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AT&T Service/Contract question...

I was told by my cousin that I could cancel my contract with AT&T and not be charged a fee for doing so even though my contract isn't up yet because I am not within their 3G network.......does anyone know if there is any truth to this?

iamcombat said:
I was told by my cousin that I could cancel my contract with AT&T and not be charged a fee for doing so even though my contract isn't up yet because I am not within their 3G network.......does anyone know if there is any truth to this?
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No truth to this. You will be charged an ETF prorated according to the number of months you have remaining in your contract

It's almost impossible to get out of a contract early with an ETF.

iamcombat said:
I was told by my cousin that I could cancel my contract with AT&T and not be charged a fee for doing so even though my contract isn't up yet because I am not within their 3G network.......does anyone know if there is any truth to this?
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Your cousin is wrong. AT&T doesn't guarantee 3G coverage. The termination fee applies to you.

There actually is some truth to what you were told. It is perfectly legal to ask AT&T to wave the fee because you are not financially able to pay for it. If they are not willing to work with you, contact the FCC and explain the situation and you will almost be guaranteed to get out of paying it. I wrote some more information about working with your cell companies on issues like this here. (h-t-t-p://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=8040586#post8040586) Remove the dashes obviously.

You can get out of your contract if you use tons of roaming minutes and data for a couple of months. Actually they will force you out.

k2snowboards88 said:
You can get out of your contract if you use tons of roaming minutes and data for a couple of months. Actually they will force you out.
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yeah... dont do this.

Your cousin is only partly right, ATT will let you out of your contract if you move to an area that they do not cover at all. It is not just some where without 3G, it has to be some where that they have no coverage what so ever say like Nome Alaska as an example

ukulele_ninja said:
There actually is some truth to what you were told. It is perfectly legal to ask AT&T to wave the fee because you are not financially able to pay for it. If they are not willing to work with you, contact the FCC and explain the situation and you will almost be guaranteed to get out of paying it. I wrote some more information about working with your cell companies on issues like this here. (h-t-t-p://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=8040586#post8040586) Remove the dashes obviously.
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Yes, It is perfectly legal to ask for anything. you can ask to get out of any contract. You can walk into a bank and ask for $1,000,000 - good luck with that. I have gotten ETF waived when I quit another carrier because they had terrible coverage in my area. It took a letter to the presidents office, and I didn't have a smart phone.
However; if you are trying to get out of AT&T and keep a Smartphone, I see them asking for it back. The high ETF if partially to keep people from getting subsidized smartphones, and then quitting the service. In the past you could do this with the iphone - buy it for $199 subsidized; quit, pay the $175 earl term fee, and sell the phone on eBay for $600.
The FCC is not going to help someone that can't pay a bill for usually and customary fees - they may get involved if you have a $10,000 data bill, but not because you can't afford to pay for what you signed up for.

alphadog00 said:
Yes, It is perfectly legal to ask for anything. you can ask to get out of any contract. You can walk into a bank and ask for $1,000,000 - good luck with that. I have gotten ETF waived when I quit another carrier because they had terrible coverage in my area. It took a letter to the presidents office, and I didn't have a smart phone.
However; if you are trying to get out of AT&T and keep a Smartphone, I see them asking for it back. The high ETF if partially to keep people from getting subsidized smartphones, and then quitting the service. In the past you could do this with the iphone - buy it for $199 subsidized; quit, pay the $175 earl term fee, and sell the phone on eBay for $600.
The FCC is not going to help someone that can't pay a bill for usually and customary fees - they may get involved if you have a $10,000 data bill, but not because you can't afford to pay for what you signed up for.
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As I said they can HELP and ALMOST guarantee to get you out of paying an ETF. Its not the same as walking into the bank and asking for money, its asking the carrier to waive the fee because you have been a faithful customer and paid your bill on time and are currently in a situation where you cannot afford to pay the termination fee. I know this because I have done this SEVERAL times to switch carriers and if the carrier is not willing to play ball, threaten to call the FCC and they are more willing to play ball. If that doesnt work, file a complaint with the BBB and then the FCC if you need the big guns.
Several years ago I was on Sprint and their service was absolutely garbage. On top of that, the first 9 months of my service they never billed me correctly and frequently charged me for wrong services or overcharged me for things like text messaging, etc. I eventually got fed up with it and called them and told them I wanted to cancel my service and they told me I would be charged $600 ($300 per line on my family account). I argued that the reason for my canceling was their subpar service and customer relations but they wouldnt back down. So I filed a BBB complaint and a week later they called, apologized and agreed to drop the ETF if I returned my phones, which I did. Problem solved.
No you cant cancel your service and expect to keep your new phone (Not normally at least) These tools are out there for consumers to use so use them to your advantage!
The FCC is the final straw and should be used only when the situation is really dire. In the end it NEVER HURTS TO TRY and at the very least Ive seen several times where people have been able to get the fee drastically reduced after involving the BBB or FCC.
I will stress that you need to have a decent case though, dont ask for help just because you want to jump ship with no reason. The OP seems to be having a lot of problems with his device and their service and thats enough reason to try.

