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Apple Stores Selling iPhones for $199/$299 No Matter What!

A

apb509

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 23, 2008
34
0
I just spoke with AT&T Store in Westfarms Mall in CT about beating the system.. He said using a friends iPhone for 3 days and upgrading on July 11th should work to get me the $199/$299 pricing.

He ALSO said somebody came in saying they were told by Apple employees at the store across the mall that they were selling phones for $199/$299 no matter what.

I called the apple store myself, and lo and behold, I was told the SAME THING. The employee said that they have no way of calibrating w/ AT&T systems and, as of what his store knows right now, will only be selling the iPhones for the Steve-Jobs-advertised $199/$299 pricing point.

The AT&T store manager said there's really no way the company could go back and charge me the extra $200 for getting the iPhone for the $199/$299 price despite not being upgrade eligible if I were to buy it from Apple for a cheaper price.


Can others call their Apple stores to see if this is what they're being told as well!?!
 
apb509 said:
I just spoke with AT&T Store in Westfarms Mall in CT about beating the system.. He said using a friends iPhone for 3 days and upgrading on July 11th should work to get me the $199/$299 pricing.

He ALSO said somebody came in saying they were told by Apple employees at the store across the mall that they were selling phones for $199/$299 no matter what.

I called the apple store myself, and lo and behold, I was told the SAME THING. The employee said that they have no way of calibrating w/ AT&T systems and, as of what his store knows right now, will only be selling the iPhones for the Steve-Jobs-advertised $199/$299 pricing point.

The AT&T store manager said there's really no way the company could go back and charge me the extra $200 for getting the iPhone for the $199/$299 price despite not being upgrade eligible if I were to buy it from Apple for a cheaper price.


Can others call their Apple stores to see if this is what they're being told as well!?!
Click to expand...

Calling Apple Stores doesn't verify anything. We all just have to wait and see...
 
apb509 said:
The AT&T store manager said there's really no way the company could go back and charge me the extra $200 for getting the iPhone for the $199/$299 price despite not being upgrade eligible if I were to buy it from Apple for a cheaper price.
Click to expand...

Really? Wouldn't they just be able to use the credit card you offered them for AT&T service to charge the additional 200? Although that would mean apple was selling at a discounted price while AT&T was making the difference on an item they didn't buy directly from Apple. Free $200 profit for them which doesn't sound right either.

Either way, this sounds too good to be true. We'll have to see...
 
So apple are going to sell at the subsidised price, let you walk out of the store without a contract.. and have no means of recovering the extra money?

My BS detector just went into overload...
 
KauaiBruce said:
Won't the long lines at Apple stores be AFTER someone shows you can unlock the phone?
Click to expand...

Not necessarily, if this is true. For those AT&T customers who are not upgrade eligible, great way to circumvent the additional 200 they would have had to pay.
 
Don't shoot the messenger.. that's just what I was told. It seems plausible... Apple unbricks the phone but it can't be used until activated via iTunes @ home w/ AT&T. AT&T has no way to determine what price you bought it for.. for all they know you bought it off a friend for $1.
 
TonyHoyle said:
So apple are going to sell at the subsidised price, let you walk out of the store without a contract.. and have no means of recovering the extra money?

My BS detector just went into overload...
Click to expand...

Plus, there's a reason they're only being sold in stores. Why go through all that hassle of requiring people to come in when they can walk right out anyway without signing a contract.
 
drb6 said:
Plus, there's a reason they're only being sold in stores. Why go through all that hassle of requiring people to come in when they can walk right out anyway without signing a contract.
Click to expand...

Every iPhone, no matter what circumstance you're in, requires a 2yr contract. From the day you activate your contract restarts. The iPhone might be set up so that it's able to be turned on but nothing can be done until activated via iTunes or a kiosk that connects to AT&T... and at that point AT&T has no means of charging an extra $200 because they don't know how much you paid for it. You could have bought it second-hand.. or been gifted it... or paid a cheap price from a friend who didn't want it.
 
This makes no sense. Obviously at&t would have an agreement with Apple that wouldn't allow the apple store to butcher their own sales.
 
apb509 said:
I just spoke with AT&T Store in Westfarms Mall in CT about beating the system.. He said using a friends iPhone for 3 days and upgrading on July 11th should work to get me the $199/$299 pricing.

He ALSO said somebody came in saying they were told by Apple employees at the store across the mall that they were selling phones for $199/$299 no matter what.

I called the apple store myself, and lo and behold, I was told the SAME THING. The employee said that they have no way of calibrating w/ AT&T systems and, as of what his store knows right now, will only be selling the iPhones for the Steve-Jobs-advertised $199/$299 pricing point.

