A bit of background- I've been an AT&T/Cingular customer for probably as long as I've owned a cell phone. My previous 2-year contract expired last November, and I didn't get anything to replace my POS old phone until about 4 months ago when I had to start traveling more for work and needed something that could really use the internet- at which point I got a Samsung Blackjack II. What I really wanted was an iPhone- but I really wanted a 3G one, and since the iPhones cost the same no matter whether you were signing up new of not, the sales rep agreed that there wasn't much issue (if I was willing to pay the price) to get the subsidized phone then and pay the full price later for the iPhone to replace it.
Of course, they switched to a subsidized setup unexpectedly. Still, I expected to pay the $400 or so from the get-go, so while a bit annoying that if I'd not upgraded when I did I could have gotten one for half the price- but at the same time, I really needed the phone and have more than gotten my money out of the one I got.
So today I go into my local AT&T store to look at the new iPhones- I planned on getting one in about a month or so but wanted to at least play with one to confirm that I still really wanted one. One of the sales reps comes up and asks me if I have any questions, and I say, "Yes, what is the price again for the iPhones if you're not eligible for an upgrade?" She looks at me kind of funny and says, "Well, we don't have one." Going back and forth, she says that the $399/$499 price is just for people that have been cleared for 'early upgrades'- and that there is no way for me, an existing AT&T customer who just wants to replace their existing phone with an iPhone, to buy one. Her explanation (which sounded like complete BS) was that Apple had implemented this policy because of all the phones that had been unlocked and used on other networks.
That's not the understanding that I had from everything I've read- my understanding that anyone could get one, but those ineligible for upgrades had to pay the higher price for them just like any other cell phone upgrade. Did I just understand everything wrong, or was she completely full of it? I did try calling and asking AT&T- but their customer service is closed.
Of course, they switched to a subsidized setup unexpectedly. Still, I expected to pay the $400 or so from the get-go, so while a bit annoying that if I'd not upgraded when I did I could have gotten one for half the price- but at the same time, I really needed the phone and have more than gotten my money out of the one I got.
So today I go into my local AT&T store to look at the new iPhones- I planned on getting one in about a month or so but wanted to at least play with one to confirm that I still really wanted one. One of the sales reps comes up and asks me if I have any questions, and I say, "Yes, what is the price again for the iPhones if you're not eligible for an upgrade?" She looks at me kind of funny and says, "Well, we don't have one." Going back and forth, she says that the $399/$499 price is just for people that have been cleared for 'early upgrades'- and that there is no way for me, an existing AT&T customer who just wants to replace their existing phone with an iPhone, to buy one. Her explanation (which sounded like complete BS) was that Apple had implemented this policy because of all the phones that had been unlocked and used on other networks.
That's not the understanding that I had from everything I've read- my understanding that anyone could get one, but those ineligible for upgrades had to pay the higher price for them just like any other cell phone upgrade. Did I just understand everything wrong, or was she completely full of it? I did try calling and asking AT&T- but their customer service is closed.
