6 ms·

This is a little presumptuous or possibly a misunderstanding of the parent's comment mentioning "old Android phone". It's entirely possible that the person did

by usui 5y ago

This is a little presumptuous or possibly a misunderstanding of the parent's comment mentioning "old Android phone". It's entirely possible that the person did a lateral generational phone switch, but you've assumed that they upgraded to a newer phone. I love older generation phones because they're so cheap and your car comparison is perfect because buying a phone new IMO is one of the worst financial decisions you can make unless it has functionality you really need. Phone value drops sharply after the first 1-2 years and so I have a lot of fun buying last generation's phones (Android and iPhone) and comparing them to each other. Holding off on the newest phones really shows me how imaginary the price of an absolute brand new phone is.

gordon_freeman 5y ago
Talking about how expensive the phones have become lately, the max out specs on new iPhone 13 Pro Max costs $1,600 and if you add taxes it would be $1,760!
- tdy_err 5y ago
  Your 10% sales tax is robbery. Where is that ?
  - gordon_freeman 5y ago
    California
  - Hello71 5y ago
    According to https://tradingeconomics.com/country-list/sales-tax-rate?continent=g20 https://tradingeconomics.com/country-list/sales-tax-rate?con..., out of G20 countries, 16 have sales tax rates greater than or equal to 10%. This seems to only counts national sales tax, since it lists 5% for Canada, but about 85% of Canadians live in areas with more than 10% total sales tax.
    - bzbarsky 5y ago
      That conflates VAT rates and sales tax rates. The two tax structures are very different, and a comparable VAT has a higher nominal rate than a sales tax, because the taxable amount is typically smaller.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - bzbarsky 5y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sales_taxes_in_the_United_States#Summary_table https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sales_taxes_in_the_United_Stat... sort on third column. A bunch of places in the US have city/county taxes that bring the sales tax above 10% even though the state tax is not. Just for places I've been in the somewhat recent past, Seattle and Chicago both had 10%+ rates.
  - jonathantf2 5y ago
    It's 20% here but it's included in the prices. Most people don't think about it at all unless they're buying for business.
tommymachine 5y ago
It's not really an imaginary price. Many people rely on their phones more than anything else they own, and many are willing to pay more to have the latest advancements on that frequently used device. The price difference is nominally much smaller than say a new car vs a used one, and arguably offers more of an improvement to their lifestyles.
turtlebits 5y ago
iPhone resale value is very good. Many carriers also give you significant discounts on new phones. I got two iPhone 12's for free + free line and did not sign a contract.
- denlekke 5y ago
  sounds like a great deal, almost everything i can find rn rebates the cost of the iphone via your monthly bill over 24-36 months
vmception 5y ago
eh, I have the 12 pro, 256gb. did not see much in the 13 pro that was interesting and most improvements will come with iOS 15 but between my ~$700 trade in value and subsidizing the rest of the device with some accrued points from my credit card company, might as well. I definitely have wanted the portrait video mode, since apps have been doing it for a very long time, Instagram at one point had the focus filter that did that. from my experience, buying the expensive electronic ONCE gives a lot of benefits and choices, because the future purchases aren't that expensive. sure, I'm still likely paying more than the person that brags about how they wouldn't imagine spending even $200 on a phone, so there is no real need to have that conversation and spreadsheet analysis but between starting with up to date technology, instead of starting with 3-6 year old technology, and having a store of value, versus a decrepit paperweight, I'm into keeping my mobile devices refreshed. Specifically my iphone.
tentacleuno 5y ago
> I love older generation phones because they're so cheap and your car comparison is perfect because buying a phone new Agreed. I, for one, have pretty much always bought used, and normally one generation behind. When something new comes out, the older phone is boring, which does knock the price down a little.

by usui 5y ago

gordon_freeman 5y ago

Talking about how expensive the phones have become lately, the max out specs on new iPhone 13 Pro Max costs $1,600 and if you add taxes it would be $1,760!

tdy_err 5y ago
Your 10% sales tax is robbery. Where is that ?
- gordon_freeman 5y ago
  California
- Hello71 5y ago
  According to https://tradingeconomics.com/country-list/sales-tax-rate?continent=g20 https://tradingeconomics.com/country-list/sales-tax-rate?con..., out of G20 countries, 16 have sales tax rates greater than or equal to 10%. This seems to only counts national sales tax, since it lists 5% for Canada, but about 85% of Canadians live in areas with more than 10% total sales tax.
  - bzbarsky 5y ago
    That conflates VAT rates and sales tax rates. The two tax structures are very different, and a comparable VAT has a higher nominal rate than a sales tax, because the taxable amount is typically smaller.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- bzbarsky 5y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sales_taxes_in_the_United_States#Summary_table https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sales_taxes_in_the_United_Stat... sort on third column. A bunch of places in the US have city/county taxes that bring the sales tax above 10% even though the state tax is not. Just for places I've been in the somewhat recent past, Seattle and Chicago both had 10%+ rates.
- jonathantf2 5y ago
  It's 20% here but it's included in the prices. Most people don't think about it at all unless they're buying for business.

tommymachine 5y ago

It's not really an imaginary price. Many people rely on their phones more than anything else they own, and many are willing to pay more to have the latest advancements on that frequently used device. The price difference is nominally much smaller than say a new car vs a used one, and arguably offers more of an improvement to their lifestyles.

turtlebits 5y ago

iPhone resale value is very good. Many carriers also give you significant discounts on new phones. I got two iPhone 12's for free + free line and did not sign a contract.

denlekke 5y ago
sounds like a great deal, almost everything i can find rn rebates the cost of the iphone via your monthly bill over 24-36 months

vmception 5y ago

eh, I have the 12 pro, 256gb. did not see much in the 13 pro that was interesting and most improvements will come with iOS 15 but between my ~$700 trade in value and subsidizing the rest of the device with some accrued points from my credit card company, might as well. I definitely have wanted the portrait video mode, since apps have been doing it for a very long time, Instagram at one point had the focus filter that did that. from my experience, buying the expensive electronic ONCE gives a lot of benefits and choices, because the future purchases aren't that expensive. sure, I'm still likely paying more than the person that brags about how they wouldn't imagine spending even $200 on a phone, so there is no real need to have that conversation and spreadsheet analysis but between starting with up to date technology, instead of starting with 3-6 year old technology, and having a store of value, versus a decrepit paperweight, I'm into keeping my mobile devices refreshed. Specifically my iphone.

tentacleuno 5y ago

> I love older generation phones because they're so cheap and your car comparison is perfect because buying a phone new Agreed. I, for one, have pretty much always bought used, and normally one generation behind. When something new comes out, the older phone is boring, which does knock the price down a little.