5 ms·

Yep, no one is going to want to pay $600+ for a phone(in the US). TBH, over $200 for a phone on contract is really high as well.

rconti 12y ago
shrug Just paid $750 for an iPhone 6, unlocked. The alternative was renting it from my carrier for a similar amount, divided into 24 months, and being handcuffed to them for unlocks and the like. By using BYOD pricing on my ATT plan, I pay less every month than I would on a subsidy. Yeah, I'm not everyone, but arguing that "most people" won't do what I did is kind of missing the point-- they already DO pay that much, just not all at once. It's kind of crazier when you realize what people are paying without knowing it. The subsidies are going away -- ATT and Verizon in the US are forcing people into their monthly payment plans -- which is kind of nice, because people actually see what they're paying instead of just seeing it "bundled".
- lh7777 12y ago
  Same here. I'm on AT&T, but bought an unlocked Verizon iPhone 6. I may not end up switching carriers in the next two years, but it's nice to have the extra flexibility for the same price I'd end up paying if I went with subsidized or Next plans.
  - uptown 12y ago
    How do you go about buying a Verizon iPhone 6 outright? Do you do that at a Verizon store, or can Apple sell that to you?
    - zw 12y ago
      Yeah, they sell off-contract Verizon phones at the fruit store. They're unlocked GSM global phones, pretty sweet. I got one because they were all my store had and immediately popped in my T-Mo SIM.
- colinbartlett 12y ago
  I've converted at least a dozen friends and family members to this route just by showing them with simple math how much I save. I think it's very slowly catching on how bad a deal it is to rent your phone on contract.
  - sanderjd 12y ago
    Step 2 is converting to phones that don't cost $750! There are some great phones for less than $300 unsubsidized nowadays.
    - TeMPOraL 12y ago
      One thing I learned is that there are things in life you shouldn't be cheap about, and one of them is most definitely a smartphone. You're buying a device you'll be using every day, likely pulling it up for few seconds every little while. You definitely don't want to have a smartphone that looks like crap, hangs up all the time and in the end won't let you do half of the things it was supposed to do. This would be introducing an incredibly big source of frustrations into your daily routine. I wouldn't be surprised if additional psychiatrist bill would be bigger than money saved on the phone. I was stuck for three years with a crapphone (LG P150) that was too weak to lift its own operating system (Android). After those three years of torture (and using it only for calls and text messages, as turning on Internet would max out the processing power and memory and would require taking out the battery) I can say such phones should not be allowed on the market. Especially not pushed by telecoms on contracts. It's especially sad to look at people who get burned by this when buying their first smartphones. It's basically a story of shattered dreams. It's just evil. So folks, either buy a dumbphone (if all you need is text and calls), or shell out for some decent tech. Buy that Nexus or S4. It's worth the money.
      - ams6110 12y ago
        I've got a Moto-G from Republic Wireless. $149 to buy the phone and $10/month. It's perfectly fine.
        12y ago
- godzilla82 12y ago
