I have upgraded my cell phone a couple times (in several years). Both times, the original phone still was in working order, so I donated it to a local women’s shelter. They reformat them, and program them to only dial the shelter and 911 for emergencies.

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Yeah, you can donate them. All kinds of places take them. I’m with you though, I have had 2 phones in my entire life and only got the second because the first one was going a little weird. Our phone company keeps sending us adds letting us know we can get a new one, but the one we have works just fine so why bother?!!

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i’m a cell phone junkie. i usually upgrade every 2 years or so. i still have a few of the old ones just in case (i’m hell on phones), but you can donate them to women’s shelters or to the troops

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I only change phones if I have to, if they break, or once when I changed phone companies and the new company couldn’t use my old phone.

I don’t like to spend money on something new when my old one is still perfectly good.

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I’m on my second cheapo Nokia…and I ONLY got the second one cuz of the digital network switch that everyone is having to make…so my old analog one was going to be obsolete (and my provider gave me the new one Free!) Yeah my phone is pretty much like yours…makes and receives calls & text. It plays all of 2 games.
Since my analog phone was useless I just gave it to my dd to play with…she plays with the ringtones. I donated my friend’s old phones before…they have a box at my Church.

I’m with you about not changing phones just because. I mean if I upgraded everytime a new feature came out it would be like once a week or something. I figure that if I wait long enough what I need will be at a price I’m willing to pay (I don’t need all the bells and whistles.)

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I accidentally left mine in my shirt pocket when it went through the soak cycle.

I wish I still had it. I hate my new one.

i do know people that change cell phones like socks and underwear. I do wish I was one of those people, but I am not for various reasons.
1) i do not have the heart to toss away a perfectly good piece of equipment. i will not let it go until it dies.
2) electronics already cause so much trash in landfills that it would just make me feel guilty buying a new piece when i don’t need it.
3) when i pick a phone, i tend to love it for quite a while.

i have changed phones more than once. Once, I did it out of pure impulse buy on a darling phone. I still have that cell, a treo 650 and I’ve had it for 4 years. The one I had before it, a cute little slider LG, i keep just in case.

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i think women are happier with just using what they have as long as it works. My husband (boys and their toys) upgrades his every couple of years. Having said that, because he travels for work, his phone takes a lot of wear and tear and it is often time to be changed. Mine, I change when I need to, but I have never had one last more than three years. Guess, i am a bit hard on mine too.

One just stopped working on me…the buttons wouldn’t work and got confused…push a 1, get a 8. Another one was accidentally drowned. my son threw a snowball at me, unbeknownst to me, some of it fell in my pocket where my cell phone was and melted there (the jacket was well constructed, I never knew there was water in there). It shorted it out of course. Then hubby suggested low heat in the microwave for drying (:since it wasn’t working anyway). Don’t ever do that…..

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I would be very happy to keep whatever phone i have. I dont need all the cool features, just give me one that makes and receives calls. My hubby on the other hand, loves all that cool stuff, and wants a new phone every time he sees a new feature. He tends to get a new one than sells the old on ebay. crazy!

Hi Grace!

Good question! I’ve only had two cell phones and they are nothing fancy. I could care less about that stuff. But my husband likes to have an MP3 player on his because he often puts new songs on it to play for possible consideration to his band members. He always has to have a practical use for bells and whistles. *grin*

My sons’ schools have a recycle program where you can drop off your old cell phones (and ink cartridges) and they will turn them in for cash. This in turn helps their technology department raise money for various new gadgets.

We do not have a cell phone at all. We just have one land line with a loooooong cord in the kitchen and one temperamental landline in the basement with a very short, can-I-call-you-back-later cord on it. Excepting our computer and Mulletman’s ipod, we are pretty much Luddites: no tv, no doo-dads or thingamabobs.

Saves us a plethora of conundrums and decisions!

