Is the HTC 10 priced too high?

[cybertec69]

I don't think that HTC is as strong as a brand as Samsung or Apple, thus the car analogy makes sense to me.

Do you buy a phone because of brand or because it's just a real good phone, now I know that people buy iPhone's just because they think that's the only smartphone on the planet, and you would be quite surprised why most people buy iPhone's. I personally don't give a rats arse what anyone else buys or brand recognition, it could say Mojo on the back of the phone, as long as it fits my budget and I like it's features.

 

[cybertec69]

Duh. Of course it's not a "gift". But the carrier is subsidizing the initial purchase of the phone. In return for your contractual obligation. Yes part of your monthly payment is to cover the remaining cost of the phone. My point is, most people don't pay full retail price when they buy a new phone. So full retail price is not that relevant. If I want a new M10 I'm not shelling out $700. I'm shelling out $250 or whatever the subsidized price is and then renewing my contract, which will be the same price no matter what phone I buy. And if I wait a couple months that $250 will quickly be down to 100 or 150.

You do know you are paying more for that SUBSIDIZED phone over two years if you would have bought it outright, you do know that.

 

[Ry]

Do you buy a phone because of brand or because it's just a real good phone, now I know that people buy iPhone's just because they think that's the only smartphone on the planet, and you would be quite surprised why most people buy iPhone's. I personally don't give a rats arse what anyone else buys or brand recognition, it could say Mojo on the back of the phone, as long as it fits my budget and I like it's features.

I don't. But it doesn't matter when other people do.

 

[Thomas Guide]

Re: Priced too high?

Apparently. Our houses cost twice as much as yours. Then again we haven't had our crash yet. Guess our wealth will be fleeting.

Posted via the Android Central App

Canadian real estate is expensive, what kind of salary do you guys get to afford 800K-900K houses?

 

[Rails Ruby]

Looks like this phone is going up against the high end Samsung phones price wise. Is that a good thing or should they have priced out somewhere between mid-range and high end as a compromise, like the L5 G5 range...They don't have the marketing power so how are they going to be able to get the word out there apart from the die hards...could be a risky move, but could also be a great move, time will tell...

Yes it's very expensive especially when they not giving any headphones with it. I was thinking they are justifyig they price by including hi Fi headphones but they are not

 

[Bearcats98]

Re: Priced too high?

Canadian real estate is expensive, what kind of salary do you guys get to afford 800K-900K houses?

How is this even relevant to HTC or smart phones?

 

[Thomas Guide]

You buy phones on craigslist, really.

Some of the best deals on phones are on craigslist, yeah I buy from craigslist. I buy lots of other things from craigslist as well. Sometimes it's just easier to meet up and pay cash instead of always relying on shipping.

 

[Only1Z]

Duh. Of course it's not a "gift". But the carrier is subsidizing the initial purchase of the phone. In return for your contractual obligation. Yes part of your monthly payment is to cover the remaining cost of the phone. My point is, most people don't pay full retail price when they buy a new phone. So full retail price is not that relevant. If I want a new M10 I'm not shelling out $700. I'm shelling out $250 or whatever the subsidized price is and then renewing my contract, which will be the same price no matter what phone I buy. And if I wait a couple months that $250 will quickly be down to 100 or 150.

Right. You do it the more expensive way to do it. Get a subsidized phone and pay the carrier $25 more per month per phone for 2 years. Buying the phone outright to begin with costs less over the course of the 2 years because the monthly plan typically goes down $25 per month per phone that you don't have subsidized. Even at a subsidized $199 price, you will pay $600 extra in monthly fees in 2 years. You just spent $799 on your phone instead of $599. Congratulations!

 

[Thomas Guide]

Duh. Of course it's not a "gift". But the carrier is subsidizing the initial purchase of the phone. In return for your contractual obligation. Yes part of your monthly payment is to cover the remaining cost of the phone. My point is, most people don't pay full retail price when they buy a new phone. So full retail price is not that relevant. If I want a new M10 I'm not shelling out $700. I'm shelling out $250 or whatever the subsidized price is and then renewing my contract, which will be the same price no matter what phone I buy. And if I wait a couple months that $250 will quickly be down to 100 or 150.

Most likely this phone will be free on 2 year plan.

 

[Thomas Guide]

Right. You do it the more expensive way to do it. Get a subsidized phone and pay the carrier $25 more per month per phone for 2 years. Buying the phone outright to begin with costs less over the course of the 2 years because the monthly plan typically goes down $25 per month per phone that you don't have subsidized. Even at a subsidized $199 price, you will pay $600 extra in monthly fees in 2 years. You just spent $799 on your phone instead of $599. Congratulations!

How exactly do you pay more? You get a subsidized phone for free or $199 (using your example). You pay a monthly fee that is the SAME as every other person who opted to get a monthly payment plan.

