Worth Paying Full Retail?

[Sentrix]

Harass Verizon customer service to bump your upgrade up. Say that you can't wait for three months because your Thunderbolt has consistent problems, etc. Drop a bomb along the lines of "I run a small business and I need the latest technology on my personal line. My business depends on me having an effective and up-to-date phone. Could you guys be willing to help out an upstart company? It's only three months."

Continuously ask to speak to their supervisor until it gets done. May take a while, but the date being only three months away helps. I've heard of folks who were able to convince customer service managers to bump their upgrade forward by nearly an entire year with some fabricated stories.

If lying bothers you morally, just wait. It is only three months after all.
You could also wait until early 2013 and see if anything at CES catches your eye.

 

[anon(19759)]

I would not pay full retail, but that's just me. I love the phone I had previously but like you, was bored with status quo and itching for the new thing, and the SG3 was just the ticket to give up the unlimited data plan. Because of the devices, # of lines and such on my plan, it saved me a ton to move to the shared plans, so if i need to bump up to 10GB or higher, I'll still be under what I was spending before.

So, upgrading to me wasn't worth $600 because I didn't really NEED to upgrade, but certainly is worth $200/250 AND saving $150/month. I never came close to 2GB of data before anyhow.....

If you have the itch and can afford it, just pay full retail if you must keep unlimited. If you don't need unlimited, get the subsidized price.

 

[Sentrix]

I didn't properly answer your question - my fault. Forgot entirely about the loss of unlimited data. If it's something that is super-important to you, then I would say it probably is worth paying full retail price for. You can then sell it used at a high price whenever a phone you like at CES, or sometime in 2013 comes out that you can use your upgrade on.

That could offset some of the extra cost you'd incur now from buying full retail.

From a former Thunderbolt user: Battery life is outstanding - the SGS3 gets probably double, if not triple the battery life that my old TB could get. I was getting maybe 7 hours max back then... now I'm seeing anywhere from 16-20 with my S3, easily a full day.

Wasn't aware screen was an issue - it's vibrant and much better than the Bolt, and if you just get a screen protector you won't have to worry at all about scratches.

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

Harass Verizon customer service to bump your upgrade up. Say that you can't wait for three months because your Thunderbolt has consistent problems, etc. Drop a bomb along the lines of "I run a small business and I need the latest technology on my personal line. My business depends on me having an effective and up-to-date phone. Could you guys be willing to help out an upstart company? It's only three months."

Continuously ask to speak to their supervisor until it gets done. May take a while, but the date being only three months away helps. I've heard of folks who were able to convince customer service managers to bump their upgrade forward by nearly an entire year with some fabricated stories.

If lying bothers you morally, just wait. It is only three months after all.
You could also wait until early 2013 and see if anything at CES catches your eye.

I didn't properly answer your question - my fault. Forgot entirely about the loss of unlimited data. If it's something that is super-important to you, then I would say it probably is worth paying full retail price for. You can then sell it used at a high price whenever a phone you like at CES, or sometime in 2013 comes out that you can use your upgrade on.

That could offset some of the extra cost you'd incur now from buying full retail.

From a former Thunderbolt user: Battery life is outstanding - the SGS3 gets probably double, if not triple the battery life that my old TB could get. I was getting maybe 7 hours max back then... now I'm seeing anywhere from 16-20 with my S3, easily a full day.

Wasn't aware screen was an issue - it's vibrant and much better than the Bolt, and if you just get a screen protector you won't have to worry at all about scratches.

Yeah, to be honest, if I'm waiting up upgrade at the subsidized price, waiting isn't really an issue for me...I mean Verizon usually has a few nice new devices right around Thanksgiving every year anyway.

I bought a Rezound battery for my Thunderbolt a while back, and I actually get about 12 hours on a charge running on LTE...so it's not that bad...

I've decided I'm gonna sleep on it over the weekend...

I would not pay full retail, but that's just me. I love the phone I had previously but like you, was bored with status quo and itching for the new thing, and the SG3 was just the ticket to give up the unlimited data plan. Because of the devices, # of lines and such on my plan, it saved me a ton to move to the shared plans, so if i need to bump up to 10GB or higher, I'll still be under what I was spending before.

So, upgrading to me wasn't worth $600 because I didn't really NEED to upgrade, but certainly is worth $200/250 AND saving $150/month. I never came close to 2GB of data before anyhow.....

If you have the itch and can afford it, just pay full retail if you must keep unlimited. If you don't need unlimited, get the subsidized price.

Yup, for some folks, especially those with mulitple devices and family members on the plan, the new shared data plans could really save substantial money per month, for me though, I have 1 device on a single line. For me to move to a "shared" data plan (although no one has been able to tell me who the ^$&# I'd be sharing with), my monthly rate would actually go up, given the fact that I'd need at least a 4GB plan and I'd be eating the cost of it myself.

I could definitely justify paying more for a device now if I can theoretically recoup my losses by keeping my old plan and lower monthly payments (for unlimited data at that).

 

[Fuzion0503]

yeah I even told the guy even if I decide to keep the phone for 2 years if I buy it retail, I said I'd still come out on top especially if I decide to sell the phone online.

 

[dpham00]

Fyi, you do not have to move to a share everything plan, you can stay on your current plan but lose unlimited data, and move to a tiered data if getting a subsidized 2 year contract pricing.

Of course, if you must have 4gb,then you will have to pay more than $30 for data for the tiered data plan. If you can reduce it to 2gb,then it would be the same pricing.

Yeah, to be honest, if I'm waiting up upgrade at the subsidized price, waiting isn't really an issue for me...I mean Verizon usually has a few nice new devices right around Thanksgiving every year anyway.

I bought a Rezound battery for my Thunderbolt a while back, and I actually get about 12 hours on a charge running on LTE...so it's not that bad...

I've decided I'm gonna sleep on it over the weekend...



Yup, for some folks, especially those with mulitple devices and family members on the plan, the new shared data plans could really save substantial money per month, for me though, I have 1 device on a single line. For me to move to a "shared" data plan (although no one has been able to tell me who the ^$&# I'd be sharing with), my monthly rate would actually go up, given the fact that I'd need at least a 4GB plan and I'd be eating the cost of it myself.

I could definitely justify paying more for a device now if I can theoretically recoup my losses by keeping my old plan and lower monthly payments (for unlimited data at that).

 

[Johnly]

Kinda convoluted....but yes, then sold old phone to comp. Who wouldn't? This device screams...