Other Where to buy new iPhones unlocked (without carrier contracts)? Any deals?

[ankitgu]

I'm looking to buy a new iPhone out of pocket (no carrier contract, unlocked, etc.) but information on these deals seems basically non-existent. Macrumors itself only lists deals with carriers for example: https://www.macrumors.com/guide/iphone-deals/

Anyone have ideas recommendations on this? Do we just have to pay full Apple MSRP or are deals ever available? It seems like Best Buy might be $20 cheaper than Apple's MSRP, which is about the only price difference I see.

 

[Ean Holdings]

Buy from apple with the Apple Card and get 3% cash back. Otherwise you need to use a carrier deal.

 

[rui no onna]

There are no non-carrier deals on iPhones in the US.

 

[ankitgu]

Buy from apple with the Apple Card and get 3% cash back. Otherwise you need to use a carrier deal.

Thank you!

 

[ankitgu]

For what it's worth, in case others come across this, there is a way to buy iPhones a bit cheaper. I'm not sure if this will prove to be durable, so it could be a one-off.

There's more detail at slick deals, but the gist of it is this: Straight Talk has promotions where you can get the iPhone 13 128gb for $199 plus 2 months of service/taxes/etc. The total will come to about $300. You will buy it with their gold plan up front, and can then downgrade for the second month. All in, my total cost was under $300.

As someone who just wanted a new iPhone and nothing recent would be a benefit, this worked out very well and I'm glad I did it. My 12 mini was just not cutting it in terms of battery life and age, so the 13 was a big step up.

This isn't easy for most, because you have to buy the phone, activate it, and then let it sit unused for 2 months. This means it only helps those planning far ahead and so they're able to be patient for a good deal. If your phone is broken and needs a quick replacement, this won't be of help.

I'm hoping something similar comes around for the iPhone 15 with time.

 

[rui no onna]

For what it's worth, in case others come across this, there is a way to buy iPhones a bit cheaper. I'm not sure if this will prove to be durable, so it could be a one-off.

There's more detail at slick deals, but the gist of it is this: Straight Talk has promotions where you can get the iPhone 13 128gb for $199 plus 2 months of service/taxes/etc. The total will come to about $300. You will buy it with their gold plan up front, and can then downgrade for the second month. All in, my total cost was under $300.

Apart from Straight Talk, other Tracfone brands such as Total Wireless also offer similar deals every now and then.

Mind, the 2 months service is a new requirement. Before, you just needed to activate the phone with 1 month service, let it sit in a drawer and the phone automatically unlocked 60 days after activation.

 

[ankitgu]

Apart from Straight Talk, other Tracfone brands such as Total Wireless also offer similar deals every now and then.

Mind, the 2 months service is a new requirement. Before, you just needed to activate the phone with 1 month service, let it sit in a drawer and the phone automatically unlocked 60 days after activation.

I heard that from others, but my individual experience is they required a second month of activation. I believe it was a bit of a quirk in how they worded their unlock policy, which was revised in the last 2 months. After the revision, they explicitly require it to have 2 months of service.

I found out because on day 60 or 61, I called in to unlock my phone. They would not without that second month and actually acknowledged the terms changed after I bought the phone and that they reserved the right to change this. They put their foot down, and I felt I could have argued or requested a refund and sent it back, but it was still a great deal.

I paid something like $30 for an extra month of service on that day 60 or 61, and they unlocked my phone within hours after another call.

I still think it's a superb deal and will keep an eye out as newer phones, like the 14 or maybe 15, show up on a similar promotion. If only Apple/Costco sold phones like this without the hassle... that would be the dream.

 

[jlc1978]

If you have a Target debt card, you can buy Apple gift cards, get the 5% discount, and use the cards to buy a new phone; which also lets you qualify for any Apple discounts, such as educational or military. Apple treats it as a regular purchase, so those still apply. Better than the cash back, and they occasionally run promos where for every x spent on gift cards they give you a Target gift card, saving even more.

It's also a great way to get a discount on Apple services.

 

[1rottenapple]

eBay. $775 512gb unlocked in prestine condition with 1 yr square trade warranty. Don’t ask me how I know.

 

[ankitgu]

eBay. $775 512gb unlocked in prestine condition with 1 yr square trade warranty. Don’t ask me how I know.

Thanks. Would be great if there was more inventory of new iPhones at price points below $400 on eBay. If you know of those, let me know. A quick search for the iPhone 13 didn't turn up much within new and unlocked for example. The $775 price point is a bit too high.

 

[ankitgu]

If you have a Target debt card, you can buy Apple gift cards, get the 5% discount, and use the cards to buy a new phone; which also lets you qualify for any Apple discounts, such as educational or military. Apple treats it as a regular purchase, so those still apply. Better than the cash back, and they occasionally run promos where for every x spent on gift cards they give you a Target gift card, saving even more.

