[OT] Amazon or other online store for new Samsung phone

Does anyone happen to have a favourite known-good Amazon or ebay or other online store for Samsung smartphones?

It's important that they are EU based (Samsung are trying ot bugger up grey imports from Hong Kong etc).

I'm after a Galaxy Note 3 - new, sim-free at the best price.

I'm also wary of rip off merchants...

Cheers,

Tim

Reply to
Tim Watts
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My partner has been looking at Galaxy S4 mini for ages now (months!) - the most promising source on Amazon seems to be TopT - decent reviews over quite a long time, near-bottom prices. This is NOT based on experience, just like you we are trying to get the best deal for the phone that is wanted.

Reply to
polygonum

Reply to
Bob Minchin

Their price is higher than the typical Amazon-own price for the S4 mini. (Amazon keeps going up and down - obviously you need to choose the right time to click!)

Reply to
polygonum

OK I really had no idea on prices - seems to be about 5 x the maximum I'd ever spend on such a device. Keeping about two generations behind the latest seems to suit me just fine.

Reply to
Bob Minchin

On Sunday 05 January 2014 11:58 Bob Minchin wrote in uk.d-i-y:

Interesting - thanks Bob.

However, it does have to be EE - GiffGaff ride on top of O2 cells and O2 are

******** useless around East Sussex. Only Three and EE are any good and EE seem to have the edge when I tested a 1 month SIM 2 months or so ago.
Reply to
Tim Watts

On Sunday 05 January 2014 11:44 polygonum wrote in uk.d-i-y:

Thanks - but a word of warning, from one of the reviewers:

"I have just found out today that my phone is from the Philippines (or Malaysia). If you got this phone without a sticker that talks about the region lock then yes you won't have a locked phone (they don't lock the Philippines ones) but you will lose your UK warranty as Samsung have told me that I'd need to send it to the country of purchase."

That's kinda what I'm trying to avoid :(

Was a lot cheaper... Interesting that the Philippines don't have region locks though...

Reply to
Tim Watts

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Reply to
Bob Eager

Doesn't really matter what the sensor can do, it'll still only have a cheap, simple, bit of glass/plastic as "lens".

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

Don't see the problem really.

When I was in a similar position in the past (an HP server in my case which would not have qualified for a rebate had it not been sourced from the UK), I first contacted the retailer prior to purchasing and asked them to clarify the origin of the product. I then made sure I used a credit card to pay for it.

Then if you don't receive what you'd been promised you simply claim the refund from the credit card provider immediately and leave them to deal with the retailer.

Reply to
JoeJoe

On Sunday 05 January 2014 15:37 JoeJoe wrote in uk.d-i-y:

Yeah - that's rather more hassle than I can be arsed with :-|

Reply to
Tim Watts

OK - Change of mind...

I have just done a spreadsheet (whilst bored on the train) of monthy running costs over 2 years for a variety of options from getting the phone from EE (but paying the higher upfront) vs getting a genuine UK Note 3 and a SIM only deal on a similar tarriff.

It seems that with EE, paying the highest upfront cost for the handset (about 60% of the independent price) is about £16 per month cheaper than buying the handset outright and then buying a comparable EE SIM only.

I seemed to have debunked the idea that "it's cheaper to buy the hansdset compared with going on a plan" - at least for EE. I can put the spreadsheet on GoogleDocs if anyone wants to check.

The range I was checking in was "10GB per month data with tethering allowed". The plan gets me 10GB on 4GExtra (that's super fast where available). The SIM only gets me 8GB per month on 4G (ordinary, not superfast).

The Plan requires 2 year lock in, the SIM only is 1 year (1 month available for more money). The calculations assume a 2 year amortisation period.

To be fair, repeating the same exercise with Three, it is cheaper to by the handset outright.

Reply to
Tim Watts

Give Exapnsys a look.

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Reply to
Chris Bartram

On Sunday 05 January 2014 17:11 Chris Bartram wrote in uk.d-i-y:

They are much better compared to others!

Reply to
Tim Watts

Well, if the price is favourable, then it is hardly a hassle (apart from a single email before buying). The rest is only a hassle if things go wrong - and not different from dealing with any other dealer.

Reply to
JoeJoe

Shopping has become a sport

Reply to
stuart noble

OK, have found out that there are apparently two versions of the Star

9599. The 1.5G version normally has a 13Mp camera. The 1.2G version can have either an 8 or 13Mp camera depending on how lucky you are on the day that they built it, but is specified as 8Mp. I have the 1.5G. The picture quality is very dependent on aperture and how steady your hands are!
Reply to
Capitol

I purchased mine via Quidco, so not only a cheaper phone but a good discount as well. At the moment O2 are offering good deals on Quidco, worth a look methinks.

Reply to
Broadback

In article , Tim Watts scribeth thus

Do make sure the damm thing works where you live, a friend of mine near Ely Cambs can only get a signal with the phone right up near the window and the networks answer is ... "tough shit"....

Reply to
tony sayer

On Tuesday 07 January 2014 18:54 tony sayer wrote in uk.d-i-y:

Quite right sir!

I got a TMobile (same as EE) SIM for 1 month with all the data options (tethering) and stuffed it in my old phone. Did a detailed anaylsis for a month using it as my main provider.

Today I went and got a Note 3 from CarPhone Warehouse in Hastings.

I got an EE 4GB/month contract for quite a lot less money that EE themselves for the *same* plan (£8/month *less*) and no upfront cost vs £69.99 upfront from EE.

And (AFAIK at least) I have an unlocked device from the get go. And it's not loaded with carrier branding and crap. Seems like a win...

Time for some major testing tomorrow.

Reply to
Tim Watts

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