General Reports

[QUOTE=Pok Gai; 1142125]So I went Vegas last month with my buddy, and I forgot to bring my prepaid phone. Sucked had to spend money at Walgreens to get another phone. My buddy just says to use google voice, so the number doesn't trace to you. I don't know, because doesn't Google voice still calls your own cell? What you guys think? Plus, hey didn't have 808 numbers when I tried signing up.

How many of you guys use a prepaid even? [/QUOTE]I have been using Google Voice phone service for my discretionary calls for almost a year now. You are correct that service allows you to direct calls your cell phone but the caller will only see your GV number. If your cell phone is equipped with the Google Voice app, then you can place calls and have your GV number show up in the receiving party's caller I'd. If you are worried about what shows up on billing, so far none of the discretionary numbers called or received are reflected. Just the different numbers that services your Google calls.

Not sure when Google will be offering 808 numbers but right now I have two for two different gmail accounts in two different states It serves a purpose for me and I am pretty comfortable with the privacy of the service. Prepaid gives you 100% privacy but has a cost for it while Google Voice does essentially the same for free.

Anyways, just my two cents. Good luck!

Thanks buck and ham.

My phone has the app, but I still got to find a number I like. My prepaids not expensive, been using so long where it's only $10 / year now. Just the hassle of bringing that damn extra phone. If I travel with my SO, hard to pack that phone into luggage. Not to mention worry she'd find it if she went thru my things. Thought using the google app would be easier. I guess my only concern is that GV still dials your real cell. I worry about the legal part of it. I was taught early in my mongering years to just get a prepaid / toss-away. Tech has changed, maybe time for me to get out of the stone age.

[QUOTE=Pok Gai; 1142148]Thanks buck and ham.

My phone has the app, but I still got to find a number I like. My prepaids not expensive, been using so long where it's only $10 / year now. Just the hassle of bringing that damn extra phone. If I travel with my SO, hard to pack that phone into luggage. Not to mention worry she'd find it if she went thru my things. Thought using the google app would be easier. I guess my only concern is that GV still dials your real cell. I worry about the legal part of it. I was taught early in my mongering years to just get a prepaid / toss-away. Tech has changed, maybe time for me to get out of the stone age. [/QUOTE]YW Pok Gai!

I was an owner of many prepaid phones too. The logistical challenges you mentioned with phones are valid ones that many on the forum share. Not sure about the legal part you refer to but as I shared in another thread, Google doesn't easily submit to requests by local LE and technically its hard to trace without intervention.

To get Google's help would usually requires a court order from them to "open" their books and that in and of itself requires LE to go through a lot of hoops - which may not be worth it. (DISCLAIMER. I am not a Legal expert).

Buck

Thats what I was thinking. I let one of my prepaids expire, and the number was gone. So I had to get a new one. So one of my regular stops was giving me a hard time the other day. I didn't really think about it until I got there. Caller I'd. Duh! But before I was thinking, why am I getting the damn LE check on the phone. I've been here like 10x already.

What is the cheapest pre-paid phone to get? I had a Net 10 phone from Walmart, but that runs out after a few months and I think it was at least $25 to renew. That would add up over a year for me to keep it updated. It worked well for me since I used it for occasional mongering, but mostly for selling stuff on CL.

Is there anything better?

[QUOTE=Magnod; 1142718]What is the cheapest pre-paid phone to get? I had a Net 10 phone from Walmart, but that runs out after a few months and I think it was at least $25 to renew. That would add up over a year for me to keep it updated. It worked well for me since I used it for occasional mongering, but mostly for selling stuff on CL.

Is there anything better?[/QUOTE]I use net10 and always have extra minutes on it so have to buy new card. Thanks in advance for your feedback.

[QUOTE=Magnod; 1142718]What is the cheapest pre-paid phone to get? I had a Net 10 phone from Walmart, but that runs out after a few months and I think it was at least $25 to renew. That would add up over a year for me to keep it updated. It worked well for me since I used it for occasional mongering, but mostly for selling stuff on CL.

Is there anything better? [/QUOTE]I had Net10 before. If you want it cheaper and avoid the 2, 4 and 6 month renewals, get the T-mobile $100, 1.000 minute pay as you go plan. This is good for 1 whole year. The minutes may not be as much with only 1000 min for the whole year but, its definitely cheaper than Net10. Your good for the whole year until you use up the 1000 minutes. Plus, the smaller $10, $30 refill cards have an expiration of 90 days.

Went to a Filipina Hostess bar called Sunset Lounge in Waipahu (by Jack in the Box). Only one cute filipina girl there with fakies and washboard abs. All the old Filipino customers crowding around her like a flies on dookie since she was the only hot one there. Mama was looked like a Filipino-shrek, scared the living crap out of us. All domestic beers are $2. 50 all night (what bar does the cents thing?). Overall the bar sucks, not worth it. Especially with all the chronics hanging around outside. I think all the filipina bar girls were from Best Friends by Westgate.

[QUOTE=Uki Eater;1142806]I had Net10 before. If you want it cheaper and avoid the 2, 4 and 6 month renewals, get the T-mobile $100, 1.000 minute pay as you go plan. This is good for 1 whole year. The minutes may not be as much with only 1000 min for the whole year but, its definitely cheaper than Net10. Your good for the whole year until you use up the 1000 minutes. Plus, the smaller $10, $30 refill cards have an expiration of 90 days.[/QUOTE]Thanks.