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I upgrade every two years and my old one gets donated to organizations that give them to women who are at risk and live a battered life because even though there is no service you as long as there is battery life you can still dial 911

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Hey there Grace,
You know, I just don’t think there is common courtesy about what a person will ask another person these days.
We have gotten new phones on several occasions however it was only because the old phone was broken. We tried two different cell phone services and of course phones before we made a final choice when we moved to Florida a few years back.
There’s an organization that collect old phone even if they don’t work. http://www.cellphonesforsSoldiers.com
The organization even provides postage paid bags to send the phones to them in. I don’t know about international mail but you can check their website.
Hope your weekend was a good one. You too Kailani.

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I just got my third cell phone in 9 years. We changed providers, so I had to get a new one. I didn’t need a lot of bells & whistles, but it was very hard to find a plain ol’ cell phone!

We donated our old phones to a Hopeline.
http://aboutus.vzw.com/communityservice/hopeLine.html

I’ve donated them a few times, and I sold my most recent one on Ebay. Ron’s previous one was so beat-up that we just gave it to the kids to play with. Hannah ‘talks’ on it all of the time.
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Oops!
I put one too many s’ in that link I provided. It’s
http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com
You can also print our a pre-paid shipping label.

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I donate mine to a domestic violence shelter. Oh I do have the iPhone and I absolutely love it! I’d gladly let you try it out some time.

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As usual I agree with you completely, Grace. I never understood the appeal of cellphones as a status symbol either. Yes, they are a practical tool sometimes, but that’s about it.
If the screen in my old Nokia wouldn’t have cracked I would still use it today. Instead I had to get a cheap (and really crappy) Motorola as a replacement, because it was the only one I could afford at that time. But I still use it now, three years later, because all I do with a phone is making calls - and guess what, that still works with the old one.
But since all you other guys here are so hot on donating your old phones to a good cause, I wouldn’t mind anybody throwing an old Nokia my way…
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We usually get new phones every couple years. It is usually when the battery starts to go. We have always sold our old cell phones on ebay. I know my dad keeps his in case my mom loses hers (which happens a lot, lol). If you aren’t into ebay though, a lot of places take donations. There are companies that pay for old cell phones, so it is a common fundraiser for many places.

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I gave my first “disposable” phone to my kids who would use it when they were at friends houses, etc. It only had so many minutes..so they couldn’t go hog wild! Then I could call them, or visa-versa, to pick them up at the mall, or if they had a change in plans. It also taught them responsibility, since if they used for “personal stuff” they had to pay out of ther allowance.

I had to have a fancier phone since I quit my job at the hospital, and went into Real Estate. But, I wanted to make sure I did my research first. It took me FOREVER to decide.

Finally Picked the Palm Pilot since it had all the functions I needed and the price was right with the plan I needed. Like, web access, Bluetooth for opening key boxes, calendar, texting, Document management, Pictures. Everything you need for Real Estate. I made sure it had what I needed, and not a bunch of other stuff I would never use. Plus the plan had to work! It is important for me to buy something I don’t regret or that does not meet my needs and costs a fortune.

I am the type of person, that wants everything “paid” for and will not upgrade because some one thinks I am living in the dark ages (Tecnology wise, dark ages is 2 years ago!)

Ok, going off topic a bit, but, kinda my reasoning behind the “have to upgrade” conversation.

I abhor debt. Credit cards, car payments, any consumer dept drives me banana’s. My car is 10 years old, and I have had several frients tell me about how I “HAVE” to buy the newer models because the newer models have all these neat bells and whistles, and now that I am in RE..I should have the “latest and greatest to show off”. They think cause I make enough, I should have to buy this stuff in order to prove my success. For instance, like my car, is almost still like new! Clean, inside and out. It has what I need for my clients and me to do the job. It is mechanically sound, good tires, the inside is spotless and so comfy with captains chairs, the outside is as clean and sparkly as the day we got it! PAID FOR! Would rather save the car to pass down, when or if I buy a new one to the kids, etc.

Of course, passing down a “Mini-Van” to the kids is like passing down, the “station wagon”. It is considered a Goober Mobile, or “made for soccer mom’s only” by my kids. But, you can sell it to help buy the nest car. That is why you take care of it. When it is time to “let go”, it is in good enough shape to sell.

