BUYING A MOBILE PHONE AT THE GREENHILLS SHOPPING CENTER

The Philippines is a mobile phone crazy country. For people in Manila, the Greenhills Shopping Center is cell phone heaven. You will see rows and rows of stalls selling all kinds of cellphones, both brand new and second hand. It has become the premier trading center for anybody who wishes to buy or sell his or her cell phone.

i was green with envy looking at my brother's new cellphone this morning. He got himself a new Nokia N90, a fliptop phone with a Carl Zeiss lens powered with a 3x optical zoom 2.0 megapixel camera. So, immediately after lunch, I packed my boxes and my two cellphone units to trade them for a brand new Nokia N93, also a fliptop phone, but with a 3.2 megapixel camera. I have long wanted one for myself but I was financially restrained to purchase that model. But this afternoon, I was all set!

So, after a long ardent search, here are some of my tips for buying a cellphone in Greenhills, especially if you plan to trade in:

1. Bring the original boxes as well as the complete packages of the cellphones you intend to trade for new ones. Bring the essentials, charger, manual, headsets, etc. Otherwise, those will be deducted to the price they will pay for your unit.

2. Cellphone units that are locked to particular networks are bought at lower prices. Especially those which belong to the N-series, which apparently cannot be unlocked without destroying the unit.

3. Nokia is the brand of choice of most Filipinos. Even in cellphone trading, prices of Nokia units depreciate more slowly.

3. Don't shop around too hard to get the lowest price. Once you get a fair deal, grab it. Once you take too long to decide, the buyer would think twice.

4. Try to pay in cash. because the stalls charge an additional 8% for credit card purchases. But I cant blame you if you opt to pay with your card, because more often than not, you are suffering from impulse buying. But hey, I speak only for myself.

5. For card purchases, they will ask you to present one government issued ID card. So don't forget to bring a driver's license, SSS/GSIS card, passport.

6. Lastly, watch your bags and valuables. Since there are a lot of pickpockets lurking around. It's so easy to exchange stolen phones there for cash. Cellphones, due to its saleability, it is almost as good as cash, or even legal tender. However, syndicates have victimized even the merchants in Greenhills. So, as a security measure, sellers of second hand phones are required to sign a waiver that their objects for sale are not in violation of the Anti-Fencing Law. You are required to give some personal information, in case any problem should arise.

I got myself a brand new N93 after trading in my Nokia N73 and my Nokia N6233. So far, I am satisfied by the features of my new phone. As to battery life and OS performance, I will keep you posted.