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Every year Apple, Samsung and other mobile phone companies release their flagship mobile phones in the hope that their small changes are tempting enough for you to part with your hard-earned cash.
It now seems that they have cottoned on to the idea that different consumers want different things from their mobile and now release variants of their flagships with lesser screens or internals.
Apple’s recent iteration of the iPhone, the iPhone 12, has seen them release four variants, the mini, standard, pro and pro max.
Unsurprisingly, these devices aren’t cheap, in fact, the Pro Max starts at £1,099 and increases to £1,399 if you want the model with the larger storage.
That’s bordering on cheap car territory.
Add to the fact that some of these are bought on a contract, and the cost soon adds up.
There are ways that you can get the latest mobile phone cheaper and here are my six tips:
1. Recycle your old mobile
There are many sites offering you money to recycle your old phone depending on its condition, with some manufacturers offering to offer you a trade-in price to allow you to upgrade.
Before selling on your mobile, check the comparison sites that give you a rough idea as to how much you might get if you sold it to one of the many companies out there offering this service.
I have to point out that these comparison sites aren’t telling you how much you will get, as this is dependent on the condition of the phone.
Two of these comparison mobile phone comparison sites are sellmymobile.com and comparemymobile.com.
2. Wait
Like any form of new technology early adopters not only pay a higher price for new phones, they are often the first to experience problems with the technology until the manufacturer finds a fix.
Remember the Samsung Note 7 recall, when the phone was exploding for no apparent reason?
If you can, wait a while to see if the price drops.
You’ll be lucky to see a price drop in Apple’s pricing structure but, if you’re an Android user this is probably more likely.
3. Move to a contract with a free gift and sell it
Mobile phone networks will often try and tempt you to sign up for a contract by offering you a free gift.
sometimes can be quite high-value items such as smartwatches, so if you know that you are going to have to enter a contract to get one of these phones, look for one with a free gift so you can sell it on and hopefully try and offset some of the cost of the contract.
4. Buy it on cashback websites
Those of us that write about money, love to go on about cashback websites and for good reason.
The work.
Websites such as TopCashback and Quidco allow you to search for your favourite retailer or product to see whether you can get any cashback on what you are looking to buy.
One thing to remember with cashback websites is that the money isn’t guaranteed so I’d always recommend you read their blurb about what might stop you from getting your cashback.
5. Buy it refurbished
If you think refurbished you might instantly jump to the fact that your new phone isn’t so new after all.
Buying refurbished mobile phones are a great way of getting the mobile phone that you want for a cheaper price and you might not be able to ever tell that it isn’t new.
The reason for this is these companies grade their refurbished phones. So the better the grade the more pristine your phone is likely to be.
I recently bought a compact camera refurbished and it was in pristine condition. It came with its original box and instructions and I couldn’t see anything wrong with it cosmetically.
6. Let someone else do the leg work
If you don’t want to trawl the internet yourself looking for the best deal for your next mobile phone, whether that’s on a contract or pay monthly a website like HandsetExpert and more recently the MoneySavingExperts own Cheap Mobile Finder might be what you are looking for.
These will more than often return the same result as they work on an affiliate basis where the company selling the phone will pay a commission on any phone or tariff purchased.
As an example, I put in a black iPhone 12 mini with a capacity of 64GB in the search criteria and HandsetExpert returned the cheapest price at £689, sold by GiffGaff, while Cheap Mobile Finder came back with the same offering.
In summary
If you want to have the latest handset in your pocket, then there are ways of getting it for less than the RRP.
My own recommendation would be to always buy a sim only deal, which might mean that you have to skip an upgrade to get the next one, but you will be getting a new phone with the latest changes.
If you can’t wait, then don’t rush to just purchase the phone at the next available opportunity, do some research, consider your use and question whether you need everything the flagship is offering then make that decision.
You could even save using a sinking fund.
If you know of any more ways to get the latest phone cheaper, then leave them in the comments below.
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