iPhone 4: Am I being reasonable?

[classie787]

I'm looking for an iPhone 4 with a perfect screen (no scratches) but otherwise the cosmetics aren't very important. Is my $400-$425 budget reasonable? I know I have seen them go for this price (yesterday a perfect condition iPhone 4 went locally on craigslist for $400) but I'm always a bit too slow and somebody beats me to the punch.

Are refurbs available? I know the price is $599 w/o a contract...but a refurb I'm supposing wouldn't hit my range anyways.

 

[mrpuffy]

You do relise that if you get one it will probably end up getting scratched? Why not buy one with a few scratches? You save your money and will most likely scratch later?

 

[classie787]

Really? I plan on using a screen protector always. I don't mind scratches on the back...that bugs me not at all. But I wouldn't want a big scratch along the screen...

Do they scratch that easily? My cousin has an iPod Touch that she's had for several months and she's the least careful person I know. No screen protector and it hasn't even one scratch on the screen...although the back is scratched up well.

 

[BiteMyApple]

Can't you sell whatever phone you currently have, add it up to your budget and come close to the price of a brand new iPhone 4 w/o contract?

 

[SidBala]

$400 for iPhone 4 perfect condition is very hard to come by.

The CL ads you see for $400 are probably fake scam ads.

Infact with so much demand around, I wouldn't be surprised to see real CL iPhone 4s being sold at retail price or even over it.

 

[1rottenapple]

Yeah i would be highly skeptical if theres an iPhone 4 on Cl for less than 500. It's probably a scam. Now a 3GS for 400 is reasonably.

 

[axboi87]

Just sign a contract

People fail to realize how many countless and easy to use legal loopholes there are to getting out of a contract in a 10 minute phone call with at&t. Just sign a contract and buy it for 199

 

[Fast/Furious]

I sold my USED 3GS in 9.5/10 condition for $380.. which was actually $30 more than what I originally paid. Trust me, you are not going to find an iPhone 4 for under $500 unless the glass is cracked. I live in Vancouver, and the demand is still amazing for iPhone 4's. I just sold 2 BNIB 32GB iPhone 4's for $900 cash the other day on craigslist. It's a pretty crazy investment if you had the foresight to order 2 of them on release day from Apple.ca Bought a BB 9700 and a new Nano with the profits, with some to spare !

 

[amoda]

People fail to realize how many countless and easy to use legal loopholes there are to getting out of a contract in a 10 minute phone call with at&t. Just sign a contract and buy it for 199

Examples?

 

[axboi87]

Loopholes

#1 Way is that if there is ever any update/modification the contract you have 30 days to disagree with the changes and leave without a termination fee. Thing is, they change at least something almost every other month!

#2 At&t cannot easily see when you've have a phone replaced at an Apple store. Tell them you've had your phone replaced 3x and that you want out of the contract w/out a fee per the lemon law and that you're about to file suit and make a complaint with the FTC.

#3 Tell them you want out because of their crappy service. Tell them you shouldn't have to pay out of a contract for a service that isn't suiting your needs. Again, key quote here is "I'm going to complain to the FTC". That quote never fails. Worked for me with both Sprint and Verizon.

Those are the main 3 I know but there are countless others (thought not as solid as these, therefore I'm not going to list more)

 

[classie787]

Eh, I guess you guys are right. I have been emailing a "local" seller about an iPhone for $400 but his responses aren't very reassuring and he hasn't yet told me where he was located.

Also on craigslist, a seller was offering their immaculate 3GS for $120 with a case, etc. I emailed him and I was told that it was sold, but since it was now gone he could let me in on a secret...and he sent me some stupid "get a free iPhone" website page (some sort of scam I'm sure).

 

[r0k]

I just bought an iPhone 4 with contract from the Apple store. I hate contracts. Ever since I got badly burned by Verizon for a 2 year stint with a ... wait for it ... Treo 755p. P was for putrid. The phone would have been alright if Verizon hadn't mucked with it's software. Nothing worked right.

I wound up selling the phone on ebay for less than I paid for it and buying a used Blackberry to "ride out" my contract. My contract was up earlier this year. You know what? I thought about waiting for a Verizon iPhone. Then I thought never mind, I'll take my chances with At&t.

So let's say I'm fuming 6 months from now and Verizon has an iPhone and I want to go back. I will have to pay an ETF fee that will probably be close to (less than?) what I could get for the phone on ebay. No great risk, really. And so far the service is just fine. I have free wifi most of the time so I opted for the 200 meg data plan. I'm going into my third week of usage and my data is sitting at 4.6 Mb sent, 26 Mb received. And to think Verizon would still be soaking me for "unlimited" data when thanks to wifi I only need a little sip.