iPhone 3g list and subsidized price

[hmfic]

I called at&t a couple times today and spoke to 2 customer service representatives about the new iPhones price. They both told me that the list price for the iPhone 3g was 199 and 299 and that they haven't released the subsidized prices.

Which means that 199 and 299 are not the subsidized prices for the iPhone and the that it's going to end up being cheaper for some people than it already is.

 

[tritonj]

I called at&t a couple times today and spoke to 2 customer service representatives about the new iPhones price. They both told me that the list price for the iPhone 3g was 199 and 299 and that they haven't released the subsidized prices.

Which means that 199 and 299 are not the subsidized prices for the iPhone and the that it's going to end up being cheaper for some people than it already is.

have you checked the website recently?

http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-ph...?wtSlotClick=1-0013IU-0-1&WT.svl=calltoaction

the price is $199/$299

there is no subsidized/unsubsidized price, they are charging $199/$299 with contracts. there is no other price, therefore there is no "unsubsidized" price in the traditional sense.

everyone needs to stop getting hung up on semantics.

 

[hmfic]

have you checked the website recently?

http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-ph...?wtSlotClick=1-0013IU-0-1&WT.svl=calltoaction

the price is $199/$299

there is no subsidized/unsubsidized price, they are charging $199/$299 with contracts. there is no other price, therefore there is no "unsubsidized" price in the traditional sense.

everyone needs to stop getting hung up on semantics.

The people that I spoke to told me that at&t would make further announcements on pricing closer to the launch date.

Personally as long as I get my iPhone for 299 it doesn't really matter to me.

I just wanted to look into it after reading here and on Gizmodo that 299 was the subsidized price and that people who didn't qualify for the subsidy were going to have to pay something like 200 dollars more.

 

[djransom]

have you checked the website recently?

http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-ph...?wtSlotClick=1-0013IU-0-1&WT.svl=calltoaction

the price is $199/$299

there is no subsidized/unsubsidized price, they are charging $199/$299 with contracts. there is no other price, therefore there is no "unsubsidized" price in the traditional sense.

everyone needs to stop getting hung up on semantics.

I can see it now that on July 11th there are gonna be alot of upset people because they believed this to be true. Maybe even before then since AT&T has yet to announce the unsubsidized price.

 

[tritonj]

I can see it now that on July 11th there are gonna be alot of upset people because they believed this to be true. Maybe even before then since AT&T has yet to announce the unsubsidized price.

not sure what there is to be upset about?

 

[hmfic]

I can see it now that on July 11th there are gonna be alot of upset people because they believed this to be true. Maybe even before then since AT&T has yet to announce the unsubsidized price.

They told me 199 and 299 was the list price which is not the subsidized price. So it seems like they haven't announced the subsidized price yet.

But I may be wrong and I'm not ruling that out.

I just wish either at&t or apple would come out and sort out all this pricing confusion.

 

[tritonj]

They told me 199 and 299 was the list price which is not the subsidized price. So it seems like they haven't announced the subsidized price yet.

But I may be wrong and I'm not ruling that out.

I just wish either at&t or apple would come out and sort out all this pricing confusion.

they already have, http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/specials/en/iPhone_3G_FINAL.pdf

the problem is the CSRs tend to be more confused than customers so they don't pass along correct information. when they told you the price isn't subsidized they were right, but it was in the sense that there isn't going to be an unsubsidized price, so from there point of view the current price isn't subsidized.

 

[djransom]

they already have, http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/specials/en/iPhone_3G_FINAL.pdf

the problem is the CSRs tend to be more confused than customers so they don't pass along correct information. when they told you the price isn't subsidized they were right, but it was in the sense that there isn't going to be an unsubsidized price, so from there point of view the current price isn't subsidized.

https://www.macrumors.com/iphone/2008/06/16/atandt-iphone-3g-upgrades-and-activation/

 

[hmfic]

they already have, http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/specials/en/iPhone_3G_FINAL.pdf

the problem is the CSRs tend to be more confused than customers so they don't pass along correct information. when they told you the price isn't subsidized they were right, but it was in the sense that there isn't going to be an unsubsidized price, so from there point of view the current price isn't subsidized.

So if you're right as long as I extend my contract I can get it for 299.

But then again if it were that simple why would there be talk of either having an iPhone already or meeting certain specifications in order to get it at a certain price.

 

[tritonj]

So if you're right as long as I extend my contract I can get it for 299.

