“What is the cheapest phone you have, mate?” is a question I hear a minimum of ten times per day. Society has been brainwashed to buy as cheap as possible. People ignore the fact that the cheapest phone is usually of poor quality.

 

Prepaid phones have caused much confusion. All prepaid phones are locked to a network. This locking subsidises the price as the network expects you to spend more money buying credit from them. Thus if you have a simcard from a different network, the phone will reject it. This causes problems if you change networks or take the phone overseas. It costs between $50 to $80 to have the network properly remove the lock.

 

Buying off the Internet is dangerous as there is no way of knowing what you will get.  Is the phone new? Stolen? Is there an Australian warranty? What is included in the box? Will they actually send you the phone?

 

Occasionally manufacturers run out unpopular phones at ridiculous prices. This causes consumers to think that all other phones should be as cheap.

 

People are naïve as a low price indicates a tiny margin for the retailer. The level of service and warranty support required offers no incentive for the shop to carry cheap stock. There is more margin in selling a leather case!

 

Cheap phones tend to be harder to get accessories for. When accessories can be found, they are sometimes dearer than the original price of the complete phone.  They end up being throw away items.

 

There is a huge difference in service when you buy from a proper mobile phone store compared to buying a phone from the supermarket or the Internet! A store offers technical knowledge, warranty support, a range of accessories and assistance in setting up your phone. Try getting that from a teen working casually at the local Woolies, or from a fly-by-night Internet trader.