Buy 6 from VZ on contract, switch to another carrier next week?

[cutiedeer]

First, I'm not a techie. It's awesome that many of you are, and so I humbly come and request your advice. There's got to be something I'm missing here, so please help me see it.

I've been with VZ for many years. Their pricing scheme is too high. My family wants better phones, and having recently purchased a MacBook, iMac and iPad mini, the iPhone 6 is something I want. I'm tired of androids freezing on me, even when I buy the best out on the market- 2 years later I want to sacrifice it to the volcano gods. I'm no longer on contract with VZ, and just paying month to month.

So, with Sprint and TMobile offering payment of your contracts ETF, what is stopping me from doing this?: Buying an iPhone 6 for each of my 5 lines on contract with VZ, paying out $200 a piece initially..... then turning around in a few days and switching to TMobile or Sprint and having them pay my ETF for VZ, bringing my new phones over to one of those carriers? Verizon's iPhone 6s are unlocked, right? So what would I have to do to switch them over? Would this not save me $400+ each phone versus trying to buy one outright or on a 'payment plan'? Assuming that the other carrier's refund of VZs ETF is reliable, this seems like a way to save money (just have to wait 8-12 weeks for it).
What am I missing? Is this a decent idea? Please be nice as I am coming here for a legitimate question and I'm sure that the carriers would have their own bias about what to do. What I've found so far is that they 'exaggerate' their pros and the other's cons quite a bit and many don't even know all about their own plans.
Thanks!!!

 

[Akack]

If T-Mobile pays your ETF, the 3 phones you "bought" would have to be traded into T-Mobile and then you will need to buy 3 phones directly from t mobile. At least this was what I was told when my friend asked about this 3 weeks ago.

 

[cutiedeer]

AH, Thank you Akack. I see that now. http://www.t-mobile.com/offer/switch-carriers-no-early-termination-fee.html

 

[Eileen89]

I would try T-Mobiles service out first before you port your numbers as their service won't be as good as Verizon's in many areas.

 

[deeddawg]

nevermind

 

[mnsportsgeek]

1. You don't have to trade in the your iPhone. You can trade in any phone. You can buy three broken razr's on ebay for $5 each and trade those in.

2. You can buy the cheapest phones t-mobile offers for about $75 each and sell those on ebay for a decent chunk.

3. In the end, you end up paying about $80 to switch for each phone but you get your $350 ETF paid in the process.

 

[cutiedeer]

1. You don't have to trade in the your iPhone. You can trade in any phone. You can buy three broken razr's on ebay for $5 each and trade those in.

2. You can buy the cheapest phones t-mobile offers for about $75 each and sell those on ebay for a decent chunk.

3. In the end, you end up paying about $80 to switch for each phone but you get your $350 ETF paid in the process.

I was just about to ask if I could do that. thanks

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Does anyone know how long does it take TMobile to ship the Test Drive 5S to you?

 

[deeddawg]

afurry - good job thinking outside of the box.

 

[Eitel]

I did this. Got my Verizon iPhone 6+ under contract, and then ported to T-Mobile. Gave them my old OG Droid and bought a T199 for $30. Keep my iPhone 6+.

 

[errorunknown]

Sprint sucks anyway, you do NOT want to switch to them. You'll get half the battery life on a Sprint iPhone vs AT&T/Verizon because of their crappy service. Also Sprint is the only carrier that locks down their phones domestically. You can buy a Sprint iPhone 6 and they'll "unlock" it for you, but it will only take international GSM sim cards, the phone will not work on AT&T, T-Mobile, etc. On the other hand, the Verizon iPhone is the same model, but you can use it on any other service no problem!

 

[mnsportsgeek]

I was just about to ask if I could do that. thanks

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Does anyone know how long does it take TMobile to ship the Test Drive 5S to you?

It took me a little under a week.

BTW, Sprint is not an option as they will not activate your Verizon iPhone on their network even if it is an unlocked phone.

 

[question fear]

Be careful-I believe if you buy on the Verizon payment plan, you are on the hook for the payments, and they WILL bill you if you cancel your account.

I also feel like there's some rule about doing the same if you buy a subsidized phone and switch away within a certain period of time, but that would be something Verizon retentions could answer for you.