(Verizon) Upgrade eligible exactly on 2/10, preorder with subsidized price allowed?

[MarlboroLite]

I guess it's a pretty straight forward question. I know current Verizon customers can pre-order, whether upgrade eligible or not. My concern is that there's one line on the family plan that is upgrade eligible on exactly February 10th which is officially the iPhone launch date.

I wonder if Verizon would charge the full retail amount through the pre-order in such a case or since the iPhone does not officially launch till the 10th if they would charge the upgrade price?

I suppose the same issue arises if you are eligible anytime between the 4th and 10th. I am anticipating that there might be huge back-orders after the first days it goes on sale...so I would prefer to preorder to make sure I don't have to wait weeks.

 

[Jack105]

M upgrade eligibility is on the 12th of Feb and I am going to talk to rep at a Verizon store to see if they could change it to the 3rd for me. I would go in and ask someone.

 

[whiteyanderson]

There's a couple of guys on the VZW forum who are eligible to upgrade on 2/10 and are hopping mad because Verizon will NOT let them upgrade in or to pre-order on the 3rd.

I'd be a little upset too but, at least you get the discount on the 10th if all else fails.

 

[alectheking]

My little brothers line is not eligible until feb 16th, but the rep noted on my account that I am all cleared to pre-order for him on the 3rd. They say there is a month "give" they can play with to move peoples upgrades and she got my little bro's approved on Jan 14th.

 

[alectheking]

There's a couple of guys on the VZW forum who are eligible to upgrade on 2/10 and are hopping mad because Verizon will NOT let them upgrade in or to pre-order on the 3rd.

I'd be a little upset too but, at least you get the discount on the 10th if all else fails.

What discount? I have heard of none.

 

[saving107]

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What discount? I have heard of none.

The disccount implies that if your eligible for an upgrade, your price will be $199/$299, if you are not eligible, then your price of the phone will be $299/$399 ($200 difference discount for being eligible)

 

[alectheking]

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The disccount implies that if your eligible for an upgrade, your price will be $199/$299, if you are not eligible, then your price of the phone will be $299/$399 ($200 difference discount for being eligible)

Oh that. We'll thats not really a discount. Thats the "Upgrade" fee and the "Early Upgrade" fee. Plus its 399/499 I believe.

 

[saberahul]

Oh that. We'll thats not really a discount. Thats the "Upgrade" fee and the "Early Upgrade" fee. Plus its 399/499 I believe.

No it isn't. Go to the site and see the upgrade pricing. 16GB is $199 where as 32GB is $299. It is the eligibility fee where as if you're not eligible you will have to pay the retail which I believe is $499 and $599. Apple's site has more details on that.

 

[whiteyanderson]

No it isn't. Go to the site and see the upgrade pricing. 16GB is $199 where as 32GB is $299. It is the eligibility fee where as if you're not eligible you will have to pay the retail which I believe is $499 and $599. Apple's site has more details on that.

Yes, the "discount" I was referring to was the fact that he can upgrade on the 10th and qualify for the $199/$299 pricing. In other words he is upgrade eligible. Sound like a "discount" to me. Considering....

Full retail price is in fact $599/$699 through Apple. $649/$749 through Verizon. YES Verizon is charging $50 more for full retail vs. Apple.

 

[MarximusMG]

My little brothers line is not eligible until feb 16th, but the rep noted on my account that I am all cleared to pre-order for him on the 3rd. They say there is a month "give" they can play with to move peoples upgrades and she got my little bro's approved on Jan 14th.

That's great that they're doing that for him. Funny that they told you they have a month "give". If they really wanted to, I'm pretty sure even a base level employee has the ability to move the upgrade date several months forward. A couple years ago I was able to get them to move my upgrade forward about 6 months. Persistence, persistence, persistence!

 

[tbaker00]

I asked a online chat representative about the pricing of the iphone on the apple site and he said that they had not received notification of what the retail pricing would be yet. But he is just a CSR and yes he could just be saying that. With that in mind I would not be to sure with saying only verizon is charging the extra $50 (or maybe, hopefully, don't charge the extra money). The retail prices have yet to be announced for sure on apple but they could add it as well, or maybe not.

 

[cshk9574]

I just called and asked if they could change my date from 2/10 to 2/3 and they said no!!!!

 

[saberahul]

I just called and asked if they could change my date from 2/10 to 2/3 and they said no!!!!

Lol. My number isn't eligible until July but a talk with the local manager got him to move to April... still hoping to use my wife's upgrade (Jan 17th) if she lets me.

