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Evo 4G off contract price?

I see $450 being thrown about but come on, that's too good to be true. I called Best Buy and was quoted $700.

sprint email
the sprint email i received said $499 was the price...direct from sprint...see my post under evo 4g launch event...i just left best buy and they told me they have nothing on the pricing yet!! (even though i was going to pre-order!!...they said it is whatever the rebate price from sprint ($199))

adeyo said:
the sprint email i received said $499 was the price...direct from sprint...see my post under evo 4g launch event...i just left best buy and they told me they have nothing on the pricing yet!! (even though i was going to pre-order!!...they said it is whatever the rebate price from sprint ($199))
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actually retail$450.$150 instant discount,u pay $300 up front then u get back $100 mail in rebate that leaves to $199 with new activation.

Wouldn't be surprised if there's a lot of misinformation floating out there, but I called a Sprint Store directly and they informed me the retail price is $449. He had to put me on hold to call corporate. $450 is ridiculous for something like this, and I still don't quite believe it.
What sucks even more is my 30 day window closes on June 2nd!! But if I can sell a brand new hero for $200 I won't mind fronting the other $250.

When the EVO was announced at CTIA I immediately signed up for news updates at the Sprint EVO site. Yesterday I received a promotional email FROM SPRINT that says "...$449.99 - $150.00 (two-year activation) - $100.00 (mail-in rebate) = $199.99 (final price).". I literally just now copy and pasted that quote from the email!
So, will Best Buy offer it at the same price or not? I'm ashamed to say, when I was there pre-ordering it this afternoon, I was assured that pre-orders were for unsubsidized phones as well as new service (or upgrades) but I forgot to ask what the non-discount price was because I assumed it was the same. Now I'm wondering...

I just pre-ordered my Evo at BestBuy today and didn't even think to ask what retail was. I just assumed it was the $450 like Sprint said.
Sure hope I'm right. I thought it was too good to be true as well but coming out of Sprint's mouth it was hard not to pay full price.

I preordered at bestbuy too.
occasionally they mess up and give me the lower out of contract price but either way...I'm buying this phone!

Return it
seanlindo06 said:
Wouldn't be surprised if there's a lot of misinformation floating out there, but I called a Sprint Store directly and they informed me the retail price is $449. He had to put me on hold to call corporate. $450 is ridiculous for something like this, and I still don't quite believe it.
What sucks even more is my 30 day window closes on June 2nd!! But if I can sell a brand new hero for $200 I won't mind fronting the other $250.
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I have heard that what people are doing in a situation like yours, is that they are just going to return it, get another phone (like the moment or something) and then return it again for the EVO. Sure you'll have to pay restocking fees, but it will cost less then selling your Hero.

449 is probably the starting price based on signing a 2 year contract. It will likely be higher if you are going with a non-contract outright purchase. Our prices at The Shack work that way at least.

With Sprint from the past, whatever the price is before they apply the discount for new service, new line, or upgrade is usually what the price of the phone is. It is a little hard to believe this amazing phone is $450 but I've noticed one thing android phones tend to be cheaper than their WM counterparts, not always but usually. With that said I'm sure Sprints plan is to keep as many customers as possible as well as get more with this phone and they can always make it back with the cost of the plan. I also went to pre-order mines from best buy today but before I commit to it I wanted to make sure what the unsubsidized price would be but unfortunately the guy helping didn't know. He just said it would probably be about 600-700. The email as stated though says $450 so before I committed I wanted to find out what the real price will be before I commit to a higher price than what Sprint is actually selling for since I just used my upgrade in January for the Hero so I have to wait until next January. I have had the experience depending on who you deal with that even if you aren't eligble for an upgrade they would still sell you the phone at the upgrade price. Also a post above stated that they were going to get the 100 rebate still, is that even possible without it being a new activation or upgrade or were they just helping you out?

Chatted with Sprint rep today via website and confirmed...
...that the off-contract price is $449. If this turns out to be true...that's FU*KING GREAT!!! I really hope this phone ends up being the real deal. This could be an all-out effort from Sprint to extend what potentially is the hottest phone of 2010 to anyone who's interested at great price whether new customer or otherwise. Gain new customers and stop the bleeding of existing ones...makes sense.

there also seems to be a very gradual shift away from outrageous off-contract prices (FTC pressure maybe?)... nokia smartphones have been reasonably priced off contract (gsm models anyway) for some time now, and while 450 is a bit low it doesn't seem impossible.

