It has happened to all of us. Our cell phone dies out of nowhere or falls into the toilet on a wild and crazy “sober” night. Or maybe it was the night we decided our cellular telephone would be safe in our hands at a party; it falls to the floor and gets trampled on.

What are we to do?

Well, thanks to the cell phone store “Yakety Yak” in Rocklin, we no longer have to let those useless cell phones be useless. In fact the owner of the store, Rudy Felix, will actually buy those hopeless gadgets back from you for money. Yes, that is right, money you poor college students.

“I know what it is like to be in college,” Felix said, “you need every penny you can get to pay for that Top Ramon we all live on.”

Felix has owned the store for three years but the company has been open for two years. On a regular day Felix will see about 20 customers a day.

“They are usually buying used phones, car chargers or accessories,” he said. “Sometimes phone parts are really hard to get, and buying back old cell phones helps us with these problems.”

Felix has experience with electronics having been a technician with Verizon Wireless, so he understands the frustrations that may come with the luxury of having a cell phone.

“Most people go to corporate to get their cell phones fixed and they can’t fix it there, so they send it to us,” Felix said.

The “Yakety Yak” store can fix mostly any type of phone from the BlackBerry to the Razor. The store even takes back phones that don’t even turn on and phones that are completely water damaged.

Sacramento State senior Naomi Balagot insists that this store has got to be one of the best things for college students.

“We all have done something wrong with one of our cell phones and this (store) gives us a chance to get money for it. How can you not want to hear about this?” Balagot said.

Felix hopes to help athletes as well as the unfortunate people who are looking for a specific cell phone piece. He will give money towards the athlete’s particular sport and help pay for the athlete’s expenses such as uniforms and athletic gear.

Sacramento State Rugby athlete Andrew Decker said that Felix offers an outlet for those seeking help with buying expensive uniforms.

“Anybody who plays a sport knows how expensive it can get. If you can go to this store and turn in an old cell phone for a sponsor, that seems easy enough for me,” Decker said.

With the buying back of old or broken phones Felix hopes to help people who have a broken phone and are missing a part. Although the phone may not work, the parts within the phone may be beneficial for others with a broken phone.

On a really busy day the store can get anywhere from 30-60 customers. Felix said that there are about three to four students who come in from schools around the area to sell him their phones that do not work.

“Our reputation has grown because people need to get their phones fixed the cheapest way possible, and we can do that,” Felix said.

Depending on what model of phone you have you can receive anywhere from five to 35 dollars for an old or broken phone. Not too bad for the poor college student.

So broke college students, have no fear. An easy way to make money fast is here. Go out there and get your old useless phones and make some use out of them. Better yet, go to your friends’ houses and get their entire old cell phone to make a good profit of your own.

If worst comes to worse you could always drop your roommate’s phone in the toilet and get money for it. That is just an idea; we all know we get hungry.

Vanessa Johnson can be reached at [email protected]