 

[Dandrews524]

YES Verizon is charging $50 more for full retail vs. Apple.

i LOVE how much that upsets you dude! you still gonna pre-order or weight for the 10th to save that $50?

 

[alectheking]

No it isn't. Go to the site and see the upgrade pricing. 16GB is $199 where as 32GB is $299. It is the eligibility fee where as if you're not eligible you will have to pay the retail which I believe is $499 and $599. Apple's site has more details on that.

-Okay, 2 year contract price is 199/299. Agreed?

-EARLY UPGRADE price if your part way through some sort of contract is 399/499. Agreed?

-RETAIL flat out price is 649/749. Agreed?

Yes, the "discount" I was referring to was the fact that he can upgrade on the 10th and qualify for the $199/$299 pricing. In other words he is upgrade eligible. Sound like a "discount" to me. Considering....

Full retail price is in fact $599/$699 through Apple. $649/$749 through Verizon. YES Verizon is charging $50 more for full retail vs. Apple.

I wouldn't be so sure of that. Yes the full retail is 649/749, but am under the impression its from the report a little while back that due to licensing and whatnot thats the price bump over GSM. Not to mention the Economies Of Scale advantage the GSM version has. I don't think its verizons markup, I believe thats the price from both Verizon AND Apple. But, i'm not 100% sure.

 

[whiteyanderson]

i LOVE how much that upsets you dude! you still gonna pre-order or weight for the 10th to save that $50?

I talked to an Apple.com store supervisor that told me that we can pre-order on the 3rd. If that's the case then I'll just order it from Apple on the 3rd.

OR I might do THIS: If you add a line to your account you can get the 32GB for $299. Once you get the Iphone, activate it, swap it to your old line and cancel the new line. ETF of $350 + $299 for the phone = $649 . $549 for the 16GB.

There's always a way.

 

[alectheking]

OR I might do THIS: If you add a line to your account you can get the 32GB for $299. Once you get the Iphone, activate it, swap it to your old line and cancel the new line. ETF of $350 + $299 for the phone = $649 . $549 for the 16GB.

There's always a way.

ETF of $350 plus $299.99 (32gb...PLUS $62.06 of tax on the 749.99 price if your in a state like me, Cali since they charge you retail tax whether you buy on contract or not)..PLUS the firsts months bill for the extra line since you can't cancel right away which would have to include unlimited data at 29.99 plus 9.99 for the extra line. Thats more than the retail price for a 32gb CDMA off contract, excluding tax if applicable.

OR..

ETF of $350 Plus 199.99 for 16gb (PLUS $56.87 tax on the 649.99 price).. PLUS the firsts months bill of atleast $40.. that right there ends up being pretty dang close to just buying it retail outright, such as what i'm doing

 

[Dandrews524]

I talked to an Apple.com store supervisor that told me that we can pre-order on the 3rd. If that's the case then I'll just order it from Apple on the 3rd.

OR I might do THIS: If you add a line to your account you can get the 32GB for $299. Once you get the Iphone, activate it, swap it to your old line and cancel the new line. ETF of $350 + $299 for the phone = $649 . $549 for the 16GB.

There's always a way.

would verizon let you do that? and would there be an activation fee for the new line or any other fees that we could be missing? it sounds like a sweet plan and if youre gonna do it then ill give it a shot. 16 gb is all i really need so $549 sounds amazing

 

[alectheking]

would verizon let you do that? and would there be an activation fee for the new line or any other fees that we could be missing? it sounds like a sweet plan and if youre gonna do it then ill give it a shot. 16 gb is all i really need so $549 sounds amazing

Read the post above yours.

 

[Dandrews524]

bummer man

 

[whiteyanderson]

ETF of $350 plus $299.99 (32gb...PLUS $62.06 of tax on the 749.99 price if your in a state like me, Cali since they charge you retail tax whether you buy on contract or not)..PLUS the firsts months bill for the extra line since you can't cancel right away which would have to include unlimited data at 29.99 plus 9.99 for the extra line. Thats more than the retail price for a 32gb CDMA off contract, excluding tax if applicable.

OR..

ETF of $350 Plus 199.99 for 16gb (PLUS $56.87 tax on the 649.99 price).. PLUS the firsts months bill of atleast $40.. that right there ends up being pretty dang close to just buying it retail outright, such as what i'm doing

I am planning on paying full retail too. Will they charge you for the first month if you do not even use 1 day of it? I didn't think they did. they probably do though in hindsight.

If so never mind but...

If you just have a dumphone you can transfer the iPhone to the old line, transfer dumb phone to the new line, KEEP the new line @9.99 a month x 24 months = $240 + $299 = $543 or $443. Sicard the new line w/ dumbphone after 24 months .

