Poll: Did Sprint drop the ball on pricing??

[wiltonmanorsx]

Now that the release has been announced what do you think about how Sprint did in regards to pricing??

I will be buying one on release day but I worry about this phone being a flop for sprint due to the $250 price tag.


Thoughts?

I think they will drop the price and drop it fast. I know Sprint's plans are better in comparison to other providers. But the first thing a consumer will notice is the price of the phone. They'll ask themselves "If a Droid 2 is $199, a Vibrant is $99 and a Captivate is $49, why should I spend $349 on this phone?"

I doubt the phone will be a flop for Sprint, but they've shot themselves in the foot with their pricing. With the current state of the economy, people don't want to put out a large amount of cash up front for anything. They want to feel like their money is being well spent.

Personally, I'll be buying an Epic. I might wait until a few days after launch to see if Amazon or Wirefly has it for a little less or purchase it at RadioShack or BestBuy to at least get the mail-in rebate discount right off the bat.

 

[mztiklimit]

I think the Epic would have put some serious competition to Evo if priced the same. My guess is that Sprint saw how it adds a sliding hardware keyboard and better screen, and decided it was best at $250. Those who truly want it, will get it. Those who are just looking a for new phone on Sprint will definitely opt for the Evo instead.

 

[vader4633]

I paid $250 in 2007 for the HTC touch and willl be paying it again for the epic

 

[RG1#AC]

Is this aggressive pricing? Kinda scary considering the iphone is 199 for a 16 gb. yes the epic is a better phone and hardware but that is not being aggressive. thanks again sprint for ripping me off! Is this where i log off and switch to another carrier since i dont even have 4g in my area?

 

[miamithrice]

But wouldn't I be responsible for paying for the first month's service + activation fee? That would nullify any savings and actually end up being more expensive.

Can someone confirm this for me? If I wait until after the 30 period and cancel the contract, it seems logical that I would have to pay for a month of service + the activation fee. Where's the savings?

 

[miamithrice]

Is this aggressive pricing? Kinda scary considering the iphone is 199 for a 16 gb. yes the epic is a better phone and hardware but that is not being aggressive. thanks again sprint for ripping me off! Is this where i log off and switch to another carrier since i dont even have 4g in my area?

So you want a phone with better hardware to sell at the same price point even when the service plans associated with it are cheaper and actually offer *gasp!* unlimited data? Ripped off?



LOL...my, how far we've come..

 

[frankos72]

Yes, it is this simple. Just cancel the trial outside of the 30 days you get.

So, you end up paying for a months of service too. Don't forget that part.

 

[frankos72]

Guess I'll wait to see how much it is at Sam's or Costco. Costco has the vibrant for $149 right now, so maybe I Can get this phone there for $199 and not have to mess with the MIR. Now since I'll be waiting another week or two, what are the odds that HPalm will make an announcement for their next phone, since that's the phone I really want anyway...

 

[Aero]

So, you end up paying for a months of service too. Don't forget that part.

And the labor, and the fact that you can only do that once or twice in your life before getting on some devil customer list, A better calculus will be ebay which is usually an excellent reflection of discount price-etf for handsets that are in reasonably good inventory.

 

[Q-fugee]

This clearly has nothing to do with the keyboard, front camera or any other feature of the phone over the EVO or the other Galaxy phones.

This is all about supply. The publicity hit from having placed too small an order for the EVO and the resulting shortage is the only factor in the Epic's price. When your CEO goes on TV and admits they blew first-mover advantage due to supply, that says it all.

Notice how the EVO has been out of stock since 8/1? That means zero EVO owners will be able to trade in for an EPIC. That's not by chance.

At $250, they can claim no supply problem for the Epic. On 8/31, there will be no EVO owners eligible to trade up.

All decisions at Sprint are run through the CFO office, don't kid yourselves.

--Qfg

 

[kd0axs]

So you want a phone with better hardware to sell at the same price point even when the service plans associated with it are cheaper and actually offer *gasp!* unlimited data? Ripped off?



LOL...my, how far we've come..

Define "Better".

Better is an opinion. To some it may be better hardware, and to some it may not be.

I don't think the Epic will be a flop, but I do think this pricing is a bad idea on Sprint's part. The average consumer will definitely be turned off by the price, especially those considering switching to Sprint from another carrier.

The iPhone is the gold standard of smartphones (like it or not that's the way it is) so if Sprint wants to attract customers that might otherwise get an iPhone, they need to keep the phone at a competitive price. $50 more is NOT competitive pricing.

Verizon is the gold standard when it comes to networks, so if Sprint wants to attract customers from them they need to keep their phone prices competitive. $50 more than an Incredible, Droid X, or Droid 2 is NOT competitive.

Sprint's plans may be cheaper but the extra $50 for the phone plus $10 a month really eats into those savings.

Keep in mind that I am thinking like the average consumer here, not the average person here in these forums.

 

[thatguitarguy]

I don't know if the Epic is better than the iPhone 4 in terms of hardware. If we're talking about specs, I think it's by preference. The iPhone 4 is made out of METAL and GLASS. The Epic is plastic and then a glass screen and what not. I honestly think the iPhone 4 feels like one of the most sturdy and elegant phones out there. It's hard to match that, but they can charge $199 because they get money on the back-end as well as the front end.