Yeah, I'm going back to BestBuy today to cancel my preorder. Their are just too many rumors of BB charging $600+. Hopefully I will have luck on my side on June 4 when I go to the Sprint store to buy one.

$599 off contract confirmed at BB.$450 at Sprint. My Sprint store isn't doing preorders.. looks like I'll be taking the fourth off from work.
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$450 from Sprint directly. Periord. End of story. Other retailers such as Best Buy and RadioShack have the ability to raise the price if they want, and it has been confirmed that Best Buy will be gouging it to $600. It has been reported that RadioShack will only charge the standard $450.

Can anyone confirm the 450 in writing from a sprint store after you paid for a pre-order?
I will go to 20 sprint stores in my area if one will do that for me.
THANKS!!

Can anyone confirm the 450 in writing from a sprint store after you paid for a pre-order?
I will go to 20 sprint stores in my area if one will do that for me.
THANKS!!
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Sprint sent out the announcement email with the $450 price, and many people have had them confirm it via support.
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Yeah, I've printed a copy of that announcement from a link someone posted to be safe but what I'm most concerned with is trying to get a pre-order confirmed at that price. I don't want to have to wake up crazy early and then hope that they don't try to screw me that morning of by telling me they are only selling to upgrade customers since those are the people they make money off of. That could very well happen, that's exactly why I want to pre-order.

Appears that corp stores are NOT taking pre-orders. If anyone finds out different please post about your story.
Thanks

Will bb price match?

Verizon Galaxy Tab $399 @ BestBuy

I just picked up the GT at BestBuy for $399. The sale price is $499, but reduced to $399 if you sign up for the $20 month-to-month plan in the store. So, you're actually picking it up for $419 if you cancel your 3G after the first month.
I think the deal ends 1/29, but check out this weeks flyer. I was holding out for a better deal then the orignal $599. Granted, there's a bunch of newer tabs coming in a few months, but maybe I can wait for those tabs to come down in price too!!

I got one from Costco for $399 also. Went with them because they had a 90 days return policy. Did you have to pay the $35 Activation fee that you are supposed to get back as rebate from Verizon? Also, how can we get that $60 in movies free? Did you get that?
kenyu73 said:
I just picked up the GT at BestBuy for $399. The sale price is $499, but reduced to $399 if you sign up for the $20 month-to-month plan in the store. So, you're actually picking it up for $419 if you cancel your 3G after the first month.
I think the deal ends 1/29, but check out this weeks flyer. I was holding out for a better deal then the orignal $599. Granted, there's a bunch of newer tabs coming in a few months, but maybe I can wait for those tabs to come down in price too!!
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I dont think I got hit with an activation fee...!?! I hope not. That may be just a Verizon store activation, I think BestBuy waives activations fees.
I'm not familiar with any other bonuses or extras.

Wow. he's right. I just checked Bestbuy's weekly ad and the deal is legit. Figures, considering the fact that I just paid $400 for mine off some guy on Craigslist. I knew they were going to come down in price, I just didn't think it would be that fast. I would think that the Verizon one would require a contract at that price, but apparently not.

Did anyone actually get one of these for $399? I think I'm going to swing by today.

I just returned my iPad and got the Tab for $399.00 on Verizon at Best Buy! I could not resist! its a 14 Day return policy and i may (May) return the tab for the Xoom. Oh and there is no activation fee

Anderdroid said:
Did anyone actually get one of these for $399? I think I'm going to swing by today.
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Yup. I bought my tab feom bestbuy. Verizon. 399
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Got mine at Costco
Yup got mine at Costco 399, no contract whatsoever. They originally activated it for the month to month plan and they told me I could call and cancel that day, I called that night and they said it required data, so instead they disconnected the line and I just disabled the vzw data, its basically a wifi tab now. No activation fee, no data charge and 90 day return policy so when new tab 2 comes out or *cough* *cough* iPad 2 who knows what might happen.
I'm new to the Galaxy Tab anyone want to point me in the direction of a good custom ROM? I'm not sure about those locked bootloaders on the GSM tabs does that affect the vzw tabs? I plan to use this in my car as a video and music device with my stereo deck, it seems to fit my radio slot perfectly. I have so far rooted and modified the WPA_Supplicant file to tether my tab to my iPhone via MyWi.

