Buying cell phones in Chinatown?

[Braves]

My parents want to switch plans because their current one is absolutely horrible (service, price, everything). I live in the bay area and i remember hearing that you can pretty much get any phone you want from Chinatown for free as long as you pay for a plan. I have several questions about that... first of all, what are the pro's and con's in terms of service and things like that? Does buying from Chinatown mean you don't get customer support or does it just mean you get the service but the phone is free (in other words a hot deal). Second, the type of plan my parents are looking for. We need at least 3 phones, and 400+ shared daytime/doesn't really matter how many nighttime/off peak minutes. Is chinatown still the best place to get a deal for this type of plan or am I better off going to my local T-Mobile shop, or buying phones off amazon

 

[chiwawa626]

I say just go for the tmobile 3000 anytime promo for 49 a month....i dont trust buying from China town ...

 

[Braves]

but what would the price be after adding additional phones? My parents don't want to spend 70$ a month on cell phones

 

[PsychoAndy]

unless you have someone who is fluent in cantonese/mandarin with you, i would not purchase any electronic item in chinatown

roast pork however......mmm.

-PAB

 

[Braves]

well okay my entire family speaks mandarin (my parents were born and raised in taiwan and just came back from a 2 month trip), but lets forget about that. In T-Mobile's case, I see a plan for 70$ a month with 800 minutes, unlimited tmobile-tmobile minutes. If I buy three phones from amazon can I just use those phones in the plan or do I have to specifically order phones through T-Mobile. Is there any way of getting say a Ericsson T68 and a couple Nokia's for a low price from amazon rebates, and activate them all through one plan?

 

[chiwawa626]

I went to a tmobile near the great mall and they had a plan 3000 anytime for 49 a month, a cool phone for 99 cents too But i dont know about adding phones, as far as i know sprint is pretty cheap on adding phones. I was watching tv today and they say a lot of the mom/pop cell phone stores sell you referbished phones as new, and you get ripped off..generaly i just dont trust china town for anything that is worth over 40 bux....but since ur family can speak mandrin mite as well go down there and see what your getting since you wouldnt be the typical person they would try to rip off if they did.

 

[bentwookie]

there is a store on broadway, I don't know the cross street but there are 2 vegetable produce stores on the corners, it's about a block up from the video/fish store. If you know chinatown you know the one. It is next to that defunct movie theatre. anyways go one block up(literally uphill) west. cross street at produce and go about 5 stores up. I personally wouldn't buy anything electronic from chinatown, only food and movies...

 

[Braves]

yeah i've been to the store a couple times, but i'm not gonna pay 250$ for a phone that I can get for free after rebates from amazon... my last post has my current questions, basically I just wanna know how much a plan with 3 phones bought from amazon would cost and if they could activate all those into one plan

 

[TNTrulez]

You're not going to get 400+ minutes shared 3 phones for less than $70 no matter what plan you choose.
I have the same situation and it's costing $90 including tax.

 

[Braves]

Okay, another question. If I were to buy the Ericsson T68 from amazon (300 - 250 in rebates), I would have to purchase a T-Mobile plan to qualify for the 100$ extra rebates. If I purchased the 69.99$ family plan, which is 800 shared minutes and unlimited mobile-mobile, could I choose the two free nokia gold phones that come with the deal along with the Ericsson T68 for an extra 10$ a month (their charge for extra phones) for a total of 79.99$ a month for the plan, along with 50$ for the phone?

 

[SuperTool]

I am in Silicon Valley and I recommend Verizon single rate West. The phones for CDMA are a little bigger, but I love the service.

 

[dabuddha]

you might get better answers on prices on service if you call the actual companies themselves