hey, these deals are the real thing. I got my sidekick 3 for free last year with these "scams". Its just like activation with the cellphone company through a different store. You still get warranty from their store. But when you see their store, if its a run down shack, i would suspect something wrong, but where i got it, it was a nice clean store in a middle of a popular shopping plaza.
yes, but as we all know, Apple is a lil' different. There is no MSRP there is just RP, occasionally Fry's will knock $10 and Best Buy give away Time Machines at really cheap, but for the most part Apple is consistent things cost the same in Best Buy, the Apple Store, your local authorized reseller and at the Online Store
Also, like I said above, the iPhone is only avialable (in the U.S.) at TWO RETAILERS (officially), this makes the chances of it being resold somewherelse a lot less then your sidekick
Can't speak to whether or not the stores are legit, but the prices definitely aren't "below cost".
Even Apple never charged more than $250 for a replacement 8GB from the start.
Nowadays an 8GB probably costs them less than $200 to make. (Yes, it's a guess.)
They could sell it below cost, and make money off other things, but thats a hefty price to pay, considering that you aren't legally licensed to resell iPhones from Apple with any contract besides AT&T (in the states) Meaning that if you were to break the contract and refuse to pay the ETF (early termination fee), going to court would be fun (for Cupertino)
That's the catch: You need to make a two-year contract at a minimum of $ 59.98. This is how they can make the lower prices.
Unlocking the iPhone and then selling it may or may not be legal.However, this really sounds very illegitimate. I don't think Nintendo make their games available for iPhone, so the games are pirated.
The same is probably true for some of the 3rd party apps and ringtones.
Nintendo clearly hasn't licensed the games for this and they probably don't have the rights to profit off of these. But, the two year contract is def. how they would make money.
In the end, I would ask for their contract to be sent over and ask for the condition of the phones. If the phones are refurbs or near new and the ETF isn't that much say $50 (which is really cheap), you might as well just go look for AT&T refurb. Remember that if the ETF is greater then $150 then you can just buy a refurb from Apple at the same price. You risk getting crappy service and coverage and being stuck with a ridiculous ETF ($500+) and then you have a good iPhone that wont get service.
I would stay away and avoid the legal messes you are bound to get into w/