Paid $1,600 for LESS-THAN-PERFECT hardware! (S20 Ultra)

[VidJunky]

Boy I miss those days of subsidized pricing for $199 eh?

Yeah, I remember Verizon's New Ever 2 and looked forward to getting my next device, for what felt like too much, for $100. When I started looking at my first smart phone, the Droid Incredible, it was rumored to be releasing for $200 and I was trying to figure out how I was going to swing that much. I mean I got it but man it hurt, at the time. Blasted Apple, ruining the whole subsidy game, well kind of. Plan prices are more than they've ever been and they got us buying our own devices, so I guess we will pay whatever they say if it's something we want.

 

[Mike Dee]

Yeah, I remember Verizon's New Ever 2 and looked forward to getting my next device, for what felt like too much, for $100. When I started looking at my first smart phone, the Droid Incredible, it was rumored to be releasing for $200 and I was trying to figure out how I was going to swing that much. I mean I got it but man it hurt, at the time. Blasted Apple, ruining the whole subsidy game, well kind of. Plan prices are more than they've ever been and they got us buying our own devices, so I guess we will pay whatever they say if it's something we want.

At some point Verizon's subsidized phones weren't really subsidized. I bought my wife a subsidized iPhone 6 and what Verizon did was jack up the momthly line access fee on her phone to make up the difference. Most people including myself didn't even notice.

 

[cardboard60]

Why did you buy it?

When I bought it.
I had more weight on me..being sick and loosing weight.
It hurts my right hip.
I keep laying it down.
Walking off and leaving it somewhere.

I'm about to thr point.
I dont even want to carry a phone period.

 

[J Dubbs]

J Dubbs , he's a regular here

Not as regular as I should be Stang ;-) I've been missing out on all the action here trying to survive the end of the world lol. Hey if the world's ending, this is as good a place as any to shoot the last bull of my lifetime :O ;-)

 

[J Dubbs]

Yeah, I remember Verizon's New Ever 2 and looked forward to getting my next device, for what felt like too much, for $100. When I started looking at my first smart phone, the Droid Incredible, it was rumored to be releasing for $200 and I was trying to figure out how I was going to swing that much. I mean I got it but man it hurt, at the time. Blasted Apple, ruining the whole subsidy game, well kind of. Plan prices are more than they've ever been and they got us buying our own devices, so I guess we will pay whatever they say if it's something we want.

That's what irritates me the most..... companies like Samsung and Apple play consumers like fools, squeezing ever more ridiculously egregious amounts of money out of folks who often don't have the disposable income to comfortably afford their phones, but buy them anyway often putting themselves in a financial bind.

I worked with a couple living out of their car with 3 young children, through a cold winter, who claimed they couldn't afford a place to live, but they somehow managed to afford their flagship Samsung phone payments along with their unlimited phone plans. I was helping them get assistance, but as soon as the phone bill was brought up as something that should be addressed they said nope, that wasn't even on the table :-[ Suffice to say, children's services took over from there.

I know companies need to make money, but when cell phone companies start acting like car dealerships to the point they seem scummy, they've probably crossed the line :-[ :-[

 

[customshopkv1]

That's what irritates me the most..... companies like Samsung and Apple play consumers like fools, squeezing ever more ridiculously egregious amounts of money out of folks who often don't have the disposable income to comfortably afford their phones, but buy them anyway often putting themselves in a financial bind.

I worked with a couple living out of their car with 3 young children, through a cold winter, who claimed they couldn't afford a place to live, but they somehow managed to afford their flagship Samsung phone payments along with their unlimited phone plans. I was helping them get assistance, but as soon as the phone bill was brought up as something that should be addressed they said nope, that wasn't even on the table :-[ Suffice to say, children's services took over from there.

I know companies need to make money, but when cell phone companies start acting like car dealerships to the point they seem scummy, they've probably crossed the line :-[ :-[

That's not Samsung or Apples fault. That solely rest on the adults making a choice. The same choice all of us make in purchasing these phones and signing up for the cell provider plans.

 

[J Dubbs]

That's not Samsung or Apples fault. That solely rest on the adults making a choice. The same choice all of us make in purchasing these phones and signing up for the cell provider plans.

So Samsung sending out phones they know aren't ready for primetime (and don't forget their watches), and charging groundbreaking prices for them, and Apple purposely slowing down older phones with updates to force people to upgrade, and pulling the no repair scam where the only place who's allowed to fix Apple products is Apple themselves, who's been caught on undercover cameras repeatedly lying about how much the repair will cost to get people to buy a new device.... which is just the tip of the iceberg, is an okay way to treat customers? Or you? Or your kids? Wife? Friends? So where do you draw the line? Or do you have a line?

I don't know about you, but I consider those kind of business practices pretty scummy at best, and bordering on illegal at worst :-[ :-[

 

[customshopkv1]

So Samsung sending out phones they know aren't ready for primetime (and don't forget their watches), and charging groundbreaking prices for them, and Apple purposely slowing down older phones with updates to force people to upgrade, and pulling the no repair scam where the only place who's allowed to fix Apple products is Apple themselves, who's been caught on undercover cameras repeatedly lying about how much the repair will cost to get people to buy a new device.... which is just the tip of the iceberg, is an okay way to treat customers? Or you? Or your kids? Wife? Friends? So where do you draw the line? Or do you have a line?