It's also a great way to get a discount on Apple services.

Thanks. Seems like a somewhat marginal price improvement (5%), which is still welcome on big purchases, but hard to beat various promotions that got the iPhone 13 down to $300... granted, such deals may not last.

 

[1rottenapple]

Thanks. Would be great if there was more inventory of new iPhones at price points below $400 on eBay. If you know of those, let me know. A quick search for the iPhone 13 didn't turn up much within new and unlocked for example. The $775 price point is a bit too high.

There’s no iPhones that are new priced at 400. If it were it’s likely stolen.

 

[ankitgu]

There’s no iPhones that are new priced at 400. If it were it’s likely stolen.

Thanks for confirming that eBay doesn't have them under $400.

See my post above for why I was asking if curious Straight Talk deals allow for new iPhones below $400. I just picked up the iPhone 13 new in box for under $300 after all costs from them, and then unlocked it two months later and brought it to my normal carrier.

 

[Le Big Mac]

There are no non-carrier deals on iPhones in the US.

Are the carrier deals actually "deals"? I realize it's low upfront cost but aren't you paying back the phone price either through a payment plan or being locked to the carrier at a higher priced contract?

 

[ankitgu]

Are the carrier deals actually "deals"? I realize it's low upfront cost but aren't you paying back the phone price either through a payment plan or being locked to the carrier at a higher priced contract?

I normally had this perspective too. And for my actual carrier, I don't bother with any contract/subsidy/etc. on the phone. For years, I bought my phones outright from Costco because of this.

This year, I got my phone from another carrier, Straight Talk. It was under $300 *with* the mandatory 60 days of service for a new iPhone 13 (plenty of capability for my needs). I let it sit unused for those 60 days, mostly in a drawer turned off with 80-90% battery state of charge. After that, the carrier unlocked it, and I transferred my existing esim and iCloud account over with no problem.

This is the first time I've said there's an exception to my previously held belief that carrier plans were setup in their favor. I think this is either Straight Talk running a promotion to grow their customer base or Apple selling off old inventory through these carriers. I suspect Apple would lose too much gross margin dollars if they sold older iPhones themselves at such a low price themselves (through Apple stores or their website), because there must be others like me who would go for the much cheaper option otherwise.

I'd love if someone has insight into that carrier/OEM negotiation to spill the beans, but regardless of why it was so cheap, it worked out well for me this time.

 

[jlc1978]

Are the carrier deals actually "deals"? I realize it's low upfront cost but aren't you paying back the phone price either through a payment plan or being locked to the carrier at a higher priced contract?

Of course, they simply amortize the cost of the phone over the lie of the contract, which is why only high-priced plans get the "free phone' offer since the phone costs are backed in; and if you stay with them off-contract the phone cost is now pure profit.

Even Straight Talk is just selling you an iPhone for $400 upfront; I suspect the 2 month wait to unlock is simply to discourage people from buying them and flipping them right away. Flippers would not want to hold inventory for two months in hopes of selling the phone, they'd want an unlocked phone they can move right away.

This is the first time I've said there's an exception to my previously held belief that carrier plans were setup in their favor. I think this is either Straight Talk running a promotion to grow their customer base or Apple selling off old inventory through these carriers. I suspect Apple would lose too much gross margin dollars if they sold older iPhones themselves at such a low price, because there must be others like me who would go for this otherwise.

I suspect it might be some special Walmart/Straight Talk deal with Apple since ST is the Walmart/Tracfone partnership; much like the M1 Macs appear to be. I thought Apple might just be dumping them but either that had a ton or have a deal with Walmart to supply them; since they are still around a suspect I was wrong and it is the later.

It's a win for all three, Apple sells more product that they don't sell in store so Walmart id not a direct competitor, WalMArt gets a high end product to offer their customer base at a compelling price point and get more sales.

At $649, when I thought my M1 Air's screen was dying I considered buy one at Walmart since the marginal cost were small and I'd get a full Apple warranty for a year. Might have even sprung for the Walmart one since it was cheaper, longer, and looks like it has better coverage. I suspect the repairs might not be done by Apple, which is concerning.

 

[ankitgu]

Even Straight Talk is just selling you an iPhone for $400 upfront; I suspect the 2 month wait to unlock is simply to discourage people from buying them and flipping them right away. Flippers would not want to hold inventory for two months in hopes of selling the phone, they'd want an unlocked phone they can move right away.

It wouldn't surprise me if Apple stipulates this to some extent in their agreement to supply these older phones that there needs to be at least a 2 month wait. This, to your point, discourages flippers, and it would discourage those like me who could technically buy a more expensive phone (more gross margin dollars, presumably anyway) from doing this.

