Annoying Verizon smart phone data plans

I wanted to buy a verizon cell phone but decided not too once i found out i had to pay atleast 30 bucks a month for the data plan. Even if it has wi-fi. So would i still have to sign up for that damn data plan if i bought a cdma phone off ebay or craigslist for example and activated my phone over the internet? anyway i can get around that stupid data plan?