LG G6 pricing justifiable?

flyingkytez

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AT&T:
$24 for 30 months = $720

Sprint:
$30 for 24 months = $708

T-Mobile:
$26 for 24 months + $26 down = $650

Verizon:
$28 for 24 months = $672

Korean International Version = $799.99 USD

US Unlocked Version = ???

Note: Prices excludes tax and activation fees. Although carriers no longer have contracts, the phones are STILL subsidized. You cannot be a prepaid customer and expect to get those prices, yet alone be able to even reserve a phone before release date (probably reluctant to sell you a phone because you're a prepaid customer, you can't even order online if you're a prepaid customer). Price difference in prepaid VS post paid is like $20 per month difference (at least for T-Mobile) so in reality the phones are sorta subsidized and you're still paying more for it. So don't think you're getting a "good deal" when you're not. So the cost for me will be probably $800 for the unlocked version which is way too much. I'd think phones are getting too pricy. For the G6, a good price would be $500-600 max. It doesn't even have a quad DAC or removable battery, yet costs the same as the LG V20.
 
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Ry

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AT&T:
$24 for 30 months = $720

Sprint:
$30 for 24 months = $708

T-Mobile:
$25 for 24 months = $624

Verizon:
$28 for 24 months = $672

Korean International Version = $799.99 USD

US Unlocked Version = ???

Note: Prices excludes tax and activation fees. Although carriers no longer have contracts, the phones are STILL subsidized. You cannot be a prepaid customer and expect to get those prices, yet alone be able to even reserve a phone before release date (probably reluctant to sell you a phone because you're a prepaid customer, you can't even order online if you're a prepaid customer). Price difference in prepaid VS post paid is like $20 per month difference (at least for T-Mobile) so in reality the phones are sorta subsidized and you're still paying more for it. So don't think you're getting a "good deal" when you're not. So the cost for me will be probably $800 for the unlocked version which is way too much. I'd think phones are getting too pricy. For the G6, a good price would be $500-600 max. It doesn't even have a quad DAC or removable battery, yet costs the same as the LG V20.

If one can't justify paying what they're asking, one shouldn't buy it.
 

anon(782252)

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How much are they buying them from LG?
Tell the carriers to report individual device profits during their quarterly or yearly announcements and we can all know.

Wholesale to retail markup exists for all products, except those sold directly from the manufacturer. Retail profit on electronics is usually pretty tight but it's still there.

2 year contracts subsidized phones because the threat of ETF along with inflated plan pricing helped carriers keep customers around while they recoup initial losses on devices.

Without 2 year contracts then carriers need the retail markup to make money on the devices. They can't sell millions of devices a year at a loss.
 

Almeuit

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AT&T:
$24 for 30 months = $720

Sprint:
$30 for 24 months = $708

T-Mobile:
$26 for 24 months + $26 down = $650

Verizon:
$28 for 24 months = $672

Korean International Version = $799.99 USD

US Unlocked Version = ???

Note: Prices excludes tax and activation fees. Although carriers no longer have contracts, the phones are STILL subsidized. You cannot be a prepaid customer and expect to get those prices, yet alone be able to even reserve a phone before release date (probably reluctant to sell you a phone because you're a prepaid customer, you can't even order online if you're a prepaid customer). Price difference in prepaid VS post paid is like $20 per month difference (at least for T-Mobile) so in reality the phones are sorta subsidized and you're still paying more for it. So don't think you're getting a "good deal" when you're not. So the cost for me will be probably $800 for the unlocked version which is way too much. I'd think phones are getting too pricy. For the G6, a good price would be $500-600 max. It doesn't even have a quad DAC or removable battery, yet costs the same as the LG V20.
I edited your T-Mobile pricing. It isn't 624 it's 650 at T-Mobile.
 

Morty2264

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Sure, those prices may be a little steep, but we've seen even higher price jacks with other devices - like Samsung and iPhone. Now, I know that some would counter with that to say that Samsung and Apple are "in another league" of flagships compared to LG; but they're all flagships, and so as such, the prices will be a bit steeper than midrange devices, etc.
 

