Did you even read Apple program? lol Looks like your comment makes you the biggest loser. Haha
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Apple's Upgrade Program Now Available for iPhones Purchased Through Online Store
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Phew. Good. The store experience last year was pretty insane. Then again, my local store tends to be pretty insane on a regular basis.
Where do you live, Afghanistan? I never knew Craigslist could be so dangerous.
I bought the 5s for about £650 in Jan 2015. Sold it for £320 in Oct 2016 when I upgraded to the 6s. That was selling it to a computer games shop who buy and sell mobiles/tablets/etc. That's one of the benefits of buying an iPhone, the re-sale values are brilliant.
Financing by no means you can't afford something. I have plenty of money to buy my phone outright but I chose to do the upgrade program because it has 0% APR. I get about 5% on an average year on investments. By the time I have to pay it off I will have made money back. No one is going to get over indebted with one 700 dollar purchase. Sorry but most people are indebted by their poor credit card habits with thousands of dollars spent. not their iPhone purchase
With the financing program through Verizon, not the same, but similar, I actually came out ahead every month. So by financing I actually get $2 back on my bill every month. More or less. It's not much, but only because I use the device payment plan. If I paid it off upfront I would actually spend more money.
Maybe I'm misunderstanding this program, but you don't own the phone after 2 years right? Which means you can't sell it. The re-sell value of iphones is pretty solid, so you end up giving money away with this program if my assumption is correct.
Is this true?
If so, then obviously you're losing a lot of money by doing this although you save a little bit of hassle since selling a used phone is pretty annoying.
You do own it, unless you decide to trade it in for the next iPhone, which you can do once you have made at least a year's worth of payments (you can make advance payments after you've made 6 months worth).
As an aside, I think everyone responding to AliMacs just got trolled. At least I hope so, because otherwise, that's just sad.
I certainly hope they bring it over to Canada. I'd like to get an unlocked 128GB iPhone under that plan (you can get them unlocked under the program, right?)
Woah there! Just because you choose to do it, doesn't mean you're a loser (or an idiot, or can't handle money, or whatever else you want to call people who do this).
I can more than afford to buy more than one of these phones at once and have more than enough to do other things, but I personally choose not to (that messes up my budget (that I'VE set a limit on, not because I HAVE to) and I like to keep my budget in line). This is how I choose to manage my money and it works wonders for me. It may or may not be a little more expensive, but at the end of the day it's my choice and it hasn't killed me in the slightest. I don't splurge on everything I buy, and while I have a credit card (I have to if I want to buy things online), it usually has credit in the account. And I know exactly how much interest I'm paying with each product; I track that too, but I do it anyway. I know what I'm doing.
So yes, you can use this option AND still be able to manage your money. I understand that some people aren't as good at handling money here, but I don't understand why you need to be so rude (yeah, "it's the Internet", yada yada, doesn't mean you have to).
Woah there! Just because you choose to do it, doesn't mean you're a loser (or an idiot, or can't handle money, or whatever else you want to call people who do this).
I can more than afford to buy more than one of these phones at once and have more than enough to do other things, but I personally choose not to (that messes up my budget (that I'VE set a limit on, not because I HAVE to) and I like to keep my budget in line). This is how I choose to manage my money and it works wonders for me. It may or may not be a little more expensive, but at the end of the day it's my choice and it hasn't killed me in the slightest. I don't splurge on everything I buy, and while I have a credit card (I have to if I want to buy things online), it usually has credit in the account. And I know exactly how much interest I'm paying with each product; I track that too, but I do it anyway. I know what I'm doing.
So yes, you can use this option AND still be able to manage your money. I understand that some people aren't as good at handling money here, but I don't understand why you need to be so rude (yeah, "it's the Internet", yada yada, doesn't mean you have to).
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I couldn't find anywhere that said you get to keep the phone after 2 years. Maybe someone provide a link to that info.
I think the iPhone upgrade program is a lease. You never own it and are locked into payments to infinity.
And when you do want to bail, you've got to pay off the whole thing.... yet end up with nothing.
