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Hi guys, this will be my first android phone and I am EXCITED. I'm coming from.....a sidekick LX.....haha sooo much needed upgrade.
At first, I called T-mobile and after much convincing they gave me the phone for $150, waived the $18 phone activation, and bumped my internet from $30 a month to only $20......GREAT! right?....but...
..then, my dad, who's the best person I know in getting deals and stuff, told me to call them and tell them I wanted to cancel my order because I could get an iphone 3GS for only $100 and could easily switch. So we did that, and guess what? They actually gave us an extra $100 mail-in rebate!!!
sooo my Samsung Vibrant cost after everything is settled.....$50
dsideee said:
Hi guys, this will be my first android phone and I am EXCITED. I'm coming from.....a sidekick LX.....haha sooo much needed upgrade.
At first, I called T-mobile and after much convincing they gave me the phone for $150, waived the $18 phone activation, and bumped my internet from $30 a month to only $20......GREAT! right?....but...
..then, my dad, who's the best person I know in getting deals and stuff, told me to call them and tell them I wanted to cancel my order because I could get an iphone 3GS for only $100 and could easily switch. So we did that, and guess what? They actually gave us an extra $100 mail-in rebate!!!
sooo my Samsung Vibrant cost after everything is settled.....$50
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Yeah they do give great deals if you haven't upgraded in a while. Unfortunately, people like me abuse it and they give me good deals, but not killer ones like this.
I got my 8900 for 60 bucks, when it was 200 also. And they gave me a free Razr2 and such.
yeah i'm pretty excited, do you still have that BB or did you "abuse" the system again and get a vibrant haha
How the hell did you get $20 internet?
I have T-Mobile for 8 years and had my grandfathered Blackberry $20 data plan for 2 years until I switched to Vibrant and they told me they will need to bump my data plan to $25 Android plan. I am 18 months into the contract with 2 extra family lines on the plan (24 and 20 months into the contract).
ninor said:
How the hell did you get $20 internet?
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I would like to know this too, a rebate on a phone is one thing, but a smaller monthly bill? Thats what I want to know.
Blueman101 said:
I would like to know this too, a rebate on a phone is one thing, but a smaller monthly bill? Thats what I want to know.
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I have $20 internet on two lines on my family plan, plus $15 unlimited texting for both lines, and I get a 15% corporate discount from my university.
You gotta say cancel as son as the automated service asks what you want. Them tell the rep you have been with them for awhile but feel like you're paying too much. They should offer to drop the bill a little.
dsideee said:
yeah i'm pretty excited, do you still have that BB or did you "abuse" the system again and get a vibrant haha
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I dropped it in water. I get upgrades two times a year.
hockeyrcks9901 said:
15% corporate discount from my university.
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I'll give your thing a try, also is that discount for being a student or working for the university?
Guys, there are A LOT of companies that get discounts, they just don't tell you. I used to work for Best Buy and just for that you get a discount, if you are a student, you get a discount, etc... also, he has $20 internet PLUS $15 for text, that's 35... I pay $25 for internet plus $10 unlimited text for all the lines in the family plan, so its also $35
yeah except my college recently got rid of college email accounts. And you cant have student/company discounts on flexpay and i haven't met the 6month good payment history (i have 8 months good payment history) to switch to regular payment but still apparently don't qualify for regualr payment. F**K flexpay!
Very good deal.
I got a decent deal too.
On my existing line 1 with 13 months since my last upgrade, they agreed to give me the $199 upgrade price since I ported over my girlfriend's AT&T number as a new line 2. I got a 2nd Vibrant for that line at $199. They also agreed to give line 2 the unlimited data plan for $25/mo to match my line 1, since I have the grandfathered G1 data plan with 400 text messages. I also have unlimited loyalty minutes for $90 for both lines.
So... $45 each line for unlimited voice, $25 each line for unlimited data, $199 per phone. That's a non-subsidy phone plan price with a subsidized phone price.
Been with T-Mo about 7 years.
I actually got a similar deal on mine as well.
My contract ended back in December but I'd been using an iPhone for a little longer than that. I wanted to upgrade but T-Mobile didn't have much that could compare to be worth extended my contract. After reading around about the Vibrant and the deals people were getting with them I decided to give them a call. I was connected to what I believe is their retentions department and told the rep that I was thinking about switching carriers to AT&T for the new iPhone. She immediately said that she would like me to keep my line with them and wanted to offer me a deal on the Vibrant.
She offered the Vibrant for basically $49.99 after it was said and done. My account was given a $100 credit and then the phone billed for $149.99. Waiving the upgrade fee and shipping charges also seemed to be standard practice. When I asked if that meant I had to use the $30 data plan she said she could discount the plan to $24.99 before I could say anything else. I gladly accepted.
My household has been with T-Mobile for near a decade now, although I'm usually the only one that upgrades out of our four lines. We have the same grandfathered plan from when we opened our account as well. I chalked the great deal up to being long-time customers with them.