I do think it'll turn people away initially. I have a hard time thinking it's low on supply. I think it taking so long has to do with supply being made as well. If it's all just to have another 4G phone they can get instead of the EVO, it's messed up. It's upselling through manipulation (and I've worked in retail or helped out family businesses in retail settings) and while it's common, it's kind of sucky.

"Well, I know you're number 100 on the list for EVOs, but we're still on backorder. We do however have another 4G phone out that is actually a little bit better and you can have it now and it's ONLY $50 more. Would you like that instead? $50 isn't that much more."

That'll work for some, but not everyone can notice that the plans are cheaper, they look at the upfront cost of the phone, and $50 more is a turn off unless they're good at selling it to you right then and there for "only" $50 more.

 

[drizek]

Reply to Aero:

The intercept has a hardware keyboard, it actually looks very silar to the one on the epic, but they practically give it away. They have another phone on metro pcs that is 4G, and I bet they will release a 4G WP7 device as well. You can't make up all that R&D on just the epic.

They should be looking at volume. If you sell enough of them, all those costs start to fade away.

BTW, if you are hoping for a price drop, keep in mind that they are still selling the TP2 for $199.(in their defense, so is AT&T.

Sent From My Samsung Intercept

 

[cr3amy]

They should be looking at volume. If you sell enough of them, all those costs start to fade away.

Which is a lot easier to do with an unlimited supply

 

[happasaiyan]

sprint
$70 (450 mins + text + data)
$10 (4G)
$250 (epic 4G)

2-year costs: $2170

verizon
$60 (450 mins + text)
$30 (unlimited data)
$200 (droid 2)

2-year costs: $2360

at&t
$40 (450 mins)
$25 (2gb data)
$20 (unlimited text)
$10 (gps)
$200 (captivate)

2-year costs: $2480

price seems fine to me.

 

[cr3amy]

sprint
$70 (450 mins + text + data)
$10 (4G)
$250 (epic 4G)

2-year costs: $2170

verizon
$60 (450 mins + text)
$30 (unlimited data)
$200 (droid 2)

2-year costs: $2360

at&t
$40 (450 mins)
$25 (2gb data)
$20 (unlimited text)
$10 (gps)
$200 (captivate)

2-year costs: $2480

price seems fine to me.

These are not apples-to-apples. Sprint gives unlimited mobile-to-mobile on any carrier and is *still* cheaper.

 

[scheets973]

Good point

All the Galaxy S phones previously had been priced at 200

The Epic is clearly the best out of them all feature wise so it would only make sense to cost more.

With all due respect a lesser 5mp camera a vga front camera ( which sprint wants on its 4g phones), a mini keyboard does not warrent a 50 dollar surcharge.

I am sure the economics could of made sense at 199 for sprint especially if they are trying to add users/subscribers.

I wanted the Epic but now I am contemplating if I even want to stay with Sprint.

 

[cr3amy]

With all due respect a lesser 5mp camera a vga front camera ( which sprint wants on its 4g phones), a mini keyboard does not warrent a 50 dollar surcharge.

Omg. It's been said countless times before, here and on other reviews, that the camera on the Epic produces BETTER pictures than the Evo. Maybe it's because, you know, Samsung actually makes cameras and knows what they're doing, whereas HTC just put a really big megapixel number to convince people like you that their's is better.

 

[pmjohnson99]

This is pretty simple...

All the Galaxy S phones are basically the same (sans keyboards, flashes...etc and such of course). But basically you have the same phone. The addition of the keyboard will make a person raise an eye brow in interest, but not go to it. If you want a keyboard you buy a keyboard...if you don't care you might not be able to make a decision.

So the casual consumer walks into a Best Buy and all 4 of the Galaxy's are laid out. They don't care about a keyboard or 4G even. How do they decide? Well studies have shown when unable to choose people assign quality to cost. If they all cost the same then there no differentiate in quality...you keep your flip phone, walk out and get a burrito from Chipotle and call it a day. But if one is a little more and you can see obviously why (keyboard)...then you think "oh this one is probably better because it has a keyboard". Then you start to rationalize how you would like a keyboard some times...and it's not much thicker...it snowballs to you walking about with the EPIC.

For the microcosm of Android Central, we'll bang heads over the $50. For the average consumer who doesn't know about this or other forums they'll go through that sort of thought process.

I'm not surprised by the price. Sprint always charges more for phones (Touch Pro 2). I guess they know they make less on the back end.

 

[cr3amy]

So the casual consumer walks into a Best Buy and all 4 of the Galaxy's are laid out. They don't care about a keyboard or 4G even. How do they decide? Well studies have shown when unable to choose people assign quality to cost. If they all cost the same then there no differentiate in quality...you keep your flip phone, walk out and get a burrito from Chipotle and call it a day. But if one is a little more and you can see obviously why (keyboard)...then you think "oh this one is probably better because it has a keyboard". Then you start to rationalize how you would like a keyboard some times...and it's not much thicker...it snowballs to you walking about with the EPIC.

I like your little hypothetical. Toss in there that any competent salesperson could sell an average consumer on 4G and front-facing camera (HQ Youtube, higher quality video chat possible in future over 4G, etc) and I think the $50 will be negligible in their mind. Plus, that same competent salesperson will lay out the cheaper plan cost.