to buy a cellphone in beijing..

[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

[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]

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]

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.

[Jamoldo]

If you're the bargaining type like me and patient, I would go to Nuren Jie to the "2nd hand" market. Name brands used/stolen (many new like mine) sold at 20-60% discount. My Motorola was new (probably off the back of the truck), and I got it for 40% discount. Sime cards can be purchased there too, or at any newsstand for as little as 30 kuai.

caution, some phones are fake, or have replaced parts so it's essential to investigate them (ie, make sample phone calls, press the buttons, make sure things like the camera work etc).

cheers.

[Dani_man]

Hey Jamoldo

Where's that NuRenJie?

is that in chaoyang?

how to get there?

[Jamoldo]

Yeah its in Chaoyang near the new embassy district (where they are building the new US embassy, and I think the Korean and Japanese Embassies are near there too). It's past the Lufthansa Center and Kempinski Hotel. Tell any taxi driver, Nuren Jie (it's acually a Bar Street) and they'll take you there. Then just ask anyone around on the bar street where to get mobile phones and they will point it to you.

Once you enter the bar street you have to go 100-300 meters and there will be a indoor market on your right side. Walk inside, take the escalator on the right upstairs and tada, you're there..

Be sure to pick some target phones, have a fixed priced set in mind (one you won't breach), and then ask around for prices of your target phones, open the backs of them, push buttons, etc, check for markings to see what's consistent, and then once you've decided which kind of phone you want, bargain away at numerous stalls for a good price. It took me four hours but I got nearly the true price, a real phone and I was happy. Good luck. PM me if you want my blog address where I talk about the whole experience in detail. Cheers.

[kmogg]

So what should the first card with the number cost these days? Is 100 the going rate for the all CHina card? Or is the Beijing local one less.

I want a card that will work throughout China and Hong Kong.

Kevin