Did I almost just get screwed? (7+, Best Buy)

[Gualwer]

So...I might be crazy, but I'm pretty sure Best Buy/the mobile sales rep just tried to screw me out of $100. Or maybe she helped me out...dunno. Please set me straight or back me up

- Went into an Anchorage, AK Best Buy. Asked if they had any 7+s...they do! One 32gb matte black 7+ (any carrier, unlocked).
- Sweet! Lemme go ahead and get that.
- Sales rep, "We usually don't sell them outright, but since it's a 32gb and everyone is looking for bigger sizes, I'll go ahead and do it for you."
- Awesome!
- Get charged $869.99. Something didn't feel right...walked out of the store, checked the apple store website, saw the 32gb models are going for $769. Thaaaaaat's why it felt off.
- Walk back into the store, go to customer service, explain the situation.
- They get the same mobile sales rep, she comes back, explains something about activation fees not being counted/convenience fees/etc...all sounds kinda fishy to me.
- She says they usually don't price match Apple, but will go ahead and take $100 off.
- She amends the charge, subtracting $100, and we're on our way.
- I got home, checked the Best Buy website, and it looks like "Retail" is $869.99 for 32gb 7+s. So confused!!!

What do you guys think? Thanks!

I work at Best Buy and bby charges $50 or $100 over the actual retail price (this is the first time I see Best Buy charging more than $50 extra on iPhones tho). The reason why is because when you sign a contract or installment contract Best Buy gets a kick back on the activation, so if you buy it outright, Best Buy isn't making as much $$ as it would if you activate it. That's also why if you go to the Verizon store and try to buy an iPhone outright without activation, they won't sell it to you (unless that's changed, it hasn't at Best Buy tho). Most people don't know about this and they overpay for their phones. A co-worker sold 4 iPhones the other day for a customer to take to India and the poor guy paid so much. I personally like helping them out and price matching Apple. We aren't told not to do it, we can actually change the price without needing a manager override. The girl probably didn't want you thinking she wanted to rip you off, and she probably didn't want to take a return either!
[doublepost=1476314584][/doublepost]

Buying phone at Best Buy = Getting Screwed. The details really don't matter.

After the last few dealings I have had, coupled with the experiences of friends and family, I can't say I'd use BB Mobile for anything ever again, no matter the "deal" (let alone paying extra for the privilege).

Shame on me for giving them another chance. I figured I'd check out the Note 7 for a couple of weeks prior to the 7+ launch. Absolute nightmare. Then the recall happened. "we can't do anything" is evidently a class taught at BB Mobile Academy.

I know a lot of people are desperate for their iPhones and can't wait for Apple. But... just wait for Apple.

There was really nothing we could do about the recall! It isn't Best Buy, it's SAMSUNG!! Best Buy isn't the manufacturer of the phone. We have customers coming everyday to the store asking for note 7 replacements, we don't make them in the back, same if you go to att, Verizon, or sprint. All we can do is return it and sell you another phone.

 

[JulesJam]

Was sent to a business associate in panama, and would not work on any carriers.

Best Buy is selling iPhones subject to the US Reseller Flex Policy. You need to do the initial activation with a US carrier SIM card. If you use a Verizon SIM card for the initial activation the phones will be unlocked. You can even use an inactive Verizon SIM over WiFi or iTunes to do the initial activation. If you use a TMobile, AT&T, US Cellular or Sprint SIM card for the initial activation, the iPhones will be locked to those carriers.

You cannot use an international SIM card for the initial activation of these iPhones. You can send your friend an inactive Verizon SIM card and they should be able to activate the phone over WiFi or using iTunes. Then it will be unlocked.
[doublepost=1476369277][/doublepost]

a kick back

Lol! Kickback is a derogatory term typically used to mean an illegal payoff. What BB gets is called a commission. There is nothing illegal about it.

 

[Beenblacklisted]

Best Buy is selling iPhones subject to the US Reseller Flex Policy. You need to do the initial activation with a US carrier SIM card. If you use a Verizon SIM card for the initial activation the phones will be unlocked. You can even use an inactive Verizon SIM over WiFi or iTunes to do the initial activation. If you use a TMobile, AT&T, US Cellular or Sprint SIM card for the initial activation, the iPhones will be locked to those carriers.

You cannot use an international SIM card for the initial activation of these iPhones. You can send your friend an inactive Verizon SIM card and they should be able to activate the phone over WiFi or using iTunes. Then it will be unlocked.
[doublepost=1476369277][/doublepost]
Lol! Kickback is a derogatory term typically used to mean an illegal payoff. What BB gets is called a commission. There is nothing illegal about it.

We did initial activation with a usa sim then sent them overseas upon inserting international sims the phone said invalid sim, this was confirmed by the best buy mobile manager at the location where i made the purchase.

