Safe Buying Tips
Genuine Rugged Smartphones
Always deal with a factory authorised distributor like us. Only a factory authorised distributor can guarantee that the phones they sell are genuine.
Buying cheap phones from a local or overseas market place might seem like a good idea, but you could end up buying a "fake" phone with secondhand parts inside it. Don't risk your hard earned money!!
Buy your rugged phone from a specialist rugged phone store like ours.
Unlike some of our competitors who sell lots of different products and have no expertise with rugged phones, we are a specialist rugged phone store, offering you the best products and years of experience to help you out.
Be very carefull buying from overseas sellers.
Prices might be lower but there is a reason for that. Try sending back a phone to China for repair or replacement, it will never arrive and if it does, the seller will likely offer you ten cents in the dollar refund. Due to import restrictions into China, some sellers have "reject at border" assigned to any incoming returns to their address.
We have an inbox folder full of hard luck stories from people who thought they had got a bargain, only to find out that when things went wrong, there was no one to talk to and no one to help them out. Do not risk it, just to save a few dollars!!
Watch out for sites offering "subsidised accident repair costs".
The truth is, it is you that is actually subsidising the accident repair costs, due to the higher phone prices you will pay. Don't fall for this, save your hard earned money and buy from a trusted and honest company like ours.
Always purchase from a GST registered Australian company.
Make sure that the business is actually based in Australia and not in some overseas country. Remember its not hard to register an Australian ".com.au" domain name and give the impression you are an Australian business when in fact the business is located in another country, thousands of km's away.
Buy from an Australian company that offers proper local customer support.
Local support is worth its weight in gold if you have an issue with the item or product you purchased. Buy from a trusted GST registered Australian company like ours, that is proud to display genuine "Customer Testimonials".
Be extremely careful of drop shippers on various auction sites and marketplaces selling cheap phones.
For example, no drop shipper making a $50.00 profit on a rugged phone is ever going to be able to refund you $600.00 if your phone is faulty or needs to be replaced. Most drop shippers will not hold or have access to spare parts for the phones they sell either. Think about that for a minute and then choose carefully.
Always compare apples with apples.
You may come across the same phone on another site with a slightly lower price. Make sure that you are getting the same model (they may look the same but have different specifications like less RAM or Memory).
Check the length of the warranty. Why settle for a 12 month warranty when the same make and model we sell, may have a two year warranty!!
Websites offering "1300 numbers"
They may look like they are in Australia but they could very well have a redirection on these numbers that get answered in another country.
Buy from an Australian company or business.
As this gives you a lot of protection in relation to your purchase. If you purchase from an overseas company or business and something goes wrong, their promises about service and product warranties are not binding in Australia and are worthless. This could end up costing you a lot of money. It's just not worth the risk!
Registered for GST in Australia.
Only an Australian GST registered company, business or sole trader can provide you with a tax invoice. Without a tax invoice you cannot claim a GST input credit.
Rugged Phone Store Pty Ltd the owner of this website, is a GST registered Australian company (ACN 630 104 031) based in Melbourne.