Maybe I'm wrong. I was too lazy to snoop around for the details in fine print.
[EDIT] @horsebattery found it. It's not a lease. You get to keep the phone after 2 years if you want. Thanks!
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I think the iPhone upgrade program is a lease. You never own it and are locked into payments to infinity.
And when you do want to bail, you've got to pay off the whole thing.... yet end up with nothing.
Maybe I'm wrong. I was too lazy to snoop around for the details in fine print.
[EDIT] @horsebattery found it. It's not a lease. You get to keep the phone after 2 years if you want. Thanks!
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http://www.apple.com/shop/iphone/iphone-upgrade-program
Last couple of bullet points:
It's for those two reasons (among others, such as the 0% APR) why the upgrade program is a pretty good deal, as long as the buyer was going to pick up AppleCare+ as well. There's potentially deals with carriers too, so YMMV.
I think people that think it is financially smarter paying full price out of pocket now vs paying over a period of time interest-free should go back to school. TVM is one of the first things you learn in any finance/acct/business class.
Here is quick math.
Paying full price of iPhone and Apple Care = $778 TVM @ 8% for 24 months = cost of the purchase $907.46
Paying $32.41 per month for 24 months TVM @ 8% for 24 months = cost of the purchase $839.73
This is based off the market rate average which is typically 8-10%.
All that said, I can see other reasons not to finance an iPhone, but to say only losers finance, and implying that someone is uneducated and needs to go back to school is just silly. If anything, I believe it is the other way around.
Yeah, I did not get it either.
Financing @ 0% is basically getting something at a discount.
Sounds like someone needs to go back to school and have a teacher check over their homework. Because clearly your math skills require improving. I definitely think you have a career with economics though.
Does Verizon charge you $20 or $40 for your access line fee on the upgrade program through apple?
Finally! I had to drive 120 miles on launch day to get my iPhone 6s on this plan. That's how much I hated my glitchy 6 Plus. Doubt the iPhone 7 will be worth the drive. At least I hope this online thing works with yearly upgrades or it's kinda pointless.
glad so many of you don't get the picture. Continue your debt programs. American education at its finest.
"Learn to count"?!? Did you do the math? There isn't interest, actually running the numbers seems to get a difference of less than $0.01 a month (probably rounding and dividing by 24 months).
Most people have been making payments on our cell phones for years, this is nothing new for anyone, even many who hate credit and making payments have been doing this (they just don't want to do it). We've just been making the payment while it's rolled into our monthly plan. People switching out of these plans don't want to buy (or admit they buy) a phone that is $649 (or more)! Payments help them pretend it isn't so.
When my subsidized plan ends next year, my phone bill will drop (since a phone isn't included) but I'll have to make payments on the phone or pay for it outright. I just have to decide if I want to start upgrading yearly or continue to do it every two years. IF the phone is mine (with this plan) after 24 months, I don't really need to decide at the start, I can wait and decide later.
Doing it this way lets people trade in the phone after a year. It's pretty much interest free and the price includes Apple Care. Actually the upgrade program is about the same as if you purchased it with payments but add the AppleCare.
Is this more cost effective than buying the phone and selling it after a year? Probably not, but it's a pretty easy process. After seven months Gazelle pays about half the price for a 16GB 6s (you could likely get more on eBay), by fall that will be even lower, but with no fuss you can trade it in for the new one, that's pretty easy for many people.
Gary
Could you explain why you think this program is bad financially? I can think of other reasons, but you mention debt, so I assume you mean it is financially bad.
Financing the iPhone is cheaper over 24 months than paying for it in full at the beginning of 24 months. Also, debt isn't bad as long as it is manageable. Are you saying that all debt is bad? Home loans, business loans, car loans? I am not sure where you live, but if people had to pay cash for their homes and business, there would be little home ownership and businesses. Debt makes the world goes around.
You do own the phone, if you keep it for two years. The idea is you pay, and after a year you can trade in for the next one. Or you don't trade in, and after two years the phone is yours.