Yes, the key to getting out of the contract without paying an ETF is to have a valid reason.
Poor service, incorrect billing, or some other documented recurring negative experience will usually work.
If they still don't see your side, the ETF is generally cheaper then keeping terrible service if you are near the first half of a 2 year contract. Sometimes it may be necessary to pay to quit.

Having issues with your wireless provider? Look here for some tips!

Not sure if this is the right place to share this or not, but wanted to give some others some help from my own experiences.
I have recently gone through an awful battle with ATT regarding my upgrade status for a new phone. The very vague version of the story is that three months ago my online account showed me as eligible for an upgrade and I was going to get the Iphone 3GS. When I went to the store to buy it, I was told that I was not eligible because my account (on their end) said I was not eligible. After countless arguments and working my way through the 'ranks' of management I FINALLY came to learn that Apple's agreement with ATT does not allow them flexibility to correct customer concerns with the iphone and they are not allowed to do price overrides. The truth of that is questionable, but regardless they outright refused to give me the standard upgrade pricing on the Iphone. In the end I chose to go with the Captivate and from what Ive read, it was the right choice . I thought though that I would share with you all some free tools and services that are available to consumers that helped me and can help you get your complaints and concerns taken care of.
Most of you I hope already know about some of these, but if you dont they can be priceless.
1. The Better Business Bureau: (w-w-w. bbb .o-r-g) The BBB are the knights in shining armor for consumers. They basically will act as a mediator between you and a company who you are having difficulty getting through to or who you feel are giving you the run around. The best part is that since the BBB gives 'report cards' to millions of companies across the country, you can almost always get in touch with a very high up customer service worker who has more flexibility to help you. ATT in general has a department dedicated strictly only to addressing BBB complaints (Corporate Escalations Department Consumer Complaints Division) The only way you will ever have the privilege to speak with these individuals is to go this route. Theres never a guarantee with the BBB, but it will beat dealing with mindless call center drones who are unwilling or not allowed to take care of your issues appropriately. The complaint process is very easy and user friendly and in the best case scenario you will be contacted by the company within 7 days of filing. The BBB will stay in contact with you throughout the entire process and keep you updated with what the company is submitting to them as well.
2. The Federal Communications Commission: (w-w-w. fcc .g-o-v) Did you know that the FCC oversees the doings of all wireless carriers in the country? If all else fails, an FCC complaint is the equivalent of calling in a customer service artillery attack against a wireless company. The company is REQUIRED to address any complaints submitted by consumers to the FCC and you WILL hear back about your complaint. Best yet, the FCC will fight for your side of things and encourage the carrier to work towards getting you a fair resolution. Again, there are no guarantees, but if your getting the run around continuously then go this route! One of the most common complaints to the FCC about carriers regard early termination fees and with the FCC on your side you can almost always get a clean break from a cell contract without having to pay any of those nasty fees that can add up very quickly.
3.BASIC CUSTOMER SERVICE CALL CENTER WORKERS ARE COMPLETELY WORTHLESS TO YOUR CAUSE! I would repeat that but I think you get the point. Call Center employees are extremely limited in what they can actually do for you. Do yourself a favor and ask to speak to a manager, if they tell you that you the manager will say or give you the same resolve, ignore them and again demand to speak to a manager. Call Center employees are trained to try and steer you away from speaking to anyone above them and they will try to convince you that doing anything above them is pointless. DON'T LISTEN! Stick to your guns and talk to a manager or supervisor.
When it does come time to speak to a manager you will be in much better hands because you will actually be talking to someone who has the authority to resolve your complaint and offer you something in return. Supervisors are USUALLY more sympathetic about your complaint as long as you don't jump down their throats from the get-go. Explain your issue sternly and tell them what you want in return. You don't have to break out the boxing gloves but don't be a pushover either, if you don't get what you want, then move onto the next rung on the ladder. It may sound like a lot of work, but if your getting the work around then it is worth every bit of your time and energy to fight it. Don't back down till you get a fair resolve.
Also, the BBB and FCC are excellent bargaining tools to use in your favor. Threatening to file a complaint with either organization can sometimes be enough to tilt the scale. Companies fear this because they know its incredibly easy to file one and there's a good chance that your going to do it if you threaten it.
Again, desperate times call for powerful action. Don't let these comapnies bully you, tell you that your wrong or the worst one: tell you that you don't understand how something works. Companies love trying to convince you that your wrong and that its your fault that your account or whatever is messed up.

