Poll: Did Sprint drop the ball on pricing??

[Aero]

I'm only interested in what sprint pays, not so much the manufacturing costs or R&D.

You can come very close to what sprint pays by looking at their selling price for out of contract.
As afar as sprint not having R&D, you are ignoring the other major costs, eg that Sprint does most of the advertising for handsets, not the makers, (obvious if you look at print, web, billboard and bus, and TV adverts), and it is sprint that provides tech support. Sprint also assumes warranty, which even if they post bill samsung, is still a major cost.

 

[drizek]

Was the off contract price for the Evo always $449?

i always assumed that it was more than the OC for the Epic, which was pretty confusing.

Still, like I said, Sprints advertising costs dont justify the price difference, since they are advertising the Evo like crazy, probably more than they will the Epic.

The thing that bothers me is that if Sprint can make money off of a contract with a 27% discount applied, why can't they just cut 50 bucks off the price of this phone for everyone else?

 

[cluckkillerb]

Anyone worried about spending an extra $50 shouldn't be looking at high end phones...they should be looking for a new job.

 

[MissJennell#IM]

Anyone worried about spending an extra $50 shouldn't be looking at high end phones...they should be looking for a new job.

Or getting their budget in line with what they are making.

 

[cr3amy]

Anyone worried about spending an extra $50 shouldn't be looking at high end phones...they should be looking for a new job.

THIS! OMFG THIS!

 

[Q-fugee]

Can we close this thread now? The pre-orders are full, which means the free market did its job and found enough takers at $250, so the entire point, and each and every argument each and every one of us made, is moot.

Vote yes? The point is moot. Vote no? The point is moot. Thank you for playing the point is moot! (I stole that from Saturday Night Live.)

--Qfg

 

[cr3amy]

Can we close this thread now? The pre-orders are full, which means the free market did its job and found enough takers at $250, so the entire point, and each and every argument each and every one of us made, is moot.

Vote yes? The point is moot. Vote no? The point is moot. Thank you for playing the point is moot! (I stole that from Saturday Night Live.)

--Qfg

Wow, it absolutely does not mean that the point is moot. There is more to sales than preorders. Many of the preorders won't be picked up since there wasn't a deposit required. Plus, they're just closed at Sprint. How about Best Buy, Radio Shack, other resellers?

The point is far from moot.


But I still think $250 is fine.

 

[drizek]

Wow, it absolutely does not mean that the point is moot. There is more to sales than preorders. Many of the preorders won't be picked up since there wasn't a deposit required. Plus, they're just closed at Sprint. How about Best Buy, Radio Shack, other resellers?

The point is far from moot.


But I still think $250 is fine.

I got one from sprint and one from best buy, and I have no intention at this point of picking up the sprint one.

And if there is a better deal somewhere else, I night not get either of them. The bb gc can be used for anything.

Sent From My Samsung Intercept

 

[Phone#IM]

Can we close this thread now? The pre-orders are full, which means the free market did its job and found enough takers at $250, so the entire point, and each and every argument each and every one of us made, is moot.

Vote yes? The point is moot. Vote no? The point is moot. Thank you for playing the point is moot! (I stole that from Saturday Night Live.)

--Qfg

Pre-orders filling up is great news for Sprint. But did anyone realistically think they wouldnt have filled up. This phone will still sell good despite the price simply due to the features it has. It really is a great phone and Samsung did a great job.

However with that said I honestly feel if this phone was priced at 200 it would be doing Droid numbers (aka the best selling android phone ever).

Looking into it now I feel this phone was actually priced higher than the EVO so that it would not completely destroy any momentum of EVO sales.

Every review that has been released so far has been very positive (even from Pro-Apple sites like Gizmodo) and Sprint has even released a video showing how the Epic is better than the Evo in some ways.

I still have this phone preordered at BestBuy and Sprint but with that said maybe the higher price tag is a good thing.

