Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
My bet is commission is the same but they get a spiff from the manufacturer (Motorola, Samsung, etc.) for each of their branded phone they sell.
 
iPhone 4 may be a year old but it was so far ahead of the game when it came out that it doesn't seem "outdated" even today.

I'd have no qualms about buying an iPhone 4 today if I were buying a new phone.

These are probably just retail employee kids with an agenda, they think "apple sux" or whatever or are android fanboys. I don't really care; I want all the platforms to do well, Apple needs all the competition it can get!
 
My wife just upgraded her Droid X to an iPhone 4. The sales rep was very helpful and offered several options for cases, chargers ect. The only negative vibe I got from him was a chuckle when I asked if I could upgrade my Blackberry early. "Sorry, they don't to that for anyone anymore." was the reply. I got a serious case of iPhone envy!
 
Well technically the iPhone is outdated. VZW's android offerings are much newer, like only a few months or even days old, i.e., droid 3. The iPhone is over a year old.

If the iPhone wasn't so long in the tooth, we'd not see as many threads here from people aching for the new iPhone.

As for why they're doing that. I'm assuming as others have - commission. They make more on commission on non-apple products so if they think they can sell a non iPhone to someone they will

I went to my verizon store yesterday and played with the newer android phones. None are as smooth as the iphone. The only one they didn't have out yet was the droid 3, so I'm going to go in and play with that one next week. The new androids are very nice, but I was hoping they would be smoother.

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk
 
I'm guessing that since Verizon didn't have the iPhone for a while, they ended up buying Androids, became fanboys, and still are.

No big deal really, considering how misinformed they are.
 
Here is what someone should do... walk into a Verizon Store and tell them you are looking for a smartphone and these aspects are most important to you.

1. I want the best display
2. The Best and Most Apps
3. I want a great camera with great camera apps.
4. I want a great media hub for my music, videos, podcasts.
5. I want the most attractive phone you have.
6. I want a phone with the best game selection...

See what they say...
 
Duh, they are salesmen, anyone who trusts a salesman to give them anything accurate is plain stupid.

Never trust a salesman, do your own research and make your own educated decisions.
 
To be fair, "best display" could mean largest display to some people, even if it has a lower DPI. Also, there are Android phones with higher-res cameras than the iPhone 4. "Most attractive phon" is also very subjective.

#2, 4, and 6 are pretty un-debatable though.

Regarding the salesmen pushing other phones, I wonder if Verizon gets higher profit margins off Android phones, translating into more commission for the salesman? It's possible. (wild speculation on my part)

No, there is no commission on phones for Verizon employees, they only have commission on the contracts they sell you (which is why they push smartphones, higher contracts). I have friends who work at Verizon and they gave me the whole scoop when this popped up a few weeks ago in a thread.

Also since handsets are subsidized it would make zero sense for verizon to offer commission on them anyway since they are already losing money on the handset.
 
To be fair, "best display" could mean largest display to some people, even if it has a lower DPI. Also, there are Android phones with higher-res cameras than the iPhone 4. "Most attractive phon" is also very subjective.

#2, 4, and 6 are pretty un-debatable though.

Regarding the salesmen pushing other phones, I wonder if Verizon gets higher profit margins off Android phones, translating into more commission for the salesman? It's possible. (wild speculation on my part)

First off, there are no Android phones to my knowledge with a higher resolution and/or pixel density than the iPhone 4. My bullet point says "BEST" not biggest display. Ask anyone in the industry whether or not the iPhone 4 display is still the best. The "Most Attractive" argument also is not debatable IMHO. If you show someone who has never seen a phone before choose which one looks the best, they will more than likely point the iPhone.
 
First off, there are no Android phones to my knowledge with a higher resolution and/or pixel density than the iPhone 4. My bullet point says "BEST" not biggest display. Ask anyone in the industry whether or not the iPhone 4 display is still the best.

But what if you think "bigger is better", then the iPhone 4 screen is no longer the "best", is it?

not debatable IMHO

The very fact that it is an opinion means it is debatable.
 
I have a lot of friends that love their larger screens with hdmi out feature. Some of the android phone have some fantastic features that a lot of people may be able to take advantage of.
I applaud these sales people for at least informing customers of the options available and that may ultimately serve their customers better.
 