I ordered the Vibrant thru T-Mobile.com almost 3 weeks ago. The order got messed up...BAD. They debited our account twice for $1200 ($600 x 2). After waiting for a week with no sign of the phone, the order status stuck on Pending, and no refund, I got fed up and contacted corporate. The girl who I am still working with has been very apologetic with trying to get the issue resolved. On Thursday of last week T-Mobile debited our account yet AGAIN for another $600. I called her immediately and told her what had happened. I could tell she was very frustrated because all of this is out of T-Mobiles control. From what I found out it's actually a 3rd party company that handles all of the telesales and online orders. She called me back a few hours later and explained all of that to me.
During all of this the order status was still "pending." Well what do you know, the phone showed up in the mail later that day. I called her again to tell her and after she put me on hold for a few minutes she came back and told me we could keep the phone for free because of all the troubles. We've received $1200 back over the past couple of days but there is still $600 that is in a hold state on our debit card. Hopefully it will post back soon. It's been pretty crappy not having $1800 for the few weeks. But we got a free phone and a free month of service out of this whole ordeal so I guess it was worth it.
Seriously just found it today (after reading an article that says its $50 on there), I gave it a shot and if you do a new VZW contract or do it as an upgrade the phone is $0.01 . Of course I STILL can't get it because my upgrade isn't for another month and no matter how much I ask VZW to do it early they won't (my Motorola Droid's keyboard is literally falling off as the glue holding the keys on melts from the heat of the processor, I tried gluing back on with no luck it melted away).
I'm sure this deal will still be around then but I'm getting antsy, and picking my keys up off the ground is annoying.
Rogue Leader said:
Seriously just found it today (after reading an article that says its $50 on there), I gave it a shot and if you do a new VZW contract or do it as an upgrade the phone is $0.01 . Of course I STILL can't get it because my upgrade isn't for another month and no matter how much I ask VZW to do it early they won't (my Motorola Droid's keyboard is literally falling off as the glue holding the keys on melts from the heat of the processor, I tried gluing back on with no luck it melted away).
I'm sure this deal will still be around then but I'm getting antsy, and picking my keys up off the ground is annoying.
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On a side note, the earliest that VZW will let you upgrade early is 1 week before your upgrade date.
Try and ask them that if they can hold the offer price for you when you upgrade in a month.
My carrier had an offer that saved 380~ dollars plus the savings from contracts, and it only lasted a week. Good thing my brother and I got ourselves brand new phones each
My courier let's you upgrade 4months in advance if you threaten to cancel the contract and resign with another company. Maybe that's what you should do.
Sent from my XPlay using XDA App.
Spoke to them today and they are giving me an early upgrade (good news) but I need to do it at the VZW store (bad news). VZW currently has it for $99 which is still a good deal (and I will probably get a $30 credit bringing it to $69) but to get it for a penny would be better. I'm going to call Amazon in the AM to see if they can see it on my account and do it for me, otherwise I'll head to the store and see what I can do. Considering how annoying the keypad screwing up on my droid is I may just eat the cost to have it a month earlier than planned.
Just to give an epilogue to this story, Amazon would not do the early upgrade (I don't blame them, it wasn't their authorization). Went to the VZW store, paid $150 with a $50 mail in rebate, no new every 2 credit (would have had to wait till Sept) so I lost $30 there, then sold my OG Droid to a recycler for $61 so my net cost is $39.
If I had waited I would have gotten the phone for a penny and made back the phone recycle cost (however I noticed those fluctuate a lot so who knows if I would have gotten $61 in a month, It was $80 2 months ago!). So really my net cost could be more, but my old phone was pissing me off to no end, so the price and the fact I'm having a blast with this phone already made it worth it.
PS I almost walked away from the deal because of the difference in price but realized in a month I don't even know if this phone will be available. They literally had 1 in the store, covered in dust and the Verizon guy said hes never even had anyone ask about the phone let alone buy it.
I bought my XP from Amazonwireless for $50, renewed my 2 year contract several months ahead of time
Amazon wouldn't let me do the purchase until I called VZW and told them I wanted a new phone and would get it through Amazon. My contact/every 2 wasn't over until 10/15/2011 or so. I called VZW, they lifted the resitriction and I purchased the phone from Amazon for $50. All I told Verizon was that I was going to get a new phone and renew my contract, I guess it helps that I'm a 10+ year customer.
Then I sold my OG Droid with GPA15 on ebay for $120.
typikal82 said:
I bought my XP from Amazonwireless for $50, renewed my 2 year contract several months ahead of time
Amazon wouldn't let me do the purchase until I called VZW and told them I wanted a new phone and would get it through Amazon. My contact/every 2 wasn't over until 10/15/2011 or so. I called VZW, they lifted the resitriction and I purchased the phone from Amazon for $50. All I told Verizon was that I was going to get a new phone and renew my contract, I guess it helps that I'm a 10+ year customer.
Then I sold my OG Droid with GPA15 on ebay for $120.
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Hmm I've been with them for 10+ yrs as well, but they wouldn't budge on that. You must be more persuasive than me. Ohh well, for $39 I can't complain.
true, a deal is a deal
They did this for me when I purchased my Droid from Amazon a few years ago also. I'm not aggressive or anything when I call, I just bring up a few facts (never late, long time, renewing) and they cut me some slack.
typikal82 said:
true, a deal is a deal
They did this for me when I purchased my Droid from Amazon a few years ago also. I'm not aggressive or anything when I call, I just bring up a few facts (never late, long time, renewing) and they cut me some slack.
