[ehb514]

Hi,

I recently decided to get a Blackberry. I'm currently in the middle of my contract with Cingular (I have a boring, ordinary cell phone) and am not eligible for an "upgrade" for another year.

I've found lots of deals on the internet and through Cingular's phone center and physical store for the Blackberry 8700c (my preferred choice) for between free and $200 after rebates. But all of these require new contracts or "upgrade" contract extensions, neither of which I am eligible for. The only way to get a new phone through Cingular would be to pay $499 (what the store told me) or $749 (what the phone center told me).

Or, Cingular told me I can use their service if I can find the phone on my own, but I've had a lot of trouble finding a place that will sell me the phone for a reasonable price without starting a new contract (which I can't do because I'm already in the middle of an existing contract). Cingular told me they could provide me a refurbished phone for $300, and I have found a few use phones on the internet. Otherwise, every phone offer I've found on the internet requires a contract.

Does anyone have a suggestion for how I can get a new Blackberry at a reasonable price? I feel like I'm being screwed because of the cell phone industry's unfortunate phone/service pricing structure and my own bad timing of starting a new contract a year ago, when I wasn't interested in a Blackberry. I'm more than willing to pay Cingular more for the phone ($150-250 would be fine) and more for the service (monthly data package), but they won't take my money without making me pay the outrageous "retail" price for the phone.

Also, I suppose I could pay the $150 to get out of my Cingular contract and get a new phone and service from another provider, but I really like Cingular and the 8700c.

Thanks for any advice.

[ladydi]

I liked cingular's service, but they got waaaay too expensive. I say buy out the contract and go to t-mobile. you can get the 8700 for almost free and their unlimited data is only $30/month. but, I don't know what their service is like in your area...

[Stinsonddog]

Wirelessly posted (8700c: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.0) BlackBerry8700/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

You can try thre buy/sell forum here. Just find out if there is an IT policy on it. Or keep trying different Cingular reps.

[kmccarthy]

I would say try eBay for a slightly used one (or like new). That is how I got my 7105t for $68

[redmojo]

You can find the 8700 for around $250 here (used) or on ebay and the price will vary there. Be sure to do your research on buying used blackberry phones (search "ebay" or "imei" on here for some good threads).

Also, unlimited data on Cingular for the BB is $30 unless you are using a blackberry server (BES).

[option94]

Wirelessly posted (Cingular 7130c: BlackBerry7130/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

You can cancelfor 150and then try and get one for cheap with a new Cingular contract. Or concert to a family plan and add a line.

[adamlau]

I just paid off a $218.49 Sprint Early Termination Fee to go with Cingular.

[nremondelli]

If you decide to switch carriers check out www.wirecracker.com

I don't know how they do it but they get you out of your contract and onto a new carrier's for only 50$

[adamlau]

I wish I had known beforehand...Sounds interesting...

[takeshi]

Originally Posted by ehb514

I feel like I'm being screwed because of the cell phone industry's unfortunate phone/service pricing structure and my own bad timing of starting a new contract a year ago, when I wasn't interested in a Blackberry. I'm more than willing to pay Cingular more for the phone ($150-250 would be fine) and more for the service (monthly data package), but they won't take my money without making me pay the outrageous "retail" price for the phone.

You're not getting screwed. Despite what Americans think, these devices are expensive. It's just that the American cell phone market has carriers heavily subsidizing devices to attract new customers. The prices you've been quoted are the actual prices. It's not like this in the rest of the world where people actually pay for their devices without carrier subsidies.