Am I crazy

[krazy]

Does anyone actually pay retail for phones? I mean I use my phone A LOT but I still feel somewhat foolish for paying $650 for a phone. My current phone is the original droid which I love but at this point it's dying and I don't have an upgrade until August. I figured if I buy the Thunderbolt outright I'd still have an upgrade to use later this year and then I could sell the Thunderbolt to pay for the new phone (discounted with a contract extension) if there is something out I like better.

I am also justifying it to myself by thinking about how we pay ~$80 * 24 = $1920 when they are on contract for smartphone plans.

Also, given the fact that I'm also thinking of getting an ipad 2 could I just get the wifi only model and root/tether the Thunderbolt with unlimited 4g? That would also save me ~$150 by not having to get a wifi+3g ipad.

Any thoughts?

 

[pheatton]

Since VZW has been carrying Android devices I have bought the first Moto Droid and my Incredible outright. I used my upgrade on the Fascinate which is currently on Craigslist for sale. I may be buying the TB outright if I like the size.

Im very happy with my Incredible so its not like a need another phone.

 

[French]

I started looking at the prices and figured out that you get the best deal by buying it with a new line and one-year contract.
$249 w 2 year contract
$319 with 1 year contract

Activate phone, transfer it to your line, activate dumb phone on the new line and then you are paying $9.99/month on the new line.

$9.99 x 20% taxes/fees, etc. = 12/month
12/month x 12 = $144

$319 + $144 = $463

 

[bkorver]

I don't think you're crazy, I think you're krazy...

 

[krazy]

I don't think you're crazy, I think you're krazy...

Well played...

I think I'm just going to do it this one time and then move to what French suggested: yearly contracts, 2 years is way too long at this point given that the cycle of each model (iphone, droid, etc) is yearly.

 

[terrain]

I would never do it but sure lot's of folks dump 500++ on phones - especially on the Apple side of the street. If you don't need LTE NOW - I'd personally wait a bit for a 3.0 LTE phone.

 

[p08757]

Well played...

I think I'm just going to do it this one time and then move to what French suggested: yearly contracts, 2 years is way too long at this point given that the cycle of each model (iphone, droid, etc) is yearly.

Lets hope they offer 1 year contracts. I wanted to get (gasp!) the iPhone 4 but they didnt offer a 1 year contract.

1 year contracts are the only way to go.

 

[French]

Krazy...look at my post again...if you can buy the phone on a 1-year contract you can add a new line to your account and still pay almost $200 less than full retail. I was going to pay full retail, too till I started looking at the numbers. I'll just activate a dumb phone and toss it in the kitchen drawer and in a year cancel the line.

 

[Jerry Hildenbrand]

I pay retail for all my phones, so I don't think you're crazy. Tis a shame you still have to pay the same monthly rate when you're not paying the subsidy fees though.

Edit: I pay discounted retail whenever I can. Heya Susan

 

[DJBeanPole]

Krazy...look at my post again...if you can buy the phone on a 1-year contract you can add a new line to your account and still pay almost $200 less than full retail. I was going to pay full retail, too till I started looking at the numbers. I'll just activate a dumb phone and toss it in the kitchen drawer and in a year cancel the line.

What if you don't have a dumb phone to activate? Your idea sounds pretty damn good to me.

 

[krazy]

Actually I just called verizon and they said I have an early upgrade and I went to their website and it says the same thing (I took a picture incase they tell me otherwise in the store). The backup will be to buy the dumb phone and put it in the drawer for a year. Thanks for the idea!

 

[bkorver]

What if you don't have a dumb phone to activate? Your idea sounds pretty damn good to me.

Pick one up on Craigslist or the local classifieds for 10 or 15 bucks. It doesn't even have to work, it just has to have an ESN...

 

[blackberryconvert2011]

@ DJ Bean Pole, I went through this with a VZ rep and he told me to borrow a "dumb" phone or get one off of craigslist...it also occurred to me that you could buy a VZ pre-paid one and use that...not sure that would work though.

However, I went through this with a VZ rep - I currently have an unlimited plan (@$138 a month). He told me that in order to activate a "dumb" line, I'd have to bump up to a family plan (i.e. one with two lines)...this would bring my bill to something like $165 a month. Do I NOT have to go the family plan route in order to activate a "dumb" line? How is this done?

 

[paulmike3]

I started looking at the prices and figured out that you get the best deal by buying it with a new line and one-year contract.
$249 w 2 year contract
$319 with 1 year contract

Activate phone, transfer it to your line, activate dumb phone on the new line and then you are paying $9.99/month on the new line.

$9.99 x 20% taxes/fees, etc. = 12/month
12/month x 12 = $144

$319 + $144 = $463

Isn't your LTE SIM going to have the new line's number associated to it? Unless you don't mind changing number or they let you move the LTE package around your lines, that seems like a flaw in this logic.

 

[steevereeno]

I'm debating paying full retail for the TB as well since my upgrade date isn't until next March. The way I justify the cost is this. I have a Droid X and could very possibly get $400 for it on Ebay including the accessories I have. If full retail for the TB is about $650, that's like paying a net price of $250 which is actually cheaper than the $319 that one would pay for a 1-year contract. It seems reasonable when looking at it that way. I'm in an LTE city and definitely want to take advantage of the $29.99 unlimited pricing so I'll likely jump on this now before the Summer hits along with possible rate hikes.