Canada

I am a fido user in Vancouver and I need to replace my siemens a56 with something else. It seems like companies aren't giving out free phones any more, and are requiring that you sign a contract just to get a discount. How can I get a cheap phone without signing a contract? I've heard that you can get a model sold by rogers or fido and put your sim card in, but I'm scared to get one on e-bay and then not have it work. Pawn shops seem even sketchier. Any ideas?
Also, does anyone know of good models sold by fido or rogers? (I thought about getting a $15 LG 1300i, and signing a contract, but it got bad reviews on this site)