Get out of sprint contract 10/5/2011

This worked for me...
I had to call about 20 times to get them to comply with the terms. the last time I called, the call was escalated to the management team almost immediately. I talked to the man very calmly and explained the situation with him. I told him that sprint had changed the terms of my contract several times, I had the original contract in which I signed dated 9/21/2010 and I was not going to accept the new terms with their material changes. He said that sprints attorneys had already looked at the changes to the "surcharges" paragraph and they were not an adverse material change due to the fact that sprint is just imposing limits which it had none before. So I went on to explain the adverse change to the arbitration agreement which impeded my ability to pursue any wrong doing and showed sprint favoritism. I told him of all the complaints I had been researching about JAMS arbitration showing the business favoritism. He asked me to hold a minute and came right back asking if I had considered the buy back program. I told him absolutely not I was not going to loose $250 on a phone less than a year old which they would only give $95 for and expect me to pay $110 for an ETF. He said unfortunately there is nothing I can do. I replied, I am following all the terms of the contract, I stated the Provisions for breaking the contract with no ETF (material change) and again told him this new arbitration agreement which I would be using to pursue the change to the "surcharge" paragraph adversely affects me. He asked me to hold he would transfer my call to the head of his call center because his hands were tied. About 20 minutes later he came back on the line and told me he had talked to the head of the call center and he was willing to mark my contract fulfilled as of last month and set my account to cancel at the end of the billing cycle so I could port my number if I wanted. I told him that was awesome and I appreciated them abiding by our contract even though it took multiple calls to get it completed.
1. Take notes. write down the names and employee ID of all the people you talk to.
2. Make sure you tell them you want to cancel due to the material change to the terms and conditions.
3. If you get a person that seems like they are put out by having to be at work right now tell them something came up and you will have to call back later and thank them for their time. then call right back and get someone who is having a better day.
4. Tell them you do not like the fees but the change to the arbitration agreement is the material change that you do not agree with, it is because they are impeding your ability to resolve any disputes with sprint due to the changes to the arbitration agreement so it adversely affects you.
5. Do not let the persuade you into the buyback program unless you know what the conditions are and you don't mind loosing all the money you paid for your phone upfront, you will still have to pay the ETF and they don't pay much for phones ($95 max for the Epic). You could sell your phone on craigslist for more than they offer and possibly enough to cover the ETF.
6. Always remain calm and collected speak slowly and plainly, be courteous mind you manners. Talk to the employee for a minute ask where he is located and how his day is going. Make sure you are improving their mood sympathize with them. Tell them you understand they have been told what to say and they have to follow orders but someone must be able to complete this and abide by the terms and conditions. Talk to them like their on your side (reverse psychology). If I can make them laugh over something I usually have their support when the call is escalated to the next department. It definitely makes a difference if the previous employee leaves a good comment and they side with you on the account and doesn't say you are an ahole.
7. Do not let them persuade you into the buyback program unless you know what the conditions are and you don't mind loosing all the money you paid for your phone upfront, you will still have to pay the ETF and they don't pay much for phones ($95 max for the Epic). You could sell your phone on craigslist for more than they offer and possibly enough to cover the ETF.
8. If the employee does not agree the arbitration change is a material change. mention "In Cunningham vs. Fleetwood Homes of Georgia, reported at page 611 of the third Federal Reporter, volume 253, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that arbitration clauses are material terms to a contract.”
9. They may offer a discount of .50 each month to offset the surcharge or $10 a month for 3 months to continue service. If you take these offers your contract will still be in full effect and you will be stuck with the new terms.
10. Get a CONFIRMATION NUMBER and keep it safe. Do not loose it just in case the employee lied which has been known to happen from time to time. check your account online and click "see my contract details" it should show almost immediately the contract is complete. press print screen and save the image at least until your final bill has arrived and is correct. I have been burned by companies which lied in the past because it does not matter what they tell you on the phone its what is in writing that counts. If they lie and you have no proof 30 days after the change you are stuck in your contract.
With a bit of luck they should let you out of the contract depending on the representative. They have no legal grounds to make you stay. If they refuse try again be persistent. I overheard the employees talking in the back ground at one point about how many times I had called over this issue. one of them even said "he is one persistent a**hole". Do not give up, if you don't find yourself making headway after 25 calls file a complaint with the BBB, FTC, FCC, your state attorney general, local chamber of commerce and your state public utility commission.
Good Luck,
Brandon

