Why People Buy Prepaid Cell Phones In Bulk At Wal-Mart
The answer - most people are small business persons skirting the law to re-sell re-configured cell phones that will work on any cellular network. The TracFone and GoPhone cell phones at Wal-Mart are designed for their cellular network. Bulk purchasers unlock these cell phones to use on any network which violates trademark and copyright protections.
The reason you can make money off re-selling cell phones is that TracFone and GoPhone usually sell their cell phones at a lost with the expectation that they will make money selling prepaid cell phone minutes that the cell phone purchasers will use. This business model does not work when people re-configure the cell phone to work on any cellular network.
There has been a lot in the media about terrorists buying cell phones to use as bomb detonators. Yes, a cell phone can be used as a bomb detonator, but you only need a couple of cell phones to detonate a bomb. I would assume most, if not all, of the bulk purchasers of cell phones at Wal-Mart are just small business persons trying to make a quick profit at Tracfone’s expense,