$934 for a phone... What's wrong with me.

[lavrishevo]

Oh wow, you bought it -- hook, line and sinker.

Of course it's built in!! You think they can just pony up ~$450 for EVERYONE who gets a new handset? No way! The reason your phone bill is so much is because they've built the subsidized cost into their pricing scheme.

That's why I always tell people like my parents: "Even if you're not going to use a new phone, you should go get one and re-sell it because ultimately, you're paying for the subsidy whether you get a new device or not."

Is my bill that much? I pay about $98 a month after taxes for unlimited data, text, and enough voice for my needs. That is pretty much on par for all the major carriers. I constantly travel around the United States so I need good national coverage. I understand some of the cost is built in but less the $100 a month is not particularly expensive for a single line with the unlimited options.

 

[turbineseaplane]

this is replacing my phone and tablet which I'm selling to buy this. (6+ size is perfect)

Fair.
But at some point you had to come massively out of pocket for the Tablet you're selling, so the large $$ is spent (which was the OP's point I think)

 

[RyanTheGeneral]

I have to admit that I am starting to realize how ridiculous the price point is. I mean for just $65 more I could buy a new Macbook Air! It's not about not being able to afford it but more about the intrinsic value. I'm on the verge of cancelling my order. Anyone else feel this way? I'm not looking for immature moronic comments (Mac Rumors specializes in those) but more intelligent discussion of what is the real value of the device.

$849 for the phone
$67 in taxes
$18 for a case off Amazon.

I have never spent this much money on a phone before. When the first iPhone came out I purchased it used off Craigslist for about $450 a few days after it came out and that was a bit pricey in 07. The phone was not subsidized then. Since then I have always paid subsidized prices. All my iPhone's through the 4s, my S3 and current S4 were all under $200. Maybe I'm just used to this price. A bit on the fence here. How do you all feel about paying full price for the 6+? I know there are cheaper options but those would feel like a downgrade to my current S4. Any thoughts?

Think of it as your paying 424 for 2 years!

Seriously though it is expensive but if your like me you use your phone for a bunch of things otherwise you may not have pre ordered. So it is only a tragedy if you think of it as one.

 

[ReallyBigFeet]

I tend to view purchases by a) number of daily uses, b) longevity of purchase and c) cost to do without.

My mobile phone device gets used conservatively 200 times per day. Yes, that's about 20 times per waking hour or once every 3 minutes.

The longevity of the purchase for me is about 14 months. I don't typically follow normal upgrade cycles.

The cost to do without? Hard to quantify but I can conservatively state that not having a smartphone with me would have cost me $35-$50K in lost revenue this year and/or cost me at least as much in workaround "time spent" via face to face meetings, plane/car time to facilitate same, time I'd have to spend in the office making calls on landline versus mobile use, etc.

So my purchase is easily justifiable given those metrics.

Now the REAL question is could I have gotten the same value out of a device priced hundreds of dollars cheaper? Yes, I could have. But if I can justify a $400 purchase, its not that difficult to equally justify a $1000 purchase. And if you can do the same but gain the bling factor of a shiny new Apple device versus a dingy plastic Samsung device, why not?

 

[hipnetic]

My MIL still doesn't understand that iPhones cost this much. She wanted to buy one of our old phones when we upgraded to the iPhone 5 as she wasn't eligible for an upgrade. I told her like $150 or so and she got outright mad that we were ripping her off. Why would she pay me $150 when she can get a brand new one for $49 or even possibly free? She didn't understand that they are subsidized pricing and the phones really cost $549+.

Great job scoring points with the mother-in-law!

 

[MacManTexas56]

Great job scoring points with the mother-in-law!

i've tried to explain it to her probably 10+ times. She just doesn't get it. She got mad at AT&T for not giving her that price either. Her loss...i turned around and sold the phone for double the price on eBay. I was just trying to help out since she wasn't due for an upgrade

She loves apple stuff, but just doesn't want to pay the prices. This is good example why i wish they would kill subsidies....not everyone should have an iPhone if they don't want to pay the true cost.

 

[makotoisle]

What's money for, if not to spend? As long as your bills are paid and you're financially secure, I don't see a point in fretting.

Getting a new phone comes from my spending money budget; I justify it by asking what I would have spent that money on otherwise? There's lots of things. But I don't want those things right now, I want an iPhone.

 

[MacManTexas56]

What's money for, if not to spend? As long as your bills are paid and you're financially secure, I don't see a point in fretting.