Free phone plus $39.99 a month or $199 plus $39.99 a month. Pay full retail on a monthly payment plan and it's $39.99 a month plus $25 a month more for your phone. When your phone payment is done you pay $39.99 a month. Paying the exact same rate as the guy who got a free phone. How exactly does a payment plan let you pay less?

 

[dsstrainer]

Nobody questions Apple for doing it and this is much better than an iPhone.
They are doing the same thing they did with the A9.. jack it up $100 too high.. then give a $100 coupon.

 

[markymark]

Right. You do it the more expensive way to do it. Get a subsidized phone and pay the carrier $25 more per month per phone for 2 years. Buying the phone outright to begin with costs less over the course of the 2 years because the monthly plan typically goes down $25 per month per phone that you don't have subsidized. Even at a subsidized $199 price, you will pay $600 extra in monthly fees in 2 years. You just spent $799 on your phone instead of $599. Congratulations!

Uh, no. For 2GB plans the discount is only $15/month. But nice try.

p.s. I got my M8 for free with 2 yr contract.

 

[Thomas Guide]

Nobody questions Apple for doing it and this is much better than an iPhone.
They are doing the same thing they did with the A9.. jack it up $100 too high.. then give a $100 coupon.

Apple is the worst offender for overpriced phones, starting with their refusal to dump the 16GB model. $650 for a 16GB phone is beyond outrageous, especially when you factor in that there is no sd card option. So essentially you're left with getting the 64GB for $100 more. Making the starting iphone $750. How Apple gets away with this in beyond me. There seems to be this perception (real or imagined) that iphones are the cream of the crop and it may very well be a great phone. But it is over priced and now we have many choices for great phones at a lot less money. I've had a few iphones in the early days when Android phones were kind of wonky. But those days are over and I'm never going to pay more than $300-400 for a phone. It's crazy to drop $700-$800 on a phone every 2 years.

 

[Thomas Guide]

Nobody questions Apple for doing it and this is much better than an iPhone.
They are doing the same thing they did with the A9.. jack it up $100 too high.. then give a $100 coupon.

That's not quite accurate, they started the price of the A9 at $399 then a few weeks later they shot themselves in the foot and said that was the intro price. Never mind the fact that nowhere did they say that it was an intro price. Had they sold that phone for $399 it would have been a homerun.

 

[Ry]

Apple is the worst offender for overpriced phones, starting with their refusal to dump the 16GB model. $650 for a 16GB phone is beyond outrageous, especially when you factor in that there is no sd card option. So essentially you're left with getting the 64GB for $100 more. Making the starting iphone $750. How Apple gets away with this in beyond me. There seems to be this perception (real or imagined) that iphones are the cream of the crop and it may very well be a great phone. But it is over priced and now we have many choices for great phones at a lot less money. I've had a few iphones in the early days when Android phones were kind of wonky. But those days are over and I'm never going to pay more than $300-400 for a phone. It's crazy to drop $700-$800 on a phone every 2 years.

Simple. Brand strength.

 

[Ry]

That's not quite accurate, they started the price of the A9 at $399 then a few weeks later they shot themselves in the foot and said that was the intro price. Never mind the fact that nowhere did they say that it was an intro price. Had they sold that phone for $399 it would have been a homerun.

And they'd have sales every other week that drop the price. :/

 

[Thomas Guide]

And they'd have sales every other week that drop the price. :/

At that price they wouldn't need to do any sales.

 

[AKWingsFan]

I can only speak on AT&T, but it looks like there is no implied dollar difference, excluding inflation and things like that.

Your monthly payment is your Plan + Monthly Installment Payment for the phone. They do not offer any form of discount.

On the leasing plan, if you cancel service, you owe the remaining balance on the phone. You can also upgrade after x number of months, based on the plan. I don't think you get any financial benefit other than getting to trade up to the next year's model (keeping up with the Joneses???).

 

[idon12no]

Something that needs to be considered here is that the HTC 10 is a premium item, and it needs to be priced as such.

A better question is probably "Is the HTC 10 worth the premium price?" If this phone was released for 500 dollars, it would cross into budget territory and never exist as a premium again.

I think it's worth it, but I don't know if I would buy it without the discount, and that opens what is probably the most important question; "How much are people willing to spend on a flagship in today's market?"

 

[andreiga76]

It's not HTC fault? Really? They cannot advertise their product with ads that go directly against Samsung and Apple and it's somebody else fault?
That's how Samsung started, they made a good phone and went against IPhone directly, nobody knew about Galaxy brand.
They can make a phone twice as powerful compared to G7 or IPhone, without big marketing campaign they won't make big sales numbers. Let's hope they sell enough, it would be sad to go away.