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Ok cool well at least now I know for next time I will definitely try this approach, I don't recall that i specifically mentioned that I wanted to buy through Amazon. Well anyway I have 2 years until I can do anything about it, but I will definitely try it then. Hopefully we have the "Play2" by then...
Hello everyone,
After the worst customer experience EVER with T-mobile...I am moving on from my beloved Vibrant. Here is what happened... I paid retail for my phone using the "Equipment Instalment Plan" and entered into the non-contract plans. At that time I was told that once you enter these type of plans you cannot go back to contract plans or get phones at the discounted price unless I start over with a whole new account only to find out that in Oct 2011 I was placed onto a contracted plan which I never authorized. In most cases it wouldn't have been a big deal, but was because my some dropped my phone on my cement driveway and cracked the screen, so after finding out that it would cost $130 for the insurance replacement (I mean really, after paying all the insurance it still costs that MUCH!!! Insurance on other carriers replaces phones for way less and even free on Verizon) and just replacing the screen isn't that much different.
Anyway, I was told I could not upgrade unless I paid retail. But, T-mobile changed the way that works. When I first started the "EIP" plan, you would pay the full retail value of a phone in payments split up over 21 months which would be added to your monthly phone bill and all you would pay upfront was the first monthly instalment, but now they make you pay 1/3 of the retail value of the phone upfront and the rest over 21 months. Which to me defeats the purpose because that is basically what you pay for a phone on a 2 year contract and then of course you don't have to pay any more toward the phone after that.
So now we go back to the problem of being on the contract I never agreed to. The rep said they knew that you couldn't get back onto a contracted plan after going to EIP plans, but somehow I was able to and they couldn't reverse it. The rep said I could file a dispute by email because no one could take care of it over the phone. So, I filed my dispute and never heard back. I was really busy with work and family and basically put this whole issue on the back burner for a few months but checked back with T-mobile at the beginning of June and was told they never got my dispute. I saved my email I sent and informed them that I have confirmation they received it...still, was told I had to filed my complaint all over again. So I did and had to wait 10 days for a response which OF COURSE was declined.
I called T-mobile back (I should add that this whole time I have been very friendly with everyone I spoke to and never once got loud or disrespectful) and explained everything going on and explained that my only intention was one of two things, either pay retail on the EIP plan like I originally should have....just that it should be done in the same manner as my vibrant which was my payment upfront be only the first of 21months, or give me the upgrade price since I was put on a contract without my consent and never used an upgrade on my account. Keep in mind that at this point it has been over two years since I got my Vibrant. I was told no and no. My only option was to pay 1/3 retail and the rest over 21 months or buy a phone somewhere else.
My intention was never to leave....in fact, I was only promising that would be there for another two years, T-mobile would not be losing out on anything except keeping a customer longer and I have been with them for 6 years already. But at this point I told them either give me an upgrade or I will take my business elsewhere. The rep said they didn't want to lose my business and that they would either put me on my previous non-contract plan or they would give me the upgrade price on a new phone. So I put aside the fact that it took over 6 months for them to give in, I agree to just go with the upgrade price and stay on contract. I asked the rep if I could go to a store to complete my purchase and they said yes. So I go to the store and the rep at the store said I was misinformed on the phone and could not get the upgrade price. My only option is to pay retail.
Now I'm back to my original spot...I can only pay retail, like I did with my vibrant and be on a contract I didn't agree to and obviously didn't want in the first place, the rep I spoke to the first time couldn't figure out how I got onto contract, but couldn't reverse it and even agreed that my situation didn't make sense. I know I could get a phone on craigslist or something, but I wanted something new and an upgrade, but now it's all about the principle of the business ethics T-mobile is using with me. So as a last resort, I go to the forums on T-mobile website and post my problem there. I get several responses saying I should contact a forum this specific forum moderator (name withheld, I don't want to get into trouble) because she is known for fixing issues like mine. So I did...AND NO RESPONSE, I sent another private message and again no response and this went on for 2 weeks.
So I hit my last straw...I'm moving on. My wife and I each are getting SGS II's free and will be on a cheaper plan then we had with T-mobile by going with Sprint. I have never used Sprint, it could turn out that I don't like their service areas compared to T-mobile in my area or their network seems sluggish but either way, T-mobile again lost another long time customer.
If you actually read through all that then thank you for listening to my complaint. I didn't even list every detail about the situation and some of the events just make it even more ridiculous.
I loved the phone, but that is only because of the developers on this site. I mean that literally. So special thanks to all the devs out there...they certainly deserve every thanks they get and then some.
FaultException-thanks for your fast and detailed responses and work with CM9.
jrongi1-thanks
Cyanogen-thanks
serendipityguy-thanks for your kernel bible
bay_wolf-loved your toolbox (haha, that sounds bad)
Fishman0919-thanks for reviving bionix
Sombionix-thanks for bionix
Romanbb-Thanks for work (loved them all)
krarvind-thanks for Slim ICS (used that for while)
sixstringsg-thanks for Glitch (My fav kernel)
Jellette-thanks for all the choices (hope life is well and live long and strong)
So many more I can't think of off the top of my head so thanks to everyone and I wish you all the best.
