On Verizon and looking at trade ins. Considering trading in a Samsung phone we have around the house for $800 off towards the iPhone 13 PM. I understand it is $800 credit spread over 24 months and fine print says that the credit will end either after $800 is given or when I terminate/pay off the phone. Say I want to get the iPhone 14 next year and still have $400 owed to me, does that credit disappear since I will have to pay off the 13 PM to upgrade to a 14?
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Carrier Verizon Trade In - What if I upgrade next year?
- Thread starter scalpel_shredr
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from what I understand you lose the credit and have to pay the balance as though there was no credit.
Verizon commits high way robbery and keeps that $400. If you ever take advantage of Verizon’s promos, you enter into a contract to receive those credits over 24 months. You will NEVER get it sooner.
Trade it in via Apple or Best Buy. Those are much better options if you think you’ll go to the iphone 14.
Best Buy isn’t any better (they direct you to trade in via Verizon), but Apple will give you part of your trade in value as an instant credit and the balance spread over 30 months.
All the carrier promos for new phones are designed to dissuade people from leaving and going to another carrier. That's why they're always 24-36 month agreements
Not sure how you think its robbery. Verizon is a business and they offer these trade-in deals to keep your business for at least 24 months. If you opt to cancel that contract or upgrade early, there’s no good reason why you should get that $400 credit.
Anyone who bemoans these 24 month installment deals is unreasonably entitled. C’mon, Verizon is giving me $800 for an iPhone SE (2020) I bought for $150, that’s pretty generous. If you bought an iPhone 11 two years ago, you’re essentially getting an iPhone 13 Pro for free ($1000 trade-in credit for that). All they’re asking is that you stay with their company for two years and they’re paying for your hardware upgrades.
I mean…isn’t that how things used to be like 10 years ago? You could pay for the phone outright or get it subsidized by agreeing to stay with the carrier for 2 years…
Exactly. Now instead of paying an early termination fee, you’re losing out on “credits.” It’s virtually the same system, just different marketing lingo.
It is in fact robbery. The trade-in value should not be over 24 months. It should be an instant full credit, especially since the iPhone is something you own outright. Verizon is going to take your phone and sell it immediately refurbished. If you as a customer take a 24 month loan on something but stop paying at 12 months, they are going to come for their property. So why do they get to stop paying you for your property after 12 months. I understand it’s “smart” business. But it’s ****** business.
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I chose to buy outright and trade in via Apple for this reason.
No hassle or risk selling in myself.
No being locked in for 24 months w any carrier bs
No hard credit check
Decent value for my XS max
and now I can do whatever I want
No hassle or risk selling in myself.
No being locked in for 24 months w any carrier bs
No hard credit check
Decent value for my XS max
and now I can do whatever I want
Their $800/$1000 trade-in value is inflated to contract your business for two years. There’s no way most of our phones are worth anything close to that. You’re more than welcome to trade in your phone for a “normal” value. I can get about $170 for my iPhone SE and get that value in full upfront if I wanted to. An iPhone 12 Pro could maybe net you around $600 (You’re probably better off selling it with a third party). Verizon can flip that phone for about $750 assuming you kept it in good condition (a lot of trade-in devices are not). Not to mention all of the shipping, processing, testing, and general labor that is involved in Verizon running a trade/refurb market.
Or… if you don’t want to settle for its realistic trade value or deal with some shady person on OfferUp, you can choose to contract for two years. But no one has a gun to your head, the choice is yours, you do what makes the most sense. And I think all major carriers do a pretty good job at explaining upfront how the credits work.
I could sell my fully paid off iPhone SE for $200, then buy an iPhone 13 pro for $1000, and my out of pocket would be $800 + taxes. But I know I’m sticking with Verizon for a while so I’ve chosen to get an inflated trade-in value of $800 in exchange for my promise of business for two years. Now my out of pocket is $200. Verizon offers me an option of saving $600 that I’ll gladly take. And then in two years I can do the same process and get an iPhone 15 Pro for nearly free again.
Not sure how this is hard to comprehend.