  May be I am missing something (I am not in the US). But, do you have to pay rent for the device if you go for the subsidised option? If so, then its not a subsidy. If it is a subsidy, then you are clearly gaining the subsidised amount. The only thing that you are losing is the ability to switch carriers for the contract period. Also, are you not allowed to choose a plan of your choice if you go for a subsidised phone?
  - vidarh 12y ago
    The "subsidies" are not truly subsidies, they are built into the contract prices. At least in the EU every operator offers SIM-only contracts (though they may or may not advertise them), because not doing so would be a clear and blatant violation of EU anti-tying regulations, and they are always cheaper. To the extent you are getting a real subsidy, it will be if the carrier decides to forgo margins on the device.
    - gsnedders 12y ago
      > …and they are always cheaper. This isn't always true, though it's typically only not true when operators are throwing ridiculous offers at people who are trying to leave them. Similarly, I got phone a few years back at a ridiculous student-only deal. Both cases ended up with me paying about £200 more over the whole contract than I would've with SIM-only contracts, and both got me phones that retail for more than double that.
      - vidarh 12y ago
        For any bundle they are offering they should have a non-zero cost in acquiring the phone, in which case they'd have a very hard time to justify not letting you sign up to an unbundled agreement where at the very least the cost of the phone is removed. They'd almost certainly be breaking the law if they do (of course that doesn't necessary mean they aren't doing it though)
- caw 12y ago
  You have to realize that it really wasn't until recently that you could do BYOD on the networks. They wouldn't give you a discount at all for owning the device outright, even at the end of the 2 year contract. There was no benefit to having paid $750 for a phone, except if you really really wanted that particular phone. The best math then was to upgrade to a new phone as soon as your contract ended. Otherwise, you were paying the built-in $10/mo or whatever for old tech. Far better to shell out $0-$200 for a new phone on contract and lock-in for another 2 years.
  - gcb4 12y ago
    even when i was on the old unlimited-only-in-name from att which was the same price with a subsided device or not, having my own device still allowed me to: - avoid crazy fees out of nowhere for canceling (wife had one refurbished $99 note ii. when canceling had to pay almost $200 on top of the values in the contract) - be able to use own device overseas. - not have sleazy device protection insurance BS added every month and you having to call in to cancel
  - ecspike 12y ago
    You've been able to BYOD on GSM networks (ATT / T-Mo) for quite some time, at least since 2009-2010 that I know of.
sliverstorm 12y ago
over $200 for a phone on contract is really high When the value of the phone is $600 and the value of the contract is $2400, $200 is really high.
monksy 12y ago
I paid ~$350 for a used S4 that I got activated on PagePlus. Why would I pay $80 a month to a big named carrier who keeps charging me rent on the phone after its paid off? (My plan is $39 for unlimited voice/text+1GB data, I used to do 500mb+1.2k min+3k texts for $29/mo).
- h4xar 12y ago
  Page Plus is truly amazing, especially now that they support 4G (but 3.5 Mbps throttle) as of a couple weeks ago. I just set someone up with a gently used S3 for ~$140, which if you compare specs to the S4, isn't much of a step down.
  - monksy 12y ago
    When did they get 4g?!

