Bartering with Cell Phones

While I am in the UK, I make pleas for old cell phones that I can take out to Kenya. We sell them to raise money for KCIS and Twiga.

Also, in the past when I have been in Kenya, I had to carry two cell phones, an all-singing model that I use in the UK, which has all my contacts, email addresses etc., on it, and another, cheaper (and heavier model) with a local (Safaricom) SIM card for making calls in Kenya.

On my visit in November, I decided to get my UK model unlocked so that I could get away with carrying just one, but retaining all the features that I probably didn't need anyway.

We trotted off to the local phone unlocking shop and handed over my phone and another that also needed unlocking. Upon our return, the phone-unlocking man told me that he couldn't do either of them and had taken them to another shop, where they could do it for 200/- each.

I offered my old "Kenyan" cell phone as payment, as I would no longer need it. He refused. However, another of his clients, who was queueing up to get served asked me how much I wanted

I wanted 400/- but asked for 500. I thought that was a reasonable price for this rather old but smart phone.

400/- he countered and I accepted. It would, after all cover the cost of unlocking the other two phones. The deal was struck and I handed over my "Kenyan" cell phone, and recuperated my "UK" model, which was now unlocked.

I walked away, pleased as punch. Not only had I bartered, and got what I wanted, from a Kenyan, but I now only needed to carry one phone, which had all my data on it, and probably more importantly, a camera.