Buy me a used phone please

October 24, 2017 10:15 AM

I need to replace my iphone 5 which is having multiple technical problems (freezing, shutting down, touchscreen not responding). I am on a contact with Sprint (may they burn in hades) and this piece of shit is not paid off till May 2018. So for cost and environmental reasons, I want to buy either a refurbished or used phone that will be as dependable as possible for as little money as possible. Please halp me.

Hi friends. My phone is dying just as I am in the middle of helping a family member with a health crisis, like, I’m sitting in the hospital waiting room right now and cant text my wife because my phone keeps freezing and typing random characters. Plus I’ve reached an age where I do not understand this stuff anyway, plus I dont have any spare time to research, so I do not have the bandwith to figure this out. I would be so grateful for your guidance. I want:

- Used or referb
- More memory than I have now (16 GB I guess?) - constantly having to delete photos etc to do anything
- I’m not attached to iPhone but don’t especially want to learn a whole new system
- Spend as little as possible, hoping like 200 bucks but not sure if that’s realistic
- Something that will still be functional in 2 years

The more directive you can be with me the better. Like, if you have a link to a specific phone where I can just click and buy it today then click something else to tell Sprint I have a new phone, I would be incredibly happy.

Thank you.

posted by latkes to Technology (10 answers total)

Gazelle have used iPhone SEs for very reasonable prices. That’s probably your best bet.
posted by Talez at 10:25 AM on October 24, 2017

I buy used on swappa - it's the most reliable / most used used phone market, at least to my knowledge, outside of ebay.
posted by bbqturtle at 10:33 AM on October 24, 2017

Craigslist? I did a quick search for iPhone 32GB and got this and this.

There are risks buying used, but I've bought a few phones off of craigslist and haven't had any problems.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 10:41 AM on October 24, 2017

Also recommending Swappa.
posted by PJMoore at 11:44 AM on October 24, 2017

I just bought a used IPhone SE from Swappa this summer, based on recommendations from MeFites - smooth transaction and the phone has been great.
posted by sarajane at 12:02 PM on October 24, 2017

If you are not wedded to an iPhone, you might want to read this thread from this week, where the universal recommendation was a Moto G5 Plus, brand new at $230. It has 32GB.
posted by DarlingBri at 12:08 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

+1 for Swappa. I've bought my kids' iPhones, and my wife an iPad on there, no worries at all.
posted by Major Matt Mason Dixon at 1:00 PM on October 24, 2017

Moto g5 is amazing, extremely good and very cheap. And at this point I'd say Android is better than ios.
posted by Sebmojo at 2:54 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

I bought an open box Moto G5 from Best Buy for I think $205. Delightful, functional phone.
posted by Snarl Furillo at 7:48 PM on October 24, 2017

Response by poster: Ok thanks all. I just bought a used Moto G5 Plus for less than 200 bucks. I tried to buy it on Swappa but there were only a few so I ended up getting it on Ebay. But I will keep Swappa in mind when I replace my laptop as soon as I have time to deal with that. Thanks.
posted by latkes at 9:06 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]