Where is the cheapest place to buy an AT&T GS3?

[Kidrockerz]

I'm just about to make the switch from an iPhone to a GS3. I was at the ATT store the other day and overheard a customer complaining to the ATT guy about her new GS3. She was having reception issues and some other problems. She wanted another phone. ATT told her, "Sorry, you didn't get it here so take it back to Best Buy". I guess that is the one drawback. If you buy through ATT, they stand behind it and will let you switch to another one if necessary. If you buy elsewhere, you're on your own. I doubt most people run into this situation. But, it is something to think about.

Tom G.

You're right Tom. I also asked the AT&T representative when I bought mine about the difference on buying a phone from BestBuy and their store. He mentioned that if there's a damaged or something wrong in your phone, you can go to any AT&T stores to replace/repair it. So to avoid any inconvenience just in case of something wrong in our phone, I bought mine in AT&T store.

 

[urrl]

I bought a refurbished from AT&T for $50; looks brand new and works fine. I am coming from an iPhone 4S.

 

[mty msi]

When you purchase a new phone from AT&T that needs to be replaced you almost always get a refurb. When I had to replace my Captivate that I got for free at my local Radio Shack 2 years ago the replacement was a brand new phone. I don't think places like Radio Shack & Best Buy have refurb phones, AT&T always does.

Other thing I would add is if Amazon is currently selling the GS3 for $99 now (which they are) I would expect a further Black Friday price reduction.

 

[winmod21]

When you purchase a new phone from AT&T that needs to be replaced you almost always get a refurb. When I had to replace my Captivate that I got for free at my local Radio Shack 2 years ago the replacement was a brand new phone. I don't think places like Radio Shack & Best Buy have refurb phones, AT&T always does.

Other thing I would add is if Amazon is currently selling the GS3 for $99 now (which they are) I would expect a further Black Friday price reduction.

I would tend to agree with mty msi — about the possibility of even lower prices on or around the black friday period, and maybe even through the pre & post Christmas shopping frenzy.

Concerning having your phone replaced @ AT&T . . . I read in the latest issue of Consumer Reports that only 17% of the smartphones that AT&T replaces, under warranty, are actually new phones. So 83% of AT&T warranty replacements are 'refurbished' phones.

 

[skelton]

Of you are looking for an GS3 cheap and don't mind a refurbished phone AT&T have them for under $50. Got mine that way.

Add for it not updating, your phone could be different hardware wise and/or hardware wise. The are several versions of the phone so you would have to compare your model number with others of the same model.

If you rooted the phone you could be blocked from updates. If the firmware had been loaded more than once, they could turn you down.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

 

[urrl]

Does this mean certain U.S. models are slower than others?

 

[DallasFlier]

Of you are looking for an GS3 cheap and don't mind a refurbished phone AT&T have them for under $50. Got mine that way.

Add for it not updating, your phone could be different hardware wise and/or hardware wise. The are several versions of the phone so you would have to compare your model number with others of the same model.

If you rooted the phone you could be blocked from updates. If the firmware had been loaded more than once, they could turn you down.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

Does this mean certain U.S. models are slower than others?

No. There are hardware differences between US and non-US models, but all US models have the same hardware CPU/GPU/memory, so will perform the same.

 

[Lanny68]

Costco has it for $149

 

[mty msi]

Amazon is still $99

 

[winmod21]

Saw $99.98 @ Sam's Club last night.

 

[daflake]

I bought a refurbished from AT&T for $50; looks brand new and works fine. I am coming from an iPhone 4S.

Same here! I just upgraded from a iPhone 4 for $50. It is my first Android phone and I really like it! I have had both Apple and Windows phones, but this phone blows them both away.

 

[soupnutz]

Man, my experience was a lot different than most of yours. Called up AT&T and talked to customer service about upgrading to the S3. I was told the phone would be $299 plus the upgrade fee. I ask her why it's so much less on other websites and even $100 cheaper on AT&T's website. She gives me a song and dance BS answer and tells me I should buy it elsewhere then. I'm about to talk to the cancellation department and take my business elsewhere also.