To me, if it is working, meeting your needs, don’t fix it. To me, this is how people end up in finacial debt, they spend to keep up with the “Jones” or “Times”. I see so many of my friends paying these car payments and credit cards, and then read about them and others I know that go bankrupt in the paper.

Would you have thought to buy a new phone if nobody said anything to you about it?

Kinda off topic…sorry.

But, my daughter still uses the disposable phone I gave her and loads it with minutes as she needs it. I guess she is afraid of the HUGE bill, her friends get all the time. Their parents will just pay it. I don’t! I refuse. Call me mean. I know about “family plans” But, both my husband and my phones are business only. And I cannot risk my kids using up all our minutes.

Handing it down to a kid, would make their year! I think you can turn regular cells into disposables or get the “pay as you go” plan.

If you can afford it, and you feel it IS time for a change, you do have options. Be sure to study up on what works for you. you could even get one to access your blog!

But, don’t through away, they have poisen parts inside, bad for enviroment.

Good luck and let us know what you decide.

Sorry, I guess I am just too chatty today!

I received in the mail a pouch to mail old phones in. The phones go to the soldiers over seas so they can call their families.

Nicol’s last blog post..Happy Easter!

I upgraded to a “cool” one and I HATE it but I’m stuck with it cause it’s not time to re-up my contract.
When I do this time I am going back to SIMPLE..make and receive phone calls..oh yeah and with a clock.
The old ones end up in my junk drawer.

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I upgrade only when my phones don’t work well (low battery time, etc.). I got a smart phone about a month ago and LOVE it! I’ve never had anything but basic . . . can make calls and that’s it . . . before this one.

When we have phones that still work but aren’t great, we donate them to the women’s shelter. Any cell phone can dial 911 . . . so all you need is the charger and the phone and you’re helping out.

Wow, it feels kind of weird to be commenting on my own blog. LOL!

I usually give my old phones to my BIL since he’s always 5 years behind the latest technology. hee hee

However, I did recently come across a site where you can sell them your old phones. You can check it out at SecondRotation.com

I just bought a new cell phone on Saturday, only because my 4-year-old flip phone had broken apart at the hinge…I took it in twice for repair and they finally replaced it with a used phone identical to what I had. The 8 button wouldn’t work, so I couldn’t call anyone with an “8″ in their number, plus it smelled like someone else’s sweat! ICK! Needless to say, I decided I needed a phone that worked!

I have always taken our used phones to Radio Shack - they collect them for women in shelters. The phones do not have to be connected to any cell phone plan…calling 911 will work on any cell phone, with or without a calling plan.

I also received one of the pouches that Nicol (commenter #21) mentioned above.

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My family pay me out over my mobile phones. My current phone is an LG and it’s small and does the job, but it’s simple and has no internet connections, camera etc. I’ve had it 2 years and before that I’d had the same Nokia for about 5 years.

I’m with you, I just don’t get the point of upgrading phones all the time. It just seems like a waste to me and very much keeping up with the Jones’s.

My dad gets a new phone every 6 months or so - I kid you not. He just loves toys, and if you can afford it and it makes you happy then I guess that’s your business. But to judge the rest of us for thinking of more important things to spend our money on, well that just peeves me right off.

Kelly

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I got a new one last year because I got an almost free offer from our carrier. But before that, I’d only had two others. I’m not terribly worried about it, my phone is really just a direct line from me to my kids if they need me anyway! And….now that I have two teens, I am learning to text them, they seem to answer more quickly!

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Hi everyone! Thank you for the responses you made in my guest post. I was asking the question (what to do with your old cellphone when you get a new one) because I honestly don’t know what to do with mine.

When I was in Japan, there was no organization whatsoever that donates old cellphones. It seems that no one is ever interested in a second hand phone! Everyone just throws them in the bin. Because the pace of technology there is very fast, people are changing units like they change shirts.

Here in Dubai, I don’t know anyone/any organization doing something about the phones being thrown away. I wish someone would just give the phones to the laborers instead.

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I’ve donated old phones to women’s shelters, like many others have. I also sold one on ebay once.

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[...] used to. But then, I have to since the old one is dead, no hope of resurrection. Normally, I only change phones when the old one is [...]