Why might leasing be a better deal than buying?



- Simple economics. Leasing is cheaper than buying.

As technology increases, more people are choosing to use a pager instead of a phone. Old numeric models allowed you to only receive numeric messages. Then, you had to find a phone and call the mystery person back.

Now there are alpha-numeric models that allow you to use text as well as numbers. A two way allows you to send, as well as receive, these messages.

You can rent an alpha numeric pager, and it can save you the trouble of using a cell phone. Cell phone text messaging is not always cheap or efficient, so a rented pager can do your work for you.

- Try before you buy. You can check out features before you buy.

Pagers can run you anywhere from $40 well into the hundreds. How do you know if you need another electronic gadget to add to your arsenal? Wouldn't you hate to spend the money and then never use it?

Renting is a good way to figure out whether you really need one. It's also a good way to figure out which features you need. When you are looking, they'll really make your head spin with all those add-ons and features. Some of them sound good, but will you use them?

You can test drive with a rental. For example, you may find that you never look at your stored messages. Maybe this is a feature you don't need. You can save a few bucks by ditching the stored message feature when you buy your own.

- It's just a temporary thing. Some people just need one for a certain period of time.

How many electronic gadgets have you bought, used for a couple of months, and then put away in the closet for somebody else to find? If you only need one for a couple of months, why buy when you can rent?

For example, maybe you're traveling, but you don't want to be too far from clients or friends. You might be going someplace where you won't have Internet access. In that case, a pager will keep you in touch.

For those who travel for work, you might want to lease while you are on the road. There are features like nationwide paging that will save you money when you are away from home. You can also rent locally in the area where you'll be working.

Small business owners find leasing to be convenient for outfitting their employees. It is not always cost effective to buy everyone a pager.

Leasing pagers has lots of benefits for lots of people. Most importantly, it's good to know that you can rent the newer models. No matter why you're getting one, you might want to check it out before you buy.