 

[Lupevalenz#AC]

I guess they didn't drop the ball seeing how Pre-orders are already filled XD

 

[drizek]

AT&T. All it takes is talking to a customer service rep. I get a new device every year. This year I just so happen to be jumping ship to Sprint.

I left AT&T last year because they wouldn't let me buy an iPhone 3GS.

Aero is right, Sprint makes things nice for new customers. I got a free Pre and they paid off my AT&T ETF and all I paid was $14 for shipping.

I bet they will still give away the Epic and Evo to new customers, maybe in a couple of months once they aren't sold out.

 

[TripleAgent]

I guess they didn't drop the ball seeing how Pre-orders are already filled XD

For us go-hard early adopters, what about the mainstream, who are accustomed to seeing the top of the line at 199 or less...

 

[Ilmater]

Looking into it now I feel this phone was actually priced higher than the EVO so that it would not completely destroy any momentum of EVO sales.

Every review that has been released so far has been very positive (even from Pro-Apple sites like Gizmodo) and Sprint has even released a video showing how the Epic is better than the Evo in some ways.

So Sprint can't keep the EVO on the shelves, they've released an OFFICIAL video saying that the Epic is better in some ways than the EVO, Verizon's Droid 2 is getting horrible reviews because they had to gimp it so much vs. the Droid X because it has a slide-out keyboard, but STILL the conclusion is that Sprint is pricing it at $250 to help EVO sales.

Wow. You conspiracy theorists will always find a way to make 1 + 1 = 5 won't you?

 

[Phone#IM]

So Sprint can't keep the EVO on the shelves, they've released an OFFICIAL video saying that the Epic is better in some ways than the EVO, Verizon's Droid 2 is getting horrible reviews because they had to gimp it so much vs. the Droid X because it has a slide-out keyboard, but STILL the conclusion is that Sprint is pricing it at $250 to help EVO sales.

Wow. You conspiracy theorists will always find a way to make 1 + 1 = 5 won't you?

So just making a random observation makes me a conspiracy theorist??

LOL your signature suits you quite well

"Absolutely nothing I say is official."

 

[cr3amy]

So Sprint can't keep the EVO on the shelves, they've released an OFFICIAL video saying that the Epic is better in some ways than the EVO, Verizon's Droid 2 is getting horrible reviews because they had to gimp it so much vs. the Droid X because it has a slide-out keyboard, but STILL the conclusion is that Sprint is pricing it at $250 to help EVO sales.

Wow. You conspiracy theorists will always find a way to make 1 + 1 = 5 won't you?

I don't understand how avoiding cannibalization would be a conspiracy theory.

 

[Aero]

but STILL the conclusion is that Sprint is pricing it at $250 to help EVO sales.

Respectfully, I think what people are getting at is that in the likely case Sprint has internal information showing EVO will not be in suffiecint suppy, and maybe just a trickle, ( even if their contract involves a significant hike in what they buy evo at from htc for), and if they also have internals showing people are coming in asking to go to 4g (which is what they are really selling), but customers strongly associate 4g strongly with EVO: than there are multiple reasons to price epic at $250 because of EVO. It isn't about helping evo, but it is still related to EVO.

To me it looks like Sprint can sell every single 4G phone they can get into inventory. What if they are seeing double or triple the demand/inventory?

I see a perfectly rational and intelligent play at taking as much cash as possible (or losing as little as possible) because more cash may help them buy more 4g handsets. why not if you can get it and helps you get the handsets?

Put yourself in their shoes. they have 4g and no one else does. You can bet your execs have a mental picture a calendar with verrizon's lte deployment date closing as there daily nightmare. They can (and will have to) play price war on 4g service and handsets in a few short months, there is no point in doing so now.

And the best way to keep people from thinking they are getting an also ran (or bait and switch) with in stock Epic over "first ever" one-of-a kind pretty Evo (remember unlike galaxy which everyone has, only Sprint has evo) is to establish a higher value for Epic. The best way to make a product better is to price it higher.

