JLondon,

Yes, let us know for sure. I've been looking for one of those for years and always was outbid. I'm glad one of the pdaphonehome people got it. I saw your post in the "Garage Sale" forum and it sounds like you were thinking along the same line as I was. I think the price was about right, especially considering the spares it included, and I'm a little surprised that there were only 4 bidders. Their max bids of $200, $222, $225 and whatever you bid were pretty consistent...

The guy you bought it from (he's jumping to a Centro) outbid me last spring for that very same phone you now own and I think he paid $551 IIRC. There was also a new in box i550 that sold for $700 something last summer.

So, it looks like the prices are finally coming down to something reasonable. Maybe the price decline will shake a few more i550s out of the woodwork before the value degrades further. I'd probably buy one if I could get it for under $200, since my data usage is pretty small, but I wonder if I would use the data capabilities more if it were faster...

Speaking of prices degrading, the battery latch broke on my i500 a while back and I was surprised I was able to pick up a spare on ebay for under $20 that's pretty rough, but works and has a clear ESN and a slim battery -- if I lose mine I've got something to use in a pinch.

The i550 was a great phone 3 years ago and in many ways still is, especially if data usage is not a huge issue for you, but its value is getting squeezed on the bottom from $25 ebay i500s and on the top from brand new $99 (albeit with 2 yr contract) Centros -- not much room in the middle. It probably has the most appeal for i500 users that don't want a new contract and have a need to run some palm OS 5 application or use text messages extensively...