Recent Sprint PCS rebates on several Samsung and Sanyo phones have been extremely hot sellers among students. The Samsung 3500, the most popular phone for Sprint customers, had been available for free (with a mail-in rebate) and quickly ran out of stock. In the past few days, the store has had to direct customers interested in the phone to stores in Boston and Brookline.

Other Square cellular dealers haveexperienced a similar spike in sales. By midday yesterday, Radio Shack sold out of three phones—all of the models covered by the Sprint special.

Merchandising Associate Chadi Salamoun moved more than 30 phones in two days, and is hoping more will come in stock so he can capitalize on the student rush.

“I’m losing money now,” he said. “I already lost five sales today.”

The scene was similar at Staples yesterday, where Business Machine Technician Victor Woodroffe was selling phones at a rapid clip while students kept picking up and testing the samples. “Everyone wants a cell phone,” he said. “So did I. I got one the other day.”

At the Cellular One store, which handles Cingular service, sales representative Robert M. Tran said he had also noticed slightly higher sales. The Nokia 5165, the phone his store is offering for free with plan activation, is the top seller among student customers.

None of these sales would be possible without the huge influx of customers who just moved into the area.