TracFone is selling refurbished Nokia 252 and 918 phones here for $30 with a $30 rebate, with free shipping. (Note: The red rebate form included in the box does NOT exclude refurbished phones from getting the rebate, unlike the green rebate form that's included with new TracFones.) To get the rebate, the phone has to be continuously active for 90 days. However, if you activate the phone on TracFone's web site, you get 20 free units over 60 days. In addition, if you give TracFone your email address, they give you an additional 10 free units, and possibly an extra 30 days of service (more below).
The result is that if you do get 90 days of service for activating the phone on the web and giving them your email address, then you have a free phone and 30 minutes of free airtime over 90 days. But it's better than that: there's no limit on the number of rebates per person, so you can switch phones every time you need more minutes! In addition, the rebate terms don't exclude resellers, so you can ebay the phone for about $20 once you've used the 30 free minutes.
There is a hassle factor, though. That is, you'll get your 10 free units for giving them your email address, but you won't necessarily get an extra 30 days of service unless you complain. Each customer service agent gives a different story about why the 10 free units sometimes does and sometimes doesn't give an extra 30 days of service, but if you talk to a friendly one, they'll give you the extra 30 days of service. In addition, although the form says that the 10 free units offer is one-per-ESN[phone] (not one-per-person), you won't get your 10 free units unless you use a unique name and email address when filling out the form.
The result is that if you do get 90 days of service for activating the phone on the web and giving them your email address, then you have a free phone and 30 minutes of free airtime over 90 days. But it's better than that: there's no limit on the number of rebates per person, so you can switch phones every time you need more minutes! In addition, the rebate terms don't exclude resellers, so you can ebay the phone for about $20 once you've used the 30 free minutes.
There is a hassle factor, though. That is, you'll get your 10 free units for giving them your email address, but you won't necessarily get an extra 30 days of service unless you complain. Each customer service agent gives a different story about why the 10 free units sometimes does and sometimes doesn't give an extra 30 days of service, but if you talk to a friendly one, they'll give you the extra 30 days of service. In addition, although the form says that the 10 free units offer is one-per-ESN[phone] (not one-per-person), you won't get your 10 free units unless you use a unique name and email address when filling out the form.