 

[JulesJam]

We did initial activation with a usa sim then sent them overseas upon inserting international sims the phone said invalid sim, this was confirmed by the best buy mobile manager at the location where i made the purchase.

What carrier's SIM did you use for the initial activation? Was it an active or inactive SIM?

 

[Beenblacklisted]

What carrier's SIM did you use for the initial activation? Was it an active or inactive SIM?[/QUOT

What carrier's SIM did you use for the initial activation? Was it an active or inactive SIM?

verizon

 

[JulesJam]

verizon

If you activated the device for the very first time with a Verizon SIM and had the device active on Verizon, then it is unlocked.

What carrier in Panama was your friend trying to use the device on?

 

[Depdawg]

If you activated the device for the very first time with a Verizon SIM and had the device active on Verizon, then it is unlocked.

What carrier in Panama was your friend trying to use the device on?

This is correct - I can absolutely confirm that if you have bought from BB an Iphone7 unactivated with the US policy, as others have said here, if you put an active Verizon SIM in it, it will activate OK.

I immediately then took the Verizon SIM out and put in an International SIM (from the Orange Spain network) and it registered OK on the US Roaming partner network (T-Mobile) and the phone is OK.

 

[Applejuiced]

I believe Best Buy's model is to price its products above retail but to match lower prices upon request. That model is premised on extracting more money from the unwary. It's fortunate that you avoided that.

Yes, Best Buy has been doing it for years.
I remember they were always $50 more than what Apple sells iphones for, now they jumped up to $100

 

[Taisiya]

This is correct - I can absolutely confirm that if you have bought from BB an Iphone7 unactivated with the US policy, as others have said here, if you put an active Verizon SIM in it, it will activate OK.

I immediately then took the Verizon SIM out and put in an International SIM (from the Orange Spain network) and it registered OK on the US Roaming partner network (T-Mobile) and the phone is OK.

but I believe the OP said the iPhone was physically inside a foreign country when the foreign SIM card did not work? he originally purchased the iPhone 7 from Best Buy(US) and did the initial activation with Verizon SIM cards, IIRC.

Is that any different than using a foreign SIM card inside the iPhone while in the US? (in which case the foreign SIM is roaming in the US) I wonder if it will continue to workonce you take the iPhone physically outside of the US.

The reason I'm bringing up this difference: I bought a Verizon basic flip phone from a Verizon corporate store. It's the Samsung Convoy 4 flip phone(non-smartphone). It's CDMA/GSM with a SIM card slot under the battery cover. The phone works on Verizon network, even without a SIM card inside, as it's not needed. However, if I plug in any US GSM SIM card(T-Mobile, AT&T, Crickett), voice/text/3G data work just fine, as it is unlocked in the US.

I assumed that I could just use a foreign prepaid SIM in that phone while travelling in Europe. Wrong. Once I got there and put a German and UK prepaid SIM card in, the phone would not work because of SIM lockout. I called Verizon on Skype and confirmed that it was only unlocked in the US. When the phone is roaming internationally on foreign GSM networks, it would only work with a Verizon SIM card and incur international roaming charges on my Verizon account. In fact, when I got home a couple of weeks later, I found the little piece of paper that the Verizon rep told me about over the phone. It pretty much stated the same thing: roaming outside of the US only works with Verizon SIM card and a Verizon int'l roaming plan. That's really strange because that's the first time I encountered a phone that can be SIM-locked/unlocked, depending on where it is located physically.

 

[lordofthereef]

A couple things to note:
Msrp stands for manufacturers suggested retail price. The key word is suggested. Nobody is ripping anybody off. They actually lose money on most Apple products they sell.

But Apple products get you in the door and so they sell them. Also, Apple pays the company to rent a "store within a store". You'll notice that thenapple section looks like a mini Apple Store. That's why.

You'll also notice Best Buy has sales on Apple products more frequently than just about any other company. But definitely more frequently than Apple. Crazy how nobody complains about that, right? Somehow a list price above msrp is terrible but below it is just dandy.

The fact of the matter is they don't want you buying the phones outright. The average customer is either a) going to leave it there at that price or b) pay the price, which makes up for the overhead.

 

[WilliamG]

Was sent to a business associate in panama, and would not work on any carriers. Then i had to call Best buy who informed me of the phones capabilities.
[doublepost=1476106981][/doublepost]
not when sold through best buy , they put a policy on it which restricts where the phone is unlocked.
[doublepost=1476107095][/doublepost]
From verizon yes, but not when its from best buy. It is possible it was a mistake but i had two phones and both were restricted,so just be forewarned.

Have my old 6s here. Bought from Best Buy full price, no contract, Verizon model. Worked perfectly in England with Vodafone etc, and in the USA on AT&T.