Wow.. seems like everything really went against you throughout the process. Instead, I wouldnt even waste time and would have began by threatening to cancel my (nonexistant) contract through the cancellation department since they have more power than your average rep.
But what is done is done, and I would do the same if I encountered that.
You might not like sprint and their mess going on over there with slow network and sketchy plan with wimax and lte. In other words, you might be miserable with their speeds, regardless of unlimited plans. Good luck. I'm looking to upgrade this vibrant to the s3 soon enough too. Served me well and still holds up against most low and mid range phones, but my GPS is just..
Sent from my SGH-T959 using xda app-developers app
I know I may not care for the speeds and all, but 90% of the time I am connected to wifi anyway so it really isn't that big of a deal and there are a few people I know around here on sprint that get good data speeds. I am in MN, so it's not like the network would get as overloaded as if I were in LA or NY. Plus I got the phone for free, and it's a good phone...but only time will tell. I will miss the trusty Vib, but I am going to use it as a music player I think...cracked screen shouldn't matter to much using it for that.
What's happened to T-Mobile's customer Service?
One of the thing that used to separate T-Mobile from other carriers was their customer service. Their one year wooing by AT&T seems to have completely screwed this once great attribute. I too am seriously dumping T-Mobile and switching to Sprint. I have a friend with 3 lines. He (and I) always buy our phones retail/Craigslist and go with No Contract plans. At the time he was using the pre-paid plan while I was on the Even More Plus plan. Both no contract plans. After getting the Galaxy Nexus, he decided to switch over to the 5GB EMP plan, but now they don't have that plan anymore. In fact, they have no non-contract plans at all anymore. I'm pretty sure, T-Mobile's going to lose 3 more customers in a couple of months. Oh well.
os2baba said:
One of the thing that used to separate T-Mobile from other carriers was their customer service. Their one year wooing by AT&T seems to have completely screwed this once great attribute. I too am seriously dumping T-Mobile and switching to Sprint. I have a friend with 3 lines. He (and I) always buy our phones retail/Craigslist and go with No Contract plans. At the time he was using the pre-paid plan while I was on the Even More Plus plan. Both no contract plans. After getting the Galaxy Nexus, he decided to switch over to the 5GB EMP plan, but now they don't have that plan anymore. In fact, they have no non-contract plans at all anymore. I'm pretty sure, T-Mobile's going to lose 3 more customers in a couple of months. Oh well.
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Look at their Monthly 4G plans. They are very in-expensive and contract free. (You can just buy a SIM and pop it into any unlocked/t-mo phone)
So ATT can't fix the recalled phones in-store at a corporate location? UGH!
My ATT contract has been up for about 2 months now. I wanted the Note 4 but now that Chainfire has said it will mostlikely not be bootloader unlocked, I've lost interest. Decide to wait on the Nexus 6. Missed pre-ordering so I decided to just pick one up today at my local store. Went to get one and was told they couldn't sell me one.
I can't afford to buy one outright, need do to a 2-year or Next and I really wanted to stick with ATT.
Went to order one online to get one hopefully on the way but now they are out-of-stock online! UGH.
Really sucky part is that my S3 broke about 2 weeks ago, screen is cracked and the digitizer doesn't work right so I can barely use it. I can answer calls but not place them or really use the phone.
Sad panda! :*(
Sorry to hear that, but you can always try T-Mobile. You can still buy it from them and can pay in monthly intervals for 24 months
http://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phones/google-nexus-6.html#Midnight-Blue
$0 down. $27 for 24 months (32GB), $29 for 24 months (64GB)
Do note that you will have to wait before it gets shipped, or you can call your nearby T-Mobile stores to see if they have any in stock.
T-Mobile loves you.
Sent from my Nexus 6
If this guy orders from T-Mobile, and gets his phone before I get mine (a 64GB ordered on 11/19, 8 AM CST), I'm going to lose my ^&*(.
EDIT: kdoggy, I wish you the best in your endeavors to get a hold of this phone...
I was in a similar situation a few months ago. My Galaxy S4 broke. I was still in the middle of my contract with AT&T and couldn't afford to replace my phone at full retail price. I was thinking about ditching AT&T anyway. I switched to T-Mobile. I I traded in my busted S4 towards a Nexus 5, got the unlimited plan and had all but a few bucks of my AT&T ETF paid off by T-Mobile and haven't looked back. Just got my Nexus 6 the other day.
kdoggy said:
So ATT can't fix the recalled phones in-store at a corporate location? UGH!
Went to order one online to get one hopefully on the way but now they are out-of-stock online! UGH.(
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What I did today was go into the store and do a 'direct fulfillment' order and basically ordered the phone. No idea when it will ship, but that way you won't have to keep checking online and also they can make sure and set up your plan just the way you want it etc. Make all the necessary changes. I would recommend doing it this way. The rep almost sold me the unit they had, but saw the notice on her screen or something. Was that close!