rconti 12y ago

shrug Just paid $750 for an iPhone 6, unlocked. The alternative was renting it from my carrier for a similar amount, divided into 24 months, and being handcuffed to them for unlocks and the like. By using BYOD pricing on my ATT plan, I pay less every month than I would on a subsidy. Yeah, I'm not everyone, but arguing that "most people" won't do what I did is kind of missing the point-- they already DO pay that much, just not all at once. It's kind of crazier when you realize what people are paying without knowing it. The subsidies are going away -- ATT and Verizon in the US are forcing people into their monthly payment plans -- which is kind of nice, because people actually see what they're paying instead of just seeing it "bundled".

lh7777 12y ago
Same here. I'm on AT&T, but bought an unlocked Verizon iPhone 6. I may not end up switching carriers in the next two years, but it's nice to have the extra flexibility for the same price I'd end up paying if I went with subsidized or Next plans.
- uptown 12y ago
  How do you go about buying a Verizon iPhone 6 outright? Do you do that at a Verizon store, or can Apple sell that to you?
  - zw 12y ago
    Yeah, they sell off-contract Verizon phones at the fruit store. They're unlocked GSM global phones, pretty sweet. I got one because they were all my store had and immediately popped in my T-Mo SIM.
colinbartlett 12y ago
I've converted at least a dozen friends and family members to this route just by showing them with simple math how much I save. I think it's very slowly catching on how bad a deal it is to rent your phone on contract.
- sanderjd 12y ago
  Step 2 is converting to phones that don't cost $750! There are some great phones for less than $300 unsubsidized nowadays.
  - TeMPOraL 12y ago
    One thing I learned is that there are things in life you shouldn't be cheap about, and one of them is most definitely a smartphone. You're buying a device you'll be using every day, likely pulling it up for few seconds every little while. You definitely don't want to have a smartphone that looks like crap, hangs up all the time and in the end won't let you do half of the things it was supposed to do. This would be introducing an incredibly big source of frustrations into your daily routine. I wouldn't be surprised if additional psychiatrist bill would be bigger than money saved on the phone. I was stuck for three years with a crapphone (LG P150) that was too weak to lift its own operating system (Android). After those three years of torture (and using it only for calls and text messages, as turning on Internet would max out the processing power and memory and would require taking out the battery) I can say such phones should not be allowed on the market. Especially not pushed by telecoms on contracts. It's especially sad to look at people who get burned by this when buying their first smartphones. It's basically a story of shattered dreams. It's just evil. So folks, either buy a dumbphone (if all you need is text and calls), or shell out for some decent tech. Buy that Nexus or S4. It's worth the money.
    - ams6110 12y ago
      I've got a Moto-G from Republic Wireless. $149 to buy the phone and $10/month. It's perfectly fine.
      - 12y ago
godzilla82 12y ago
May be I am missing something (I am not in the US). But, do you have to pay rent for the device if you go for the subsidised option? If so, then its not a subsidy. If it is a subsidy, then you are clearly gaining the subsidised amount. The only thing that you are losing is the ability to switch carriers for the contract period. Also, are you not allowed to choose a plan of your choice if you go for a subsidised phone?
- vidarh 12y ago
  The "subsidies" are not truly subsidies, they are built into the contract prices. At least in the EU every operator offers SIM-only contracts (though they may or may not advertise them), because not doing so would be a clear and blatant violation of EU anti-tying regulations, and they are always cheaper. To the extent you are getting a real subsidy, it will be if the carrier decides to forgo margins on the device.
  - gsnedders 12y ago
    > …and they are always cheaper. This isn't always true, though it's typically only not true when operators are throwing ridiculous offers at people who are trying to leave them. Similarly, I got phone a few years back at a ridiculous student-only deal. Both cases ended up with me paying about £200 more over the whole contract than I would've with SIM-only contracts, and both got me phones that retail for more than double that.
    - vidarh 12y ago
      For any bundle they are offering they should have a non-zero cost in acquiring the phone, in which case they'd have a very hard time to justify not letting you sign up to an unbundled agreement where at the very least the cost of the phone is removed. They'd almost certainly be breaking the law if they do (of course that doesn't necessary mean they aren't doing it though)
caw 12y ago
You have to realize that it really wasn't until recently that you could do BYOD on the networks. They wouldn't give you a discount at all for owning the device outright, even at the end of the 2 year contract. There was no benefit to having paid $750 for a phone, except if you really really wanted that particular phone. The best math then was to upgrade to a new phone as soon as your contract ended. Otherwise, you were paying the built-in $10/mo or whatever for old tech. Far better to shell out $0-$200 for a new phone on contract and lock-in for another 2 years.
- gcb4 12y ago
  even when i was on the old unlimited-only-in-name from att which was the same price with a subsided device or not, having my own device still allowed me to: - avoid crazy fees out of nowhere for canceling (wife had one refurbished $99 note ii. when canceling had to pay almost $200 on top of the values in the contract) - be able to use own device overseas. - not have sleazy device protection insurance BS added every month and you having to call in to cancel
- ecspike 12y ago
  You've been able to BYOD on GSM networks (ATT / T-Mo) for quite some time, at least since 2009-2010 that I know of.

sliverstorm 12y ago

over $200 for a phone on contract is really high When the value of the phone is $600 and the value of the contract is $2400, $200 is really high.

monksy 12y ago

I paid ~$350 for a used S4 that I got activated on PagePlus. Why would I pay $80 a month to a big named carrier who keeps charging me rent on the phone after its paid off? (My plan is $39 for unlimited voice/text+1GB data, I used to do 500mb+1.2k min+3k texts for $29/mo).

h4xar 12y ago
Page Plus is truly amazing, especially now that they support 4G (but 3.5 Mbps throttle) as of a couple weeks ago. I just set someone up with a gently used S3 for ~$140, which if you compare specs to the S4, isn't much of a step down.
- monksy 12y ago
  When did they get 4g?!