Best places to buy unlocked phones

[jimbobs]

Technically, all phones sold in Canada today are unlocked, so really what this thread is about is places where you can buy phones without a service provider contract.

in my personal experience, these are the bricks and mortar places where phones can be bought outright:

New:

Costco (various manufacturers and member only at stores)

Staples (various manufacturers)

Samsung Store (obv. Samsung only)

Apple Store (obv. Apple products only)

Refurb:

Factory Direct

Anybody like to add information, please do.

[selva1]

I know friends bought from Asian website called Gearbest but always buy global phones and it will work in Canada. 

[stonechucker]

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@jimbobs wrote:

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Add: Google Store.

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YES!!  I've bought two devices from the Google Store.  The best two phones I've owned.  Nexus 5, and Pixel 3a.

[jimbobs]

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@jimbobs wrote:

Updated summary:

New:

Costco (various manufacturers and member only at stores)

Staples (various manufacturers)

Samsung Store (obv. Samsung only)

Apple Store (obv. Apple products only)

Bestbuy

Walmart

Refurb:

Factory Direct

Online:

Amazon.ca/.com

Aliexpress.com

Newegg.ca

bhphotovideo.com

Other:

Ebay

Kijiji

Craigslist

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Add: Google Store.

[stonechucker]

The best two phones I've bought came straight from the Google Play store.  The Nexus 5, and the current Pixel 3a.

Midrange prices, and useful for what I need.  I don't need a flagship - but the camera in the Pixel 3a is the same single lens as the Pixel 3, without the wide angle.

[jimbobs]

Updated summary:

New:

Costco (various manufacturers and member only at stores)

Staples (various manufacturers)

Samsung Store (obv. Samsung only)

Apple Store (obv. Apple products only)

Bestbuy

Walmart

Refurb:

Factory Direct

Online:

Amazon.ca/.com

Aliexpress.com

Newegg.ca

bhphotovideo.com

Other:

Ebay

Kijiji

Craigslist

[Jdmom3]

Don’t forget to consult your friends who might be upgrading, or through buy and sell groups. Just check it works before buying. 

[zfx]

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@dogsheep wrote:

I've purchased from bhphotovideo.com with a positive experience. They have a large selection of phones. They are based in the US, but they ship to Canada for free if over $99 and they can include the duties to avoid surprises 

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Second this. And BHP always has great phones on sale

[dogsheep]

I've purchased from bhphotovideo.com with a positive experience. They have a large selection of phones. They are based in the US, but they ship to Canada for free if over $99 and they can include the duties to avoid surprises 

[jimbobs]

So to summarize:

New:

Costco (various manufacturers and member only at stores)

Staples (various manufacturers)

Samsung Store (obv. Samsung only)

Apple Store (obv. Apple products only)

Bestbuy

Walmart

Refurb:

Factory Direct

Online:

Amazon.ca/.com

Aliexpress.com

Newegg.ca

Other:

Ebay

Kijiji

Craigslist

[Tav]

Bought my Moto G2 from Staples in store like 5 years ago. They weren't carrying the G7 Play when I decided to upgrade recently so I ordered it directly from Motorola's site.

It ended up being cheaper than Best Buy online even though it was actually cheaper from Best Buy but they had really high shipping costs.  I'm hoping any warranty claims will be easier to deal directly with Motorola if it borks out on me.

Took about a week to get.

[Triguy]

Newegg.ca

[GinYVR]

@computergeek541But @liuxinbing said purchasing from Samsung, which I take as purchasing from Samsung directly or via its store.. hence much like iPhones purchased at Apple stores, I assume as paying full price and not carrier subsidized.

[GinYVR]

@NicotinebandaidI would caution against eBay, the money back gaurantee doesn't cover blacklisting because in eBay's eyes North American blacklisted phones are still functional because they work outside North America.. 

You also need to pay eBay direct (not via Paypal) for the double warranty you might get from your credit cards. That's just a few "gotchas" with eBay off the top of my head.

[computergeek541]

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@Ladycass05 wrote:

We have a local “ pawn” type shop in town. He sells phones that have been sold to him or bought from phone providers. Guaranteed not to be stolen ( blacklisted) phones and come with 30 warranty . We’ve purchased 4 phones this way now and completely happy. One still had 11months Of Apple care left. Also, I’ve seen refurbs on Amazon . Razer makes a really nice phone. It’s a gamers phone. Super fast refresh and great sound. Not sure who would Game on a phone 🤔. Their Razer 2 phone is on Amazon for $730 ... brand new ! 

I’d be weary of Kijiji ! Make sure it’s not a blacklisted phone . 

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There is no way that anyone can ever guarantee that a phone will never get blacklisted unless the person you are buying from is the original owner of the phone device.

