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Jessay

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 29, 2011
97
0
What is everyone's thought on the "next" plan? I didn't see a thread on this, so I guess I will start one.
 

blhoward2

macrumors 6502a
Sep 19, 2012
533
21
Never. It is such a bad deal it should be considered theft. You pay the same contract plan rate even though not getting a subsidy, pay your payments, give phone back for nothing in return, and repeat.
 

playaproved

macrumors 6502
Sep 29, 2005
440
351
What is everyone's thought on the "next" plan? I didn't see a thread on this, so I guess I will start one.

Here are my thoughts...

I did the next plan on my 32GB phone. When you do the next plan the phone is valued at $640, instead of $749. So I already got a $109 discount on the retail price, I'll make 12 payments of $32 over the next year, totaling $384, leaving me with $256 left on the phone when the new iPhone drops. I'll then sell this phone for about $500 a week or so before I'm due for my new phone and be ahead $244 to pay for the new one.

Best of all is no contract.
 

alent1234

macrumors 603
Jun 19, 2009
5,688
170
Here are my thoughts...

I did the next plan on my 32GB phone. When you do the next plan the phone is valued at $640, instead of $749. So I already got a $109 discount on the retail price, I'll make 12 payments of $32 over the next year, totaling $384, leaving me with $256 left on the phone when the new iPhone drops. I'll then sell this phone for about $500 a week or so before I'm due for my new phone and be ahead $244 to pay for the new one.

Best of all is no contract.

don't you have to turn the phone in to get good pricing on the next phone? i thought next and egde both required this
 

solarguy17

macrumors 6502a
Sep 10, 2007
738
183
What is everyone's thought on the "next" plan? I didn't see a thread on this, so I guess I will start one.


There have been many threads on why the NEXT plan is a rip-off. In fact it is the biggest rip off in comparison to Edge, OneUp and Jump.
Here is an article.

http://www.theverge.com/2013/7/19/4536042/jump-edge-next-early-upgrade-plans-compared

Personally, I think you might be better off buy a phone on year 1 with a subsidy, Then in year 2, selling original phone and buying a new phone off-contract. Then in year 3 by new subsidized phone and sell year 2 phone.
Then wash, rinse, repeat.
Assuming you stick with iphones the resale value should stay very high the following year. Whereas Android phones tend to lose value quicker so you will be out more money.
 

JoshMKB24

macrumors 6502a
Jan 5, 2013
520
44
Midwest
Here are my thoughts...

I did the next plan on my 32GB phone. When you do the next plan the phone is valued at $640, instead of $749. So I already got a $109 discount on the retail price, I'll make 12 payments of $32 over the next year, totaling $384, leaving me with $256 left on the phone when the new iPhone drops. I'll then sell this phone for about $500 a week or so before I'm due for my new phone and be ahead $244 to pay for the new one.

Best of all is no contract.

I'm pretty sure with the NEXT program you just turn it back into them, you don't get to keep it and sell it.


I don't think I'd recommend it, it isn't a lot at an extra 30 or some per month? But personally I'd rather settle it all up now, never know what the future might hold.
 

sardil

macrumors newbie
Sep 30, 2011
6
0
Here are my thoughts...

I did the next plan on my 32GB phone. When you do the next plan the phone is valued at $640, instead of $749. So I already got a $109 discount on the retail price, I'll make 12 payments of $32 over the next year, totaling $384, leaving me with $256 left on the phone when the new iPhone drops. I'll then sell this phone for about $500 a week or so before I'm due for my new phone and be ahead $244 to pay for the new one.

Best of all is no contract.

Incorrect.

After 12 months, you will be out $384 and without a phone if you want to upgrade.

You only get too keep the phone after making 20 payments. By then, you have paid $640 for a phone everyone else got for $299 on the same exact contract. Congratulations.
 

playaproved

macrumors 6502
Sep 29, 2005
440
351
don't you have to turn the phone in to get good pricing on the next phone? i thought next and egde both required this

I'll just be getting "next" pricing, which is pretty much full retail anyways. Not like its subsidized heavily. You have to turn the phone in to upgrade and have them wipe out the remaining payments. I'm not worried about the remaining payments because I'm paying the phone off myself.
 

blhoward2

macrumors 6502a
Sep 19, 2012
533
21
Here are my thoughts...