I can't really switch from AT&T. We have 3 other phones on our account and my wife is not willing to switch from AT&T and she does not want a new phone. She is happy with keeping her S3 Vs. paying for a new phone. She was all set to grab an S5 for $1.00 this Black Friday until she found out that we have been charged a "$25.00" dollar up-charge for the phones the past two years. She is enjoying the $15.00 per line right now and doesn't even want ME to buy a new phone.
Her and the kids just bought new batteries for their S3's so they have no plans to change. I use my phone for work though (state government, in the technology services field) so I have an excuse and justification for an upgrade. Also the state gives me a $70.00 dollars a month reimbursement towards my phone bill and I get a 20% discount for being a state gov employee.
kdoggy said:
I can't really switch from AT&T. We have 3 other phones on our account and my wife is not willing to switch from AT&T and she does not want a new phone. She is happy with keeping her S3 Vs. paying for a new phone. She was all set to grab an S5 for $1.00 this Black Friday until she found out that we have been charged a "$25.00" dollar up-charge for the phones the past two years. She is enjoying the $15.00 per line right now and doesn't even want ME to buy a new phone.
Her and the kids just bought new batteries for their S3's so they have no plans to change. I use my phone for work though (state government, in the technology services field) so I have an excuse and justification for an upgrade. Also the state gives me a $70.00 dollars a month reimbursement towards my phone bill and I get a 20% discount for being a state gov employee.
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Your other alternative would be to buy it from Motorola on Wednesday and get 6/12/18 month financing or to just wait for AT&T.
zephiK said:
Your other alternative would be to buy it from Motorola on Wednesday and get 6/12/18 month financing or to just wait for AT&T.
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How does that work with Motorola? Now when you say Motorola, I assume you mean threw Google Play? How does the financing work?
I am also with AT&T, and a few months ago I was trying to pick up the Nexus 5 from T-Mobile. T-Mobile would not sell me the phone at all unless I purchased some form of service with them. Regardless of the fact the phone is unlocked; the reps stated their systems wouldn't allow a phone sale without accompanying service. So good luck buying from T-Mob.
kdoggy said:
How does that work with Motorola? Now when you say Motorola, I assume you mean threw Google Play? How does the financing work?
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No not through Google Play. http://www.motorola.com/us/consumers/nexus-6-header/Nexus-6/nexus-6-motorola-us.html
When its in stock (Wednesdays) itll be available to buy. Its really tough from buying there and Google Play as it'll be out of stock and whatnot.
Financing is the same thing as you would on a carrier. You can pay out ~$649 + tax in 6/12/18 months (you pick) and you have to be approved.
If you're like me, you've been waiting to buy the Pixel 2 to see if the price drops. VZW has been offering to give folks 50% off if they trade in CERTAIN devices (mostly ones that are less than a year old).
For Black Friday, VZW is again offering 50% off WITHOUT a trade-in.... BUT, you must switch to their unlimited plan. For those that are already on the unlimited plan, this is a good deal.
But the idea is that VZW is trying to get folks that are not unlimited to move to their unlimited plan.
In my situation, I share 3 GB/month with my wife (got a bonus 1 GB, so really 4GB) for $45/month. I then pay $20/month per line for a total of $85/month (2 lines). we have never gone over 4 GB, so there is no advantage for us to go unlimited.
If we go to the unlimited plan, we would have to pay $65/month per line for a total of $130/month.
The Pixel 2 50% off is spread out over 24 months in bill credits after I pay the full retail price up front. In doing so, VZW will credit me $13.50/month. And in order to keep receiving the credits, you have to remain on the unlimited plan for the duration.
So in essence, I'd be paying $45/month EXTRA just to save $13.5.
Over the span of 24-months, I would have paid $1080 in fees, netting $325 from the "promo", thus paying an extra $755.
Conversely, I can just buy the Pixel 2 outright for $650. My understanding is that Black Friday is supposed to give discounts, not ways for folks to pay more than retail.
Even if they offered the Pixel 2 for free, then I would still say now as I would be out $430 just to get unlimited data that I don't use.
understood that everyone's situation is different, but hoping that this will give folks some pause before considering buying from VZW. and I normally have no issues with VZW, but now I do.
jco23 said:
If you're like me, you've been waiting to buy the Pixel 2 to see if the price drops. VZW has been offering to give folks 50% off if they trade in CERTAIN devices (mostly ones that are less than a year old).
For Black Friday, VZW is again offering 50% off WITHOUT a trade-in.... BUT, you must switch to their unlimited plan. For those that are already on the unlimited plan, this is a good deal.
But the idea is that VZW is trying to get folks that are not unlimited to move to their unlimited plan.
In my situation, I share 3 GB/month with my wife (got a bonus 1 GB, so really 4GB) for $45/month. I then pay $20/month per line for a total of $85/month (2 lines). we have never gone over 4 GB, so there is no advantage for us to go unlimited.
If we go to the unlimited plan, we would have to pay $65/month per line for a total of $130/month.
The Pixel 2 50% off is spread out over 24 months in bill credits after I pay the full retail price up front. In doing so, VZW will credit me $13.50/month. And in order to keep receiving the credits, you have to remain on the unlimited plan for the duration.
