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AT&T Begins Selling $99 (Refurbished) iPhone

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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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Several readers have noted that AT&T has started selling refurbished iPhone 3Gs as low as $99.

While AT&T has intermittently offered refurbished iPhones in the past, the $99 price point is noteworthy given the recent rumors that Apple was to introduce a $99 model. Apple's current iPhone starts at $199 for the 8GB model and $299 for the 16GB. The refurbished models have been discounted $100 to $99 and $199, respectively.

Analysts believed that dropping the starting price of the iPhone to $99 could double or triple projected sales.

Article Link: AT&T Begins Selling $99 (Refurbished) iPhone
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2008/12/26/atandt-begins-selling-99-refurbished-iphone/
Can you buy thoses like the Full price 199 dollar one when ur still in contract with ATT??
2nd!
 
A $100 price drop on the upfront cost is a drop in the bucket compared to the overall cost.

If AT&T wants to sell more iPhones they could stand to drop the contract rates a fraction.
 
If you like having a 90-day warranty instead of a 1-year warranty on a device that commonly has problems after a few months of usage (I'm on my third), go for it.
 
Chundles said:
A $100 price drop on the upfront cost is a drop in the bucket compared to the overall cost.

If AT&T wants to sell more iPhones they could stand to drop the contract rates a fraction.
Click to expand...

Their rates are cheaper then verizon .....

Don't try to compare AT&T with either Sprint or t-mobile in the US please. Coverage is not close to the same as t-mobile and I can't stand when people point to the sprint employee referral.

Yes Sprint is cheaper with the "referral" but first you've got to know about it ... which your average customer does not. Second a savy AT&T person can build a compatible plan using rate codes found across the internet.

I'm happily paying around 68/month (After taxes and discounts) for 650 anytime (only 450 roll over), 5000 N&W, 1500 text messages and unlimited data. Not sprint or t-mobile prices but pretty damn good in my books.
 
Does anybody know:

Can I sign up for the a calling plan, say the 450 minutes one, and then if I realize by checking up online I am coming close to going over my minutes, can I upgrade to the next 900 minute plan? WIll this extend my contract or anything?
 
MacFan782040 said:
Does anybody know:

Can I sign up for the a calling plan, say the 450 minutes one, and then if I realize by checking up online I am coming close to going over my minutes, can I upgrade to the next 900 minute plan? WIll this extend my contract or anything?
Click to expand...

No that will not extend your contract. I know if you downgrade you lose rollover minutes but I'm not sure if there are any penalties for upgrading.
 
MacFan782040 said:
Does anybody know:

Can I sign up for the a calling plan, say the 450 minutes one, and then if I realize by checking up online I am coming close to going over my minutes, can I upgrade to the next 900 minute plan? WIll this extend my contract or anything?
Click to expand...

With AT&T you can change monthly minutes at any point, its simply prorated for that month.

Also, to the question above, no, you cannot order one of these if you already have an iPhone, you must upgrade to this phone or make it your first with a 2 year contract.
 
MacFan782040 said:
Does anybody know:

Can I sign up for the a calling plan, say the 450 minutes one, and then if I realize by checking up online I am coming close to going over my minutes, can I upgrade to the next 900 minute plan? WIll this extend my contract or anything?
Click to expand...

Upgrading a plan with AT&T does not extend the contract.
 
I was expecting this move back on Black Friday.

FYI, it is $199 and $299 for those that aren't eligible for subsidized pricing.
 
Desamell said:
Can you buy thoses like the Full price 199 dollar one when ur still in contract with ATT??
2nd!
Click to expand...

Depends when you first got into your 2 year contract if you qualify. If you do, then it will just extend your contract out another 2 years.
 
Chundles said:
A $100 price drop on the upfront cost is a drop in the bucket compared to the overall cost.

If AT&T wants to sell more iPhones they could stand to drop the contract rates a fraction.
Click to expand...

no joke. even just adding back in the free 200 text messages would be a step in the right direction.
 
