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it's a lot easier to pay smaller amounts over time than it is to pay a large lump sum, even if it is technically less after x number of years. Delayed gratific
by b00ty4breakfast 9mo ago
it's a lot easier to pay smaller amounts over time than it is to pay a large lump sum, even if it is technically less after x number of years. Delayed gratification etc, but also sometimes folks need a phone and can't put off the purchase until they save up the upfront price. T
- bandrami 9mo agoYou can buy a no-contract Android phone for like $80
- delfinom 9mo agoIf you take a look at marketshare, Americans are animals that spend well beyond their means in bulk. Apple products or Samsung products dominate the smartphone market and it's the expensive ones.
- bandrami 9mo agoAnd the cars! JFC every time I come back to the States I'm amazed/shocked/appalled at these suburban land tanks everywhere. Just buy a normal car!
- MobiusHorizons 9mo agoTo be fair I know a nontrivial number of people who bought their iPhones used. I’m sure that happens in the android market, but it doesn’t seem to be as common in the US. I think the fact that iPhones have offered acceptable support for much longer than android has helps a lot there.
- userbinator 9mo agobut also sometimes folks need a phone and can't put off the purchase until they save up the upfront price. Whatever happened to planning ahead? No wonder things are the way they are.
- autoexec 9mo agoThings being the way they are is exactly the reason Americans can't afford to pay for a cell phone upfront. There's no amount of "planning ahead" that will change that when people are living paycheck to paycheck and having to go into debt to afford basic things like groceries.
- b00ty4breakfast 9mo agoIt's easy to forget this place is populated with upper-middleclass skilled professionals that probably haven't lived economically precariously in years, if ever. For some folks out there, planning ahead is "will I have enough money for groceries next paycheck?". There are cheap phones, and I agree that folks are careless. But there is also a concerted effort to encourage this kind of behavior because the economy is built on this kind of dumb consumer spending and debt.
- kevin_thibedeau 9mo agoYou can get usable $150 phones to fulfill a need. Nobody needs a $1000 phone they can't afford.
- faust201 9mo agoPeople often give bs reasons like - oh. I like night time camera from 1K pixel or iPhone