[Q] TMobile is now locking IMEIs!?!?!

So...
T-Mobile now is apparently locking IMEI's of phones in similar fashion that Sprint and Verizon do. I run a buy and cell store, and I have five "bricks" sitting in my case, due to the fact that the phones either have bills owed or were reported lost/stolen.
When did T-Mobile start doing this??
Any information I've tried to garner from T-Mobile has led me to a dead end.
Take a look at this shady chat transcript with a rep, who wanted to tell me nothing(see first attachment). I also tried another agent(see second attachment).
The rep pretty much told me unless you buy it from the T-Mobile store, they don't guarantee the phone's IMEI will be clear for activation.

That's cell phone carriers for ya! its not about the customer, its all about $, getting as much $ into the carriers pockets as possible. There is not another institution that nickels and dimes people like the cell phone carrier industry, banks aren't even as bad as this. I am pretty sure, that in 2 years from now, the cost of cell phone service will be more than most people's car payment.

They've been doing this for a couple months, if not sooner. I heard a lot of people were just not paying their ETF's and just taking the phones for free pretty much so in response, T-Mobile started to block IMEI's in order to crackdown I guess. Worst case, unlock them and use them on other GSM carriers.

Whitehouse.gov petition to fix cell phone subsidy pricing

I've started a Whitehouse.gov petition to fix the cell phone subsidy problems. The cost of early termination fees are out of control compared to the wholesale and retail cost of phones and I'd like to see the phone subsidy (or financing) billed separately from the service cost. This would make it extremely clear to all (even those who don't currently understand subsidies) how much the phones are truly costing them and hopefully improve pricing on the big carriers.
We need 150 signatures to get this to a public state where anyone can view it on the site. I'm requesting help from everyone to get these signatures to 150 and beyond. Please post on your Facebook and Google+ to get your friends and family to help out too.
Go here to view the Whitehouse.gov petition: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/require-fair-and-clear-pricing-wireless-services-and-wireless-devices/wf5hYdxd?utm_source=wh.gov&utm_medium=shorturl&utm_campaign=shorturl
The petition is as follows:
The federally permitted duopoly of AT&T and Verizon Wireless has severely hurt competition and driven up prices in the wireless services industry. This has occurred while wireless service prices elsewhere have plummeted due to technological improvements reducing the cost to deliver service. A 3 point approach is required to protect consumers:
1. Require separation of the true cost to the consumer for the phone hardware and wireless service so that they are billed separately.
2. Prohibit early termination fees that exceed the remaining balance of the fair market value of the subsidized or financed wireless hardware.
3. Require all carriers to offer wireless service without any financial penatly or increased cost of service for using a customer owned device.
Now before anyone tells me to own my cell phone service, please note that I already have with a Nexus 4 (previously G'nex) and Straight Talk, SIMple Mobile, and Solavei. I'm pushing this petition for everyone who doesn't yet "own" their service and to improve the future market overall.

