buying a phone from england

a4775

i posted this in the fones from america thread
it didnt get a response so i am making a thread instead

anyway, what about getting a fone from england then?
i am looking to get the samsung i8510 but it seems like it isnt going to be released over here any time soon
i know someone with an address in england, so could i get it unlocked?

also, how would i get myself out of the contract?
id rather not pay money if at all possible you see, because free things are really nice



also, i apologies if this has been covered before
but i looked through about ten pages of this thing and couldnt find anything

PCPhoto

if you get it on O2 or vodafone in england it should work on O2 or vodafone over here (I think) ....all other networks would probably need to be unlocked, I ordered one on flea bay last week for my sis - wont be available here until the summer - think its a samsung or somthing like that ... pink with a qwerty keypad for texting...her's is on the orange network so has to be unlocked.

samhail

I thought that o2 UK would work over here, but was told by 3 that that was not the case.
i did have the 3 skype phone when i was up north and it will not accept 3 sims from down here - though that might be a special case phone.

OP: quick search of google does come up with the facility to unlock the phone, so im sure unlockers can help you, or you could get it unlocked in dublin.

I always but my phones from ebay so they are sourced from like China or Japan so i dont see a problem from that respect.

Ah-Watch

PCPhoto wrote: »

if you get it on O2 or vodafone in england it should work on O2 or vodafone over here (I think)

NO NO NO NO NO! (Shouts at OP not to expect phone to accept Irish Sim in UK phone) A vodafone IE sim wont work in Vodafone UK phone, however up until lately if not still you could but an unlock code from Vodafone UK if you weren't with them 12 months on prepay-if you were it was free,o2 uk you had to be with them 12 months before they'd give you a code but I said "I thought an 02 Ireland sim would work"(I lied:() and they unlocked it---the jist is an irish sim wont work in UK phone, but just get it unlocked in town, no biggy!

a4775

all i needed to know was if you could unlock an english fone
i suppose it is fairly obvious that you can right?

so you are saying that there would be no worry have seen those sellers on ebay and i am always weary of them
have you bought much stuff from sellers on hong kong then?

Ah-Watch

a4775 wrote: »

all i needed to know was if you could unlock an english fone
i suppose it is fairly obvious that you can right?

so you are saying that there would be no worry have seen those sellers on ebay and i am always weary of them
have you bought much stuff from sellers on hong kong then?

I avoid Hong Kong at all costs- Besides the fact I feel its dodgy(just my opinion) I'm very impatient so shipping takes too long, but check the feedback. There are plenty of places that will unlock a Samsung if you call to their shops, I was looking at the Nokia 6210 as there is over 100e in the price difference between Vodafone Uk and Vodafone Ireland... I'd buy from England and just get it unlocked

samhail

there is always a risk with ebay alright - ive just been very lucky and do pay close attention to sellers and paypal protections and the like.

just had a quick look at the 6210 Navigator and it does appear to be cheaper on the UK vodafone site when ebay and the vodafone ie site !


I did have a slight setback that when i got my N78 from hongkong it was setup with a hongkong country code. took me about 2 months to get off my lazy behind and spend the 30min to change it over to an Irish country code
other than that its perfect - again i can agree that ive been lucky

a4775

i think i will keep well away from the hong kong fones
i have heard too many bad reports about them

also, just as we are talking about ebay, i would like to warn people about the ecell shop on ebay
they sell loads of fones and have a huge number of people giving them feedback
i bought a fone from them myself in november and it was less than a week before christmas day before i got it
it was badly packed so the box was a bit crushed
and the customer care was abysmal

i dont know if anyone else has had any good esperiences with them but speaking for myself, i would stay well clear
its just too much money to be messing about with really

anyway, im gonna go see if i can find my samsung for sale cheap somewhere
wish me luck

drunkmonkey

a4775 wrote: »

i am looking to get the samsung i8510 but it seems like it isnt going to be released over here any time soon

I've used that phone, it's ok but it's a bit big and ugly (and it's a samsung:eek:), have you considered any other 8mp, LG Renior or Sony C905.....

a4775

the c905 is an awful brute of a thing
and also, i really fancy a touch screen now

my sister has the samsung tocco and the interface seems pretty easy to get around
i swore i would only ever get nokias, after a nasty experience with a motorola some years ago
but i cant be that picky about it

also, the lg renoir is an lg
how could they be good??

tony1kenobi

a4775 wrote: »

also, how would i get myself out of the contract?
id rather not pay money if at all possible you see, because free things are really nice

Are you asking people to tell you how to steal a phone?

a4775 wrote: »

also,i would like to warn people about the ecell shop on ebay
they sell loads of fones and have a huge number of people giving them feedback
i bought a fone from them myself in november and it was less than a week before christmas day before i got it
it was badly packed so the box was a bit crushed
and the customer care was abysmal

Did you pay for it?

samhail

tony1kenobi wrote: »

Are you asking people to tell you how to steal a phone?...

Why would you bring up anything about stealing phones ? he just wanted it for free. I dont think people would like suggestions like that on these boards there mate.

drunkmonkey

a4775 wrote: »

also, the lg renoir is an lg
how could they be good??

I've had an LGU400 and an LG Viewty, both are good phones and are still working perfect long after my nokias have given up.... A good lg phone is a good phone!

I'd pick LG over Samsung all day long...

tony1kenobi

samhail wrote: »

Why would you bring up anything about stealing phones ? he just wanted it for free. I dont think people would like suggestions like that on these boards there mate.

OP asked how to get out of the contract without having to pay. I don't think it was a case of smoke and mirrors in the way they phrased the question was it?

It wasn't a suggestion. It was an observation, mate.

a4775

stealing is such a harsh word though
all i want to do is figure out a way of buying a fone cheaper than over here
and then, if possible, not paying the full amount agreed during the original transaction
is that too much to ask?

so you see it is very much different to stealing

also, yes i did pay for it and after a three weeks i asked for my money back
the ecell shop were having none of it though, even after a month had elapsed since i had payed them the money
somehow the fone turned up after 5 weeks so i didnt pursue it any further

in the mean time i had bought another fone from a different site, because it was a christmas present and i could wait around any longer
so i am out the best part of 200 euro because of that shower at ecell
and since i have gotten plenty of good advice in this thread, i thought i might return the favour any way i could

im also good with lawnmowers, so if anyone has any lawnmower related questions, feel free to send me a pm