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
Related
Hey everyone
So like a lot of people I was an early adopter of the device and purchased it right away on a new 3 year term for 169.
I was a previous client so i had gone through retention and had recieved an additional 50 on my phone so i only paid about 120.
Today Bell released a new promotion for the phone a 3 year term to sell for 69.
I called up bell right away spoke to customer service and retention. The issue is that according to them this limited discount is for new activations only. which is pretty bs if you ask me but in any case these are the current options without spending hours on the phone with retention and actually getting the discount.
You can return the phone now for "buyers remorse" and resign and get the phone at the reduced priced. the problem is you lose the right to grandfather yourself in with your prior plan. so it means you lose all you had before.
In my case i went through retention and recieved quite a few reductions and changes. if i went back for the discounted new price, id be signing a new contract and new terms.
Basically if youre new to bell it works fine to go and do this. if youre a previous customer it may not be in your best interest to try to save the 100. obviously its aggravating but its the price we pay to be the first!
Other than that you can probably sit and complain and speak to a supervisor to get the additional 100 which in all honesty i did not have the patience to do considering i spent 4 hours total on the phone wit them the day of to get the phone!
I'm guessing that Bell's massive marketing efforts didn't convince enough people to buy it at $169.99.
It'd be nice if the off contract price got reduced to $499. I bet you a lot of people that bought it for $599 would go and return their phone to buy it back at the reduce price, lol.
I bought my Atrix on release day. I called customer service and in less than 15 minutes had my account credited the $100 difference. It was easier than I thought.
Sent from my Atrix using Tapatalk.
Good to know about the price redeuction. Anyone selling on Kijiji will also have to reduce their sell price. Might be a good time to buy one off contract through a Kijiji seller. Oh and don't worry, I have bought and sold enough phones on Kijiji so I know a "Like New" or "BNIB" box scenario all too well. If it's not factory sealed, don't touch it. And if the box is open, then the offer gets reduced.
Price is again 169.95
Do you think a sale will happen any time soon again?!!!
yeah its back up to $169 at bell and best buy.
Guess it was a short promotion.
Glad I got mine for 0$ on the last day.
Qualcomm announced the next generation in Snapdragon – the S4 series scheduled for 2012. This new chipset brings the manufacturing process from 45nm to 28nm...... this is a big improvement. Clock speeds can go from 1.5GHz to 2.5GHz.
Here is the link if you want to read Phandroid's write up :
http://phandroid.com/2011/10/10/qualcomms-snapdragon-s4-chips-look-to-amaze-consumers-in-2012/
Here is the PDF from Qualcom for you techies:
Damn I wish smartphones were cheaper so I could buy a new one like every 6 months. 200 unsubsidized every six months would be perfect, but 500-600 is too much.
No reason for smartphones to cost 600 bucks when you can buy an Ivy Bridge laptop for 500 bucks.
It's the carriers fault, the carrier and their contracts gives no reason for manufacturers to lower prices on full retail pricing, not when you have the carrier paying you full price. Ahhhhh
I want the nexus prime then 6 months later I want a phone with this chipset!
SamsungVibrant said:
Damn I wish smartphones were cheaper so I could buy a new one like every 6 months. 200 unsubsidized every six months would be perfect, but 500-600 is too much.
No reason for smartphones to cost 600 bucks when you can buy an Ivy Bridge laptop for 500 bucks.
It's the carriers fault, the carrier and their contracts gives no reason for manufacturers to lower prices on full retail pricing, not when you have the carrier paying you full price. Ahhhhh
I want the nexus prime then 6 months later I want a phone with this chipset!
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Exactly!
Sent from my SGH-T959 using xda premium
I agree phones cost too much, but then...that's capitalism..... I am going to get an S2 in a couple of days and then get Prime after that........ I wouldn't worry about the S4 chip-set too much probably will not be out until this time next year. I save my change every day and on average at the end of a year I have about 700 bucks, I then use that to get my android toys or whatever. This year is a short year I just weighed my quarters (1Lb =18.60) a Little over 32 lbs or 600 bucks....... but now I will have no money for parking.........
Well, the iPhone and most Android phones cost the manufacturer's $190-$250 to produce. Then they sell them to your carrier and make their profit. After that, your carrier subsidizes the cost of the phone to you for what, $199-$299?