But then again if it were that simple why would there be talk of either having an iPhone already or meeting certain specifications in order to get it at a certain price.

well all that would be determined by whether they consider you to be eligible on your current contract. and that is still a bit ambiguous as the wording that has been floating around is not very clear

you could certainly start a second contract and i'm sure they wouldn't have a problem with that, but i don't think many people want to be paying 2 different bills.

 

[skwoytek]

have you checked the website recently?

http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-ph...?wtSlotClick=1-0013IU-0-1&WT.svl=calltoaction

the price is $199/$299

there is no subsidized/unsubsidized price, they are charging $199/$299 with contracts. there is no other price, therefore there is no "unsubsidized" price in the traditional sense.

everyone needs to stop getting hung up on semantics.

I still think this theory that the prices will strictly be $199/$299 is oversimplifying the situation. AT&T says that people who don't own a 1st generation iPhone and haven't had their previous subsidized phone for the required length of time will not be eligible for the $199/$299 price.

So are those people forbidden an iPhone 3G?

The only solution I see is for AT&T to say that the customer has to pay early termination fees for their previous contract and start a new one. This would allow AT&T to recoup the subsidies and sell the iPhone 3G to everyone at the $199/$299 price point.

Still, I don't see AT&T telling people, "you can't buy an iPhone 3G even if you pay full retail price." As far as I know, there is no phone that can't be bought outright at full retail. But, the retail price would have to be listed at over $199/$299. Furthermore, you have to pay tax on the retail price of subsidized phones which would then mean you're actually paying more than Steve's quoted prices. Is the retail price higher than the maximum price Steve Jobs quoted?

With the information we currently know, there are some people who could not buy an iPhone 3G.

We'll know on or before July 11th.

 

[hmfic]

I still think this theory that the prices will strictly be $199/$299 is oversimplifying the situation. AT&T says that people who don't own a 1st generation iPhone and haven't had their previous subsidized phone for the required length of time will not be eligible for the $199/$299 price.

So are those people forbidden an iPhone 3G?

The only solution I see is for AT&T to say that the customer has to pay early termination fees for their previous contract and start a new one. This would allow AT&T to recoup the subsidies and sell the iPhone 3G to everyone at the $199/$299 price point.

Still, I don't see AT&T telling people, "you can't buy an iPhone 3G even if you pay full retail price." As far as I know, there is no phone that can't be bought outright at full retail. But, the retail price would have to be listed at over $199/$299. Furthermore, you have to pay tax on the retail price of subsidized phones which would then mean you're actually paying more than Steve's quoted prices. Is the retail price higher than the maximum price Steve Jobs quoted?

With the information we currently know, there are some people who could not buy an iPhone 3G.

We'll know on or before July 11th.

See the only problem I have with that is I sold my iPhone about a month ago so I don't know if I'm still considered an iPhone user. I'm going to be pissed if I can't buy an iPhone for the advertised price or at all after having owned one for 10 months just because I sold it so I could afford the new one.

 

[tritonj]

See the only problem I have with that is I sold my iPhone about a month ago so I don't know if I'm still considered an iPhone user. I'm going to be pissed if I can't buy an iPhone for the advertised price or at all after having owned one for 10 months just because I sold it so I could afford the new one.

well did you cancel the contract?

 

[SFStateStudent]

See the only problem I have with that is I sold my iPhone about a month ago so I don't know if I'm still considered an iPhone user. I'm going to be pissed if I can't buy an iPhone for the advertised price or at all after having owned one for 10 months just because I sold it so I could afford the new one.

Keep us posted, one can only hope you get your 3G iPhone. I wonder how many thousands of former iPhone owners are in the exact same predicament?

 

[mntentman]

I called at&t a couple times today and spoke to 2 customer service representatives about the new iPhones price. They both told me that the list price for the iPhone 3g was 199 and 299 and that they haven't released the subsidized prices.

Which means that 199 and 299 are not the subsidized prices for the iPhone and the that it's going to end up being cheaper for some people than it already is.

Why would you listen to anything a CSR says and consider it gospel? They don't have a clue. This clearly contradicts the official AT&T statement that 199 and 299 represent "subsidized pricing."

I don't know why anyone wastes there time calling the CSRs... except it gives them something to post.

 

[hmfic]

well did you cancel the contract?

I didn't cancel the contract. I'm still on the same number and everything but I'm not paying for the iphone plan because they wont let me as long as I'm using my crappy replacement phone.