Almeuit

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For the G6, a good price would be $500-600 max. It doesn't even have a quad DAC or removable battery, yet costs the same as the LG V20.

Depending on your carrier you could get it for around 600. I am not sure why you would need the unlocked version but if you truly love the quad DAC then yes there really is no other phone for you at the moment.

For someone like me the Quad DAC is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ so not a factor for me.
 

dpham00

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AT&T:
$24 for 30 months = $720

Sprint:
$30 for 24 months = $708

T-Mobile:
$26 for 24 months + $26 down = $650

Verizon:
$28 for 24 months = $672

Korean International Version = $799.99 USD

US Unlocked Version = ???

Note: Prices excludes tax and activation fees. Although carriers no longer have contracts, the phones are STILL subsidized. You cannot be a prepaid customer and expect to get those prices, yet alone be able to even reserve a phone before release date (probably reluctant to sell you a phone because you're a prepaid customer, you can't even order online if you're a prepaid customer). Price difference in prepaid VS post paid is like $20 per month difference (at least for T-Mobile) so in reality the phones are sorta subsidized and you're still paying more for it. So don't think you're getting a "good deal" when you're not. So the cost for me will be probably $800 for the unlocked version which is way too much. I'd think phones are getting too pricy. For the G6, a good price would be $500-600 max. It doesn't even have a quad DAC or removable battery, yet costs the same as the LG V20.


Just speaking for Verizon since that's what I use, Verizon prepaid phone prices are the same as post paid, at least for the phones i checked like the s7, g5, 10, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone se. I don't see why the g6 would be any different. Just speaking of Verizon, you can order through their iconic portal and you don't have to be an existing customer nor do you have to open an account. And current Verizon 4glte phones are factory Sim unlocked. Though you would need to make sure that the phone is compatible with your network.
 

donm527

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Just throwing out a rough figure and say average cost of making a flagship phone for most manufacturers is around $250-300... everything after that is profit and they decide how much to sell it for and how much profit they wanna make. So if that's true and Samsung sells their S8 for $850 while LG sells their G6 for $650... is that $200 price difference justifiable? As a consumer that's up to you to decide.

I think the question is more like... do you think the price is fair? And to me regarding the LG G6... I think it's fair.

If the G6 was priced between $500-600... I think that would be a great price.
If the G6 was priced between $600-$700... I think that is a fair range.
If the G6 was $700-800... eh getting kinda high compared to others.
If $800+... pass.

To me companies like OnePlus are showing what fair price should be on a phone with flagship specs and performance... $500 range. 821 processor, 128gb memory, 6gb ram and most of the trimmings the competitor has plus performance.

So for me I think the G6 price is justifiable. Jury is out on the S8/S8+ if it's really going to be near $850/950 but I personally won't spend that much on a phone unless it maybe has something that almost no other phone has... like an S-Pen.

Wait a little bit and most carriers will reduce the price like they have with the V20. iPhone and Samsung may be in a position where they can maintain price all year round... but companies like LG know that they can get their asking price in the beginning and catch the people that want the latest and greatest the moment it's released but afterwards, other phones come out and interest declines and then they have to lower which is good for us and anything over that $300 mark works for them I imagine.
 

anon(782252)

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Just throwing out a rough figure and say average cost of making a flagship phone for most manufacturers is around $250-300... everything after that is profit and they decide how much to sell it for and how much profit they wanna make. So if that's true and Samsung sells their S8 for $850 while LG sells their G6 for $650... is that $200 price difference justifiable? As a consumer that's up to you to decide.

I think the question is more like... do you think the price is fair? And to me regarding the LG G6... I think it's fair.

If the G6 was priced between $500-600... I think that would be a great price.
If the G6 was priced between $600-$700... I think that is a fair range.
If the G6 was $700-800... eh getting kinda high compared to others.
If $800+... pass.

To me companies like OnePlus are showing what fair price should be on a phone with flagship specs and performance... $500 range. 821 processor, 128gb memory, 6gb ram and most of the trimmings the competitor has plus performance.