This is especially true with a pawn shop, where the likelihood of the device being blaclisted will likely be significantly higher.  I do understand that the shop will warranty against that and either provide a replacement or refund if that happens, but there just isn't any way that you could ever guarantee that it won't happen.

[Ladycass05]

We have a local “ pawn” type shop in town. He sells phones that have been sold to him or bought from phone providers. Guaranteed not to be stolen ( blacklisted) phones and come with 30 warranty . We’ve purchased 4 phones this way now and completely happy. One still had 11months Of Apple care left. Also, I’ve seen refurbs on Amazon . Razer makes a really nice phone. It’s a gamers phone. Super fast refresh and great sound. Not sure who would Game on a phone 🤔. Their Razer 2 phone is on Amazon for $730 ... brand new ! 

I’d be weary of Kijiji ! Make sure it’s not a blacklisted phone . 

[Nicotinebandaid]

I also highly reccomend Ebay or Kijiji. Ebay has a guarentee or your money back that you get what you paid for, and it's alot cheaper than factory refurbished. I have had a great experience with Kijiji. 

[computergeek541]

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@GinYVR wrote:

@liuxinbingThat is not absolutely not true.. if the phone is purchased from Samsung is unlocked it stays unlocked.

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This depends on the model and software on the specific Samsung device.

There are Samsung devices that are unlocked straight out of the box and lock themselves to the carrier of the first sim card with the phone turned on.

Retails stores such as Staples, Costco, Best Buy, and Walmart (others as well) have sold these self-locking phones.  It's just that if you bought directly from Samsung online or at a physical Samsung-branded store, they likely would have provided the network unlock code.

For some of the more recent models, Samsung has discontinued this practice.

However, if a phone is brand new and has never been powered up with a sim card before, some currently available Samsung devices will perform a factory reset without warning, and then set the device to a specific carrier's software upgrade path and software customization.

[GinYVR]

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@liuxinbing wrote:

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@GinYVR wrote:

@liuxinbingThat is not absolutely not true.. if the phone is purchased from Samsung is unlocked it stays unlocked.

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that is good.

Locking phone is very notorious and should be prohabited. 

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NO we cannot have everything. Locking phone allows carriers to keep customers and keep prices low. That's something that people didn't understand when demanding the government to mandate 36 months plan to 24 months. The longer the lease period, the cheaper they can offer the prices... Now everyone is complaining prices going up after the switch to 24 months.. gee I wonder why?

Plan based cell phone is a leasing business with quite a decent return ~6%+? You take that out, the carrier have to make it up somewhere..

[liuxinbing]

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@GinYVR wrote:

@liuxinbingThat is not absolutely not true.. if the phone is purchased from Samsung is unlocked it stays unlocked.

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that is good.

Locking phone is very notorious and should be prohabited. 

[GinYVR]

@AnonymousAmong all the options.. buying phones off kijiji or Craigslist is the most risky. Anyone can open new phone plan (as bonus with other peoples' credit cards).. take out the most expensive phone.. and sell it on the lists for all the cash up front. Since there is no way to verify the account status of the phone. The seller takes the cash, and lapse on payments.. guess who ends up with a really expensive paperweight after 90 + days?

A brand of Android phones to avoid is LG.. their business model is to sell you new phones.. so they would barely update the Android OS that is on the phone officially.

Another source Openbox.

For people living near the border, US and Amazon.com offers better deals sometime when USD is not so high.

My advice is always store and with a credit card that offers 2x warranty, where after the second year via the credit card is cash back.

[GinYVR]

@liuxinbingThat is not absolutely not true.. if the phone is purchased from Samsung is unlocked it stays unlocked.

[liuxinbing]

be aware of samsung. I heard that although it is initially unlocked, it is locked to the first SIM inserted in. Then it takes efforts to unlock it, even if it is free. I don't know if this is still the case.

[ClaudeR]

Best Buy

Walmart

[Anonymous]

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@jimbobs wrote:

Technically, all phones sold in Canada today are unlocked, so really what this thread is about is places where you can buy phones without a service provider contract.

in my personal experience, these are the bricks and mortar places where phones can be bought outright:

New:

Costco (various manufacturers and member only at stores)

Staples (various manufacturers)

Samsung Store (obv. Samsung only)

Apple Store (obv. Apple products only)

Refurb:

Factory Direct

Anybody like to add information, please do.

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You can check out used phones at many repair places. They usually offer a short warranty. A little bit of trust over just some guy off kijiji.

[PMFanatic]

If you don't mind waiting a little for shipping, Aliexpress.com has unlocked phones for great prices. Especially if you are looking for other brands such as Xiaomi. Lots of great products at a fraction of the prices.

I have a Samsung S9 and a Xioami A2 for my kid. So far the Xiaomi is solid, and there are much better phones in their product line up that I would consider if I ever get tired of my S9... LOL...

[mojorising]

Try also Amazon.ca and BestBuy.ca. they have some good phones with good prices.