Buyer Beware....Navigating the Purchase of the T-Bolt

[amotter]

Two years ago was the last time I went into a Verizon Store. I think they somehow snuck an additional 6 months on my contract somehow, probably because I am an idiot.

Anyway, can you help me out?

• Does it matter which Verizon store you buy the phone at...is the mall kiosk the same as another Verizon store?
• What do we actually pay for at the time of the purchase?
• What of the phone activation fees, can we do it ourselves?
• Do I let them set up my Microsoft Outlook Calendar/e-mail/etc. or do I do it later?

Hoping these are questions others are interested in knowing as well!

 

[azdmelani]

Two years ago was the last time I went into a Verizon Store. I think they somehow snuck an additional 6 months on my contract somehow, probably because I am an idiot.

Anyway, can you help me out?

• Does it matter which Verizon store you buy the phone at...is the mall kiosk the same as another Verizon store?
• What do we actually pay for at the time of the purchase?
• What of the phone activation fees, can we do it ourselves?
• Do I let them set up my Microsoft Outlook Calendar/e-mail/etc. or do I do it later?

Hoping these are questions others are interested in knowing as well!

If you buy at verizon you get the NE2 discount if you are eligible

You pay for the phone (either via credit card or billed to your account). Any plan changes will be prorated and added to your next billing statement

There are no phone activation fees if you are already on verizon

Probably best that you set up the email etc. later. If it is an exchange server ask someone in IT to help you

 

[azdmelani]

Sorry, should have said if you buy at a CORP verizon store you get the NE2. Not sure if the kiosks do it. Those are just authorized retailers and may have different return policies etc.

 

[amotter]

Cool, does it matter which Verizon store one goes to? I swear I have like 12 of them in a 3 mile radius....
I thought I read that some are the "official" verizon stores and some are "not" and that it matters if you need to return the phone/etc. Don't really know enough to even aske the question correctly!

 

[amotter]

OK...cool....any quick or easy way of knowing if a verizon store is a CORP or an authorized retailer?

 

[Noble.Four]

There are official corporate Verizon kiosks. Some are authorized retailers, but some are legit. Authorized retailers usually have that on their kiosk somewhere. But the best way to tell is if they have working demo phones and stuff.

 

[potatolover1102]

Corporate stores are "official". Go to the website and do a store locator and only filter corporate stores to see.

 

[menji]

I think usually the authorized dealers will say under their name, "authorized dealer". The corp store will just say "verizon" At least that's how it is here in jersey. but don't quote me lol

 

[menji]

Corporate stores are "official". Go to the website and do a store locator and only filter corporate stores to see.

or that. damn I got beaten three times lol

 

[amotter]

You guys rock...it is there on the website like you said under store locater. Once you put in the zipcode you have two tabs..Verizon Wireless Stores and All Stores.....there are 55 stores within a 25 mile radius of my house but only 15 Verizon Wireless Stores!

 

[Perwilly]

Here's a variation on this "what store" question. I'm going to be out of town on a business trip in another state on the 10th. I SHOULD be able to go into a Verizon store in that city and get the phon, RIGHT?? I'm talking Washington state and into Oregon.

 

[amotter]

Thanks...i guess this was a sort of stupid thread but it helped me out a ton! Guess I need to get 600 bucks lined up in the next week! Wife and I are jumping in the android pool together!

 

[azdmelani]

Here's a variation on this "what store" question. I'm going to be out of town on a business trip in another state on the 10th. I SHOULD be able to go into a Verizon store in that city and get the phon, RIGHT?? I'm talking Washington state and into Oregon.

Yup!! As long as they have the phone it doesnt matter what corporate store you go into

 

[bstmstrxellos]

I've always been a fan of the buy from Verizon's website. Its usually free two day or overnight shipping, and you activate the phone yourself without anyone else to possibly mess up the proccess (I heard stories that the employees will sometime just set up a new google account and they had to do a hard reset to get the correct account on it).

 

[amotter]

When you do it online....is it complicated to set up your phone number in the new phone and deactivate the old phone?

 

[mercury694]

It's easy to activate. The new one comes ready, with a sticker on it (or a card in the box) with activation instructions on it. Your old device works until the new one is successfully activated. You tell the website what line you're replacing when you order, and the boxes are labeled by line.

 

[bstmstrxellos]

No. When you buy it online, Verizon already has meid # from the phone set up in their system, so all you have to do is power down your old phone, and call a certain phone number from the new phone and press a number to accept the changes to your contract that you agreed to when you ordered the phone. From there it takes about a minute or two for Verizon's network to configure your phone with your phone number.

 

[prakash99]

You guys rock...it is there on the website like you said under store locater. Once you put in the zipcode you have two tabs..Verizon Wireless Stores and All Stores.....there are 55 stores within a 25 mile radius of my house but only 15 Verizon Wireless Stores!

So those 15 stores are corp stores.

One more thing about activation fee. There will be an activation fee if you are activating a new line. I think it is $30 or $35.

 

[prakash99]

(I heard stories that the employees will sometime just set up a new google account and they had to do a hard reset to get the correct account on it).

The reps have always asked me for my gmail account to set up the google account and I have always to told them that I would do it myself.

I have bought online (BlackBerry Storm 2, LG Ally, a netbook), in store and also at BestBuy. All three experiences have been without any complications for me.

 

[anon(157335)]

The reps have always asked me for my gmail account to set up the google account and I have always to told them that I would do it myself.

I have bought online (BlackBerry Storm 2, LG Ally, a netbook), in store and also at BestBuy. All three experiences have been without any complications for me.

I've also heard horror stories of VZW employees putting the brand new phone down on its screen while they are setting it up, dropping it, etc. I'd rather unbox it myself.

Personally I've always used the website. I don't remember the exact time, but I believe if you order online by 4:00 local time your phone will be delivered next day by FedEx.