I did the next plan on my 32GB phone. When you do the next plan the phone is valued at $640, instead of $749. So I already got a $109 discount on the retail price, I'll make 12 payments of $32 over the next year, totaling $384, leaving me with $256 left on the phone when the new iPhone drops. I'll then sell this phone for about $500 a week or so before I'm due for my new phone and be ahead $244 to pay for the new one.

Best of all is no contract.

You can pay it off and sell the phone but your total cost is astronomical. You could have bought one subsidized, then next year bought full price and sold the subsidized one, repeat. Your total cost is around $100-125 a year. Not $32 a month. Having a contract doesn't matter if you're going to stay anyhow in order to keep buying.

Do the math, its economically a horrible decision. Even adding an unused line for like $10 a month and using its upgrade in off years would be cheaper.

Better yet, find a relative who doesn't care. I use a relative's upgrade or my own each year, they get my one year old phone, and I sell their now 2 year old phone which covers my cost of upgrade. Free upgrade each year for both of us and neither is ever more than one model behind.
 

solarguy17

macrumors 6502a
Sep 10, 2007
738
183
Here are my thoughts...

I did the next plan on my 32GB phone. When you do the next plan the phone is valued at $640, instead of $749. So I already got a $109 discount on the retail price, I'll make 12 payments of $32 over the next year, totaling $384, leaving me with $256 left on the phone when the new iPhone drops. I'll then sell this phone for about $500 a week or so before I'm due for my new phone and be ahead $244 to pay for the new one.

Best of all is no contract.

I see what you are saying. Sell phone for $500 and use money to pay off the remainder of the phone with the Sale price. Then The excess can be used to help pay for a new phone?

Sounds like a plan, I think if you pay the whole phone off you dont have to turn it in.
However, you are still paying them an extra $20 month in the phone subsidy you aren't using anymore.
 

playaproved

macrumors 6502
Sep 29, 2005
440
351
Incorrect.

After 12 months, you will be out $384 and without a phone if you want to upgrade.

You only get too keep the phone after making 20 payments. By then, you have paid $640 for a phone everyone else got for $199 on the same exact contract. Congratulations.

You skipped the part where I sell the phone on the used market to pay off the installment plan.
 

Jessay

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 29, 2011
97
0
Never. It is such a bad deal it should be considered theft. You pay the same contract plan rate even though not getting a subsidy, pay your payments, give phone back for nothing in return, and repeat.

This is true, but you are technically saving money if you want to upgrade each year...
 

JoshMKB24

macrumors 6502a
Jan 5, 2013
520
44
Midwest
What I do is have a family plan for myself, my mom, and my sister. All the data is pooled to begin with and its 10.00/line for extra lines beyond the primary. I have 8GB of pooled data shared among all phones, but my mom never uses more than .2GB........shes old and doesn't know how to use data. I have an extra back up line for myself so I pay 10/month for that but it runs in the opposite upgrade year as my primary so I just transfer the upgrade in my off year from that to my primary and get a new phone. My secondary phone currently is a Motorola Atrix HD which like someone mentioned, Android phones lose value a lot faster so you can get killer deals on Android phones for the back up line. I use the back up line mainly for the bar scene and craigslist :)
 

playaproved

macrumors 6502
Sep 29, 2005
440
351
You can pay it off and sell the phone but your total cost is astronomical. You could have bought one subsidized, then next year bought full price and sold the subsidized one, repeat. Your total cost is around $100-125 a year. Not $32 a month. Having a contract doesn't matter if you're going to stay anyhow in order to keep buying.

Do the math, its economically a horrible decision. Even adding an unused line for like $10 a month and using its upgrade in off years would be cheaper.

If I buy it for $640 and sell it for $500, then my total cost to use it over the year is $140.
 

sardil

macrumors newbie
Sep 30, 2011
6
0
This is true, but you are technically saving money if you want to upgrade each year...