Let's review. If it costs a manufacturer, say $200 to make their device, and they sell it to a carrier for $300 and that carrier sells it to you for $249 with a 2 year contract, how much money did the carrier make on the sale of the phone?
I can understand the pricing for non-contract phones. I can understand ETF's. If a customer buys a subsidized phone and jumps ship with no ETF/Penalty, the carrier is literally losing money.
I don't do contracts. I plan for what I want to buy, save for it, and bite the bullet. I paid full price from my Vibrant on day 1. Is it expensive? Yeah, sure, but there's this notion that smart phones cost $20 to make and the rest is an eleventy billion percent mark up, and that's not true. Do carriers jump that price WAY up? Yeah, absolutely, but it's a business move to try and get the consumer to sign a contract. If a customer is on contract, there's incentive for them to stay and the opportunity to make additional profit through the cost of the plan and any overage charges, accessory purchases.
KWKSLVR said:
Well, the iPhone and most Android phones cost the manufacturer's $190-$250 to produce. Then they sell them to your carrier and make their profit. After that, your carrier subsidizes the cost of the phone to you for what, $199-$299?
Let's review. If it costs a manufacturer, say $200 to make their device, and they sell it to a carrier for $300 and that carrier sells it to you for $249 with a 2 year contract, how much money did the carrier make on the sale of the phone?
I can understand the pricing for non-contract phones. I can understand ETF's. If a customer buys a subsidized phone and jumps ship with no ETF/Penalty, the carrier is literally losing money.
I don't do contracts. I plan for what I want to buy, save for it, and bite the bullet. I paid full price from my Vibrant on day 1. Is it expensive? Yeah, sure, but there's this notion that smart phones cost $20 to make and the rest is an eleventy billion percent mark up, and that's not true. Do carriers jump that price WAY up? Yeah, absolutely, but it's a business move to try and get the consumer to sign a contract. If a customer is on contract, there's incentive for them to stay and the opportunity to make additional profit through the cost of the plan and any overage charges, accessory purchases.
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Totally agree and that's why I have not been under contract either I pay full price (minus my negotiating skill discount) over 2 years it is actually cheaper.
The other thing people may want to know say you have a brother/friend etc who doesn't over use their plan. If all the stars line up and work out right, you put him on your plan (20-30 extra per month) and you get the phone for 1/2 price even if you are on a non contract plan. If you brother/friend turns out to be a flake and never pays you after a year you dump him and you paid about 20 bucks less for the phone overall...........if he pays you say 50 bucks a month over a year you end up with the phone essentially free...... but remember a saving like this in this scenario is highly reliant all things working as the should perfectly....... and you know how often that happens ................
I used to try and get a good price, and through all my years at T-Mobile, I actually have in the past on more than one occasion. These days, it's harder to get a manager to come off of a phone. I really think that once they got bought out the last time corporate policy put the clamps down on it some.
I'm not a wasteful person anyway so paying full price for a smart phone every 18-24 months is one of the few things I splurge on. It's definitely cheaper in the long run on T-Mobile since your plan is cheaper. Shoot, I'm still on an EM+ plan. Sadly, I'll probably have to bite the bullet and move to VZW soon since I need a larger network and that's where the real raping begins.
Bell in Canada offered my an "upgrade" when I bought my own phone at full price
Got a funny call from a Bell marketer here in Canada. They only offer reasonable discounts on phones if you sign a 3 year contract. So a phone will be like $649.00 for no term, $599.00 for 2 years, and $99 for 3 years.
I ordered my own unlocked GT-i9100 Galaxy S2 from Amazon for $575.00 so I wouldn't get locked in. I got the phone in November of last year. it is not even a year old. As if I can going to let them lock me in now.
They actually called me to tell me about new hardware I might be interested in. This was my chance to tell them precisely what I thought about 3 year contracts (they are grossly unfair to the consumer and should be illegal, which I believe they are in many countries). I wasn't rude, but I was quite explicit about how I felt about their abuse of Canadian customers. I told them that I would be purchasing new hardware at full price again in November 2013 (exactly 2 years after I bought my GT-i9100). At that point the marketer knew I was a dead end and ended the call.
