# Buy mobile in USA or Germany?



## mrmillersd (Jul 17, 2013)

I'm interested in the Samsung S5 or S6 and was wondering if mobile phones are the same price in germany or more expensive. Would it make sense to buy an international one in the US or just wait till i'm in germany?


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Depends a bit on what you're after. If you buy a phone in the US, you'll have to make sure it isn't locked to a service provider. From what I've heard, it isn't all that easy to get your phone unlocked in the US.

You can compare prices on unlocked phones by checking prices on Amazon.com vs. Amazon.de - or just compare by looking at popular electronics shops, say Best Buy in the States vs. Media Markt in Germany. Just be sure to check that the phones are unlocked (or that you're buying into a good plan on the German side). I dare say it is easier to unlock a phone purchased in Europe than one purchased in the US.
Cheers,
Bev


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

Google and Amazon are your friend. Buy the cheapest unlocked phone you can find, wherever that may be, then set up with a dirt-cheap pay-per-use plan (Aldi or similar) once you arrive in Germany.

If the phone uses a USB connection for a charger, then you really don't care where you buy it. Conrad.de is a good source too, possibly better than the big chains like MediaMarkt or Saturn.


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## JeannaJx (Mar 9, 2015)

Well I think they're still rolling out Samsung S6, right? It'd be better to get an unlocked version instead of buying from a carrier, that will lock you in for years. Some of them have a bad habit of preventing users from taking the phones out of their network, and it would cost you more having it unlocked. (Based on experience by the way)

Look for trusted sellers in Amazon.


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