5 New Features Added to Phone Fanatic

Photo Credit: Ginny

The Phone Fanatic team has been in the lab, working hard to develop the site and released several new features over the weekend.

• Price Indexing

We are now indexing phone prices from more than 15 sources including Craigslist, eBay, Amazon Wireless, Best Buy, Costco, AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, Slickdeals, FatWallet and more. We’re actively tracking and analyzing 1,395 prices on 175 phones.

• Used Phone Prices

One of the most exciting new features is the addition of prices for used phones. Our mission is to provide people with one source to get the absolute best price on any phone, new or used. We now have prices on used smartphones across the country. No one likes clicking refresh on Craigslist throughout the day and now you don’t have to.

To access the used phone prices, simply click Used under Price Type on the home page.

• Local Deal Alerts

Previously, we had general deal alerts that let you subscribe to a phone at the price you set. Now, you can do that but can also add in your zip code to be notified of local deals. You can also specify the condition of the phone you’re looking for.

To access Local Deal Alerts, click the big red Deal Alert button next to any used phone.

• Price History Graphs

We now display the historical price of our used phones on a graph so you can see how the price has moved over time. To the left of the graph you can select the condition and see the average price that phone is selling for across the US. We hope this feature helps you find better deals when buying used phones and gives you a better idea of what to expect when looking for a phone, regardless of the condition it’s in.

The graphs are at the bottom of every used phone.

• Used Phone Deals

The Deals tab on every used phone displays current deals from Craigslist and is sorted by lowest price by default. If you don’t see a deal on the phone you want in your area, click Local Deal Alerts above the list and let us know where you are and we’ll email you when someone nearby is selling the phone you specified.

• What’s next?

We have a lot more we’re working on. Karl and Wojtek are experts in extracting ‘signals from noise’ and are spending a lot of time analyzing the data we collect on a daily basis and will be sharing some surprising insights soon. For example, what would you guess is the average age of a smartphone being sold on Craigslist? The answer may surprise you.

Beyond that, we want to hear from you. We are doing everything we can to find the best prices on the best phones and want to know what tools, information and new features you’d like from us to make it easier for you to buy your next phone. Let us know and thanks for reading!