 

[willmtaylor]

A couple things to note:
Msrp stands for manufacturers suggested retail price. The key word is suggested. Nobody is ripping anybody off. They actually lose money on most Apple products they sell.

But Apple products get you in the door and so they sell them. Also, Apple pays the company to rent a "store within a store". You'll notice that thenapple section looks like a mini Apple Store. That's why.

You'll also notice Best Buy has sales on Apple products more frequently than just about any other company. But definitely more frequently than Apple. Crazy how nobody complains about that, right? Somehow a list price above msrp is terrible but below it is just dandy.

The fact of the matter is they don't want you buying the phones outright. The average customer is either a) going to leave it there at that price or b) pay the price, which makes up for the overhead.

Several great points.

 

[ARSC]

Its so easy now to get the 7 Plus just put your pin code and collect it from the store rather than buying it online.

Did the same 2 weeks back.

 

[willlll]

That's unfortunate. I contacted both Verizon and Best Buy support for further clarification on this as I purchased my iPhone 7 from Best Buy.

-Best Buy told me that if I purchased a Verizon iPhone 7 from them, that it would only work on Verizon.
-Verizon support did not comment on whether or not the iPhone 7 purchased from Best Buy would work, but they said a Verizon iPhone 7 is fully unlocked.

I'm not sure how to interpret this but I do plan on traveling to Europe within the time I'll have this phone. Unfortunately I am past the return period at Best Buy so I may be stuck. I do not have a way to test this as I don't have access to an international SIM until I of course travel and pick one up. Either way, at this point I wouldn't advise buying an iPhone 7 from Best Buy unless you have zero plans to travel outside of the US.

Hi timeconsumer! I was wondering, did you eventually get a chance to test your Verizon iPhone 7 with an international sim card while you're in Europe?

 

[SergioPT]

Best Buy is selling iPhones subject to the US Reseller Flex Policy. You need to do the initial activation with a US carrier SIM card. If you use a Verizon SIM card for the initial activation the phones will be unlocked. You can even use an inactive Verizon SIM over WiFi or iTunes to do the initial activation. If you use a TMobile, AT&T, US Cellular or Sprint SIM card for the initial activation, the iPhones will be locked to those carriers.

You cannot use an international SIM card for the initial activation of these iPhones. You can send your friend an inactive Verizon SIM card and they should be able to activate the phone over WiFi or using iTunes. Then it will be unlocked.
[doublepost=1476369277][/doublepost]
Lol! Kickback is a derogatory term typically used to mean an illegal payoff. What BB gets is called a commission. There is nothing illegal about it.

Three weeks ago I bought an Iphone 7 in a BB in Dallas, TX, told the clerk several times that I was going to take the phone to South America, that I needed it fully unlocked, he never told me anything about the activation. It was supposed to be a gift, we opened it two nights ago, put the Ecuador´s carrier (Movistar) sim card inside the phone and got the mesage that sim wasn´t supported (attached here).

I called Best Buy customer service, they were connecting me with other persons and never got a repsonse, eventually the call got disconnected. I called Apple and they wrote me this:

"The iphone 7 in questions was sold with a US reseller flex policy. This policy requires the customer to insert a US carriers SIM card to initially activate the device. Once the iphone has been activated the customer is then required to contact the carrier to unlock the device for international use. The customer should have been explained this place before the device was sold to him - (which they never did)".

Steps to activate
1. Insert US carrier sim card while device is powered off.
2.Turn on device and activate service. May be required to plug into Itunes if any errors occur.
3. Once device is activated. Call the carrier and request for the device to be unlocked for international use.
4. Once device is unlocked power down the iPhone and insert international carriers SIM card and power on.
5. Activation should happen immediately if not plug device into Itunes and cycle power.

I contacted again BB and they wrote me this through Facebook:

"Unfortunately we don't sell an unlocked iPhone 7. We do sell the model that is intended for us on the major US carriers but it is not intended for international use. You can return this within our 14 day return period inside a US store but we do not accept international returns or mailed ones. You can activate it with one of the US carriers such as Verizon, then follow their unlocking procedures."

A friend of mine has a verizon inactive sim card, I´ll try to activate it through the Wifi or through Itunes. I´ll let you know what happens.

The Apple guy told me that you can even activate it if you are in a foreign country using a US carrier sim card with roaming.

Thanks for the information posted above, hope it solves my problem.

 

[Taisiya]

Hi timeconsumer! I was wondering, did you eventually get a chance to test your Verizon iPhone 7 with an international sim card while you're in Europe?