The sad thing (and the reason that I am posting this) is that I discovered that VERY few Canadians try this route (BYOD to avoid the draconian and abusive contracts). Seriously, if you can afford the up front cost, its better never to sign another 3 year contract again. Bell was nice enough to offer me a $10 BYOD discount which is why I am still with them. But yeah, the other two carriers transferred me around endlessly because they were very unfamiliar with how to deal with a BYOD customer. Sad.
The whole focus of the big 3 in Canada is to lock people in for the 3 years. Don't fall for it, there are better options. There are a number of resellers on the web that will sell you an unlocked phone. Of course, if they had decent 2 year contracts I wouldn't complain about that. The AWS carriers are sadly not an option because I tried them, and the 1700MHz spectrum does not penetrate my office at work at all, and also I have to travel outside their tiny zones.
Well, many Americans will be going this route now with the idiocy VZ is pulling, likely to be copied by AT&T eventually. The funny thing is that if carriers wouldn't act so foolishly they could continue raking in the cash but their own gouging is going to be what ends up bringing about more and more customers unwilling to do anything more than month to month as seen in much of Europe.
Phones are subsidized.
For example, you get a Fab 10 plan from Bell:
$35 + $30 (6GB) for Fab 10 + 6 GB + 200 mins + 6pm = $65.
$65 x 12 = $780.00.
If they give you an iPhone for $199 on a 1-year, and you leave after the year, you have a $650 phone, while paying a little under $1000. In other words, you've paid $25/month for your phone service for the year to get that plan.
They just can't have that, and those under 35 usually want the best phones out there in this country. Its just the way it is.
I still owe like $400 on my LG G4, so I guess technically I dont even own my phone.
How many of you will be rooting and flashing even though youre on a next plan?
What happens when youre on an AT&T Next 12 plan and you go to hand your phone in 12 months from now?
This is when you restore the device back to factory and they are non-the-wiser about any of it.
.....They really do not go out of their way to discover if you rooted or not (at least around here they don't).
Z3ldaFan88 said:
This is when you restore the device back to factory and they are non-the-wiser about any of it.
.....They really do not go out of their way to discover if you rooted or not (at least around here they don't).
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I see that there is a KDZ from porto rico for the ATT, and there is not yet a TOT. What is the difference between KDZ and TOT, will they remove your custom TWRP recovery partition?
Wing_Zero_Custom said:
I still owe like $400 on my LG G4, so I guess technically I dont even own my phone.
How many of you will be rooting and flashing even though youre on a next plan?
What happens when youre on an AT&T Next 12 plan and you go to hand your phone in 12 months from now?
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Click to collapse
You guys really need to look into second hand devices. I bought my Verizon G4 (unlocked and can be used on AT&T) off Swappa for $360. It's like new and came with the original box, accessories, and a case.
If you don't have the cash up front, set up a credit card with your PayPal account and make the same monthly payments that you would be paying to the phone carrier. Only difference is now you're paying about half of the price you would be originally and you OWN the phone. Something new comes out..... Pick it up off Swappa (or CL, celltraderonline.com, eBay, Amazon, etc) and sell your old one on a similar outlet. There's even Facebook pages devoted to buying/selling phones.
I haven't been under contract with Verizon (mainly because of my grandfathered unlimited data) for years. I own/use every new device that comes out and most of the time I make a few bucks when I sell the old one. I can't understand why people pay full price for a phone, or finance it just to trade in on another one. We pay high cell phone rates in the U.S. because carriers subsidize phones. If we're paying the high rates AND paying full price for phones, that's a win-win for them.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Josh_Walker said:
You guys really need to look into second hand devices. I bought my Verizon G4 (unlocked and can be used on AT&T) off Swappa for $360. It's like new and came with the original box, accessories, and a case.
If you don't have the cash up front, set up a credit card with your PayPal account and make the same monthly payments that you would be paying to the phone carrier. Only difference is now you're paying about half of the price you would be originally and you OWN the phone. Something new comes out..... Pick it up off Swappa (or CL, celltraderonline.com, eBay, Amazon, etc) and sell your old one on a similar outlet. There's even Facebook pages devoted to buying/selling phones.