No, you are absolutely not.

If you are paying $32 a month, then at the end of the year, you have paid $384 for use of that phone.

If you buy an unlocked phone for $650 to start with, and turn it into Amazon after a year in good condition, you will get back $375. That brings your net to $275 for the year. Cheaper.

If you re-up your contract every year and pay the early upgrade price of $450, you can sell the phone to Amazon, or through ebay or craiglist, and again, your net for the year is $100-$200.
 

sardil

macrumors newbie
Sep 30, 2011
6
0
If I buy it for $640 and sell it for $500, then my total cost to use it over the year is $140.

Again, what you are missing is that you don't get to keep the phone until you have paid 20 installments. If you upgrade at 12 months, you will have to send the phone back to AT&T.
 

horsebattery

macrumors 6502
Sep 24, 2013
313
424
If I buy it for $640 and sell it for $500, then my total cost to use it over the year is $140.

False. The earliest you can sell it is at month 20 or later. At that point, the amount/month you have paid from month 13 through month 20 would have more than ballooned past that $500 you keep saying.

There is absolutely no way you can save money using AT&T's next plan compared to the traditional 2-year contract. The Verge article is very extensive in explaining this.

Read. Educate yourself. Don't be ripped off.
 

Nautilus007

macrumors 68030
Jul 13, 2007
2,636
1,285
U.S
I see what you are saying. Sell phone for $500 and use money to pay off the remainder of the phone with the Sale price. Then The excess can be used to help pay for a new phone?

Sounds like a plan, I think if you pay the whole phone off you dont have to turn it in.
However, you are still paying them an extra $20 month in the phone subsidy you aren't using anymore.

I dont think you will get 500.00 for the phone.

Think of it as leasing a car, you are really renting a phone. You are much better off just doing the upgrade and selling the phone after.


hypothetically lets do the math.

You buy an iphone 5s for 200.00+38.00 upgrade fee.

238.

Then you sell the phone next year for say 400.00
400-238=162.00

you can buy a new phone for 650 without upgrade.

650-162= 488.

Then say you want to upgrade next year.

You pay another 238 and sell the other phone for 400 again.

488-400=88.00

88.00+238=326.00.

So over 2 years you pay 238+488+326= 1052 for 3 phones.

I dont know what the total cost for next is for 3 phones, but this seems like a better deal in my eyes. Sorry if my math is wrong feel free to correct.
 
Last edited:

blhoward2

macrumors 6502a
Sep 19, 2012
533
21
False. The earliest you can sell it is at month 20 or later. At that point, the amount/month you have paid from month 13 through month 20 would have more than ballooned past that $500 you keep saying.

There is absolutely no way you can save money using AT&T's next plan compared to the traditional 2-year contract. The Verge article is very extensive in explaining this.

Read. Educate yourself. Don't be ripped off.

You can pay it off but it still ends up costing more.

----------

Also RE no contract, you're actually worse off. Its cheaper to get a subsidized phone and pay the ETF to breach then to pay 12 months on Next and then terminate and pay off remaining phone.
 

sardil

macrumors newbie
Sep 30, 2011
6
0
Here are my thoughts...

I did the next plan on my 32GB phone. When you do the next plan the phone is valued at $640, instead of $749. So I already got a $109 discount on the retail price, I'll make 12 payments of $32 over the next year, totaling $384, leaving me with $256 left on the phone when the new iPhone drops. I'll then sell this phone for about $500 a week or so before I'm due for my new phone and be ahead $244 to pay for the new one.

Best of all is no contract.

Good news is that you can still go return it and buy another one without the Next plan.

Bad news is that the only way to keep the carry cost on an new iPhone to $100-150/yr is by paying full price for them to start with.
 

blhoward2

macrumors 6502a
Sep 19, 2012
533
21
Good news is that you can still go return it and buy another one without the Next plan.

Bad news is that the only way to keep the carry cost on an new iPhone to $100-150/yr is by paying full price for them to start with.

Eh, you really only need to pay full price every other year.
 
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