So in essence, I'd be paying $45/month EXTRA just to save $13.5.
Over the span of 24-months, I would have paid $1080 in fees, netting $325 from the "promo", thus paying an extra $755.
Conversely, I can just buy the Pixel 2 outright for $650. My understanding is that Black Friday is supposed to give discounts, not ways for folks to pay more than retail.
Even if they offered the Pixel 2 for free, then I would still say now as I would be out $430 just to get unlimited data that I don't use.
understood that everyone's situation is different, but hoping that this will give folks some pause before considering buying from VZW. and I normally have no issues with VZW, but now I do.
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Great post and entirely correct. I've been on the phone with VZW each day for the past few discussing this issue. Even the reps who were waiting for bf deals are in a bind. The only way even they could get the deals they want is to upgrade to unlimited.
Now that being said there are some deals to be made depending on your history with them. For instance, if you go to automatic billing there is a discount of around $25 / month. You might also be able to get further discounts if you push a little. I'm on a much larger plan than you are and after all was said and done the unlimited (which will give me hotspot too) will be costing me about $10 / month more over my current plan. But over the life of the plan that is still $600 for phone and plan and almost the cost of the device outright. But I will get unlimited and hotspot so it's probably worth it since I did bump up against my limit a month or so ago.
I'm not sure why they are doing this since as you said, this is not a deal for those that don't need unlimited. If you already are on it then it's an easy decision. Now the only caveat possibly is that in the future the unlimited plan will drop in price and you can take advantage of it without losing the promotion. But that's just wishful thinking. Verizon might need to rethink this deal when it doesn't get the customers that bf usually gets.
bobby janow said:
Great post and entirely correct. I've been on the phone with VZW each day for the past few discussing this issue. Even the reps who were waiting for bf deals are in a bind. The only way even they could get the deals they want is to upgrade to unlimited.
Now that being said there are some deals to be made depending on your history with them. For instance, if you go to automatic billing there is a discount of around $25 / month. You might also be able to get further discounts if you push a little. I'm on a much larger plan than you are and after all was said and done the unlimited (which will give me hotspot too) will be costing me about $10 / month more over my current plan. But over the life of the plan that is still $600 for phone and plan and almost the cost of the device outright. But I will get unlimited and hotspot so it's probably worth it since I did bump up against my limit a month or so ago.
I'm not sure why they are doing this since as you said, this is not a deal for those that don't need unlimited. If you already are on it then it's an easy decision. Now the only caveat possibly is that in the future the unlimited plan will drop in price and you can take advantage of it without losing the promotion. But that's just wishful thinking. Verizon might need to rethink this deal when it doesn't get the customers that bf usually gets.
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right. and just last year, their BF promo (for my wife's iPhone, and I think for the Pixel 1) was simply $450 off - no trade in, no plan change - just they issue you the rebate in monthly installments (which I'm fine with, as this is essentially a 2-year contract).
so I was greatly disappointed that the same promo is not available this year. hopefully, they'll adjust in the coming weeks.
but I, too, called and complained - even made the sales reps realize that it doesn't make sense for me to switch. I essentially asked them to give me a reason why I should buy it from them and not from Google. best response I got was, "they don't waive the activation fee".
jco23 said:
right. and just last year, their BF promo (for my wife's iPhone, and I think for the Pixel 1) was simply $450 off - no trade in, no plan change - just they issue you the rebate in monthly installments (which I'm fine with, as this is essentially a 2-year contract).
so I was greatly disappointed that the same promo is not available this year. hopefully, they'll adjust in the coming weeks.
but I, too, called and complained - even made the sales reps realize that it doesn't make sense for me to switch. I essentially asked them to give me a reason why I should buy it from them and not from Google. best response I got was, "they don't waive the activation fee".
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I just don't know what they are thinking other than getting everyone on unlimited plans. I'd take that but they needed to do something else like upgrade to unlimited and free phone, or if you have unlimited then half off phone. Naturally that doesn't make much sense but I will not let up on them. I'll go for it but it won't be the last they hear from me.
I have a call coming in Friday for the order but let's see what pops up tomorrow. I just don't think there are very many happy campers. If Google gives 200 bucks off it's a different ball game. But they won't. If the Mrs didn't need another phone desperately I'd hold off thru the new year. This is s bunch of crap imo.
Sent from my Pixel using XDA-Developers Legacy app
bobby janow said:
Great post and entirely correct. I've been on the phone with VZW each day for the past few discussing this issue. Even the reps who were waiting for bf deals are in a bind. The only way even they could get the deals they want is to upgrade to unlimited.
Now that being said there are some deals to be made depending on your history with them. For instance, if you go to automatic billing there is a discount of around $25 / month. You might also be able to get further discounts if you push a little. I'm on a much larger plan than you are and after all was said and done the unlimited (which will give me hotspot too) will be costing me about $10 / month more over my current plan. But over the life of the plan that is still $600 for phone and plan and almost the cost of the device outright. But I will get unlimited and hotspot so it's probably worth it since I did bump up against my limit a month or so ago.