PS- you're still going to pay tax on the retail in California regardless. One of the reasons I love living here so much. so that's a wash for us and will be applied regardless. I was not totalling in tax for those that do not have to deal with that atrocity.

Actually though $350 + $299 + tax + 50 first month = $761 Retail $749 + tx = $820 -ish. So if you had to pay first the first month it's up to you whether the $50 is worth the hoops.

Either way you can add a new line and swap it easily enough.

 

[alectheking]

I am planning on paying full retail too. Will they charge you for the first month if you do not even use 1 day of it? I didn't think they did. they probably do though in hindsight.

If so never mind but...

If you just have a dumphone you can transfer the iPhone to the old line, transfer dumb phone to the new line, KEEP the new line @9.99 a month x 24 months = $240 + $299 = $543 or $443. Sicard the new line w/ dumbphone after 24 months .

PS- you're still going to pay tax on the retail in California regardless. One of the reasons I love living here so much. so that's a wash for us and will be applied regardless. I was not totalling in tax for those that do not have to deal with that atrocity.

Either way you can add a new line and swap it easily enough.

I'm under the impression from past experience that if you try and cancel within the say 30 day window, they give you your money back and take the equipment back. I now know that they changed some phones like iPhones to only a 14 day window, but the first month bill would be the same regardless. True you can switch and swap phones easily, but I have no interest in paying another 2 years on a unused line, regardless of cost saving. I think a majority of people have to factor some sort of tax in either way. Just depends how much. Mines 8.75%

 

[whiteyanderson]

-Okay, 2 year contract price is 199/299. Agreed?

-EARLY UPGRADE price if your part way through some sort of contract is 399/499. Agreed?

-RETAIL flat out price is 649/749. Agreed?


I wouldn't be so sure of that. Yes the full retail is 649/749, but am under the impression its from the report a little while back that due to licensing and whatnot thats the price bump over GSM. Not to mention the Economies Of Scale advantage the GSM version has. I don't think its verizons markup, I believe thats the price from both Verizon AND Apple. But, i'm not 100% sure.

You can go to Apple.com punch in your Verizon info - assuming you are a Verizon customer and see the retail price. $599/$699.

I received an email from Verizon when I asked why and the response was that Apple and Verizon decided for whatever reason they would price differently.

Also there is no early upgrade price if I understand what you are asking. it's either the upgrade eligible price or full retail.

You are probably correct about the 30 day window, I forgot about that, but, if you can swap a dumbphone and keep it for 24 months that's a decent savings. If you are willing to hop through that hoop.

 

[whiteyanderson]

Here is the email I received from Verizon in regards to the retail price difference. The guy did go out of his way to get the info rather than immediately send me a canned response. All in all he and I communicated for about a week:

Dear XXXXXXX,

This is Ted again, and I am following up as promised after finding more details regarding the price difference you have mentioned.

I found that both Apple and Verizon Headquarters made a business decision to sell the iPhone 4 at different prices for full retail purchases. This information is currently being worked on to be loaded in the Q&A portion of our www.verizonwireless.com/iphone website. Based on this information, you will need to purchase the iPhone 4 at full retail cost through Apple in order to receive the difference in cost at this time. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

XXXX, I am glad to be able to provide an answer to your price difference question and inform you both companies made a business decision to offer the iPhone 4 at different prices. We understand you have a choice when it comes to wireless service and appreciate your loyalty to Verizon Wireless since 2001!

Sincerely,

Ted

 

[alectheking]

You can go to Apple.com punch in your Verizon info - assuming you are a Verizon customer and see the retail price. $599/$699.

I received and email from Verizon when I asked why and the response was that Apple and Verizon decided for whatever reason they would price differently.

Also there is no early upgrade price if I understand what you are asking. it's either the upgrade eligible price or full retail.

Not to be blunt, but i KNOW theres an early upgrade price. Apples website presented it to me when I put in the number for a line that isn't eligible until late April. On the other hand I would be STOKED if apple's was $599, I talked to a representative 40 mins ago and she said she honestly didn't know since it wasn't released to her yet, but that she was damn near certain that you can pre-order feb 3rd on both verizon AND apple website. I'm hopeful but taking it with a grain of salt.

edit: OKAY WAIT LOL..
I tried to take a screenshot of the early upgrade price it presented to me, but it now showed me only 2 year contract and full retail like you said. Weird i'm literally 99.99999999999% percent sure I know what it presented to me before because I was surprised by it, but it was also on day of announcement so maybe something changed. Either way appears your right on that now