While I agree with you about how you feel about contract services, I'm not sure how I feel about needing this to be legally policed.
The thing with the phones being subsidized is that I don't see this as being a perfectly cookie-cutter direct relation to the monthly contract price. Why is it wrong for a business to offer an incentive for a customer to sign a contract ? People need to do research and have willpower - why should people have to be legally protected from making bad choices ? Casinos, liquor, and cigarettes are legal, after all.
The problem I see with point 2 is that it's not just about the hardware - it's about trying to leave a contract that you agreed to before the end of the term. Would you rather they take people to court over it ? It's like signing any contract and people should take it seriously instead of expecting to just get out of it if they want to - if you stop making car or rent payments the contract-holder isn't going to just say, "o, that's okay, I'll let you off free this time because you seem so nice". If you sign a non-disclosure or non-compete agreement, they aren't going to say, "o, you sound so nice over the phone and you're having a bad time, just go right on ahead and break the contract we won't pursue it".
The real "solution" here isn't legal action, it's public awareness. Awareness that a contract is a serious agreement - and that they have options and need to think about if a contract is best for them or not.
The solution is educating people on their other options - if people talk with their money, the companies will hear it (and at this point, they're already starting to listen).

You're preaching to the choir. A two year contract is a real commitment and shouldn't be taken lightly.
However, think about it in a little bit different light. The carriers are a legalized duopoly. This has significant benefits to us - remember when we only had regional carriers and we had to pay exorbitant per minute roaming rates? Now virtually every carrier includes roaming free, because they each have such a far reach with their existing network. We also have near seamless coverage wherever we're driving.
Despite these benefits of having only a couple major carriers, keep in mind that the carriers use public assets to provide service. Their spectrum is leased, not owned, and the spectrum is public property. Furthermore, they are in a unique position to take advantage of us, and they do. Think of the utilities that we use for our homes. You usually only have one choice for electricity and one choice for natural gas service to your home. Because if that, the utilities are regulated to protect the consumer. But, it really only makes sense to have one of each of these utilities in any area due to the high cost of the infrastructure.
I see cell carriers in the same way. Allow them to provide the benefits that they provide with their massive, high quality networks, but protect the consumer from abuse.
Let's take a look at typical discrepancies on a high end android phone subsidy.
Retail cost of phone: $500-600
Likely wholesale cost of phone to the carrier: $300-400
Cost to the consumer on contract: $200-300
Maximum amount of money to be recouped by the carrier due to subsidy: $200
Now lets look at the cost of the subsidy of two years:
Monthly contract cost: $90
Two year contract cost: $2160
Monthly prepaid plan (being conservative, they're typically lower): $55
Two year prepaid plan: $1320
You can't possibly look me in the eye and tell me that a $350 ETF is right or ethical. The carriers are recouping over over $800 to cover the cost of the phone in this scenario, and I'm erring on the low side. Remember when the ETF used to be $125-175? The carriers tell us that advanced devices cost more than feature phones did, but that's a pure lie. In the day of lower ETFs, feature phones had the same high retail pricing that smart phones do today.
You may or may not be surprised to know how many people I talk to about cell phones who don't understand phone subsidies. It's unfortunate, but not everyone understands it.
I'm on a personal mission the take as many people as possibly away from the major carriers and I've been very successful. Many people don't realize the prepaid options they have. But, we unfortunately need regulatory intervention to truly fix the problem.

I hate the fact that I don't have options right now because I'm locked into a contract until December. When I truly looked at how much I'd save over the two years, it made me sick.
If everyone just did a little bit of simple math they would leave Verizon and ATT. I am leaving to go to straight talk when my contract is up.
I think most people want what they want though. And that is the latest and fastest tech out there that's available to them and when they're offered it 5 to 6 months before they're contract is up at a "discount", then they jump at it. But we all know that in two years, your new tech will be way out dated and you will have paid twice what it's worth. It's rent-a-center for smartphones. It just doesn't make financial sense.
That's just my two cents.
Sent from my Droid X2 using Tapatalk 2
---------- Post added at 06:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:07 AM ----------
But I will have to disagree with you that we need regulatory measures. You would be taking away one's freedom to make choices. No one is forced to sign the contract just as no one is forced to buy a home or car that they can't afford to keep up. People need to be educated on how to live within their means by keeping a budget and sticking to it and learning to say no to themselves sometimes. Just because something is available to us or that we can afford the monthly payments, doesn't always mean we should buy it.
People no longer ask whether or not they should or shouldn't do this or buy that. They do everything they can to acquire the latest tech, gadget or possession thinking it will satisfy their unending desires. The problem is, they don't satisfy us.
Why do you think people are obsessed with rooting and constantly flashing roms? Because we get bored with our current os or how our phone looks and feels, so we think by flashing a different rom or mod, it will keep us happy and satisfied.
The only reason I'm saying this is because I'm just as guilty, but am learning how to be content with what I have. The moment I start becoming discontented with what I have, is when I buy into the lie that I just need to upgrade my phone and sign another contract to make me happy.
But to say that I need the government to tell me that I can't takes away freedoms and personal responsibility. Sometimes we need to make mistakes to realize that the decisions we made weren't so beneficial after all.
Sent from my Eclipsed Droid X2 using Tapatalk 2

