Can't you unlock a iphone 5?

Okay so i know that you can buy an iphone 5 unlocked for like $650. But wouldn't it be cheaper to buy it on a contract and the take out the sim card and switch it with another carrier? I understand it can mess up your credit but at this point i don't really care.

Added (1). Oh and i also heard that it is now illegal to unlock your iphone. What does it mean to really "unlock" one though?

Yeah

Depends what carrier.
if you buy one on contract and don't pay the contract you will be charged a $349 etf and full price of the iphone 5,$849.
you can't get one with bad credit, and if you don't pay it will ruin your credit and you will be taking to small claims court

I can unlock my iPhone 5 during the contract period by getting unlocking service from any of the online service providers like http://www.theunlockspot.com/apple-iphone-5/rs10wp9/ to unlock it. After unlocking my iPhone 5, i can easily switch over from one GSM carrier to another.No! Now unlocking process is legal. Unlocking process: The process of removing SIM lock from phone is known as unlocking. Service providers restricts your phone to use with other networks in different countries. At that situation, you need to unlock it from the locked network i.e which network you are using currently.