Lol what? That argument only makes sense if they only did this 24 month credit for these “inflated” trade in values. They don’t. They do it for any and all trade ins. Keep in mind you only get $800/$1000 if you have one of their highest priced unlimited plans. If you don’t, you get even less. Much less. About $700 or less for a iPhone 12 Pro Max. Even that is spread across 24 months. I went to Best Buy, plugged in a iPhone 12 Pro Max, $775 instant gift card. I went to Apple, $790 instant gift card. No 24 month nonsense.
You’re literally not saying anything new that I haven’t already brought up. If you bought a brand new iPhone last year, great, it makes sense in your case to sell the phone or trade it in to Apple/BestBuy. If you’re the annual upgrade type of customer, that’s the way to go. Go get your gift card and buy the iPhone 13.
You talk about their ”highest priced unlimited plans” as if that’s not what a majority of Verizon customers are already on. You describe them as highest priced, when they’re actually not that much more expensive than their other plans, and compared to AT&T and T-Mobile, pretty competitively priced. The way you describe it, is as though they’re some lofty, unobtainable plan for the average citizen when that isn’t close to true. I was grandfathered in on Verizon’s infamous “FUDP“ plan that offered unlimited data at a great price. Yet I willingly made the switch to their new unlimited plans because it actually offered better value when you compare apples to apples.
Also, you’re factually incorrect. You can trade in your iPhone 12 Pro Max to Verizon for instant credit right Here. It’s not as good as the value that Apple/BestBuy offers, but it’s an option. And it makes sense that their ”normal” trade-in offers are not as good, because Verizon is not primarily a hardware store like Apple/BestBuy. They make money off their service. And it makes business sense for them to entice you to sign up for their service long-term.
You also haven’t addressed the fact that Verizon is willing to give you $800 dollars for an iPhone SE, iPhone X, or Galaxy S9 (these will net you about $150-$300 on Swappa), but it kind of undermines your point about “robbery.”
Sure, Verizon is giving you an extra $600 for your trade. Then, they are charging you $40+ more per month for postpaid service over what that same service would cost you on prepaid. So, over the course of two years, they charge you $960 more than you could pay on prepaid, and give you $600 extra back in small payments while locking you in for two years. You aren't coming out on top.
The only time being on postpaid agreements makes SOME sense, is when a family has numerous lines and gets a lot of discounts because of it. Otherwise, all these trade in deals get you in service costs.
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I’m not here discussing the merits of prepaid vs postpaid. But since you’re going there, Verizon prepaid is comparable to budget services like Metro or Cricket. You get deprioritized at congested areas, slower speeds, no perks, worst customer service.
The point in question is whether Verizon is practicing shady business tactics or “robbing” you with their trade in promotions. The basic idea of robbery is forcing you to give up something against your will or intentionally deceiving to take something from you. They’re doing neither of those things.
To the contrary, if you are Verizon’s typical customer, installment credits are a valuable option and makes a lot of sense in most scenarios.
Your service is an integral part (a HUGE part) in the cost of ownership, so it always has merit.
Do you think that these service providers haven't sat in board meetings and came up with an answer to tell customers when they inquire why prepaid service is so much cheaper? Of course they have. They tell postpaid customers that they are "prioritized". It's BS. Prepaid customers get the same speeds. I've been using prepaid from various providers for the past 8+ years.
Why would I care about customer service when I haven't had to call the carrier once. It just works, and your card gets charged once a month. It's funny how great your service is, and how you never have issues, when they know you can leave at any minute. I'm sure any "perk" you think you are getting doesn't add up to a $40+ a month discount.
Back to the point. You are arguing how great these trade in deals are. I'm telling you that you are paying for these so called "deals" in service costs. They aren't deals. They are just pulling money from you in another fashion, while locking you in for 2-3 years. As much as you think they care about the phone they are giving you, they don't. They care about locking you into a contract requiring you to pay their inflated service costs. They know most people don't have the money to buy out their contract.
But at least with 2 year contracts, you owned the phone right away and could sell it whenever you want. Now, if you want to sell the phone before 2 years, you have to pay it off and lose the credit. So you're not only contracted to the service, but to the device now too.
That being said, the Verizon website does give you the option to pay full price for the phone up front instead of on a payment plan, and still receive the trade in credit over 24 months.