 

[cr3amy]

Aero, you've been to business school, haven't you?

 

[Ilmater]

So just making a random observation makes me a conspiracy theorist??

LOL your signature suits you quite well

"Absolutely nothing I say is official."

Hey, I put it there for a reason.

I have a history of speaking out and being brash from time to time, but it helps to keep me grounded.

I don't understand how avoiding cannibalization would be a conspiracy theory.

A conspiracy theory (well, my definition) is rejecting the mostly likely scenario for one that seems more logical based on detailed analysis and the expectation that everything must be more complicated than it first looks. The most likely scenario here is that Sprint simply wasn't willing to subsidize the phone enough to get it to $199 because the price of the device from Samsung was too high. Instead of assuming that was the case, most here are assuming it has something to do with EVO cannibalization, even though A) I've provided many reasons why that's not true above, and oh yeah, B) SAMSUNG WOULD BE PISSED!

Imagine you're Samsung. You spend all this time working on a device for Sprint that is different from all the other devices in the entire US, and then Sprint tells you, "Hey, we don't want people to have your stupid device, we want them to have this other one from your competitor, so even though the price from you is the same as this other device, and the costs to us are exactly the same regardless of which phone the customer buys, we're going to subsidize this less than we normally would because we want to help out your competitor." Samsung would obviously be furious. Device pricing cannot be done that way, and it is not done that way.

I think you can all agree that Sprint can't afford to anger a manufacturer that.

 

[drizek]

Im not sure how much leverage samsung actually has.

Look at how Verizon screwed them with the Fascinate delay. VZW only has to say "fine, don't sell us your stupid device, we have an exclusive with Motrola, and there is more stuff coming from HTC". Sprints position is a little weaker than that, but I think Samsung needs sprint more than the other way around.

Samsung can just sell an unlocked GSM Galaxy S at a reasonably low price and screw with AT&T and TMO. It is much riskier to do that with a CDMA phone, particularly a 4G phone, since it only works on one carrier. With yearly upgrades, why would anyone ever buy a Sprint phone off contract? And Samsung can't afford to just ignore Sprint. The subscriber base is almost as big as a Western European country.

 

[cr3amy]

A conspiracy theory (well, my definition) is rejecting the mostly likely scenario for one that seems more logical based on detailed analysis and the expectation that everything must be more complicated than it first looks. The most likely scenario here is that Sprint simply wasn't willing to subsidize the phone enough to get it to $199 because the price of the device from Samsung was too high. Instead of assuming that was the case, most here are assuming it has something to do with EVO cannibalization, even though A) I've provided many reasons why that's not true above, and oh yeah, B) SAMSUNG WOULD BE PISSED!

Imagine you're Samsung. You spend all this time working on a device for Sprint that is different from all the other devices in the entire US, and then Sprint tells you, "Hey, we don't want people to have your stupid device, we want them to have this other one from your competitor, so even though the price from you is the same as this other device, and the costs to us are exactly the same regardless of which phone the customer buys, we're going to subsidize this less than we normally would because we want to help out your competitor." Samsung would obviously be furious. Device pricing cannot be done that way, and it is not done that way.

I think you can all agree that Sprint can't afford to anger a manufacturer that.

Keep in mind how many variables need to be taken into account. Subsidizing & wholesale pricing are only a small part of the equation. Market position, branding, giving it that "premium aura," supply concerns, and yes... cannibalization, are all concerns when pricing a product.

This phone is better than an iPhone, or an Evo, or a Droid X, or a Droid 2, or the Captivate/Vibrant--at least, with proper marketing you could easily position this product as such.

Also keep in mind, cannibalization hurts sales of *both* products. If this is at all in their pricing strategy, it's not to protect Evo sales; it's to increase sales of both.


There is no conspiracy theory here... they're going with the strat that they believe will earn them the most money. They're not hurting Samsung's feelings and they're not being protectionist. They're trying to make money. They simply think positioning the Epic as an ultra-premium device is the best way to accomplish that goal.