I can confirm the following: (trying to be as detailed as possible, so I don't have to answer the same question again )

(1) ordered Verizon iPhone 7 Rose Gold 32gb from BestBuy.com, price $1 with 2-year contract on CyberMonday,

(2) order shows model# MN8K2LL/A, which is the same model # as the AT&T model

(3) picked up at local Best Buy store on Tuesday(the day after CyberMonday)

(4) the Best Buy mobile dept manager handed me the phone with Verizon SIM taped to the outside of box (again, model# MN8K2LL/A)

(6) he opened the sealed box and activated the phone with that Verizon SIM card

(7) made test call to 800-645-3880 worked fine, loud and clear. Tested speed with Speedtest.net app and got 27mbps down and 6mbps up while still inside Best Buy store

(8) I came home and inserted a T-Mobile prepaid and AT&T post paid SIM card, both work fine (but only AT&T SIM picked up 4G LTE)

(9) several days later flew from the US to Germany. (connecting in Montreal and phone still worked fine inside the airport terminal, roaming with AT&T SIM card, but Canada is not really a "foreign" country or is it?)

(10) used the phone at a Munich hotel. Didn't want to buy a prepaid SIM, since I was only in Germany for a 1-day visit(mileage run) and was returning to the US the next day. Borrowed my Germany friend's DT SIM card and inserted it into my Verizon iPhone 7. Worked great, but speed was kind of slow, only getting 20mbps or so, perhaps it didn't have all the correct LTE bands for DT in Germany?


(11) since this Verizon iPhone 7 is just my spare phone, I'm using it with a FreedomPop SIM card. Since FreedomPop SIM cards are actually UK SIM cards, the phone thinks it's a UK phone roaming on AT&T network in the US right now.

 

[willlll]

I can confirm the following: (trying to be as detailed as possible, so I don't have to answer the same question again )

(1) ordered Verizon iPhone 7 Rose Gold 32gb from BestBuy.com, price $1 with 2-year contract on CyberMonday,

(2) order shows model# MN8K2LL/A, which is the same model # as the AT&T model

(3) picked up at local Best Buy store on Tuesday(the day after CyberMonday)

(4) the Best Buy mobile dept manager handed me the phone with Verizon SIM taped to the outside of box (again, model# MN8K2LL/A)

(6) he opened the sealed box and activated the phone with that Verizon SIM card

(7) made test call to 800-645-3880 worked fine, loud and clear. Tested speed with Speedtest.net app and got 27mbps down and 6mbps up while still inside Best Buy store

(8) I came home and inserted a T-Mobile prepaid and AT&T post paid SIM card, both work fine (but only AT&T SIM picked up 4G LTE)

(9) several days later flew from the US to Germany. (connecting in Montreal and phone still worked fine inside the airport terminal, roaming with AT&T SIM card, but Canada is not really a "foreign" country or is it?)

(10) used the phone at a Munich hotel. Didn't want to buy a prepaid SIM, since I was only in Germany for a 1-day visit(mileage run) and was returning to the US the next day. Borrowed my Germany friend's DT SIM card and inserted it into my Verizon iPhone 7. Worked great, but speed was kind of slow, only getting 20mbps or so, perhaps it didn't have all the correct LTE bands for DT in Germany?


(11) since this Verizon iPhone 7 is just my spare phone, I'm using it with a FreedomPop SIM card. Since FreedomPop SIM cards are actually UK SIM cards, the phone thinks it's a UK phone roaming on AT&T network in the US right now.

Wow, thanks for this detailed explanation, appreciated! Yeah I think this should be the case since Verizon phones are supposedly unlocked for both domestic and international use, as long as they are activated with the right sim. Just kinda confused when people said they were unable to use their Verizon phone in Panama.
Anyways, it is really great to get your confirmation

 

[Taisiya]

Wow, thanks for this detailed explanation, appreciated! Yeah I think this should be the case since Verizon phones are supposedly unlocked for both domestic and international use, as long as they are activated with the right sim. Just kinda confused when people said they were unable to use their Verizon phone in Panama.
Anyways, it is really great to get your confirmation

no problem.

I knew I was going to get a generic iPhone 7 that would be locked to the first carrier at time of activation. Since I buying a Verizon iPhone 7 from Best Buy, it wasn't an issue for me.

However, just out of curiosity, what is the model number of the iPhone 7(rose gold, 32gb), if I purchase it directly from a Verizon corporate store(or verizonwireless.com)?

 

[willlll]

no problem.

I knew I was going to get a generic iPhone 7 that would be locked to the first carrier at time of activation. Since I buying a Verizon iPhone 7 from Best Buy, it wasn't an issue for me.

However, just out of curiosity, what is the model number of the iPhone 7(rose gold, 32gb), if I purchase it directly from a Verizon corporate store(or verizonwireless.com)?

I believe it's A1660 as well

 

[Vudoo]

Best Buy has always sold their non-contract iPhones more than Apple. I've always just had them price match Apple.