Where To Buy A Mobile Phone in Bangkok

Without a doubt, the most well known of these mobile phone "malls" in Bangkok is MBK shopping mall which has almost an entire floor dedicated to new and second hand mobile phones including phones that are not yet officially for sale in Thailand such as Apple's iPhone. These are brought over from countries that legally sell them and then they are cracked or unlocked to allow them to work with any network, but we doubt very much whether you'll get a warranty with one of these phones.

If you know the phone you want, there is a very good chance you"ll find it at MBK . This goes for mobile phone accessories and repairs with small stalls housing a man hunched over a soldering iron and some broken mobile phones.

It's possible to get the latest mobile phones second hand at some of the many hundreds of mobile phone stalls but we can't vouch for the quality of these phones or how long they'll last once you've bought it.

As mentioned earlier, Thais love the latest gadgets and the latest mobile phones are high on their list but many people buy them on the never-never, or on interest free credit purchase agreements which they sometimes can't aford and which is why new mobiles can be found in the second hand stalls.

The mobile phone system in Thailand is different from, let's say, the UK. In the UK, it's more common to get a mobile phone either free, or very cheaply with a contract you sign up with. This contract can be between 12 and 18 months and usually covers the cost of the phone, calls, text messages etc depending on the package you buy. In Thailand however, you buy your phone and then sign up to a service or you opt for the "pay as you go" system which is probably why there are so many second hand phones on the market. It's too easy to get rid of the one you already have. Also, Thais want you to believe they can afford new items and so a mobile phone shows they can afford it, whereas in the West, we're not as concerned about this kind of thing.