Can I buy a cell phone without signing a contract?

I already have an iPhone, but I was just wanting to buy a back up phone so when I go camping and stuff like that. I was going to go to best buy or a place that sells cell phones and was just going to buy one there, but I don’t know if I can just buy it without signing a new contract.

Answer by Nate
many times you can buy a new phone without extending or starting a new contract. Most of the time you will have to pay the MSRP (full price) on the phone though. No discounts or rebates. Your SIM card from your iphone may, or may not work with the new phone either. I does work for me though, on at&t, using a sony erickson as my back-up phone.

Answer by Or
You can buy unlocked cell phone. The best place to buy unlocked phone online is Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fs%3Fie%3DUTF8%26sort%3Dsalesrank%26ref_%3Ds9%5Fhps%5Fbw%5Fclnk%26index%3Dwireless-accessories%26field-browse%3D283273011&tag=digitsy-marina-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957

Answer by electronic geek
Hi,

You probably just need an unlocked cell phone. If you use AT&T then I would recommend a quadband GSM phone which will ensure that the phone will work anywhere in the USA and worldwide with any sim card.

The best prices and variety of unlocked cell phones can be found at http://www.bigtimewireless.com
Prices are way better than Amazon on the newer model cell phones.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

Answer by Emily S.
I agree with the Electronic Geek – go for an unlocked cell phone. If you are only looking for another cell phone to bum around with I would suggest something simple like this basic Motorola flip phone, http://www.cellular-blowout.com/mov66ungsmce.html Now I know it’s totally basic, who would think we once only had the options of something this simple, but it’s unlocked and less than $ 30. There are a ton of other unlocked cell phone from that site that may interest you. I was totally impressed with their selection as I was looking around after I ordered my newest bluetooth from them. Hope this helps!

Add your own answer in the comments!

Samurai with Cell Phone


Image by JapanDave
I think that is a cell phone he’s holding anyways. The latest crop from docomo all look like cameras. I think they are all something crazy like 10 megapixels, too. Are point and shoot cameras dead? Yes, or soon will be. Why buy a point and shoot with a menu system so complicated and confusing that you need a PhD to figure it out when your cell phone can give you the same quality of photo?
But I digress. Anyways, then again it might just be a camera. Either way, I don’t think samurai had cell phones/cameras back in the day. I could be wrong.
Is he suppose to be a samurai? I only see one sword. You Japanese historians reading this can let me know for sure.
This is from the Ieyasu parade, a yearly event held whenever the cherry blossoms are at full bloom. It’s a fun event.

What I mean is: while I am in Japan, I go to a electronics store and buy the phone BY ITSELF nothing else, and bring it back to the states. Is that possible or do I have to buy a phone plan too?
FYI: I do not intend on using the cell phone, so don’t give me “it wont work in America” or “check with your phone provider for details” …none of that o_O

Answer by thecheapest902
>Is that possible or do I have to buy a phone plan too?

Usually, you must join its cell phone plan when you buy a phone. And it requires you to have an address in Japan.

We can buy a phone alone on Yahoo! Japan Auction which can’t be used by tourists after all. But I don’t know any other place where you can buy a phone. Maybe there are some used phone shops.

Answer by Tokyo E
You can probably buy a used phone at a used phone shop somewhere, but not a new phone that is sold or tied directly with a Japanese service provider.

As a side note I think it would be a waste of good money to buy nothing more then a useless brick. Used phones that are still “usable” can still cost a pretty penny.

Answer by Boyaki
You don’t plan on using the phone. Why are you interested in a $ 500 paper weight? The average cost for the new models runs around ￥40,000 to ￥50,000.

Answer by threedaypriest
You can buy the cell phone with no plan. You then will have a very expensive paperweight. The question would be why in the world would you want to do something so silly? I mean really, redeem yourself here and add a note as to why this would be desirable.

Answer by rik
It must be nice to have soooo much money that you can throw away $ 500 to $ 600 on something that you don’t plan to use.

Is it possible? Sure, throw another $ 500 to $ 600 in bribes to a salesman.

What do you think? Answer below!
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