Getting a new phone comes from my spending money budget; I justify it by asking what I would have spent that money on otherwise? There's lots of things. But I don't want those things right now, I want an iPhone.

i think OP was saying it's not about having enough money....but more so....$1,000 for a PHONE?

 

[LostMyiPhone]

Is my bill that much? I pay about $98 a month after taxes for unlimited data, text, and enough voice for my needs. That is pretty much on par for all the major carriers. I constantly travel around the United States so I need good national coverage. I understand some of the cost is built in but less the $100 a month is not particularly expensive for a single line with the unlimited options.

Well, if the carrier subsidizes $450 of a new phone and you sign a 24 month contract, that would be $18.75/month.

On your bill, is there some line item that screams "I'm double what I should be!!" Cause there is on my bill haha!

 

[jim.hickman.777]

I got my ip6 for free from AT&T, getting $150 trade in payed 54.00 in tax

 

[TechZeke]

The things people judge and say on the internet?

I believe you are the one saying that only people who pay full price are those that pay it on credit anyways. And are saying that people who own macs have them on credit also. Who is the one doing the judging here?

Good try, but obviously not all people buy with credit. We all know that, but the majority do, we all know that as well. If you think the majority of people on this forum rocking $2500 MacBook Pros or who bought two iPhone 6+ 128GBs paid with cash, you are fooling yourself. I believe I said "most" people in my original post. Please quote me. If I my statement came across as generalizing, then I concede that I should have communicated it better.

If you get a subsidized iPhone on the value plan it's now $40/line. If you BYOD or Next it's only $15/line.

If you go the subsidized route:
$199 iphone upgrade price
$40 upgrade fee
$25 extra per month ($40 instead of $15, see above) x 24 months=$600
TOTAL $839 plus i'm sure there is some taxes in there as well to make it little more.

If you go the Next route:
$27.09 per month x 24 months=$650.16
no upgrade fee
no additional monthly cost per line
TOTAL $651 plus i'm sure there is some taxes in there as well to make it a little more.

$188 difference...give or take depending on all taxes

$839 =/= $1500, which is the price everyone keeps throwing out. If the person is buying on credit, that $188 difference is even smaller.

 

[makotoisle]

i think OP was saying it's not about having enough money....but more so....$1,000 for a PHONE?

Right, and I'm saying, what would you spend that money on instead? A macbook? Dining out? A cruise? Vacation? A new dog? Etc.

For most of us, there's an opportunity cost associated with anything; you just have to decide what you want more. Personally, the cruise can wait because I want a new phone this time )

 

[ReallyBigFeet]

There's a huge difference between buying anything with funds earmarked as total "disposable income," versus "investment income."

Clearly you shouldn't be spending one on the other unless you have the luxury of doing both.

 

[MacManTexas56]

Good try, but obviously not all people buy with credit. We all know that, but the majority do, we all know that as well. If you think the majority of people on this forum rocking $2500 MacBook Pros or who bought two iPhone 6+ 128GBs paid with cash, you are fooling yourself. I believe I said "most" people in my original post. Please quote me. If I my statement came across as generalizing, then I concede that I should have communicated it better.



$839 =/= $1500, which is the price everyone keeps throwing out. If the person is buying on credit, that $188 difference is even smaller.

get over the credit part. it's not any one's business if they are buying on credit or not lol. why are you stuck on that??

man, hopefully you don't have any student loans of any kind. What about your car payment?

This topic wasn't brought up to discuss if someone buys it on credit or in cash lol

 

[TechZeke]

get over the credit part. it's not any one's business if they are buying on credit or not lol. why are you stuck on that??

man, hopefully you don't have any student loans of any kind. What about your car payment?

This topic wasn't brought up to discuss if someone buys it on credit or in cash lol

The whole point of my original post was that a ) a subsidized phone doesn't cost $1500. It may cost more(ATT is making money somewhere) but no where near $1500 as everyone keeps spitting out. b ) My other point was that the savings by buying outright aren't big if you're paying interest via credit, which is what most people do. That's all I was saying. How many times do I have to say that I wasn't knocking credit cards?

 

[hbcubs]

Subtotal $949.00
Free Shipping $0.00
Estimated Tax $75.92

Order Total $1,024.92


Add on $18.99 for a Spigen case and i just shelled out over a grand for a phone. However, like many of the previous posters stated, it's all based on cost/benefit. For me, paying this much for something I use throughout each and every day for at least a calander year is well worth it. I've used my iPhones overseas on many trips and I've being able to browse the web, look up maps, find restaurant recommendations and use translating apps. These alone make the phone worth it IMHO.