I haven't been under contract with Verizon (mainly because of my grandfathered unlimited data) for years. I own/use every new device that comes out and most of the time I make a few bucks when I sell the old one. I can't understand why people pay full price for a phone, or finance it just to trade in on another one. We pay high cell phone rates in the U.S. because carriers subsidize phones. If we're paying the high rates AND paying full price for phones, that's a win-win for them.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
Yeah for the record I really regret doing their plan. I way overpaid for my device.
If I sell it and pay the phone off ill be out an extra couple hundred bucks. The best I can do now is pay it off early and own it. Either that or just keep paying the minimum payment and then hand it over after 12 months for a brand new flagship but then be back in the same exact spot as before.
The key here I learned is patience. Let the flagship come out, wait 2 months and then hit Swappa.
I think ill pay off the device early in a few months and then go crazy with flashing and the like.
If anyone is interested on how hard I was bent over:
LG H810
Equipment Price:$669.99
Down Payment:$201.00
Amount Financed:$468.99
Installment 1 of 28 06/04 $16.75
Balance Remaining after Current Installment: $452.24
Josh_Walker said:
You guys really need to look into second hand devices. I bought my Verizon G4 (unlocked and can be used on AT&T) off Swappa for $360. It's like new and came with the original box, accessories, and a case.
If you don't have the cash up front, set up a credit card with your PayPal account and make the same monthly payments that you would be paying to the phone carrier. Only difference is now you're paying about half of the price you would be originally and you OWN the phone. Something new comes out..... Pick it up off Swappa (or CL, celltraderonline.com, eBay, Amazon, etc) and sell your old one on a similar outlet. There's even Facebook pages devoted to buying/selling phones.
I haven't been under contract with Verizon (mainly because of my grandfathered unlimited data) for years. I own/use every new device that comes out and most of the time I make a few bucks when I sell the old one. I can't understand why people pay full price for a phone, or finance it just to trade in on another one. We pay high cell phone rates in the U.S. because carriers subsidize phones. If we're paying the high rates AND paying full price for phones, that's a win-win for them.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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I agree with this MUCH cheaper. Even though I went through the next program to get my iPhone 6 several months ago, I just paid it off the next day onto my credit card (Got $200 cash back from it lol) SO I had $200 off ON TOP of I got AT&T to pay my phone bill for a month which was another $174. Because of paying it off early, credit card etc. After it was said and done I have about $250 in a brand new iPhone 6.
But anyway even I were to follow the next program it would rip me off by the time that 12 months came, I wouldnt get half of what I could sell it online for.
hyelton said:
I agree with this MUCH cheaper. Even though I went through the next program to get my iPhone 6 several months ago, I just paid it off the next day onto my credit card (Got $200 cash back from it lol) SO I had $200 off ON TOP of I got AT&T to pay my phone bill for a month which was another $174. Because of paying it off early, credit card etc. After it was said and done I have about $250 in a brand new iPhone 6.
But anyway even I were to follow the next program it would rip me off by the time that 12 months came, I wouldnt get half of what I could sell it online for.
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Not sure where youre getting like 30% cash back from, thats insane, also I havent heard of AT&T paying peoples phone bills for early payoffs.
Yeah the used device average sold price on Swappa has already plummeted down to $450, the more I think about my plan of action, ill try and pay off the phone in the next few months so I at least own the damn thing.
How many of you will root your AT&T while youre on a Next plan?
Wing_Zero_Custom said:
Not sure where youre getting like 30% cash back from, thats insane, also I havent heard of AT&T paying peoples phone bills for early payoffs.
Yeah the used device average sold price on Swappa has already plummeted down to $450, the more I think about my plan of action, ill try and pay off the phone in the next few months so I at least own the damn thing.
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Click to collapse
each time I make a large purchase I look for a credit card which gives you so much back for spending a certain amount.
AT&T has a credit card if you spend $2k in 3 months you get up to $650 credit on a phone. So pretty much a free phone.
Also the paying my bill was part of me being able to help me afford the phone. If I didn't buy the phone they wouldn't had credited me it as they couldn't give a discount on the iPhone it's self.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
hyelton said:
each time I make a large purchase I look for a credit card which gives you so much back for spending a certain amount.
AT&T has a credit card if you spend $2k in 3 months you get up to $650 credit on a phone. So pretty much a free phone.