So for me I think the G6 price is justifiable. Jury is out on the S8/S8+ if it's really going to be near $850/950 but I personally won't spend that much on a phone unless it maybe has something that almost no other phone has... like an S-Pen.

Wait a little bit and most carriers will reduce the price like they have with the V20. iPhone and Samsung may be in a position where they can maintain price all year round... but companies like LG know that they can get their asking price in the beginning and catch the people that want the latest and greatest the moment it's released but afterwards, other phones come out and interest declines and then they have to lower which is good for us and anything over that $300 mark works for them I imagine.
$250-300 would just be BOM. Manufacturers still have advertising, R&D, shipping, wholesale to retail markup, etc that need to be added to total cost of each device before profit is considered. There is still a lot of profit on each device.
 

dpham00

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BOM VS retail doesn't dictate overall profit... From November 2016



" LG Electronics’ mobile division lost 436 billion won ($382 million) during the third quarter, the company said last week. Not only was it the worst-ever quarterly operating loss for the division, but with the mobile business losing 153 billion won in the previous quarter, this marks its sixth straight quarter in the red".

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.fo...s-to-make-money-from-android-smartphones/amp/
 

eshropshire

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If one can't justify paying what they're asking, one shouldn't buy it.

I 100% agree. I do wonder how many people here go into debt to buy multiple phones. If people are spending their free disposable income then no problem spend it on what you like. I find it funny for people who see their phone as a status symbol. I work in a big tech company and no one cares what phone anyone uses.

As for price an the G6, I think it is OK. Every new phone comes out expensive and then depending on demand the price shrinks. I am not a big fan of the G6, I think its LG's most boring flagship phone in years. I personally think by summer it will be available for big discounts.
 

ajb1965

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I think it's a reasonable asking price. It's similarly priced to the Pixel XL which has roughly the same specs. Add water resistance, SD support, and a cool new display and I think it's fair.
 

wxman2003

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How much are they buying them from LG?

If US cellular can sell the G6 for $570 compared to the other carriers, you can get close to seeing the profit the other carriers are making on those phones. The smaller companies such as LG probably give a bigger share of the profit to the carriers, just so they can get on their networks. Companies such as Apple and Samsung probably can dictate the terms because their phones are so popular, and no carrier wants to cut off it's head by not offering those phones to their customers.
 

Matty

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I think the price is fair. The ±$699 price tag isn't something we have never seen before and some devices even go into the $969 bracket. Now thats expensive haha :)

The smartphone market moves very quickly and companies "need" to bring out a new smartphone every year to keep their customers happy. This requires a lot of R&D and since they realistically only have 1 year to recoup all that cost, the price of the device needs to be high. If a device only came out every 2 years, prices may be lower since the company has longer to recoup all the costs. Well thats just how i see it :)
 

worldspy99

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Last year I bought the S7 on launch day at TMO out right. I paid $670+tax.
I also got an iPhone 7 (128GB version) on launch day and paid $749+tax.
So I think the LG G6 at $650+tax on TMO is a great price. You also get a Google Home free if you order it now which is a decent deal.

You can always buy it in Feb of 2018 for a throwaway price. I bought a S7edge for $360+tax from TMO a month ago :)
 

jlost

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Tell the carriers to report individual device profits during their quarterly or yearly announcements and we can all know.

Wholesale to retail markup exists for all products, except those sold directly from the manufacturer. Retail profit on electronics is usually pretty tight but it's still there.

2 year contracts subsidized phones because the threat of ETF along with inflated plan pricing helped carriers keep customers around while they recoup initial losses on devices.

Without 2 year contracts then carriers need the retail markup to make money on the devices. They can't sell millions of devices a year at a loss.
They buy them in bulk so they get a big discount.
 

anon(782252)

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They buy them in bulk so they get a big discount.
Big discount? No way. A small discount to lower the wholesale price, maybe.

Retail profit margins on electronics are very tight. Most electronics net the retailer less than 10% profit which is why they really push accessories that carry 30%+ margin or warranties that are 100% profit.
 

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