 

[MacManTexas56]

The whole point of my original post was that a ) a subsidized phone doesn't cost $1500. It may cost more(ATT is making money somewhere) but no where near $1500 as everyone keeps spitting out. b ) My other point was that the savings by buying outright aren't big if you're paying interest via credit, which is what most people do. That's all I was saying. How many times do I have to say that I wasn't knocking credit cards?

where does the OP say it was $1,500?

 

[rui no onna]

The whole point of my original post was that a ) a subsidized phone doesn't cost $1500. It may cost more(ATT is making money somewhere) but no where near $1500 as everyone keeps spitting out.

There was only a single post that mentioned a subsidized iPhone costing close to $1500. I mentioned a $1500 service fee in an earlier post but that's more to show you're guaranteeing AT&T at least $1500 in revenue in exchange for a $200-450 discount on the device when you sign a 2-year contract. Basically, I was just trying to show that they didn't give you that $450 discount for the iPhone for nothing. Nowhere did I say that that $1500 was the cost of the phone.

 

[sunking101]

I agree with most posts here. I use my phone more than any of my other gadgets heaped together X10. Yes they're expensive but boy do I get my use out of it! I usually upgrade once every 24 months but occasionally I buy a new handset outright mid-term if something really takes my fancy. I did that with the iPhone 4 and I'll be doing it next month with either the iPhone 6+ or the Note 4. I couldn't live without a nice smartphone

 

[lordofthereef]

I tend to view purchases by a) number of daily uses, b) longevity of purchase and c) cost to do without.

My mobile phone device gets used conservatively 200 times per day. Yes, that's about 20 times per waking hour or once every 3 minutes.

The longevity of the purchase for me is about 14 months. I don't typically follow normal upgrade cycles.

The cost to do without? Hard to quantify but I can conservatively state that not having a smartphone with me would have cost me $35-$50K in lost revenue this year and/or cost me at least as much in workaround "time spent" via face to face meetings, plane/car time to facilitate same, time I'd have to spend in the office making calls on landline versus mobile use, etc.

So my purchase is easily justifiable given those metrics.

Now the REAL question is could I have gotten the same value out of a device priced hundreds of dollars cheaper? Yes, I could have. But if I can justify a $400 purchase, its not that difficult to equally justify a $1000 purchase. And if you can do the same but gain the bling factor of a shiny new Apple device versus a dingy plastic Samsung device, why not?

Not picking on you here, but is that estimate based on not having a smartphone at all (I am guessing yes), or is it based on not replacing whatever smartphone you have with a newer one (again, guessig the former)?

If you already have a smartphone, how does this calculation come into your decision making?

 

[noekozz]

I use my phone more than anything else I have, and find myself using it more and more as the time passes.

With that being said, I understand what you mean about the price, but butthole still hurts. But believe me, I'll get full use out of it and then some. (Wanted to get an ipad mini, but now that's not needed).

 

[mantan]

I got my ip6 for free from AT&T, getting $150 trade in payed 54.00 in tax

It wasn't 'free'. You gave up some collateral (for less than it was actually worth.) And you likely signed a 2 year contract with a higher service fee non-subsidized users to pay the difference over the life of your contract.

 

[Archerious]

Well, my friend was offered the mobile share value plan, and he's on contract, so he's paying even less now.

That's great, and I agree. My point wasn't a nock at credit cards, see my post above.

Nice response. The majority of Apple products I've owned in the past (MBA, rMBP, iMac) were purchased with BestBuy or Barclay Credit.

0% interest for 18 months, well now 12 with bestbuy.

It comes in handy, as I made sure to pay $175 monthly. I recently sold the iMac to build a Gaming PC, and I only owe Barclay $700 (originally it had nearly 2.5k as I had my iMac and a base model MBA).

When it comes to phones though, I typically just early upgrade. Verizon offered me $300 off the full retail cost of whatever smartphone I want, but I'll have to sign a 2 year contract, and I can't use it on preorders . Typically I sell my current phone (LG G2), and use it towards the new device cost.

I'm losing about $100? Not bad to get a iPhone 6. The 6 Plus is too big for me, as I know from using a Note 2 that I nearly dropped it due to how massive it was. Really going to regret not having the 6 Plus's 1080p screen and massive battery though....

That was my blog post .

 

[Rocko1]

I have to admit that I am starting to realize how ridiculous the price point is.

 

[edenbensal]

I live in Israel. the cost for iPhone 5S 16GB here is 992$ and the population's average salary is 2,342.99$.