12 Month Interest Free from Paypal doesn't apply to pre-orders

[rickms80]

I called HTC about the offer and was told that it would not apply to pre-orders. That offer will not go live until the phone is actually available.

So if you pre-order you get 6 months interest free with 100 dollars off with the pre-order promo. If you wait till the phone starts shipping you'll loose the 100 dollar promo but you'll have 12 months interest free from Paypal.

 

[anon(470989)]

Oh man, you are right. I just checked my PayPal (since I went ahead and pre-ordered with the $100 off) and sure enough it shows only 6 months. That is a bummer.

 

[rickms80]

Trying to decide on what to do myself.

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[idon12no]

Dang... Why can't offers just be straight forward?

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[B0WIE]

Hesitant to comment because I don't want to be misunderstood or offend anyone, but if 6 months isn't enough time to pay off a phone then it's probably a bad investment, no matter how long they give you to pay it off. I say that in the most respectful of ways as I think the lure of "buy now pay later" is a dangerous game. I personally urge my friends to buy only what they can pay for now (aside from homes, cars, and biz expenses).
If you're looking to save money, saving a hundred bucks via pre-order right now isn't a bad way to go. Financing over a longer period isn't really saving money at all. Just potentially compounding debt.

 

[flintlock]

The $100 is a greater benefit. Just pay it off in six months.

 

[thejesse]

Hesitant to comment because I don't want to be misunderstood or offend anyone, but if 6 months isn't enough time to pay off a phone then it's probably a bad investment, no matter how long they give you to pay it off. I say that in the most respectful of ways as I think the lure of "buy now pay later" is a dangerous game. I personally urge my friends to buy only what they can pay for now (aside from homes, cars, and biz expenses).
If you're looking to save money, saving a hundred bucks via pre-order right now isn't a bad way to go. Financing over a longer period isn't really saving money at all. Just potentially compounding debt.

What you say is true when interest is involved. However, the smart move is always to use someone else's money when it's interest free.

 

[B0WIE]

What you say is true when interest is involved. However, the smart move is always to use someone else's money when it's interest free.

Nothing personal, I just don't think that's sound financial advice. The consumer debt crisis is real and millions of Americans have put themselves in bad situations by using "someone else's money", only to find themselves in a hole that keeps getting deeper. It may only be $600, but it's the the fact that people continue to spend is wherein the problem lies. I'm not making a judgment on people, just trying to be helpful because, as I said, there's a real crisis out there.

 

[anon(470989)]

I understand what you are saying Bowie, but trust me, using someone else's money for a longer period of time is always a better way to go when there is no interest being compounded. Now, I absolutely agree that saving $100 for six months financing is a better deal than 12 months financing with no $100 savings. But my problem is the fact that the 12 month deal was shown as an enticement for the phone. Then you realize once you use a coupon, that goes away. Kind of a bummer. What would you rather like to do, make a $100 payment every month for six months or a $50 payment every month for 12 months? C'mon man.

 

[B0WIE]

I understand what you are saying Bowie, but trust me, using someone else's money for a longer period of time is always a better way to go when there is no interest being compounded. Now, I absolutely agree that saving $100 for six months financing is a better deal than 12 months financing with no $100 savings. But my problem is the fact that the 12 month deal was shown as an enticement for the phone. Then you realize once you use a coupon, that goes away. Kind of a bummer. What would you rather like to do, make a $100 payment every month for six months or a $50 payment every month for 12 months? C'mon man.

Me personally? I always pay up front and if I can't, it costs too much. I know you said "trust me" on this but when I started buying only what I could pay off now (putting it on a card and paying that month to build credit) it radically changed my life and put me in a comfortable financial position. It's not in the numbers, it's in the habit, in the method that you prosper. Not only does it make you think twice about frivolous expenses but it prevents you from building multiple debts (let's not pretend that isn't a real thing). Americans have been programmed to be consumers and the "better to pay later" thing is part of that. Thinking of it as $50/month vs $100/month is so dangerous and distracts from the fact that it's $600 and if something gets in the way, it's more than $600. I've seen inumerous friends and family go down the "no interest, pay later" road and so often and then "life happens". Again, no judgement call, I was just sharing from experience and because I care. I won't belabor the point.

 

[thejesse]

Nothing personal, I just don't think that's sound financial advice. The consumer debt crisis is real and millions of Americans have put themselves in bad situations by using "someone else's money", only to find themselves in a hole that keeps getting deeper. It may only be $600, but it's the the fact that people continue to spend is wherein the problem lies. I'm not making a judgment on people, just trying to be helpful because, as I said, there's a real crisis out there.

You pay for the phone up front and I'll finance it interest free for six months. At the end of six months you will have a phone and I will have a phone AND a buck twenty-five or so. Why would I pass on that?

