Wondering just how much money you can save by purchasing used cell phones?  How does saving enough money to pay your cell phone bill for the next 6 months sound?  Too good to be true?  Not really.

If you've been following this blog, you've seen plenty of mentions of the savings that you can get from buying used and/or refurbished cell phones, but you may have been left wondering just how big these savings can be and whether or not they're really worth it.  So, to ease your fears, I did a little bit of research online to help make my point.

Let's assume I'm a normal consumer who is looking to upgrade my cell phone before my contract with my service provider expires.  I've decided that I want a Blackberry because I have a need for mobile email and internet that is easy and reliable.  Since I'm a customer with Verizon, my options are to go to my local Verizon store and pay full retail for a new Blackberry or look around for a used Blackberry that I can activate on my plan.

There are a lot of different models that Blackberry offers, so for the sake of this post, we'll talk about one of the more popular models - the 8830.  According to Verizon, since I am not eligible for any discounts, I can purchase the Blackberry 8830 for $429.99.  Wow.  $430?  That's quite a price for an upgrade, which is not worth it in my opinion.

On the other hand, a quick search online leads me to a site that sells used Verizon Blackberry phones.  They have the 8830 in "Excellent" condition (very minimal signs of use, fully functional) for $120.95.  That's more like it.  This phone is cheaper, is fully functional, and has minimal signs of use.  And it comes with a warranty.  All of my concerns are eased, and if I'm a smart shopper, this makes much more sense.

For those of you trying to do that math in your head, I'll make it easier for you.  Full retail price:  $430.  Used price:  $120.95.

Total savings by purchasing the exact same phone from a used cell phone vendor:  $309.05.

$309.05 is quite a bit of savings.  The used phone comes with a warranty, so I don't need to worry about setting money aside for repairs.  Instead, I now have $300 in my pocket.  Based on what I pay for my monthly bill, those savings could easily pay my bill with Verizon for the next 4-5 months.

To recap:

New Phone:  $430, out of pocket, paid in full today.
Used Phone:  $120, out of pocket, paid in full today.  $300 left in my pocket that can use to pay my cell phone bill for the next 4-5 months.  Alternatively, I can use that money for accessories, plan upgrades, etc.

Seems like an easy decision to me.