Do they make a commision or something off of the phones?

 

[Dubg]

I bought two of them at Sam's Club on Black Friday for 98 cents each. Then called AT&T and got them to waive the activation fee. Wal-Mart is selling them for $139 but then you get a $100 gift card so the net cost should only be $39.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

 

[USCTrojan4JC]

Did you wake up super early and wait in line outside, Dubg? Or were you able to just walk in?

I didn't want to deal with the trouble so I went to Best Buy at 7 AM and was able to easily get a Pebble Blue phone for $49.99 plus tax, etc.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Android Central Forums

 

[westcoaststyle]

I also went to Best Buy on Black Friday to get mine for $49.99 + tax.

Absolutely loving the phone so far! I've been going on a downloading spree with apps/games.

 

[zapfrog]

Update. The original order never went through and its status never showed an update. I called AT&T and even they couldn't find the order. They said the person that did the first order may have messed it up or something. I was pretty upset and told them that I wanted to speak to their supervisor. I told the supervisor calmly that I have been with AT&T for 8 years and the contracts on both lines in our family is up and that if they don't fix this quickly, I will take my business elsewhere.

End result: I am getting a new GS3 for FREE. $36 upgrade fee waived. I only have to pay the $46 CA taxes. Awesome! I was mighty impressed with AT&T taking care of me like that. Great customer service.

Awesome job! As we have been customers for so long we got TWO for free.

As far as deals go they seem to be changing constantly lately. One day Amazon has the best deal, next is att online, walmart, then it's radioshack, you never know you have to keep checking.

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[zapfrog]

Man, my experience was a lot different than most of yours. Called up AT&T and talked to customer service about upgrading to the S3. I was told the phone would be $299 plus the upgrade fee. I ask her why it's so much less on other websites and even $100 cheaper on AT&T's website. She gives me a song and dance BS answer and tells me I should buy it elsewhere then. I'm about to talk to the cancellation department and take my business elsewhere also.

Do they make a commision or something off of the phones?

My wife ran into the same problem trying to get a third s3. After politely arguing with them she asked for a manager who knocked it down to 49.99.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Android Central Forums

 

[RobbieL811]

Man, my experience was a lot different than most of yours. Called up AT&T and talked to customer service about upgrading to the S3. I was told the phone would be $299 plus the upgrade fee. I ask her why it's so much less on other websites and even $100 cheaper on AT&T's website. She gives me a song and dance BS answer and tells me I should buy it elsewhere then. I'm about to talk to the cancellation department and take my business elsewhere also.

Do they make a commision or something off of the phones?

If you talk to the cancellation department and tell them that you wanna cancel b/c you can get it cheaper somewhere else, they will most likely match the price. I know people that they did it for.

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[Dubg]

I got there at 4am and waited for 3 hours. I was the first in line for a phone. There were about 4 people in front of me for TVs. By the time the store opened the line for phones was probably about 40 people. They were going to be waiting a while for all of the phones to get activated.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[mty msi]

I got mine Black Friday at my local Costco for $129 + tax with a $100 mail in rebate. Only reason I knew about the deal is I was there on Wednesday before Thanksgiving when it was $129 with no rebate and the representative told me to call back Black Friday morning to see if there was a further price reduction. I called at 8:50am was there at 9:15am. They had 13 pebble blue and 4 white to start the day and on Saturday still had 4 left. The $100 rebate was Black Friday only and was not advertised in any form. Costco online was $99 Black Friday morning. The only way someone would know about Costco's Black Friday deal is if they went to the kiosk. Costco also gives you a free bonus package consisting of a leather sleeve, leather beltclip pouch, 12v plug w/ USB cable & generic screen savers none of which I have a use for. The best Black Friday deal was Sam's Club at 96 cents even if you had to buy a membership.