ericsson world phones - t28, t39, r520

Issues to be aware of...



Many sellers claim to be selling "new" phones. These haven't been produced in a while (2002) so be skeptical.

These are tough and reliable phones, so there is nothing wrong with buying a used one, just don't pay for new - really ask questions of your sellers
In many cases, the sellers are unloading "factory" refurbs
without even knowing it (this is generous, they probably do know...).
The factory involved is NOT ericsson, just a factory. Who knows where.
What they do is take an asian market phone, usually a T39MC (with
chinese character support) and put it in a new aftermarket housing.
Sometimes they add an english keypad. The plastic over the display is a
part of the housing, so the seller says "Still has the plastic on the
display!" like that means the phone is new.
The kicker, and the thing that makes me think all of these are
geing from the same place, is that they always have a non-ericsson, or
at least non-"ultra slim" (should be flat with the back of the phone)
battery, there is never an OEM beltclip in the box, and big one... THE
MANUAL... is a bad photocopy of a T-10 manual, in a bad copy of a T-39
cover, with crooked stapling.

These phones are great, I have about 10, so don't be afraid to look for one. Just know a few things...

Don't pay more than $10 shipping. When a seller expects to make a
lot of refunds, or wants to avoid giving okay its cut, he or she will
jack up shipping and lower the sale price. Refunds almost NEVER include
shipping. You will have to really fight to get it back. I think they
assume that a really fast refund of the sale price will make you less
likely to pursue fraud charges with okay, even though you might be out
$30. They may be right 'cause there are still a lot of them out there
doing this!
When you get your phone, access the service menu. This is a code
that will let you see how many times the phone has been flipped open.
Yep. And you can't easily erase this count! When your phone says it has
been opened about 3,000 times (maybe two years of use?) it is pretty
hard to call it new. Most sellers don't know about this feature, or
never see the phones to try this, so it can help you get your money
back.
To access the service menu, you use just the left and right arrow keys (written "