Also the paying my bill was part of me being able to help me afford the phone. If I didn't buy the phone they wouldn't had credited me it as they couldn't give a discount on the iPhone it's self.
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So are you opening and closing credit cards every time you make a large purchase? My Amex only gives me 1-3% cash back on purchases and we use it for almost everything. It seems like they have me $150 the first 3 months for spending a couple grand.
At some point, credit card companies would no longer give you the promos and it would wreck your credit opening and closing cards.
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Josh_Walker said:
If you don't have the cash up front, set up a credit card with your PayPal account and make the same monthly payments that you would be paying to the phone carrier. Only difference is now you're paying about half of the price you would be originally and you OWN the phone. Something new comes out..... Pick it up off Swappa (or CL, celltraderonline.com, eBay, Amazon, etc) and sell your old one on a similar outlet. There's even Facebook pages devoted to buying/selling phones.
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While I agree in the idea of buying second hand devices. I can't speak for other carriers but on AT&Ts Next plan the person outright owns the phone on a 0% finance plan. Yes there are trade in months and such but that's just it, trade in the phone and they recover the cost from a resale. They give you the full financing disclosure showing the 0% Apr and other such disclosures.
Edit: Back on topic. I have Next and I will be rooting tonight.
Also why would someone want to pay off something that is an at cost price of a brand new device financed with 0% with a credit card that will charge financing. Suddenly the device now costs more because of the fact the credit card is likely not 0% Apr.
The only advantage to credit card financing is the ability to trade up whenever you want like you state.
Wing_Zero_Custom said:
If anyone is interested on how hard I was bent over:
LG H810
Equipment Price:$669.99
Down Payment:$201.00
Amount Financed:$468.99
Installment 1 of 28 06/04 $16.75
Balance Remaining after Current Installment: $452.24
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A good ol' prison style raping!
How many of you will root your AT&T while youre on a Next plan?
Josh_Walker said:
So are you opening and closing credit cards every time you make a large purchase? My Amex only gives me 1-3% cash back on purchases and we use it for almost everything. It seems like they have me $150 the first 3 months for spending a couple grand.
At some point, credit card companies would no longer give you the promos and it would wreck your credit opening and closing cards.
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I don't close them. I keep open. I do need to close some old accounts though that are old
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joshw0000 said:
A good ol' prison style raping!
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How? The balance dropped by $16.75 indicating no extra charges meaning 0%apr
CAG-man said:
While I agree in the idea of buying second hand devices. I can't speak for other carriers but on AT&Ts Next plan the person outright owns the phone on a 0% finance plan. Yes there are trade in months and such but that's just it, trade in the phone and they recover the cost from a resale. They give you the full financing disclosure showing the 0% Apr and other such disclosures.
Also why would someone want to pay off something that is an at cost price of a brand new device financed with 0% with a credit card that will charge financing. Suddenly the device now costs more because of the fact the credit card is likely not 0% Apr.
The only advantage to credit card financing is the ability to trade up whenever you want like you state.
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Because buying 2nd hand is typically half the price of buying new. So get a 0% card for 12 months or even one that charges 30% interest. No matter how you look at it, you'll pay less than full retail when it's paid off.
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CAG-man said:
How? The balance dropped by $16.75 indicating no extra charges meaning 0%apr
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Well its true, I am not being charged any interest and I have more spending power right now because of that. I can just hand them $17 a month and use the rest of my paycheck on whatever I want.
But I also overpaid for my device by at least $200 to be able to have that luxury. So technically I paid that interest, just up front.
CAG-man said:
How? The balance dropped by $16.75 indicating no extra charges meaning 0%apr
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Full price @ 0% is still a bad deal IMHO. I sorta look at phones like cars. The MSRP price is the starting price for negotiations. It's the price that no one pays that gives salesmen the ability to say "but this is how much it's really worth, you're getting a great deal".
Overseas carriers don't subsidize plans so their monthly rates are much lower than ours. I can justify full price for those guys, but not in the U.S.
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Wing_Zero_Custom said:
Well its true, I am not being charged any interest and I have more spending power right now because of that. I can just hand them $17 a month and use the rest of my paycheck on whatever I want.