If you read the petition, it's actually a pretty reasonable request. As a business owner myself, I am generally anti regulation.
My proposed regulations merely require separate billing of the subsidy and service and prohibits the carrier from recouping more than the value of the subsidized equipment in the event that you decide to end your contract early. It is my hope that showing people exactly how much the contract costs them might encourage people to make the right choice. I don't want the government telling people what they have to do, but I do want them to ensure that people are not lied to.
But I fully agree with you that people have lost the common sense to live within their means. I think it's particularly clear as a result of our economic crash related to the housing industry.
On the note of your contract through December, do the math. You may break even quicker than you think. I left Verizon in August, 11 months into my contract. I had a 6 month break even period, so it was a win in the end. I keep telling everyone that I know about the ROI of switching, and I've had pretty good success with friends and coworkers.

If my wife and I were to end our contracts right now, we'd save $90/month switching to straight talk. A couple of problems. The up front cost of early termination fees and buying GSM phones when both of ours are cdma only usable on Verizon. Pretty sure we'd more than break even over the course of the next 10 to 11 months. We don't have enough saved to pay up front. My wife loves her iPhone 4 and she could probably find someone on Craigslist who would trade a GSM for her cdma. I have a dx2 and could probably get 50-75 for mine. To buy a comparable GSM phone would cost me atleast 200. This all is off the top of my head. Any pointers or tips on the cheapest and best way to do this?
Sent from my Eclipsed Droid X2 using Tapatalk 2

Juice3250 said:
If my wife and I were to end our contracts right now, we'd save $90/month switching to straight talk. A couple of problems. The up front cost of early termination fees and buying GSM phones when both of ours are cdma only usable on Verizon. Pretty sure we'd more than break even over the course of the next 10 to 11 months. We don't have enough saved to pay up front. My wife loves her iPhone 4 and she could probably find someone on Craigslist who would trade a GSM for her cdma. I have a dx2 and could probably get 50-75 for mine. To buy a comparable GSM phone would cost me atleast 200. This all is off the top of my head. Any pointers or tips on the cheapest and best way to do this?
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The aspect of having the financial resources to buy out your contract is a very common issue. Sometimes waiting out the contract is the best thing to do and obviously only you can ultimately make the right decision for your finanaces. If you make enough money, consider setting aside an extra amount of money every paycheck to get to the point where you can buy out your contracts. Maybe you can stop going out to eat for a month? Maybe you can skip the big trip with the kids over spring break? There's often a place to cut your budget if you feel it's the right priority.
I know that the Verizon iPhone 4 devices have GSM built in and it might even be unlocked already. However, unless jailbroken, I don't believe you can access the APN settings to use a different carrier. I'm not an iPhone expert, I'm all Android. I do think it's possible, and Verizon will likely give you a SIM unlock code if you need it and ask for it, just ask for the unlock code before you terminate your service.
I purchased a GSM Galaxy Nexus, unlocked when I switched. Then I bought a Nexus 4. Those are your best bets for going contract free, however there are other options. But the Nexus phones have the right bands to work with T-Mobile or AT&T, allowing you to hop MVNOs to chase the best price.
Start by reading this thread to get an understanding of prepaid smartphone service: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1455014
If you can't afford a Nexus phone, read this article for some ideas: http://androidandme.com/2012/12/reviews/best-unlocked-android-phone-for-any-budget-december-2012/
A great domestic source for a plethora of unlock phones: http://www.gsmnation.com/
Also, Amazon.com is a great source for unlocked phones.
Remember, you're paying less for service because you're not getting a phone subsidy. Expect to pay an exorbitant amount for your phone, but you will be rewarded by crazy cheap service!