Diode said:
Their rates are cheaper then verizon .....

Don't try to compare AT&T with either Sprint or t-mobile in the US please. Coverage is not close to the same as t-mobile and I can't stand when people point to the sprint employee referral.

Yes Sprint is cheaper with the "referral" but first you've got to know about it ... which your average customer does not. Second a savy AT&T person can build a compatible plan using rate codes found across the internet.

I'm happily paying around 68/month (After taxes and discounts) for 650 anytime (only 450 roll over), 5000 N&W, 1500 text messages and unlimited data. Not sprint or t-mobile prices but pretty damn good in my books.
Click to expand...

Firstly, where in my two line post did I make mention of any other US telecommunications company?

I did not compare the current plans to any other rival plan on other networks, I did not mention any employee referral system.

I did not say the plans were overpriced, I did not say the plans were poor value.

I did not mention coverage differences.

I said, that if AT&T wants to sell more iPhones they would be better served by lowering the plan prices a fraction than by knocking a relatively low price off the upfront cost.

Did you read my post at all before going off on that rant?
 
Chundles said:
A $100 price drop on the upfront cost is a drop in the bucket compared to the overall cost.

If AT&T wants to sell more iPhones they could stand to drop the contract rates a fraction.
Click to expand...

Really? I just looked up a Blackberry Storm on verizon and you can get 450 minutes, unlimited data, and no messaging for 10 bucks cheaper through AT&T. (69.99 vs Verizon's 79.99)
 
Chundles said:
I said, that if AT&T wants to sell more iPhones they would be better served by lowering the plan prices a fraction than by knocking a relatively low price off the upfront cost.
Click to expand...

Regardless, I think that your premise is wrong.

What will sell more iPhones for AT&T

- $99 starting price (vs $199)
- discounting $4.16 on a monthly phone bill over 2 years?

Despite the realities of the math, many people see upfront savings much more desirable than total cost of ownership savings.

arn
 
Chundles said:
A $100 price drop on the upfront cost is a drop in the bucket compared to the overall cost.

If AT&T wants to sell more iPhones they could stand to drop the contract rates a fraction.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Thats what is holding me off on any of these smart phone types. The extra data plan isn't worth that much of a premium to me.
 
Chundles said:
Firstly, where in my two line post did I make mention of any other US telecommunications company?

I did not compare the current plans to any other rival plan on other networks, I did not mention any employee referral system.

I did not say the plans were overpriced, I did not say the plans were poor value.

I did not mention coverage differences.

I said, that if AT&T wants to sell more iPhones they would be better served by lowering the plan prices a fraction than by knocking a relatively low price off the upfront cost.
Click to expand...

So basically your original post had no more insight than just "If they make the plans cheaper, they will sell more."

Great, thanks for that.
 
Matthew Yohe said:
Really? I just looked up a Blackberry Storm on verizon and you can get 450 minutes, unlimited data, and no messaging for 10 bucks cheaper through AT&T. (69.99 vs Verizon's 79.99)
Click to expand...

Again, I am not making comparisons.

arn said:
Regardless, I think that your premise is wrong.

What will sell more iPhones for AT&T

- $99 starting price (vs $199)
- discounting $4.16 on a monthly phone bill over 2 years?

Despite the realities of the math, many people see upfront savings much more desirable than total cost of ownership savings.

arn
Click to expand...


I agree, most people will see an upfront $100 saving as more compelling. However I think that if they want a long-term sales increase rather than just a spike they could stand to drop the plans by $5 to $10 - it's not like they're hard up for cash...

And in current economic conditions, especially in the US where I gather things are much worse than they are here, people will need to be a little more financially savvy.

Matthew Yohe said:
So basically your original post had no more insight than just "If they make the plans cheaper, they will sell more."

Great, thanks for that.
Click to expand...

Yup, no more insight than that.
 
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