But I also overpaid for my device by at least $200 to be able to have that luxury. So technically I paid that interest, just up front.
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Maybe I'm just a village idiot here, but what is a cheaper price? Lol My Next plan financed this at $650ish on June 5th release day.(i don't have the exact about in front of me) That was the purchase it now price that day. I saw it priced higher on Amazon that day. I don't count eBay or swappa and such.
Josh_Walker said:
Full price @ 0% is still a bad deal IMHO. I sorta look at phones like cars. The MSRP price is the starting price for negotiations. It's the price that no one pays that gives salesmen the ability to say "but this is how much it's really worth, you're getting a great deal".
Overseas carriers don't subsidize plans so their monthly rates are much lower than ours. I can justify full price for those guys, but not in the U.S.
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Its the same with when I bought my car, I had a ton in savings and was only going to finance a very very small part.
So he was pushing low payments on me, saying we can get you this % and this low of a payment, and i straight up told him he could make my payments $600 a month and i wouldnt care because I intended on paying it off very quickly, all I cared about was bottom dollar.
If only I bought my phones with the same mindset!
Wing_Zero_Custom said:
Its the same with when I bought my car, I had a ton in savings and was only going to finance a very very small part.
So he was pushing low payments on me, saying we can get you this % and this low of a payment, and i straight up told him he could make my payments $600 a month and i wouldnt care because I intended on paying it off very quickly, all I cared about was bottom dollar.
If only I bought my phones with the same mindset!
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Sort of same here, A lot just look at the monthly payments, when sometimes they could prob be paying high interest on them.
I was sort of the opposite with my car purchases but I first worked on getting the actual price down, then work out that monthly payment, etc.
The only reason I would use next is if I got a deal OR I must really want a device without waiting for it (Then regret it later) lol.
Heres a couple of choices for those that arent sure what to do.
A) If you returned your old device to ATT per the Next agreement. You may be able to have the Next agreement nullified. You can then purchase a $20 unlocked phone for temp use until next year. Or whenever the next 'superphone' comes out. All the best upgrades are probably happening next year anyhow.
B) If you did NOT return your old device, and sold it for cash, or passed it along to family - you can choose to "upgrade" to the cheapest possible phone (<$99 i believe) and pay it off cash all at once. This would let you have the upgrade available again, immediately for your next superphone.
Either way, you have options. One thing about the first one, you have to really haggle them to get out of the Next agreement. Stick to your guns, as the conditions of that situation mean you aren't owing ATT anything at the moment, and thus shouldn't be forced into purchasing a phone.
My 2 cents.
I'd like to think there's a few more options, such as those who paid their old devices off and kept it, they can get a refund on the Note 7 for what they paid so far and go back to their old device with the upgrade available for when they see a new phone of their liking, This is what I'll be doing once ATT or Samsung sends us notifications about the recall (because, so far, it's "strongly recommended" but voluntary to do so).
I bought the AT&T Note 7 on installments which I guess put me on the "Next" plan. Then I sold the Note 7 on eBay.
Anything cool for me to be able to take advantage of?
CZ Eddie said:
I bought the AT&T Note 7 on installments which I guess put me on the "Next" plan. Then I sold the Note 7 on eBay.
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Why would you do that?
LOL seriously tho, what was the point in upgrading then? You keep 800 or so bucks but pay massive interest in payments to att. Just to be clear the Next plan just rolls the subsidies of the phone into the plan. You wind up paying almost double the cost of the device over the course of the payment period, unless you upgrade in one year. In which case your still paying nearly the full cost of the phone in installments.
I did the BOGO and sold the free one on eBay.. so if I return the one I have I'll no longer get the bogo deal and they'll want the device payments for the other.. so not sure what to do.
Phlip00ws6 said:
I did the BOGO and sold the free one on eBay.. so if I return the one I have I'll no longer get the bogo deal and they'll want the device payments for the other.. so not sure what to do.
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If you sold that free one for as much as the Note 7 costs retail, you're basically not losing much if you keep your phone. I know it aint fun considering you didn't make any profit out of it, but you could always just pay off the plan in full at this point. You just keep that phone in that case and are out of a contract/plan. You could always stop using the Note 7 then, and get into a new plan. Either way, there's no reason to take a loss at this point