Why won't they also then not lock someone into a contract automatically either, and then those in the know will call and request not to be in a contract.
The advantage of buying the Verizon phone is that not only is it always sold unlocked, but Verizon will apparently not directly activate any non-Verizon phone. It is supposed to be possible to activate the Verizon SIM in another phone then put it into the AT&T phone, but I like having the most options at the outset.