Clearance mobile phones

Introduction

Clearance mobile phones are often available from UK online mobile phone retailers at cheaper prices or with free extras compared to other deals that are (or used to be) available for the same models. Choosing a clearance phone can therefore be a great way to save money when buying a new mobile online.

What is a clearance mobile phone?

A clearance mobile phone may have been returned to a network or dealer by a previous customer under a satisfaction guarantee or because a customer described it as being faulty (perhaps incorrectly). Any faults are fixed and phones are restored to their original factory settings before being offered for sale as refurbished models. Some mobile phones are returned simply because customers have changed their minds, which they're allowed to do by law. This applies to both contract and pay as you go mobile phones.

Clearance mobiles can also just be end-of-line models, where either only a few are left or a mobile dealer or network wants to sell remaining stock more quickly than usual, so they can get on with promoting other phones.

Where can I buy a clearance mobile phone?

We've put together some handy links below to popular mobile phone dealers and networks. Each link below goes directly to their clearance mobile phone deals section and opens in a new window for your convenience:

Some mobile phone shops display clearance mobile phones across other areas of their sites, too. For example, 3's online store adds a capital R to the end of model names to indicate refurbished mobile phones. So if their full list of available mobile phones included, for example, the "Sony Ericsson K610R Grey",this would indicate a refurbished K610 Grey.

Do clearance mobile phones have any other differences?

Warranties on clearance phones are usually the same as on other phones. However, refurbished phones may sometimes be offered with a shorter warranty. Any differences should be explained either in the retailer's description of the deal or in their terms and conditions.

Otherwise, clearance phones are generally just the same as any other. They should come with all the same bits and bobs, unless otherwise specified. Sometimes, they may even come with extras, as part of the special deal.

It's highly unlikely that anyone will be able to tell the difference if they buy a clearance phone, especially with end-of-line models, which won't even have been out of the retailer's hands before.

The most obvious and important difference with clearance mobile phone deals is that they're usually cheaper - making them a great place for bargain hunters to look.

For more mobile phone offers, see our mobile phone networks and dealers pages.