The two month wait was just slightly irritating, but not enough to deter me. In fact, I may do this with future phones in advance of known family member needs so it doesn't appear to be an irritation to them at all.

The other thing I've noticed is they don't offer discounted phones with more storage space. This was only open to the 128gb model, which may also discourage some users. Again, it was perfectly fine for me.

 

[ankitgu]

I suspect it might be some special Walmart/Straight Talk deal with Apple since ST is the Walmart/Tracfone partnership; much like the M1 Macs appear to be. I thought Apple might just be dumping them but either that had a ton or have a deal with Walmart to supply them; since they are still around a suspect I was wrong and it is the later.

FWIW, I got this one directly from ST. I actually went into a Walmart in the first place, but they did not have the right phone. Online, ST was able to ship me the one I wanted.

 

[jlc1978]

FWIW, I got this one directly from ST. I actually went into a Walmart in the first place, but they did not have the right phone. Online, ST was able to ship me the one I wanted.

Yea, Straight Talk has an exclusive Walmart partnership, but also sells under ST label online as well. ST is owned by VZW since 2021 when they bought Tracfone.

 

[rui no onna]

Are the carrier deals actually "deals"? I realize it's low upfront cost but aren't you paying back the phone price either through a payment plan or being locked to the carrier at a higher priced contract?

If you’ve been with the same carrier for years and have no plans of changing carriers anyway, then sure.

Also, prepaid phone deals from Tracfone (Straight Talk, Total Wireless, etc), Metro, etc. are also carrier deals albeit with less baggage.

 

[rui no onna]

This is the first time I've said there's an exception to my previously held belief that carrier plans were setup in their favor. I think this is either Straight Talk running a promotion to grow their customer base or Apple selling off old inventory through these carriers. I suspect Apple would lose too much gross margin dollars if they sold older iPhones themselves at such a low price, because there must be others like me who would go for this otherwise.

I'd love if someone has insight into that carrier/OEM negotiation to spill the beans, but regardless of why it was so cheap, it worked out well for me this time.

That’s Straight Talk not really having a choice as far as unlock. Also Verizon trying to increase their prepaid subscriber count. I’m sure Verizon would prefer a longer lock-in but I believe their revised deal with the FCC only allows 2 months lock-in.

Mind, during 2023 holiday sales, you could get the iPhone SE3 (2022) for $50 + $30-40 1-month plan from one of the Tracfone brands.

They offered similar deals for the iPhone 11 two years ago as the one you got for the iPhone 13.

 

[ankitgu]

That’s Straight Talk not really having a choice as far as unlock. Also Verizon trying to increase their prepaid subscriber count. I’m sure Verizon would prefer a longer lock-in but I believe their revised deal with the FCC only allows 2 months lock-in.

Mind, during 2023 holiday sales, you could get the iPhone SE3 (2022) for $50 + $30-40 1-month plan from one of the Tracfone brands.

They offered similar deals for the iPhone 11 two years ago as the one you got for the iPhone 13.

Aha, nice! Good to know, thank you for pointing this out.

 

[1rottenapple]

If you’ve been with the same carrier for years and have no plans of changing carriers anyway, then sure.

Also, prepaid phone deals from Tracfone (Straight Talk, Total Wireless, etc), Metro, etc. are also carrier deals albeit with less baggage.

agree I've been paying $25 dollars a month for the past 7 years with visible wireless (I since went with the $35 plan with Apple Watch cellular) and can't stomach paying more. Im so conditioned with the prices there's no way I'd get a "free phone" from a carrier.

 

[rui no onna]

agree I've been paying $25 dollars a month for the past 7 years with visible wireless (I since went with the $35 plan with Apple Watch cellular) and can't stomach paying more. Im so conditioned with the prices there's no way I'd get a "free phone" from a carrier.

Huh, Visible is at least 7 years old now? I remember back in the day they only had one $40/mo unlimited plan and you can get a discount if you join a group with rates as low as $25/mo depending on the number of members.

Iirc, Visible recently had a pretty good deal for the iPhone 16e where you get a discount for the device as well as monthly service credits for a year or something. Unfortunately, it might have been for new users only.

Mind, the postpaid plans aren’t too bad for family plans. I believe our AT&T Unlimited Elite is like $40-42 per line.

 

[Le Big Mac]

Mind, the postpaid plans aren’t too bad for family plans. I believe our AT&T Unlimited Elite is like $40-42 per line.

Yeah, if you need the number of lines that hits a plan's sweetspot. I got a tmobile plan that had a fourth line free, but we needed only 3 lines. So we roped in my mom as fourth and just shared the savings.