I'm not eligible for an upgrade because I extended my contract for the old iphone and I may not get the new one because I sold my old one... to get the new one.

 

[djransom]

I didn't cancel the contract. I'm still on the same number and everything but I'm not paying for the iphone plan because they wont let me as long as I'm using my crappy replacement phone.

I'm not eligible for an upgrade because I extended my contract for the old iphone and I may not get the new one because I sold my old one... to get the new one.

That my friend may pose a problem since u no longer have the iPhone plan on ur account.

 

[skwoytek]

I didn't cancel the contract. I'm still on the same number and everything but I'm not paying for the iphone plan because they wont let me as long as I'm using my crappy replacement phone.

I'm not eligible for an upgrade because I extended my contract for the old iphone and I may not get the new one because I sold my old one... to get the new one.

The current eligibility and pricing is a mess. But I don't think there are enough people worried about it to pressure AT&T into clarifying yet.

You're in a strange situation because you don't owe AT&T any money to cover subsidies, but you are in a fairly new contract with some commitment remaining. The problem is, anyone who had ordinarily bought a phone at full retail, like we did with the iPhone, would not have been required to renew their contract.

 

[hmfic]

Well good news. I just got off the phone with at&t and the CSR lady said that I'm eligible for the subsidized price. She made a note of it on my account and everything so I'm going to take her word for it.

 

[saxamoophone]

Well good news. I just got off the phone with at&t and the CSR lady said that I'm eligible for the subsidized price. She made a note of it on my account and everything so I'm going to take her word for it.

yeah....I had a CSR put a "note" on my account before only for the local at&t store to "not find it" a day later...

then I had to fight with the at&t people to get what I was promised.....

I think in the future I'll tape record all at&t phone calls =)

 

[Mikey B]

The iPhone is and it isn't subsidized. AT&T is clearly taking an upfront hit on the cost of the iPhone and making up for it over time. The list price is the subsidized price. There is no other option from what I can discern. It's not like other phones where they market the price difference in order to create value for the customer. So while AT&T is subsidizing the phone in a sense, all they're doing is taking a very small initial profit on the sale of each phone by selling it at a low margin in trade for a long-term profit margin that is much greater than with the original iPhone. It's very smart. They know that tons of people never look past the initial cost, and before they realize what's happened, they're paying an arm-and-a-leg for 2 years.

 

[iPhonedHome]

This whole AT&T being hush-hush about all this with a little more than 3 weeks to go is horse caca. Why can't they just announce the dang prices already with the different scenarios for buying. By that I mean posting it on their stupid web site!

I mean it is really getting ridiculous and people are starting to get pissed. I'm one of them.

Who's with me!?

 

[skwoytek]

The iPhone is and it isn't subsidized. AT&T is clearly taking an upfront hit on the cost of the iPhone and making up for it over time. The list price is the subsidized price. There is no other option from what I can discern. It's not like other phones where they market the price difference in order to create value for the customer. So while AT&T is subsidizing the phone in a sense, all they're doing is taking a very small initial profit on the sale of each phone by selling it at a low margin in trade for a long-term profit margin that is much greater than with the original iPhone. It's very smart. They know that tons of people never look past the initial cost, and before they realize what's happened, they're paying an arm-and-a-leg for 2 years.

Okay, why is someone with a Blackberry, who is six months into their contract not eligible for the $199 8GB iPhone price? And, what price are they eligible for if there is no other price? Are they denied a 3G iPhone?

I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm saying AT&T has sent out conflicting terms for upgrading to the iPhone 3G. But if you can answer the above questions with 100% certainty, then you've shed some light on the subject for me.

 

[skwoytek]

This whole AT&T being hush-hush about all this with a little more than 3 weeks to go is horse caca. Why can't they just announce the dang prices already with the different scenarios for buying.

I mean it is really getting ridiculous and people are starting to get pissed. I'm one of them.

Who's with me!?

Apple and AT&T didn't officially announce iPhone plans until June 26, 2007 for a June 29 launch. If we're lucky we may find out by July 8th?

 

[saxamoophone]

Apple and AT&T didn't officially announce iPhone plans until June 26, 2007 for a June 29 launch. If we're lucky we may find out by July 8th?

Good point. I'm going to plan for $200 extra, since that puts it at the current 2G price.

Apple doesn't really have any excuse for high prices since they are going to make A KILLING with 30% profits of the app store going to the "Steve Jobs Needs a New Boat" fund....