 

[thejesse]

Me personally? I always pay up front and if I can't, it costs too much. I know you said "trust me" on this but when I started buying only what I could pay off now (putting it on a card and paying that month to build credit) it radically changed by life and put me in a comfortable financial position. It's not in the numbers, it's in the habit, in the method that you prosper. Not only does it make you think twice about frivolous expenses but it prevents you from building multiple debts (let's not pretend that isn't a real thing). Americans have been programmed to be consumers and the "better to pay later" thing is part of that. I've seen inumerous friends and family go down the "no interest, pay later" road and so often and then "life happens". Again, no judgement call, I was just sharing from experience and because I care. I won't belabor the point.

Wait, you realize that by using a credit card to purchase things, then paying it off monthly, you are doing the exact same thing? You are using someone else's money for free. The only difference is you are financing for a term of weeks instead of months.

 

[B0WIE]

Wait, you realize that by using a credit card to purchase things, then paying it off monthly, you are doing the exact same thing? You are using someone else's money for free. The only difference is you are financing for a term of weeks instead of months.

Incorrect. It's very different. If you cared for my answer you would have seen it above but rather I think you're offended (which was not my intention). Like I said, I don't want to belabor this so I won't repeat myself but there's a clear explanation above as to the dangers and why every parent in the world gives their kids the same advice.

 

[anon(470989)]

I think it all comes down to being financially responsible. Many people can not do it, but some can. And those who can use it to their advantage. That is all.

 

[usguyver]

After reading all these comments I have to chime in. I use one credit card every month and pay it off every month in order to build your credit and I'm 27 years old. And I have a very excellent credit rating. Like one of the people above who said if you're financially responsible you can only use it to your advantage and get something that you really can't afford. But pay it off over time Inlet say 12 months. If you paid off within that 12 months you're not being billed interest when it's interest-free. For example have a Best Buy store card I really need a new computer because my old computer was slow and dying on me. I have enough income but not enough income to buy a $1,600 computer so I put on my Best Buy store card 18 months financing and I'm only paying 80 bucks a month and I'll have it paid off within 14 months and I don't get charged interest and I get the computer I need. As long as you are financially responsible with the money you have you can use credit to your advantage. Now it is true that there are many people out there who are not financially responsible with credit. For those people they should only buy it what they can afford. But I only use interest 0 financing when I really need something that I can pay over time when it's only no interest. Otherwise I don't use credit.

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[bhatech]

Incorrect. It's very different. If you cared for my answer you would have seen it above but rather I think you're offended (which was not my intention). Like I said, I don't want to belabor this so I won't repeat myself but there's a clear explanation above as to the dangers and why every parent in the world gives their kids the same advice.

Yep I agree with you, using these interest free promos just let's you buy unnecessary things even though you don't need or sometimes can't afford. It's always like $20 a month it should be fine, after a few months you would have had number of such monthly payments and built lot of debt as well. I'm also started developing a habit of using my credit card and pay off in the next billing cycle rather than going thru the finance offers. It makes you think about the purchase and question that if this is something really you need rather than the impulse buy with interest free purchases.

 

[HighTechToid]

Everyone's view of finances is different and everyone's circumstances are also different, but I will give a view that many have not quite shared here:

If you have to put something on credit to get it today, then technically you cannot afford it. In fact, the majority of the world cannot afford the things they buy because they have to put them on payment plans. What's my reasoning? Simple: what happens if you lose your job or source of income? Can you still afford those things you're making payments on? Can you afford to pay them all off or would you be scrambling for a job or try to come up with some way to get all of your bills paid? How long could you go before you were tapped out?

Remember when the market crashed? Majority of the people who owned homes (I use that word loosely here because they had mortgages ...ie payments), nice cars, etc. all had them foreclosed, repossessed, etc. Thus, none of those people could actually 'afford' the things they had.

The simple fact is: if you're making payments on it, you don't own it yet and if you don't own it yet, then in that situation you can't afford it (unless you've chosen to do something like use a credit card for points and then immediately pay off the total when it's due and not in monthly installments).

In reality, 'credit' has really skewed the view of many of what the word 'afford' actually means and thus most of us (myself included) cannot actually afford the things we have - we just make payments them and try to be as reasonable and responsible as we can with our budgets.

I have definitely been caught in that trap of "afford" before and it took me a long time to get out of it and now, if I can't just buy it outright, then I tend to stay away from it.

 

[tleeford]

I emailed Paypal customer service and they changed it for me b/c the web site listed 12 months no interest and no payments.

 

[jfrankcap1]

Consider using Blispay - https://blispay.com
No Payments No Interest on all purchases over $199 if paid in full in 6 months on this purchase AND everywhere else Visa cards are accepted. Plus 2% cash back on all purchases. You get these great benefits even when paying with Android Pay.