The AT&T store manager said there's really no way the company could go back and charge me the extra $200 for getting the iPhone for the $199/$299 price despite not being upgrade eligible if I were to buy it from Apple for a cheaper price.


Can others call their Apple stores to see if this is what they're being told as well!?!
Click to expand...

Negative
 
Perhaps this is Mr. Jobs attempt at covering his own butt for advertising the $199/$299 prices for everyone (w/ new 2-yr contract). It makes sense that a non-commitment price would be more... but doesn't quite make sense for current customers who aren't "upgrade eligible." Why does someone who just bought an iphone last month become eligible for the new phone when someone who bought a competing brand (i.e. RIM) last month isn't eligible for the cheap price. Such a flawed set of requirements
 
apb509 said:
I just spoke with AT&T Store in Westfarms Mall in CT about beating the system.. He said using a friends iPhone for 3 days and upgrading on July 11th should work to get me the $199/$299 pricing.

He ALSO said somebody came in saying they were told by Apple employees at the store across the mall that they were selling phones for $199/$299 no matter what.

I called the apple store myself, and lo and behold, I was told the SAME THING. The employee said that they have no way of calibrating w/ AT&T systems and, as of what his store knows right now, will only be selling the iPhones for the Steve-Jobs-advertised $199/$299 pricing point.

The AT&T store manager said there's really no way the company could go back and charge me the extra $200 for getting the iPhone for the $199/$299 price despite not being upgrade eligible if I were to buy it from Apple for a cheaper price.


Can others call their Apple stores to see if this is what they're being told as well!?!
Click to expand...

Here's the official pricing from AT&T. I would be very surprised if individual stores strayed from this.

http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=4800&cdvn=news&newsarticleid=25883
 
apb509 said:
Perhaps this is Mr. Jobs attempt at covering his own butt for advertising the $199/$299 prices for everyone (w/ new 2-yr contract). It makes sense that a non-commitment price would be more... but doesn't quite make sense for current customers who aren't "upgrade eligible." Why does someone who just bought an iphone last month become eligible for the new phone when someone who bought a competing brand (i.e. RIM) last month isn't eligible for the cheap price. Such a flawed set of requirements
Click to expand...

Because those people bought their Blackberries subsidized with at&t. the original iPhone was not subsidized.
 
You're right - you'll get the iPhone at a new customer price with a new AT&T plan... whilst you still have to pay your old plan too because they're two separate transactions.

Not a good idea.
 
Im eligable beacuse I got the Iphone on launch day. BUT, if this is true, can I just go to the Apple Store buy the Iphone for 200 or 300 (same as I would pay at ATT) But then just put my current Iphone Sim card in it? and not pay the 30 bucks a month? Keep 200 texts for 20 bucks a month, I dont live in 3g area.
 
apb509 said:
Perhaps this is Mr. Jobs attempt at covering his own butt for advertising the $199/$299 prices for everyone (w/ new 2-yr contract). It makes sense that a non-commitment price would be more... but doesn't quite make sense for current customers who aren't "upgrade eligible." Why does someone who just bought an iphone last month become eligible for the new phone when someone who bought a competing brand (i.e. RIM) last month isn't eligible for the cheap price. Such a flawed set of requirements
Click to expand...

Oh for gawds sake. I wish those who feel cheated by this would stop moaning. Iphone users and people new to AT&T get if for the cheap price. Those who are ineligable are those WHO ALREADY GOT MONEY OFF a subsidized phone!
 
memesmith said:
Oh for gawds sake. I wish those who feel cheated by this would stop moaning. Iphone users and people new to AT&T get if for the cheap price. Those who are ineligable are those WHO ALREADY GOT MONEY OFF a subsidized phone!
Click to expand...

2 months ago I switched to AT&T and bought a $30 cheapo refurb Blackberry for a reason--I wanted to switch to the iPhone--I was told then that everybody pays same price, I wouldn't get any sort of discount if I waited until if and when it actually came out--I think I have a legitimate right to be upset and feel frauded. I'm using a USED phone that I paid nothing for because I expected to have the new iPhone in my hands by mid-summer.. I didn't think paying another $200 would be in store. I had no issues waiting 3 more months on T-Mobile--not only would I have saved $200 off price of the iPhone, I would have been paying $40 less PER MONTH for those 3 months.

Absolute junk... I hope I manage to find a way around this.
 
think about it

think about it logically how will apple be making money off the iphone then?

this is a load of bull, nothing is official as of yet, and half the time the stores just speak off things they dont know.
 
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