The math on two year contract

philb#AC

Well-known member
May 14, 2010
129
0
0
Visit site
I am confused on how people come up with (example) you pay $2400 for your phone with two year contract. If I don't plan on changing providers and I keep my old plan, out of contract, my bill does not go down. So using the formula would I not be crazy NOT to take a deal on a phone? If I buy it for $600 and pay my same amount on my bill I am spending $400 more by not taking subsidized phone, true or false? Am I just bad at math?

Sent from my Rooted Amazon Kindle Fire -Android Tablet using Android Central Forums
 

huthjustih

Member
Mar 21, 2011
8
0
0
Visit site
True, carriers make their money back on the subsidy of the phone through your calling/text plan...yes your calling plan not your data plan. So if you're happy and not going to change save the $$$ buy subsidized.

Sent from rooted, rom'd and unlocked Galaxy Nexus.
 

BlackHawkA4

Drop the Bag
Sep 1, 2010
2,192
74
0
Visit site
Yea. That's why they give you the phone for a cheaper price. They are going to make it back.

And. If your going to stay you might as well take it. Even if your not take it. Cause if you don't plan to stay you pretty much give them back the money you saved on the phone in the first place with the etf. So it evens out no matter what you do.

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Android Central Forums
 

Technosticrati

Well-known member
Nov 28, 2011
193
11
0
Visit site
This is very true as far as it goes. IF you won't change carriers then it always pays off to take the subsidized phone. That being said it does lock you in should a better deal come along...but that's the risk with anything you do. So the trick is to get a subsidized phone and minimize all the additional fees that can add up like the unsubsidized cost of the phone, taxes, shipping fees, and contract "activation" fees.
 

giograves

Well-known member
Feb 12, 2011
295
13
0
Visit site
I think the lure of the unlocked GSM phone in terms of savings is the ability to light it up on a pre-paid plan that can be cost effective in the long run...if of course just like leasing a car, you don't abuse the agreement.

Second is Moore's law as it pertains to Android...every 8 months your going to be teased by the new offerings. A GSM phone by virtue has a better resale value than its locked counterparts. More resale = more funding to scratch your techno itch.
 

6tr6tr

Well-known member
Dec 29, 2009
1,211
14
0
Visit site
To do the math, you need to compare it to other plans offered. For example, if you buy an unlocked iPhone 4S from Virgin Mobile (runs over Sprint's network), the phone is $649, and at $30/mnth (prepaid plan, so you can quit anytime) over two years, that's $1269 TOTAL. Not $1269 for the monthly cost, but $1269 for service + unlocked phone!

By contrast, if you got the subsidized iPhone 4S from Sprint ($199), the cheapest plan you can get is $79.99 a month, which over the two year contract brings you to a total of $2118. That's a difference of $849!!

SPRINT locked iPhone 4S + 2-year contract: $2118
VIRGIN unlocked iPhone 4S + 2-years service: $1269

And the Virgin iPhone is unlocked so you could always leave and switch to Sprint or boost mobile if they offered you a better deal.
 

Error420

New member
Mar 27, 2011
2
0
0
Visit site
Sprint is the worst company I've ever dealt with. Took a iPhone back within the 14 day trial period. Six months later I was still using a optimus S I got off ebay or craigslist and used on cricket for a year or two. Well they kept telling me I had a 2 year contract on the craigslist phone with no upgrade credit. I took the reciept for both the purchase and return of the iphone 6 times to the corporate store. They started telling me something about people in India had to fix the problem. Why couldn't this have been taken care of when we returned the iPhone. Heck their display phone would drop signal when you would touch it, they never corrected the antenna problem?
I repeatedly told the CSR's if they didn't fix the problem and get our upgrade credit fixed we wouldn't give sprint another dime. Told them they would have to come over and hold a gun to my head to get any more money, I didn't care if they sent us a bill for a billion dollars they would never get it. And in our area you have to basically stand under the tower to get a signal at all, our area is 72712 WalMart General Office hometown, Sam Waltons home town, and sprint is by far the worst. Ported numbers over to cricket they gave us a free phone and the signal and data speeds totally kick sprints butt.

In the end sprint just ended up sending us a bill for $170 for our last months service on our two lines appologized and asked what they could do to keep us as customers, I told them to get a new tower and some better CSR's, were happy with the service we recieve from Cricket they totally kick sprints butt here in WalMart country.

Might have just rant and ended up in wrong area?
 

Trending Posts

Forum statistics

Threads
942,408
Messages
6,913,957
Members
3,158,401
Latest member
SandiR