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floressas -

hi there, i would like to get myself a cellphone with a chinese number, any suggestions where i
can buy this? i'm living in haidan and know everything is more expensive here because there are so
many foreign students, so i don't want to walk around the corner for my purchase, i wondering
about some kind of department store or whatever which can sell you phones cheap..

thanks



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billiardsmike -

A close option for hundreds of phones is Zhongguangcun. Hundreds of resellers there, but I believe
you'll want to get the sim directly from China Mobile or China Unicom. They both have shops in
Wudaukou.










Dani_man -

Hey floressas,

you can either go to Wudaokao, and choose the cheapest phone you find
among the 3 or 4 stores over there, or you can go to zhongguancun, which have numerous stores.
but, I dont think it's necessary. the prices in wudaokao are relatively good.
I bought my crappy nokia 3110 for 350 kuai, and it works just fine. even survived
the beijing winter.

you do need to watch out not to be ripped off by those who try to sell you a
"good" and "catchy" phone number for 150 kuai - it suppose to cost around 50.










roddy -

I wouldn't say Haidian is expensive because of having lots of foreign students - overall numbers
are tiny compared to the massive number of Chinese students there. You could maybe make a case for
it being true in Wudaokou, but even then I doubt it and that's a tiny part of Haidian as a whole.
Maybe do some price checking on zol.com.cn, joyo.com, taobao.com, etc, visit a few stores and see
what you can get. You could go to Hailong Dasha and its surroundings - which is what people
usually mean when they say Zhongguancun - and you might save a bit. Much more likely to get quoted
silly prices and have your sleeve tugged out of shape than you are at a local store though.










floressas -

thank you for the quick replies, guys..

anyway, i'm looking for a little more expensive phone than the nokia 3110, because my old one just
broked, so i figured out i might as well buy one here, which i can also use in europe. because i'm
buying a more expensive one, maybe it would be worth to go to this place zhongcaucun?!

about the sim card; is it possible to buy an old phone and then just get a sim card from china
mobile, or do you have to buy a phone there as well? if so, what else cards can i get?

cheers










flameproof -



Quote:

about the sim card; is it possible to buy an old phone and then just get a sim card from china
mobile,

Sure. Just check it in the shop to make sure it's not SIM looked (I think phones in China aren't).
However, SIM cards with local numbers (starting with 0 - you area code) usually work only on
certain phones and should be bought in a bundle. But every 13******** number will be OK.

Just one advise, let the shop where you buy the recharge card do the recharge. It's a finger
breaking exercise....










Dani_man -

moreover, i think that if you buy the sim card and the cellphone together, you may bargain on the
price.

anyway - does anyone has an experience of using the phones in your home country?
I know that china mobile reprogram your own country cellphone to make it work - is it work the
other way too?










floressas -

but is it really possible to bargain at china mobile, don't they have fixed prices like for an
example vodafone stores?










flameproof -



Quote:

but is it really possible to bargain at china mobile,

No harm to ask. If not for financial benefit then just for language practice. Whenever I buy a
recharge card (rmb100) I ask for the price. So far it was always 100, but once they gave me card
which was 100, but had 10 or so extra.

I don't think you will get "the looks", Chinese bargain even in department stores, often
successfully. In short, you have nothing to loose.










Dani_man -

I just do remember that when I asked for a lower price in China mobile (with no shame!)
they asked whether I want to by the sim card too, and unfortunately I bought the card before, so I
donno how far they will go with you.

and fixed price - this term belongs only for the china government stores, which often have sign
says "fixed price", or the sellers recited this sentence (beijing 2008 stores). as long as you
can't see it or hear it, go for it.












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