(10 years ago roughly)

 

Well I got to a story to tell. About 10 years ago I was over a friend house. He was digging through a drawer in the kitchen looking for something and he spun around... "Hey you need a cell phone take this one." At the time I wasn't a big cell phone fan but for free why not? So I grabbed the cell phone and charger cord. In the next few days I go out and bought some time for it and tried to active the phone. Come to find out it can't be done. So I called TracFone and they told me the phone was too old and would have to be replaced for FREE. Wow! So I gladly boxed up the old phone and mailed it back to TracFone and within about 2 weeks go my new cell phone. It was a nice LG phone and served me well for over 10 year now. In the last year or so I upgrade to a new LG phone again.

 

(Yesterday)

 

My neighbor comes over as always bringing my mail up from the mailbox. He start telling about buying a cell phone and it was a Jitterbug. How he spent $100 on the phone and within hours got charged a activation fees as well to he credit card. Not to mention spending over 2 hours in New Meadows, ID trying to activate something that does not work on our cell towers. So I told him about my cheap $29 LG TracFone and suggest he just make a run to the local Radio Shack in McCall, ID. Well I parted way with him and.... Thought a second... That right that old LG TracFone is in my desk drawer. So I whistle to him... Hang on a second. I ran into the house and and grab the phone, the house charger and the car charger. I handed it over to him and he was shocked. "What do I owe you for this?" I told him, "Nothing. I just paying it forward. I never paid for the first one so I can't charge you for this..."

He will be lucky if they reactivate it being that old, I have my old Casio yet and it still works but has been dropped for any support and or updates a couple years ago already.

 

You still have a Radio shack? They went bankrupt, they closed the one in Bismarck a few months ago, I bought a stand alone Bluetooth mp3-4 speaker for half price when they closed and sold out.

Still in all like I told my neighbor if it doesn't re-activate they will replace it for FREE. So it doesn't matter.

 

Yeah we still got a Radio Shack up here its the local cell store.

Looks like they are just that now pretty much a phone store, found this on wiki.

 

2015: Bankruptcy and emergence[edit]

On January 15, 2015, The Wall Street Journal reported RadioShack had delayed rent payments to some commercial landlords^[143] and was preparing a bankruptcy filing that could come as early as February. Officials of the company declined to comment on the report.^[144] A separate report by Bloomberg claimed the company might sell leases to as many as half its stores to Sprint.^[145]

On February 2, 2015, the company was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange after its average market capitalization remained below $50 million for longer than thirty consecutive days.^[146][147]

RadioShack died years ago; we're only now holding the funeral. Good active managers have avoided RadioShack for a long time.

—Gershon Distenfeld, Director, AllianceBernstein, CBS News^[148]

I sent a Track Fone to a woman who was alone.  I had been given it, activated it briefly.  But I got a flip phone from Verizon, wife got a great deal through her Hospital employer...  so all the family is on it. 

Track Fone does not own any towers but buys minutes on other networks.  However, they might not activate it or switch the sim card IF their currant cntract is with the wrong carrier (since phones are network specific in the US).

I did not remove that given away phone from my account properly & it later caused me trouble.  I believe a subsequent owner was late payng bills as a bill collector kept calling.   

I still keep a Track Fone around...  even a deactivated phone can call 911. 

 

NO, no smart phones for me.  I only talk on my phone so a flip phone is fine.

Edited May 24, 201510 yr by flagmanruss

Thanks for the story Mike.

Russ and others, I do not want a smart phone either. It's too big for my pockets to be carrying around with my active working lifestyle. It would get damaged real quick being that size. I've damaged or lost phones and would not like replacing a smart phone each time. I can roll over it with my truck and get another for 99 cents.

Where do you get a fone for 99 cents?  At WM they cost 14.99 (flip phone).  A flat style fone is 9.99 (I think).  Typo?   I haven't checked the prices atr gas stations lately...  more or less...  How could they be any less?   

Russ my wife got me one shipped to the house for 99 cents. Shipping was more, comes with instructions and your original number programmed in. It was online somewhere like phone mart or something. It was not as good as the phone store flipper I broke but close. Now I like it since I am used to it.

I Will ask her when she gets home tonight.

99 cent phones

 

http://www.cnet.com/news/amazon-fire-phone-now-99-cents/

 

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2418717,00.asp

 

http://time.com/3304149/amazon-fire-phone-99-cents-mobile-technology/