I'm not sure why they are doing this since as you said, this is not a deal for those that don't need unlimited. If you already are on it then it's an easy decision. Now the only caveat possibly is that in the future the unlimited plan will drop in price and you can take advantage of it without losing the promotion. But that's just wishful thinking. Verizon might need to rethink this deal when it doesn't get the customers that bf usually gets.
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$25 off for auto pay? That can't be right, or at least not that simple. For a family plan or something, minimum of 4 lines?
sdsurferbob said:
$25 off for auto pay? That can't be right, or at least not that simple. For a family plan or something, minimum of 4 lines?
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I have 5 lines but yeah, $25 off with autopay. That's what she told me yesterday and I'll know for certain tomorrow morning when I do the order. I will let you know for sure.
bobby janow said:
I have 5 lines but yeah, $25 off with autopay. That's what she told me yesterday and I'll know for certain tomorrow morning when I do the order. I will let you know for sure.
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That sounds like $5/line which is what I though I read too.
jco23 said:
That sounds like $5/line which is what I though I read too.
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Oh... so that's what it is. Then I got an extra $15 / month but don't know why. I think she said I had a good record or something. I didn't question her too hard hoping she was just doing a good deed. As I said, I'll know for sure in a few hours. If she doesn't call then I'll know I've been had. Won't be the first or last time. Bottom line, I won't pay over 10 bucks extra / month + the $375 for the device. I'd just get the Google version for 650 and be done with it. Or keep my Pixel for another year.
BTW, Black Friday sucks this year. It's really black Thursday morning. Had some stuff in my cart, went to check out after looking for a little bit more and the stuff was removed as not available any longer. What a joke. Couple of Best Buy things and jeans at a great price at another store. Ridiculous.
jco23 said:
That sounds like $5/line which is what I though I read too.
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Ok, just got off with the rep. You are right, it's $5 / line discount plus she gave me an extra $15 / month off because I'm a good customer I think. In store pickup later today, 64gb version almost blue. Bottom line is that I'll be paying about $20 / month more for the Pixel 2 with unlimited vs my old 12gb plan and I have hotspot to boot. I think that's a pretty good deal for the phone.
My wife gets rid of her S5 finally and inherits the Pixel which surprisingly is bootloader unlockable. (switch is toggled although I don't bl unlock anyway) Wondering if when I switch the device to her line they'll make it grayed out. Not a big deal either way. I think if I leave the switch to on then even when I activate her account it will remain on as long as I set her up on wifi first. We'll see.
Oh one more thing.. they waived the $30 activation fee too. Plus I think I'll get about $45 for her phone once I send it in. Pristine condition so I should get something. All in all a pretty good BF morning so far. Still pissed about my laptop fiasco at Best Buy and my jeans but you can't win 'em all.
bobby janow said:
Ok, just got off with the rep. You are right, it's $5 / line discount plus she gave me an extra $15 / month off because I'm a good customer I think. In store pickup later today, 64gb version almost blue. Bottom line is that I'll be paying about $20 / month more for the Pixel 2 with unlimited vs my old 12gb plan and I have hotspot to boot. I think that's a pretty good deal for the phone.
My wife gets rid of her S5 finally and inherits the Pixel which surprisingly is bootloader unlockable. (switch is toggled although I don't bl unlock anyway) Wondering if when I switch the device to her line they'll make it grayed out. Not a big deal either way. I think if I leave the switch to on then even when I activate her account it will remain on as long as I set her up on wifi first. We'll see.
Oh one more thing.. they waived the $30 activation fee too. Plus I think I'll get about $45 for her phone once I send it in. Pristine condition so I should get something. All in all a pretty good BF morning so far. Still pissed about my laptop fiasco at Best Buy and my jeans but you can't win 'em all.
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Went with the S8. $350 off at Best buy. So far, so good. Larger battery, 3.5mm jack, wireless charging, and able to root (although have not done it yet). Plus, I get to keep my plan. I'm going to ask them to waive the upgrade fee too.
Doubt I'll come back here unless the pixel 2 is offered for free.
So wishing you and everyone else all the best.
I too was disappointed by Verizon's black friday deals (and really everyone else's also more or less). However, I had a very weird experience with VZW...
I got on their website Thursday mid-morning to just see what a Pixel 2 would cost if I went unlimited, bought it normally, etc. I added it to my cart and went through the checkout process, but it never actually prompted me to upgrade to unlimited. The only option I even saw was keeping my existing plan, which is the Verizon Plan 4GB.
When I got to the final checkout screen, my monthly total for the phone itself showed $13.50 and my plan still showed the 4GB plan. So, I went ahead and put the order through. When I got the receipt, it too listed the $13.50 monthly price.
So, I have documentation FROM Verizon giving me a Pixel 2 for $13.50/mo without going unlimited.
That said, I suspect they will conveniently "forget" to apply the actual credits to my account each month and I'll have to fight them tooth and nail to get anything. But hey, I have screenshots and a receipt proving that they "goofed" and I see no legal standing for them not honoring it. /shrug
mhamann said:
I too was disappointed by Verizon's black friday deals (and really everyone else's also more or less). However, I had a very weird experience with VZW...
