What risks are there buying a PAYG SIM for the 3 network on eBay?  As
they are so cheap can it be assumed the sellers are basically phone
dealers that need to get rid of them because have been split from
phones which are then unlocked and sold-on? 

At least one seller has a warning about possible clawback - are there
other risks too?  And how could a possible clawback apply to a
purchase on eBay that didn't use Paypal?

TIA

Steve  wrote:
> What risks are there buying a PAYG SIM for the 3 network on eBay?  As
> they are so cheap can it be assumed the sellers are basically phone
> dealers that need to get rid of them because have been split from
> phones which are then unlocked and sold-on? 

Do you mean used SIMs, or unregistered still-sealed-in-envelope SIMs?

Often the cheap new SIMs on eBay which are without credit are those given
away by networks.  You can see this because when a new network starts a free
SIM promotion, all of a sudden the same SIMs start appearing on eBay.

Three don't tend to do free SIM promotions, but they did once; in June 2006
they gave free SIMs with any Superdrug purchases. So they might date from
then.

FWIW I bought a Three SIM for 99p from eBay and it works fine.  I'd probably
avoid SIMs that say 'ThreePay' or 'WePay' as those are older stock.  If it
says 'Flat12' then it's newer.

> At least one seller has a warning about possible clawback - are there
> other risks too?  And how could a possible clawback apply to a
> purchase on eBay that didn't use Paypal?

How do you mean clawback?

FWIW here's what I did.  Got a free Tesco SIM with two quid on it, and a 99p
Three SIM with none.  Made a few calls etc on the Tesco SIM, then ported the
number over to the Three SIM.  Three give you a tenner of credit for porting
a number over which lasts a month.  So you've got a month to test it out and
see if anything goes wrong.  If it does, throw the SIM in the bin and walk
away.

A useful bonus is that your SIM has a Tesco number, which is much cheaper to
call from landlines.

Theo

On 19 Jun 2008 12:37:21 +0100 (BST), Theo Markettos
<theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:


[snip]

>> At least one seller has a warning about possible clawback - are there
>> other risks too?  And how could a possible clawback apply to a
>> purchase on eBay that didn't use Paypal?
>
>How do you mean clawback?

See the T&Cs notice towards the bottom of the various 3 SIM for sale
on this eBay merchant's site:  londonmagicstore

Basically once activated, if you don't add credit to it in 12months,
or do certain other things the merchant seems to reserve the right to
invoice the buyer for  the clawback that Three will apparently apply. 
I've deliberately avoided posting the full URL, btw

[snip]

On 19 Jun 2008 12:37:21 +0100 (BST), Theo Markettos
<theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
>FWIW here's what I did.  Got a free Tesco SIM with two quid on it, and a 99p
>Three SIM with none.  Made a few calls etc on the Tesco SIM, then ported the
>number over to the Three SIM.  Three give you a tenner of credit for porting
>a number over which lasts a month.  So you've got a month to test it out and
>see if anything goes wrong.  If it does, throw the SIM in the bin and walk
>away.
>
>A useful bonus is that your SIM has a Tesco number, which is much cheaper to
>call from landlines.

that sounds like a great idea, thanks! 

Is it O2 that Tesco uses? And is it Orange that 3 use? (if I remember
correctly)

thanks

-- 
http://www.kingqueen.org.uk
remove .lartsspammers to reply

On 19 Jun, 14:34, Doug Paulley
 wrote:
> On 19 Jun 2008 12:37:21 퍝 (BST), Theo Markettos
>
>  wrote:
> >FWIW here's what I did.  Got a free Tesco SIM with two quid on it, and a 99p
> >Three SIM with none.  Made a few calls etc on the Tesco SIM, then ported the
> >number over to the Three SIM.  Three give you a tenner of credit for porting
> >a number over which lasts a month.  So you've got a month to test it out and
> >see if anything goes wrong.  If it does, throw the SIM in the bin and walk
> >away.
>
> >A useful bonus is that your SIM has a Tesco number, which is much cheaper to
> >call from landlines.
>
> that sounds like a great idea, thanks!
>
> Is it O2 that Tesco uses? And is it Orange that 3 use? (if I remember
> correctly)
>
> thanks
>
> --http://www.kingqueen.org.uk
> remove .lartsspammers to reply