They have the Sprint version for the same price, difference is it has a White back versus the Black back of the Verizon one.
I picked up the Sprint Galaxy Tab with the 2GB $30 month to month plan. I was thinking about canceling after the first month, but I might just keep the plan.
I love this thing.
I already have the Captivate, but the screen size makes it a killer piece of hardware.
It should hold me over for a long while until the Dual Core 4G Android tablets come out, even then with the Xoom being $800, I'll pass.

That's why I bought the Verizon Tab. I passed last year when they were $599, but couldn't resist getting it for $399 at BestBuy. I sold my 32gb iPad and my Archos 70 on Craigslist for almost $600 between the two, so I'm in the (+) for $200 (=.
I'll grab one of the Android 3.0 tablets in the summer when they drop in price some. I'm sure they'll probably be on 3.1 by then only because 3.0 was redesigned from the ground up(according to Google). There's bound to be a few critical bugs and a patch or two soon after.

d4yd4y said:
They have the Sprint version for the same price, difference is it has a White back versus the Black back of the Verizon one.
I picked up the Sprint Galaxy Tab with the 2GB $30 month to month plan. I was thinking about canceling after the first month, but I might just keep the plan.
I love this thing.
I already have the Captivate, but the screen size makes it a killer piece of hardware.
It should hold me over for a long while until the Dual Core 4G Android tablets come out, even then with the Xoom being $800, I'll pass.
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How did you get the Sprint Tab at $399? Where did you purchase? I'm assuming you bought it used from a third party? I picked it up from Sprint at the $299 price for the 2 year contract on the $30 plan (didn't know you could go month to month unless you bought it used off someone else).
I'm still within the 30 day return period so I'm trying to figure if it's worth it to get the Verizon Tab or just stick with Sprint. The only thing killing me is I don't want to be tied down to a contract.

Lindarose84 said:
How did you get the Sprint Tab at $399? Where did you purchase? I'm assuming you bought it used from a third party? I picked it up from Sprint at the $299 price for the 2 year contract on the $30 plan (didn't know you could go month to month unless you bought it used off someone else).
I'm still within the 30 day return period so I'm trying to figure if it's worth it to get the Verizon Tab or just stick with Sprint. The only thing killing me is I don't want to be tied down to a contract.
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Verizon offers month to month, no activation fee, 20 bucks a month for 1 gig, 399 price tag on unit. Id take that sprint one back and purchase the verizon tab. Cause you so know when the new tabs come out your not gonna wanna be tied to a 2 year contract. It'll eat ya alive
Course if im not mistaken sprint charges a 70 dollar restocking fee if you return thier tab. Seems I read that somewhere but I could be mistaken
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Regarding the activation fee, did you have to pay it at Costco? How did that work? Did Verizon refund you the fee?
s01932 said:
No activation fee, no data charge and 90 day return policy so when new tab 2 comes out or *cough* *cough* iPad 2 who knows what might happen.
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gigadigit said:
Regarding the activation fee, did you have to pay it at Costco? How did that work? Did Verizon refund you the fee?
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I didn't pay it at all, Costco had me activate the service month-to-month in the the store by calling Verizon, but when I got home to cancel the service, the representative said the plan is required and I asked how do i get rid of the data then? I was told they would have to disconnect the line, and I asked if their would be any fees applied and he said there shouldn't. So long as I do not see any bill a month from now I think im safe .

3G is assigned a cell "number" so you can use 3G at the month-to-month rate. You cant receive calls with it, but you can receive text messages according to your Verizon package (which is 10 cents per msg by default i think).
There is no contract, you CAN cancel any time and YES they do need to deactivate your 3G number to cancel the service which is free.
However, if you want 3G back on it again, there may be a activation fee.

Worry Free Guarantee

I know this has been discussed vaguely. However, I can't find any information on whether the same policy applies to month-to-month contracts. I went through the Verizon site and fine print to no avail.
AFAIK, the Worry Free Guarantee Verizon has ensures that if you cancel your new contract before 30 days.. though I read somewhere it's 60 days, you avoid any ETF fees and pay restocking/pro-rated monthly fee. This makes me think that the only way to cancel the data plan in the first month.. say as you walk out of Best Buy , you must return the device? I will pay the month if I must, but I would like some more solid info ahead of time. Thoughts?

