Wirefly Pre-Order vs Store + Port-In Credit?

[Lord_MiL]

I'm finally ready to take the plunge into the smart phone world (I've always been too cheap and/or poor in the past!) and given that I'm not currently on Sprint, it seems that the best deal on an E4GT is going to be picking it up at my local Sprint store and using the $125 port-in credit. This will also give my wife a chance to check out the E4GT and see if she can handle that much awesomeness or if she should go with the NS4G instead.

Before I do this, though, I wanted to confirm with those of you who have been around the block more than I have that I'm understanding the port-in credit correctly and that I shouldn't hit any snags. From what I'm reading on Sprint's site, I should be able to go to my local Sprint store, pick up two smartphones, port our old numbers over from the old carrier and get $250 ($125 / phone). Also, will the sprint store be able to apply my corporate discount on the spot as opposed to me filling out more paperwork later?

If this isn't going to work out like I think, then I definitely need to get in on the wirefly pre-order as that's an awesome price and I don't want to miss out. :-$

 

[JayWill]

Port In Credit

Available online, via telesales, and in participating Sprint Stores. Purchases from other retailers are not eligible for the service credit.

You may want to call Sprint to see if they'll honor it if you purchase through Wirefly, but according to the above, it's Sprint online, telesales or Sprint stores only.

 

[Phenom]

The OP isn't saying he wants to use the credit w/ the Wirefly phones, he's saying if he can't get the port-in credit from Sprint, then he'll buy the discounted phones from Wirefly instead.

As far as the initial question about the port-in credit, I have no idea.

 

[locationman52]

As for Wirefly, I have no idea. However, I can tell you about the credit and corporate discount from Sprint because my best friend and his wife just did this a few months ago. The port-in credit will be applied to your bill the next month (in other words, there isn't an instant $250 going into your hands). So, you'll need to be prepared to pay the $400 plus tax for the two phones. Then, as for the corporate discount, this takes a while. The discount can be "applied" to your account with the sales rep at the store, however, it takes at least a couple of billing cycles for you to see the results. I don't know why, but that's just the way it is. I hope that helps...

 

[JayWill]

The OP isn't saying he wants to use the credit w/ the Wirefly phones, he's saying if he can't get the port-in credit from Sprint, then he'll buy the discounted phones from Wirefly instead.

As far as the initial question about the port-in credit, I have no idea.

Meh I fail at reading sometimes. Sorry OP.

Although I've never done a port-in, it seems to me that you're understanding it correctly.

Go down to a store, pay $398 + tax for two E4GTs, and have your numbers ported over from your previous carrier. Then go home, navigate to the site I linked above and Register for your credit on each line. Then "The service credit will be applied to the first or second invoice following the 61st day after the eligible port-in activation as long as you registered for your service credit within 72 hours of the port-in activation date." So as long as you register for your credits within 3 days of purchase and activation you should be good to go and see a credit on your bill 2-3 months later.

Now, whether or not it's a better deal than Wirefly depends on a couple of things.

1) Do you have a Bank of America debit or credit card?
2) Do you live in a state where Wirefly would charge you sales tax?

In California where I live, the sales tax rate is 7.75%. So using the $499 retail price, my total cost on two phones on a 2yr contract with port in credits would be $398 + $77.35 sales tax ($998 x 0.0775) - $250 (port-in credits) = $225.35 net cost

From Wirefly with the Bank of America Add-It-Up program cashback my cost would be $300 ($150 each) + $0 sales tax - $100 (BofA cash back) = $200.00

So in the perfect scenario, you save $25.35 at Wirefly. To me, that's not enough to make up for the extra hassle with returns and the shorter (14 day) return period. I would say, generally speaking from a pure cost standpoint, if you're moving from another carrier, buy your phone(s) from Sprint. If you're an existing Sprint customer and either upgrading or renewing your contract, buy from Wirefly (especially if you bank at BofA or have a BofA credit card).

 

[Lord_MiL]

Thanks all for the useful info. I hadn't considered sales tax, etc. so I'll have to factor that in.

One question though, if the corporate discount takes a couple billing cycles to kick in, do you lose out on the savings from those first couple months or is it applied retroactively when it finally kicks in?

 

[Dissident]

If you call Sprint Corporate Care and setup the account then the corporate discount is applied instantly. As far as the port in credit goes, it takes 61 days for the Port In credit to post to your account.

There is also an additional discount of $50 available on top of the Port In credit. Promo Code: SAVE50, which the Sprint Corporate Care can also apply (Once the phone is released that is).