Two brothers, Randall and Mick Murry, have opened a Buy Back Cellular franchise in Lufkin Mall, according to a press release.

Buy Back Cellular buys and sells pre-owned cellular phones, regardless of the carrier behind them. It also deals in pre-paid cell phones.

"Buy Back Cellular makes it possible for people to upgrade their phone as often as they want, even every month if they feel like it, without having to worry about extending a contract or making any kind of new commitment to their carrier," Randall said in the press release. "They bring in their old phone, pick out the new model they want, we swap out the SIM card, and they're on their way. It's a beautiful business concept."

The Murrys said they expect advertising and marketing costs to be low, with most promotion coming from word-of-mouth among consumers.

"There is a strong viral marketing aspect to this concept," Randall says. "We believe people will drive a couple of hundred miles to buy these phones when they hear about the kind of deals we're offering."

The brothers said theirs would be the company's first franchise, which causes a bit of anxiety.

"The unknown is always scary," Randall said. "It sounds like a great concept, but we had to wonder how long it would take before it really took off."

Neither brother, however, plans to leave his current profession just yet. Randall holds a management position in the local office of a national corporation, while Mick is a poultry farmer, according to their press release.

"We were investing our own money to take this chance, but we weren't selling the farm, so to speak — and in Mick's case, literally," Randall said.

The Murry brothers opened the kiosk just outside the entrance to the cinema in Lufkin Mall in early 2008, with plans to add a second unit in the Tyler area by the end of the year, they said. If all goes well, they said, they would like to continue expanding around the Houston area and, eventually, make running the franchise their full-time occupation.
http://www.lufkindailynews.com/hp/content/busi ...