Thing is, I think that guarantee is only for items on a contract. The Xoom isn't on a contract and is only month-to-month. Yes, you can cancel the service, but you don't have to return the Xoom.
Some have even said if you cancel within 72 hours (3 days) that the activation fee is even refunded, but that I doubt since it's at the discretion of the seller / activator, not the provider (Verizon) right? The $20 for the month of service I can see refunded, but can't imagine the activation fee would be.

Sirchuk said:
Thing is, I think that guarantee is only for items on a contract. The Xoom isn't on a contract and is only month-to-month. Yes, you can cancel the service, but you don't have to return the Xoom.
Some have even said if you cancel within 72 hours (3 days) that the activation fee is even refunded, but that I doubt since it's at the discretion of the seller / activator, not the provider (Verizon) right? The $20 for the month of service I can see refunded, but can't imagine the activation fee would be.
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Yea I just wish I could find some solid information on that. There is info on the 2 year contract guarantee, but I can't find squat on the month-to-month refund. I also wonder how reasonable they will be about it. I don't want to pay for even 1 day of data because of data used during activation. The first thing I plan to do is turn off the 3G.
I don't know about the activation fee. I doubt it since under a 2 year contract you still pay the activation fee if you return it within the grace period.
This whole thing is driving me a little nuts to be honest. I really wish they would just announce as a surprise that they would release a WiFi only version the same time as the 3G. I am quite shocked that Google would allow their first tablet to be an 800$ tablet that cost 200$ more than a WiFi only version because of the 3g/4g and be on the most expensive carrier in the states. When they used T-Mobile for their first phone I thought it was because they were smart and wanted consumers to have affordable options. Like the revolutionary idea of offering a 20$ discount on monthly service if you purchased the phone unsubsidized. I think it should be illegal to charge the same price on a unsubsidized device or that when a 2 year contract ends, your price should go down if you don't get a new subsidized device.
Verizon missed out on the iPhone, and they have regretted it ever since. Because of that they seem to be getting exclusives on EVERYTHING now. The xoom, the xperia play. Everything I have been excited about has been Verizon, or the second worse AT&T. I know that lack of significant exclusivity is probably one of the reasons Sprint is cheap, but after the Kyocera announcement I wonder if the CEOs of some of these companies are actually retarded. Who thought that was a good idea. Okay I'm off topic..

If I'm not mistaking verizon just changed their policy to 14 days. As said though the xoom will be month to month.
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When I worked for Verizon and T-mo, if you cancelled w/in the specific time period there was no activation fee or data fee. Activation fees typically comes on the first bill, not through whoever is selling it - so to my understanding you should be able to cancel after walking out the door and not have to pay for either of them - but I guess I'll find out Thursday for sure. You won't have to return the device either if you are not buying it on contract.
Also, I highly doubt you will find info from Verizon/motorola/best buy about the month to month. They don't want you to know you can cancel and not pay them, plus best buy doesn't get paid on it unless you keep the data for at least 2 months.

Slimgym20 said:
When I worked for Verizon and T-mo, if you cancelled w/in the specific time period there was no activation fee or data fee. Activation fees typically comes on the first bill, not through whoever is selling it - so to my understanding you should be able to cancel after walking out the door and not have to pay for either of them - but I guess I'll find out Thursday for sure. You won't have to return the device either if you are not buying it on contract.
Also, I highly doubt you will find info from Verizon/motorola/best buy about the month to month. They don't want you to know you can cancel and not pay them, plus best buy doesn't get paid on it unless you keep the data for at least 2 months.
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Good to know. I suppose that reintroduces the question of how is the wifi locked. Is it actually locked in some way that has to be unlocked OTA... I can't see this being the case because what about 6 months down the road when you have to do a factory restore. You can't be expected to pay for service just to use the device again.

setite said:
Good to know. I suppose that reintroduces the question of how is the wifi locked. Is it actually locked in some way that has to be unlocked OTA... I can't see this being the case because what about 6 months down the road when you have to do a factory restore. You can't be expected to pay for service just to use the device again.
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I'm thinking it not actually "locked." I think they are just saying you have to buy data with it, could be wrong though. If it is actually locked, use the data connection to get the OTA than call and cancel. I can't imagine they would lock out wifi for a full month - one gig isn't much.

Amazon has the Atrix for $.01 (as in one cent)!

