy monthly fees.

    Get yourself Instagram, Draw Something and Pinterest

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hmm...good to know. Thanks for the advise!

      Delete
  14. Yes, I am biased, but Phone-Fanatic.com is a fantastic resource for finding the best deals on smart phones- they are tracking phone prices (currently over 6 million prices tracked) from Best Buy, Craigslist, Amazon.com, to Sprint & AT&T stores and all the rest - you pick the phone you want and the price you want to pay and Phone-Fanatic will send you an email alert when your phone -matches your price!

    Right now Sprint has the Samsung Galaxy SIII only $99 http://ow.ly/c9iRT

    ReplyDelete
  15. I still have a flip phone, mostly because I can pay only $10-$15 a month for the contract. I'd be really interested to know if there is a cheap way to get all the features of a smart phone without paying $100+ per month for the services. Any advice?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Totally agree, I prefer to use a computer to do most of my internet surfing. However, having a smartphone is nice for the social media such as facebook status and twitter tweets. I use linked in alot as well which it is nice to have a phone for. Though computer is nice for most browsing.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Your website looks good and topic selection look also very unique. Just keep writing this kind of posts.

    ReplyDelete

I love reading your comments. Thank you for adding to the discussion! I always reply to any and all questions.

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