Eventhough they say the £10 credit is only valid for a month it
actually has no expiry date. I have a SIM that I use for their 50p/day
internet add-on very occasionally and its over 6 months since the free
credit was applied. I've only just recently topped up.

Doug Paulley  wrote:
> Is it O2 that Tesco uses? And is it Orange that 3 use? (if I remember
> correctly)

Tesco use O2 and is on O2's number range (that's why Tesco is the best
option for this, because O2's number range is cheapest to call from
landlines - O2's free SIMs need topup before they'll work)

3 have their own number range, which is the most expensive to call from
landlines (on BT, something like 25p/min daytime against 10p/min for O2). 
They use T-Mobile for some 3G signal and Orange for 2G signal (I think), but
these don't affect numbering.

Theo

Theo Markettos wrote:
> 
> Steve  wrote:
> > What risks are there buying a PAYG SIM for the 3 network on eBay?  As
> > they are so cheap can it be assumed the sellers are basically phone
> > dealers that need to get rid of them because have been split from
> > phones which are then unlocked and sold-on?
> 
> Do you mean used SIMs, or unregistered still-sealed-in-envelope SIMs?
> 
> Often the cheap new SIMs on eBay which are without credit are those given
> away by networks.  You can see this because when a new network starts a free
> SIM promotion, all of a sudden the same SIMs start appearing on eBay.
> 
> Three don't tend to do free SIM promotions, but they did once; in June 2006
> they gave free SIMs with any Superdrug purchases. So they might date from
> then.
> 
> FWIW I bought a Three SIM for 99p from eBay and it works fine.  I'd probably
> avoid SIMs that say 'ThreePay' or 'WePay' as those are older stock.  If it
> says 'Flat12' then it's newer.
> 
> > At least one seller has a warning about possible clawback - are there
> > other risks too?  And how could a possible clawback apply to a
> > purchase on eBay that didn't use Paypal?
> 
> How do you mean clawback?
> 
> FWIW here's what I did.  Got a free Tesco SIM with two quid on it, and a 99p
> Three SIM with none.  Made a few calls etc on the Tesco SIM, then ported the
> number over to the Three SIM.  Three give you a tenner of credit for porting
> a number over which lasts a month.  So you've got a month to test it out and
> see if anything goes wrong.  If it does, throw the SIM in the bin and walk
> away.
> 
> A useful bonus is that your SIM has a Tesco number, which is much cheaper to
> call from landlines.
> 
> Theo

Can these sim cards be used in any phone, or only in a 3 branded
handset?

Regards

.newman  wrote:
> Can these sim cards be used in any phone, or only in a 3 branded
> handset?

Any 3G phone, but if it's not from 3 it must be unlocked.  You may have some
trouble using it in a 2G phone if the 2G phone can't cope with a USIM.
(And Three don't like you using a 2G-only phone anyway)

Theo

"Theo Markettos" <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote in message 
news:zRd*GGUfs@news.chiark.greenend.org.uk...
> .newman  wrote:
>> Can these sim cards be used in any phone, or only in a 3 branded
>> handset?
>
> Any 3G phone, but if it's not from 3 it must be unlocked.  You may have 
> some
> trouble using it in a 2G phone if the 2G phone can't cope with a USIM.
> (And Three don't like you using a 2G-only phone anyway)
> Theo
>
They will work in a Nokia 3220, permanently roaming on the Orange network,
but expect 3 to cut you off when they find out.

If you don't keep much credit on it it's not much loss

Steve Terry