Obviously with a contract, but that's kind of a given.
Does anybody think this will last? My family is switching to AT&T on July 7th or 8th, and I've had my eye on the Atrix for weeks already. Of course, the recent bootloader unlocking has made me even more anxious, but cash is pretty tight for me right now, and I'd gladly wait a while longer to save $100.
I'm new here, so I can't post a link, but it should be easy enough to find.

Thanks for the notice!!. Thanks to you I now has teh Atrix

Glad I could help!
I just hope it lasts long enough to get in on the deal myself. I haven't seen anything on the site that indicates that it's a sale or temporary promotion, but I can't imagine this lasting for two more weeks
Edit: Right after I posted this I saw the news update on Brief Mobile, which says the Atrix price is permanently dropped to $.01!!!

Does anybody know if you could get it at this price and use it as an upgrade? the $150 price for family upgrade is harsh.

AudioMaster13 said:
Does anybody know if you could get it at this price and use it as an upgrade? the $150 price for family upgrade is harsh.
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Unfortunately it looks like the family upgrade price is still $150. Here's the rundown for the 6 choices:
New Customers
- Individual = .01
- Family = .01
Existing Customers
~Upgrade
- Individual = 30.00
- Family = 150.00
- Add a Line = .01
Replacement
- 600.00
I'm a little surprised (while at the same time, not at all) that's how AT&T handles upgrades. Verizon always upgraded us for the "new contract" prices on our family plan. Kinda makes me not look forward to 2 years from now

I want to get one for my g/f. Her contract is up today. Can't I change our acct to individual, buy the phone, then change it back to family next week or something?

Wow this is crazy, why couldn't they have done this like 3 months ago? Oh well can't complain too much I still got it for half the price AT&T wanted when I got mine from Amazon in March. Good find, always good to help people find out awesome things like this bring more people to the best phone I've ever owned.

Since no one is posting about it, do know that Amazon will leverage an additional $250 early termination fee if you terminate service in the first 6 months.
I figured I'd post just in case anyone was planning on buying just to terminate early and get the phone for less than the ~$500 it retails for off contract.

Did the price match in AT&T store...

LetItBe44 said:
Did the price match in AT&T store...
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You can do that? We went to the store the other day to ask some questions about it and they gave us some bull about how AT&T pays Amazon the difference or some nonsense.
So is it only at some stores? Or even employees?

Why should AT&T price match Amazon? Doesn't make any sense to me. Amazon's price isn't a discount, it is levying an additional contract on top of the one you sign with the carrier. Someone is paying them to do it, my guess is the carriers.
It's not like we're talking a major price difference here, why screw someone to get that price?

A Great Note 8.0 Customer Service Story - AT&T

So last night, I decided to go to an AT&T store to buy an LTE Note 8.0 only to find that the first three of the corporate stores I called didn't have any in stock. Finally, the fourth store I called had two left. So I went over there fully expecting to pay the full unlocked $499 price. To me, it didn't make sense to lock myself in for two years when I'd only save $100 over full retail.
When I walked in, though, I was helped by the store manager. He gets the tablet for me and then goes to look up my account info so he could convert my plan to a MobileShare. He saw that I bought a Galaxy S4 about 40 days ago and, much to my surprise, offered me the smartphone bundle promotion, which meant I could get the tablet on contract for $199. I knew about the promotion but just assumed I wouldn't qualify since I bought the phone before the Note 8.0 even launched.
Needless to say, saving $300 over full retail WAS enough to get me to go contract. There's great customer service and then there's the service I received last night. The manager totally didn't have to do that for me but offered without me even asking. :good:

Awesome! Gratz to hear about your saving. Att never did me wrong, even when they rep accidentally took away my unlimited data, I just call customer service and they just me back on unlimited data.

