Buying a cell phone online

[MNclone]

I know there was just a cell phone thread on here the other day, but this didn't really fit there.

I'm shopping for a new cell phone and carrier. I have an idea of the phone that I want, and the plan that I want, and am trying to figure out the best way of going about getting it.
There are some online companies that sell phones and plans, and have great deals on the phones themselves. One I was looking at is www.letstalk.com. You can get pretty much any phone available for free through them. Most of which don't require mail-in rebates.
We went to the mall yesterday to clear up some questions with the carrier, and to get a feel for the phones. The guys at the mall said to beware the online companies and to "read the fine print." But they also made such claims that there was no warranty on the phones, or that phones could only be serviced by sending them in.

Getting to the point now, has anyone purchased a cell plan online before? How did it work out for you?

 

[jumbopackage]

I've always bought my phone plans online, from either Verizon or Sprint.

I don't know that I would go with one of the discount online folks, as the phones are likely not legit - either refurbs or clones. That's just mostly speculation on my behalf, though.

I've bought phones from e-bay, though. It'll cost you 25 bucks or so to activate it on your carrier of choice, but sometimes that's not a horrible way to go, so long as you check to make sure it's not stolen or fake (get the ESN for CDMA phones).

 

[MNclone]

Yeah, I've bought phones from the actually carriers online before too. No concerns there. But one can easily save over $100 by using the discount folks.