Cell phones that are purchased from wireless providers are automatically "locked" to that network. What that means is that if you decide to switch to a different network/carrier, you will be unable to take your phone with you to the new network, despite the high costs you might have paid for it originally. The better option is to purchase an unlocked cell phone in the first place, which will help you avoid this potential problem and also comes with some other benefits.

There are several benefits to buying an unlocked cell phone from an alternate source; that is, a phone that was not purchased directly from your carrier.

First, unlocked phones give you freedom from contracts. Cellular providers often offer phones at a discount in exchange for a customer signing a contract with the provider. Therefore, if you decide to switch carriers before your contract expires, they will charge you a large cancellation fee, usually around $250-$500. When you have an unlocked phone you can avoid having to purchase a phone locked to a particular network and will not have to sign a contract to get service from a specific provider.

Also, you can usually find more phones available when looking at unlocked phones. Cell phone providers' stores usually carry 20-30 phones that they make available to their customers. The unlocked market is literally full of hundreds of phones, meaning you can essentially get any phone you want with any feature you want. The only thing to be aware of here is that your carrier of choice has a network capable of using all the features available on a particular phone.

Further, not only will your unlocked phone be one you can take with you to another domestic carrier, but should you travel overseas you will be able to take your unlocked cell phone with you; simply pop your new prepaid SIM card into your phone. Doing this will save you a small fortune in international roaming charges, and save you from having to purchase a new phone while in your temporary location.

Finally, there is a much bigger market for reselling an unlocked phone than there is for phones that are locked to a network. When you decide to upgrade to a new phone, you will have much more luck selling your unlocked phone to another user than you will selling a phone that is locked to a particular network, meaning you can recoup some of your initial costs for the phone after you've used it.

Unlocked cell phones provide their users a lot of freedom and peace of mind as they are not locked in to contracts. However, you must be aware of where you purchase your phone from as some vendors are better than others. Try to stick to reputable dealers when purchasing an unlocked phone. A good way to measure the credibility of a seller is whether or not they offer a warranty on their unlocked phones. If they do, you should have much more confidence buying from them.