I had a similar experience. I purchased an S4 but the Note 8 available when I purchased it. When it was to be released by AT&T my AT&T Sales person called me to let me know it would be available on the morrow and they had 5 in the store and further that even though I had purchased my S4 16 days previous AT&T would give me the promo bundle price of $199.00. That is stellar service in my opinion.
Bruce

cataloochee said:
I had a similar experience. I purchased an S4 but the Note 8 available when I purchased it. When it was to be released by AT&T my AT&T Sales person called me to let me know it would be available on the morrow and they had 5 in the store and further that even though I had purchased my S4 16 days previous AT&T would give me the promo bundle price of $199.00. That is stellar service in my opinion.
Bruce
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lol. Dealers do this all the time. They get people into promotions (most which they can find a way to make happen so long as its not too far outside the box).
The dealer did not do it to be helpful, which is the sad thing. Dealers, including managers, make more commission off contracts than they do off devices. So he would have made more commission still with that contract than having you spend money on devices. They do this because the company makes more money having you pay the monthly service cost than by having you buy a full cost phone or tablet.
In essence, it takes a company 18-24 months to make back the subsidized cost of a device. That means that 199 bucks you paid, you will pay back the missing 300 bucks on the plan after typically 18 months. Then they get 6 months of profit. So you do actually pay for the device for full cost anyways.,,,and they just extended out how long between upgrades and by the time you get around to actually being eligible for upgrade they may be extending it out further. The current discussions in the industry are talking about 3 year contracts and 2+ year upgrades.
What you have to consider is the lifetime cost of service and the device. They want you to buy a tablet. It makes you pay for their service, instead of just tethering your phone to the tablet. Tethering is cheaper, not contracts, and you wind up paying A LOT LESS even if you pay full cost for the device.
Truth is that ATT customers typically pay close to 1-2K more than many of the carriers that charge full cost for a device. Basically that 300 bucks you saved cost you at least a grand more in the end, and the manager who was "helping" you basically just weasled you into a contract where you will pay more for a separate plan for the tablet instead of just using cheaper tethering options (considering you still share data regardless) and he just got a good commission out of you.
Sad but true. You just got suckered.
How do I know? Nearly 7 years working in the wireless industry. Some of that time with AT&T and a great deal of that time with retail agents and retail policy.
I'm not trying to be a downer, but I hate AT&T dealers. After working for them for so long, Ive come to find that just about every single dealer if about as underhanded as a used car salesman trying to sell you a lemon and convince you its a ferrari. I used to see the dealers in my home town and my normal reaction to them is equivalent to the thought of "you sick bastard."
I do not know how many "deals" a dealer has done that I have had to fix, but typically even if their promises are kept they still use you and screw you over.
Ive even heard dealer chatter. How they talk about customers and think of customers as no more than a mark to be scammed so they can get their next commission. Ive seen more respect for their "victims" from the criminals on "to catch a predator."

phoenixbennu said:
lol. Dealers do this all the time. They get people into promotions (most which they can find a way to make happen so long as its not too far outside the box).
The dealer did not do it to be helpful, which is the sad thing. Dealers, including managers, make more commission off contracts than they do off devices. So he would have made more commission still with that contract than having you spend money on devices. They do this because the company makes more money having you pay the monthly service cost than by having you buy a full cost phone or tablet.
In essence, it takes a company 18-24 months to make back the subsidized cost of a device. That means that 199 bucks you paid, you will pay back the missing 300 bucks on the plan after typically 18 months. Then they get 6 months of profit. So you do actually pay for the device for full cost anyways.,,,and they just extended out how long between upgrades and by the time you get around to actually being eligible for upgrade they may be extending it out further. The current discussions in the industry are talking about 3 year contracts and 2+ year upgrades.
What you have to consider is the lifetime cost of service and the device. They want you to buy a tablet. It makes you pay for their service, instead of just tethering your phone to the tablet. Tethering is cheaper, not contracts, and you wind up paying A LOT LESS even if you pay full cost for the device.
Truth is that ATT customers typically pay close to 1-2K more than many of the carriers that charge full cost for a device. Basically that 300 bucks you saved cost you at least a grand more in the end, and the manager who was "helping" you basically just weasled you into a contract where you will pay more for a separate plan for the tablet instead of just using cheaper tethering options (considering you still share data regardless) and he just got a good commission out of you.
Sad but true. You just got suckered.
How do I know? Nearly 7 years working in the wireless industry. Some of that time with AT&T and a great deal of that time with retail agents and retail policy.
I'm not trying to be a downer, but I hate AT&T dealers. After working for them for so long, Ive come to find that just about every single dealer if about as underhanded as a used car salesman trying to sell you a lemon and convince you its a ferrari. I used to see the dealers in my home town and my normal reaction to them is equivalent to the thought of "you sick bastard."
I do not know how many "deals" a dealer has done that I have had to fix, but typically even if their promises are kept they still use you and screw you over.
Ive even heard dealer chatter. How they talk about customers and think of customers as no more than a mark to be scammed so they can get their next commission. Ive seen more respect for their "victims" from the criminals on "to catch a predator."
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While your statements are true they are not necessarily accurate. The only way a person would have been "suckered" is if he didn't know what you describe. But almost all consumers realize that there is no free lunch and that the choice of purchasing outright or monthly result in the full price of the device being paid. The only difference is when payment accrues and how much the final cost will be. No different than purchasing a vehicle or a home.
In addition, the accuracy of your claim of being suckered depends on whether the purchaser bought because of the lower initial price or because he wanted the device in any case. In my case I had already decided to purchase the Note 8 from AT&T and only awaited the availability of the Note 8 at AT&T as I wanted the LTE data option. Thus, my only decision was whether to pay full price or add a two year contract to my account. Since I would have to have a data plan from AT&T to use the LTE feature in any case I needed to have an additional phone line. So I was able to get the regular discounted price or pay full price plus the new line costs (these I would pay no matter how I purchased the device and would last as long as I wanted to use the device). With the additional bundle price I decided to purchase at $199 instead of $399. Of course I realize I will pay full price over the next 24 months including the premium for purchasing by installment. But I knew that, considered it, and choose to do it. Thus, I made a considered decision and was not "suckered".
And clearly the sales staff is trying to sell devices and services that bring them the greatest commission. That's what they do for a living. The consumer knows that too. Maybe the real "suckers" are those sales people that think that they are being really "sharp".
Bruce

