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AT&T to Stop Offering Two-Year Phone Contracts Starting January 8
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If you can't pay for something up front then do without - it's that simple. That is the way I was brought up and it's served me well during my lifetime.
The phones are not subsidised anyway - there's no such thing as a free lunch. Companies were/are getting it back through the cost of the contract. Certainly in the UK it is cheaper to buy a phone up front and get a SIM only deal.
Buying on instalments is a mugs game.
The cold hard truth is AT&T doesn't make money and doesn't care about people like your mom, dad and sister. Dumb or feature phones are so cheap that they can't subsidize the cost and since they've driven down the non-data service costs to nothing, those customers are no longer viable.
Not being critical. I have family members in the same boat. My MIL has no use for a smartphone. But it was cheaper to add her to our family plan with the backend of the BOGO smartphone deal AT&T was offering than what she was paying for a flip phone and service through Verizon.
You won't pay the upgrade fee. But you also won't get the subsidy. The subsidy was a much larger savings than $40.
The reviews on their billing and customer service make they sound horrible to deal with. Also you should state what your plan specs are.
Where did you get the 7.08 from? Wouldn't it be 27.08? Also, I believe they now charge a $15 upgrade fee even for Next customers.
I would agree with your installment statement for those who aren't buying new phones yearly. For me, it makes much more sense to buy on an installment because the provider is effectively "buying back" the phone when I am ready for a new one every year. previously I sold my phones yearly because the return was much better. Since the market has been flooded, this retun has dropped. I can still get about $50 more , when all is said and done, selling privately, but this includes the hassle of meeting someone or packing and shipping the phone. To me, it's worth having the carrier take my phone back, me "losing" $50 a year, and continuing to have the newest device (as I have always done previously).
Various stores also offer discounts throughout the year (generally around christmas) but it's generally only for those buying on installment. Recently ATT did buy one get one free iPhone 6s through Best Buy and ATT for those on Next. No matter how you look at that, that's a savings of $650 by financing the device.
I do agree though. Financing something as small as a phone ebcause I am unable to afford it isn't a financially smart move.
It seems you are confusing Next and Mobile Share Value. Next is just a zero-interest installment plan if you want to buy a new phone. If you already have a phone or buy one elsewhere, nobody forces you to use Next.
The Mobile Share Value plan has a reduced access fee for basic phones to compensate for the fact that they can't use all features that a smartphone can use.
Like what?
If I understood your first post right, you are paying a share of a family plan. It may be worthwhile to look at the potential cost of an equivalent mobile share plan for the entire family, and then see how to share the cost to everyone's advantage. You didn't mention what the current plan costs in total, but a mobile share plan with 2GB and 1 smartphone for you, and 3 basic phones for your other family members would be:
$30 + $25 + 3x20 = $115
For that you get unlimited talk and text for all phones, and rollover of unused data and mobile hotspot for your smartphone. If you want to buy a new phone on Next, add the monthly fee for that as well.
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That's right. I forgot about that.
So when they raise our unlimited data plans in February by $5 we can leave without an ETF right? I'm excited. I get to leave a year earlier
That's what the nice letter I received said. Hey, maybe this turns into a free early upgrade to a 6S.
They do charge this fee. I was a customer for about six years and I was always able to get that fee credited by talking to an online rep. Literally all I ever did was ask. This may have changed and may vary for folks though. ATT was always very willing to give me "random" credits. No idea if that had to do with the FAN on our account, the fact that we were long time customers always paying on time or what.
I've been selling iPhones since the iPhone 3G and the going rate after the next model has always been about 200, maybe 250 for the base model in mint condition. 300 is unrealistic unless it's a higher spec unit. And 300 on eBay would be like 220-250 on CL because of fees and shipping.
Regardless sucking up for EDGE is garbage. I pay 260 right now with 5 2-yr contracts. I would pay 250 a month on BEFORE EDGE. If I went on EDGE then I would pay an extra 125 dollars a month (25 per iphone *5 lines). Even factoring in that tidy profit after paying the phone off, I would be paying over $100 extra month by switching over.
What subsidy are you referring to? Aren't you charged the full price for the phones on the Next plans? You also pay a $15 upgrade fee on the Next plans now.
I had the same experience until this last upgrade...they wouldn't give it to me and I called in two different times
I did the research on Binge On and it's easy to disable it. So no mandatory.
I also did the math and for me personally. I pay 260 a month on ATT with FAN, 2 unlimited plans, 3 2GB plans. I could get the exact same plan on T-Mo for 200 a month. (although no 2 yr contracts). On ATT the closed thing I could get is the family share 25GB plan for about 250 a month. (again no 2 yrs). So despite T-Mobile's price increases, they appear to be cheaper.
Does that mean cook will have to start giving the real price of the pone now instead of "It cost's 200.00".
Sorry. This being an unlimited thread I assumed we were discussing contract signings for unlimited data. There is no option to go on next with unlimited (well, there is, but nobody takes it because its way more expensive). Apologies for the misunderstanding.
The price of the phone has NEVER been $200. That's always been the subsidized of the smaller storage capacity model.
And when he quotes the price of the "unlocked" version, THAT is the actual price of the phone.
By looking at how much it costs. Next plans last I checked were far more expensive.
For my two year contract I paid $105 a month and that included the phone. Next was $140 for the same exact thing. How people think this is a deal is beyond me.
There is no point in staying with AT&T. T-Mobile offers unlimited data (well ~20GB) for 95 a month. I don't think AT&T will be cheaper with their new price hikes and lack of subsidy.
Right when they started their next plan there was also the option for what was effectively a free phone (all contracted phones you could get out of for starting a next plan). We did that, and then when the next iPhone launched just turned in our 2 or so month old 5S.
Kind of baffling they do these things to be honest, but I am not their marketing nor their accounting team. I would have thought that with unlimited data they would just allow contracted folks to keep it at the price they had been paing and then hit price hikes once out of contract. Clearly they did a damage analysis and decided it was within their better interest to increase costs by $5 for all unlimited users including those contracted though.
Agree 100%. Usually the people who don't have unlimited are the most vocal opponents to unlimited plan
Ah dude, you umlimited plan will be gone very, very soon.
There are still reasons to stick with AT&T. Outside of metro areas T Mobile coverage is still crap.