I got on their website Thursday mid-morning to just see what a Pixel 2 would cost if I went unlimited, bought it normally, etc. I added it to my cart and went through the checkout process, but it never actually prompted me to upgrade to unlimited. The only option I even saw was keeping my existing plan, which is the Verizon Plan 4GB.
When I got to the final checkout screen, my monthly total for the phone itself showed $13.50 and my plan still showed the 4GB plan. So, I went ahead and put the order through. When I got the receipt, it too listed the $13.50 monthly price.
So, I have documentation FROM Verizon giving me a Pixel 2 for $13.50/mo without going unlimited.
That said, I suspect they will conveniently "forget" to apply the actual credits to my account each month and I'll have to fight them tooth and nail to get anything. But hey, I have screenshots and a receipt proving that they "goofed" and I see no legal standing for them not honoring it. /shrug
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Very jealous.
I tried that same approach on multiple times, but to no avail. Perhaps did you indicate that you were trading in your current device? So make sure you do not owe them a device you don't have.
The deal prior to Friday was trade in an eligible device to get a certain % off (up to 50%) with no need to adjust your plan.
The deal on Friday was to up your plan to unlimited, but no trade in required.
As for me, Best buy offered the Samsung Galaxy S8 for $350 off with no strings attached. So I got it. Pretty happy so far.
Looks like VZW is finally offering g $300 off the pixel 2. Only stipulation is that you must pay in full up front, and then VZW will issue you bill credits over 24 months.
I would have been fine with this had I not already got my S8.
jco23 said:
Looks like VZW is finally offering g $300 off the pixel 2. Only stipulation is that you must pay in full up front, and then VZW will issue you bill credits over 24 months.
I would have been fine with this had I not already got my S8.
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So are they charging the full amount up front or over the course of 24 months? The way it worked for me on black Friday was that I was charged the monthly $27 and then a credit applied for $13 each month. Is this the same or different?
bobby janow said:
So are they charging the full amount up front or over the course of 24 months? The way it worked for me on black Friday was that I was charged the monthly $27 and then a credit applied for $13 each month. Is this the same or different?
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So it looks they're advertising it to be $14.58/month, so perhaps no payment upfront.
I told a friend that bought 2 of them a few weeks ago, and they were able to return it and get the new price. But he did not open them yet.
jco23 said:
So it looks they're advertising it to be $14.58/month, so perhaps no payment upfront.
I told a friend that bought 2 of them a few weeks ago, and they were able to return it and get the new price. But he did not open them yet.
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Yeah, that makes more sense. They lock you in to a 2 year contract kind of because you can't pay it off. If you want to then you have to pay the full amount of $650 even if it's a month away from the end of 2 years.
Now what they should do is anyone who purchased within the return period of 15 days I think it is, charge them the $35 restocking fee (which your friend will probably have to pay for each returned device) and give them the discount without having to return the device.
bobby janow said:
Yeah, that makes more sense. They lock you in to a 2 year contract kind of because you can't pay it off. If you want to then you have to pay the full amount of $650 even if it's a month away from the end of 2 years.
Now what they should do is anyone who purchased within the return period of 15 days I think it is, charge them the $35 restocking fee (which your friend will probably have to pay for each returned device) and give them the discount without having to return the device.
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I don't think he paid the restocking fee since he never opened them.
Still contemplating on returning/selling my S8 for this deal.
But then I'd give up a bigger battery, wireless charging, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
jco23 said:
I don't think he paid the restocking fee since he never opened them.
Still contemplating on returning/selling my S8 for this deal.
But then I'd give up a bigger battery, wireless charging, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
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Even for the fee it's worth it. Still saves 265 bucks.
Now to your situation.. the battery on the pixel 2 is great and on the XL even better. I don't think that should be of major concern unless you live in the boonies with no access to power for 24 hours. Wireless charging? Haven't had that since my N5 and miss it only for nostalgia. Headphone? Agree.. but get a good wireless pair and use the adapter for the current ones.
But this is a personal choice you need to make and I'm no one to make judgment either way. I really don't think you can go wrong no matter what you decide.
Sent from my Pixel 2 using XDA-Developers Legacy app
bobby janow said:
Even for the fee it's worth it. Still saves 265 bucks.
Now to your situation.. the battery on the pixel 2 is great and on the XL even better. I don't think that should be of major concern unless you live in the boonies with no access to power for 24 hours. Wireless charging? Haven't had that since my N5 and miss it only for nostalgia. Headphone? Agree.. but get a good wireless pair and use the adapter for the current ones.
But this is a personal choice you need to make and I'm no one to make judgment either way. I really don't think you can go wrong no matter what you decide.
Sent from my Pixel 2 using XDA-Developers Legacy app
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hoping you're right. i'd prefer the bloatless google version, but those 3 items are deal-breakers for me. i came from the moto droid turbo, which had all of those (3900 mAh battery). so I didn't want to give up any of those items. wireless charging is such bonus. however, if the pixel 3 has wireless charging and a bigger battery, then I'll consider switching next year.
I presume we'll get the same offers as this year - as I see a pattern forming with VZW:
- early October/November: offer $100 off
- late November: offer $300 off with a trade in
- black friday: something stupid to boost their quota
- week after black friday: offer more reasonable deals