cataloochee said:
While your statements are true they are not necessarily accurate. The only way a person would have been "suckered" is if he didn't know what you describe. But almost all consumers realize that there is no free lunch and that the choice of purchasing outright or monthly result in the full price of the device being paid. The only difference is when payment accrues and how much the final cost will be. No different than purchasing a vehicle or a home.
In addition, the accuracy of your claim of being suckered depends on whether the purchaser bought because of the lower initial price or because he wanted the device in any case. In my case I had already decided to purchase the Note 8 from AT&T and only awaited the availability of the Note 8 at AT&T as I wanted the LTE data option. Thus, my only decision was whether to pay full price or add a two year contract to my account. Since I would have to have a data plan from AT&T to use the LTE feature in any case I needed to have an additional phone line. So I was able to get the regular discounted price or pay full price plus the new line costs (these I would pay no matter how I purchased the device and would last as long as I wanted to use the device). With the additional bundle price I decided to purchase at $199 instead of $399. Of course I realize I will pay full price over the next 24 months including the premium for purchasing by installment. But I knew that, considered it, and choose to do it. Thus, I made a considered decision and was not "suckered".
And clearly the sales staff is trying to sell devices and services that bring them the greatest commission. That's what they do for a living. The consumer knows that too. Maybe the real "suckers" are those sales people that think that they are being really "sharp".
Bruce
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Same here. I don't feel suckered. I walked into the AT&T store fully planning on paying $499 full retail for the tablet. The contract price was $399 and it wasn't worth it to me to lock myself in for 2 years purely to save $100 off retail. However, when I was offered $199 for the tablet, now we're talking about saving $300 over retail up front and that WAS worth it to me as far as locking myself in for two years. I was able to put the $300 toward something else and I love having an LTE tablet. Win-win. It's only being "suckered" if you're led to believe one thing and something different actually happens. I knew what I was getting into.

oldblue910 said:
Same here. I don't feel suckered. I walked into the AT&T store fully planning on paying $499 full retail for the tablet. The contract price was $399 and it wasn't worth it to me to lock myself in for 2 years purely to save $100 off retail. However, when I was offered $199 for the tablet, now we're talking about saving $300 over retail up front and that WAS worth it to me as far as locking myself in for two years. I was able to put the $300 toward something else and I love having an LTE tablet. Win-win. It's only being "suckered" if you're led to believe one thing and something different actually happens. I knew what I was getting into.
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"You can lead them to the water but you can't make them drink" Of course you know they will, because they're thirsty!!

Nice that's great that they took care of you.. In reality I think you came out on top because if they switched you to mobile share you are only payin $10 a month for that line being locked in for the next 2 years would be $240 so by being in contract you actually get the device for $60 less than full retail.. Great stuff had a similar experience and that's what pushed me over the edge to get it