That Net 10 one was good until you had to renew things. From your description it doesn't sound like the T-mobile minutes carry over to the next year. So you'd have to renew every year, correct?

Too bad they don't have something that you just pay once and it last however long your minutes last.

[QUOTE=Magnod; 1142824]Thanks.

That Net 10 one was good until you had to renew things. From your description it doesn't sound like the T-mobile minutes carry over to the next year. So you'd have to renew every year, correct?

Too bad they don't have something that you just pay once and it last however long your minutes last. [/QUOTE]I think it does carry over the unused minutes like how Net10 does. But, not sue how much you use the phone as 1000 minutes can he used up easily in a year. But looking at the FAQ, it sounds like the unused min get carried over when you renew it.

[url]http://www.t-mobile.com/templates/faq.aspx?PAsset=Pre_Pop_FAQ#minutesleft[/url]

[QUOTE=Magnod; 1142824]Thanks.

That Net 10 one was good until you had to renew things. From your description it doesn't sound like the T-mobile minutes carry over to the next year. So you'd have to renew every year, correct?

Too bad they don't have something that you just pay once and it last however long your minutes last. [/QUOTE]Well, I've had a T-Mobile prepaid phone for 5 years now. Maybe it's not the best deal but it's fine with me. I'm a light user anyway. Very good reception and transmission, and no problems with the phone, until it got damaged. I bought another Samsung one because it was trouble-free whereas I've seen people have problems and quirks with their phones.

Once you have bought $100 worth of minutes, you become Gold status and unused minutes last a year; and you get 15% more minutes per refill. I only bought $25 at a time and didn't carry large balances; when my phone got damaged it only had a little bit of value left so it's not like it was a big loss.

I once let the minutes run out to see, but nothing happened, the number didn't "disappear" as happened with Pok Gai. Still had it upon refilling. Even with no value, it still received txt messages (but of course couldn't send txt, or receive calls).

Maybe the WalMart or Go phones etc are a better deal, but the phones look pretty cheap compared to the T-Mobile ones.

Just my 2 cents.

The small refill cards with T-Mobile I feel is not worth it because the expiration is only good up to 90 days as oppose to the $100, 1000 minute pay as you go refill card up to 1 year. With Net10, the irritating thing to me would be the expiration of the phone. I may have alot of minutes unused but, its having to get another refill card just to keep the phone from expiring and losing the number. You can buy another refill card and activate it again. But, it's just that you'll be assigned a new cell number.

Walmart has the Nokia 1661 prepaid phone for $14. 88. Get the $100, 1000 minute card and your good for a whole year which is pretty long. The main drawback is using up the 1000 minutes before the end of the year. Plus, the $10 (30 min) , $30 (160 min) refill cards don't give you much minutes to add. This shouldn't be much of a problem if you hardly use the phone.

Tracphone has a similar $100 pay as you go card for 1 year but, they only give you 400 minutes as oppose to 1000 minutes with T-mobile.

[QUOTE=Uki Eater; 1142903]The small refill cards with T-Mobile I feel is not worth it because the expiration is only good up to 90 days as oppose to the $100, 1000 minute pay as you go refill card up to 1 year. With Net10, the irritating thing to me would be the expiration of the phone. I may have alot of minutes unused but, its having to get another refill card just to keep the phone from expiring and losing the number. You can buy another refill card and activate it again. But, it's just that you'll be assigned a new cell number.

Walmart has the Nokia 1661 prepaid phone for $14. 88. Get the $100, 1000 minute card and your good for a whole year which is pretty long. The main drawback is using up the 1000 minutes before the end of the year. Plus, the $10 (30 min) , $30 (160 min) refill cards don't give you much minutes to add. This shouldn't be much of a problem if you hardly use the phone.

Tracphone has a similar $100 pay as you go card for 1 year but, they only give you 400 minutes as oppose to 1000 minutes with T-mobile.[/QUOTE]I use a Verizon PayGo that I bought from Walmart. The irritating thing is that I never use the minutes before they expire. It turns out being quite expensive since I refill $30 every 3 months. Last I looked, I still had a $100 balance and the minutes expire 3/30/11.

I used to have a Trac Phone. That was a better deal since I could refill $15 for 90 days.

I have had my T-Mobile To Go prepaid phone for around 5 years now and am very happy with it, I always purchase to $100 1000 minutes refill which works out to $8.33 a month. Any unused minutes do carry over as long as you refill before the 1 year expiration, you get a text message reminding you that your minutes will expire soon a few days before the 1 year is up. My current balance is around 3500 minutes.

[QUOTE=Muff Diver;1143251]I have had my T-Mobile To Go prepaid phone for around 5 years now and am very happy with it, I always purchase to $100 1000 minutes refill which works out to $8.33 a month. Any unused minutes do carry over as long as you refill before the 1 year expiration, you get a text message reminding you that your minutes will expire soon a few days before the 1 year is up. My current balance is around 3500 minutes.[/QUOTE]Yup. I don't think any other prepaid plan can beat this. The minutes may not seem much but, if you hardly use the phone, this would make a good emergency phone just to keep in the car. If for some reason you lost or dropped your smartphone (most of us do have smartphones) , you have the prepaid phone as backup. $100 for 1 year is minor since most of us on this forum would spend that easily at a KB, VB or AMP in just 1 night.