I don't know about you, but I consider those kind of business practices pretty scummy at best, and bordering on illegal at worst :-[ :-[

My reply to your post was about the choices people make and are not required to make. Totally different discussion than how you or I feel that Samsung, Apple, Verizon, etc handle their day to day business operations.

 

[mustang7757]

Not as regular as I should be Stang ;-) I've been missing out on all the action here trying to survive the end of the world lol. Hey if the world's ending, this is as good a place as any to shoot the last bull of my lifetime :O ;-)

I hear you stay safe !

 

[Mooncatt]

I don't know about you, but I consider those kind of business practices pretty scummy at best, and bordering on illegal at worst :-[ :-[

If you don't like how a company does business, then don't buy from them. Simple.

If someone else doesn't mind those practices and feel the product they buy is worth the money, that is for them to decide on making the purchase, not you.

Btw, Apple slowing their phones down wasn't to pressure customers into new phones. That's a conspiracy theory by people that didn't look at the facts of the situation; that it was a battery saving adjustment that was only affecting phones with weak batteries regardless of age.

 

[donm527]

In some ways, Apple slowing down the phones a little didn't drive users into replacing their phones any faster... if anything, it helped keep the phone last through the day longer so that they wouldn't feel the need to get a new phone just yet. We're not talking a fix for a phone that had battery drain problems in a year or two. We're talking extending the usable life of a phone into year 3-4-5.

I had a 6S as a loaner for a while when my Android phone died and honestly if they dropped the performance to extend battery life, I didn't notice and still probably didn't notice even after I knew. All I know is I got a new battery for like $25 and I gave it to a relative that needed a phone when I got my Note 8.

Maybe a little more transparency of what all behind the scenes would have not made it a big deal. For some, it would have made a difference... maybe they could have added a toggle switch in battery settings and let people decide. dunno.

Btw, Apple slowing their phones down wasn't to pressure customers into new phones. That's a conspiracy theory by people that didn't look at the facts of the situation; that it was a battery saving adjustment that was only affecting phones with weak batteries regardless of age.

 

[Mooncatt]

Maybe a little more transparency of what all behind the scenes would have not made it a big deal. For some, it would have made a difference... maybe they could have added a toggle switch in battery settings and let people decide. dunno.

That is certainly true. How Apple handled it had a lot to do with the conspiracy theories.

 

[buzzy3970]

Agreed. If anything they have solutions for others who can't afford a flagship. Samsung is bringing the heat with tons of features on there mid range devices and don't forget the new se. Albeit not the size that most want it has many of the features of the flagship iPhones if you just have to have an iPhone. Phone manufacturers or carriers can't be blamed for someone's financial choices.

That's not Samsung or Apples fault. That solely rest on the adults making a choice. The same choice all of us make in purchasing these phones and signing up for the cell provider plans.

 

[J Dubbs]

The business practices of many big corporations are very anti-consumer... it's not okay to give them a pass and blame it all on the consumer. When you go new car shopping and get frustrated playing all the bs games with dealerships is everybody okay with how they're treating you? Are all the games and tricks and time spent all on you because you're choosing to buy a new car? And the dealerships have no part of, or responsibility for, the experience of buying the vehicle?

Those are anti-consumer tactics, and just because you feel it's something you have to endure doesn't mean it's right, or other folks feel the same way. When businesses treat people like that I'm going to point it out because it may be becoming the norm, but that will never make it right.

 

[Mooncatt]

The business practices of many big corporations are very anti-consumer... it's not okay to give them a pass and blame it all on the consumer. When you go new car shopping and get frustrated playing all the bs games with dealerships is everybody okay with how they're treating you? Are all the games and tricks and time spent all on you because you're choosing to buy a new car? And the dealerships have no part of, or responsibility for, the experience of buying the vehicle?

Those are anti-consumer tactics, and just because you feel it's something you have to endure doesn't mean it's right, or other folks feel the same way. When businesses treat people like that I'm going to point it out because it may be becoming the norm, but that will never make it right.

Again, that is all just your opinion. Even with your car dealership example, it's still buyer beware. For example, I won't do business with dealerships that don't show their prices on the cars. They make you go through their credit checks and everything, then the price is revealed later. That's my choice. Other consumers make their choice to buy there. Maybe they have really good prices. Maybe they are just a "we approve everyone" place that caters to buyers that are not otherwise credit worthy. Doesn't matter to me, but I'm not going to say they shouldn't exist. There are dealerships you can shop at that make the experience pleasant. There's also now Carvana, which takes the traditional dealership out of the equation.

We all have choices. You do what works for you, and others will do what works for them even if it doesn't match your ideals.

 

[Kizzy Catwoman]

@Mooncatt I know you like cats but this is hilarious. Sending you a real cat.