Why does this surprise? Virtually all of Verizon's ads display devices other than Apple products.
Further, who cares?
Apple will never outsell Android phones in aggregate. That is not necessarily bad. Apple will do just fine.
Android offers nothing to me. I'm an Apple guy. I have iMacs, MBA, iPad, iPad and iPhone. I wouldn't buy an android or a PC platform if they gave them away.
 
instead of me making a new thread i figured i would ask here.

How is Verizon with early upgrades? I just switched to Verizon from AT&T and got there unlimited plan(which i had with AT&T also) It seems AT&T really had no method to there madness regarding upgrade times. It is supposed to be two years of course, but then after 18 months or so you can get one. But there were many many times that they allowed me to by refurbed iphones at the discounted price only 6 months into my new 2yr contract. In the last 3yrs i probably bought 7 refurbed iphones for around $99 and sold them for $300-$400...just because they allowed me to.

Anyway, besides that they always seemed to bump up your upgrade eligibility when the new iphone was nearing, maybe for those huge sales in June/July they wanted/needed.

Does Verizon do anything like this? My current upgrade date shows 7/2013 which sucks....
 
Ok so i work as a sales rep for at&t and lissome verizon is the same, to clear it up it is cause commission. On any iPhone activation or upgrade on any plan we make $2.68, on any other phone it is ranging from 40-60 Per sale on any other smart phone more depending if its the main line. Apple could sell millions more if they paid the reps higher. The reps do not make hourly only commission on what they sell so put yourself in their shoes. You may also be pulled off the floor if you sell to many iPhones. This is for retail locations only,not core stores


Plus alot of android phones are far superior spec wise and it's easy to get someone on an android for that reason

Samsung infuse

It's 4G

1.2 ghz processor
8 Meg camera
4.5 inch super amOled plus screen
Sd card slot
Free music
Free turn by turn voice nav
Can sync with iTunes

Just saying don't bash the reps for trying to make a living
 
Last edited:
When I went to buy my iPhone 4 a month ago, Verizon definitely tried to get me to swing for an Android. The rep, although nice and everything said something like "what if I could show you a phone that does all that and more?"
and I was like "no thanks, I'm pretty set on an iPhone 4."

Then he was like "what makes you want an iPhone?"
and I gave him a nice 2 or 3 minute rant about better games, best build quality, polished OS, using a previously bought apps, and etc.

and he was like "oh? i'm impressed, the most common answer I hear is I don't know haha"

Ends up they happened to of sold their last iPhone earlier that day, so I walked about 100 feet from the Verizon kiosk in the mall to the Apple Store upstairs as they were closing and bought one on AT&T instead. (for family plan reasons)
 
Every retails store has margins and targets to hit wether its cellfones or clothes for example.

The outlet probably would have had a team meeting that morning with the manager telling them to try and push a certain product which would provide certain incentives.

Maybe they were running an in house competition with prizes involved for the most pushed android fone and or accessory.

Like said in an earlier reply.

Do your homework well before you enter a high street store.

Stick to your guns and walk out with what you wanted and not what they wanted !
 
I believe Verizon doesn't get commission from selling iPhones but they do when they sell Android. Whether thats true or not, I don't care. I'm using the phone, not them.

Verizon sales reps get $5 commission for selling an iPhone and more for selling Android phones. I know they get at least $40-$45 for selling a Thunderbolt. I'm not exactly sure how much they get for other Android phones. I just know it's significantly more than $5.

BTW, Best Buy employees don't work on commission.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

My boy works for verizon. They literally make zero bucks selling the iPhone. Of course they're going to push phones that earn them more $$
 
I have had numerous people tell me that when going into Verizon, reps are purposely trying to talk iPhone wanting customers out from buying them. They are trying to push them all to Android phones. I can't believe this! Someone literally told me that one representative told them that the phone is "outdated" and that Apple would be "bought by android." I can't believe someone would say such a thing. I guess you can't expect much more from Verizon. Anyone else have similar instances?

I remember when I bought my iPhone 4 at the mall, "I basically said don't tell me about any android phone I want an iPhone lol." There was no way you could possibly talk me into buying an android phone. Just can't.
 
My mom got the iPhone a day after it came out. She wasn't even trying to get a new phone lol. But the Verizon guy and I talked her into it. He said don't even go to android =).
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.