Phones4U, CPW etc

---

Hey all,

I've had a HTC Hero for a couple of years now and now is the time to upgrade. I've always gone straight to the networks to buy phones though (O2, Orange or whatever).

What are the benefits, pitfalls of using a 3rd Party? Is it safe to do, or is it better going with the networks.

Probably a newbie question this - but any advice would be cool!

Cheers!

Perfectly safe to do so. I have been with o2 directly, and a couple of times got phones from phones4u. Once you have done the intial purchase, all conctact is through the network

In this case, taking out a contract with phones4u is almost a bonus, as the handsets are unlocked.

They offer different deals to the networks, so the best thing to do is shop around and see where you can get the deal that suits you best from.

Hi

There's probably not much difference if you're buying from a reputable firm. If you have a problem the network customer service can be pretty frustrating at best anyway. Third parties will often try to stick on 'optional' insurance and support, so keep an eye out for that.
Big advantage of buying from a third party is that at the moment all of the SII's will be unbranded, and probably unlocked too. Orange and the like take their time to make a mess of the software once a phone has been released.
Other than that, just be wary of vague delivery promises.

I think that's the lot...

I always do my, upgrade, through phones 4 u... And I get an almost impossible deal through them where as orange my carrier always come out with some bs... Or a rubbish deal.... I think a good way to look at it is at phones 4 u they want to get you to upgrade/sign a contract due to commission or store targets where as with orange the person on the phone is still going to get his basic salary/hourly pay....so cba.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

i stick to the same network because they offer the best coverage for where i live and work but i always buy my phones from third parties because the network usually get the phone a couple of months after it's come out and there's no point in waiting.

the advantages are that i get an unlocked phone every time (useful if i want to sell it when i upgrade) and i get android updates much faster because the manufacturers issue updates much faster than the network operators.

the disadvantage is that i could probably negotiate a better deal if i waited for the network because i've been a good customer for the last 3 or 4 years.