Why I'm upgrading and switching to iPhone

[travisiscoolest]

Really, it just makes more financial sense, and it maximizes my experience while I'm paying Sprint $60 a month. I know that if I buy an iPhone, a year later, I'll still be able to fetch at least $300 for it, which would offset the ETF and then some.

iPhone 5:
199.00+36.00 activation fee=$235.99
12 months of service at $60/mo=$720.
ETF w/ 12 mos left=$240
So, the total cost of owning an iPhone after a year=$1195.99
But, you sell the iPhone for maybe $300, and total cost is really $895.99.

Compared to, say a Galaxy SIII after a year
149.99+36.00 activation=$185.99
12 months of service at $60/mo=$720.
ETF w/ 12 mos left=$240
The cost here is $1145.99.

So, you'd have to sell the GSIII for at least $250 to match how much it'd cost owning the iPhone 5. Chances are, I'll have a better chance of fetching $300 for the iPhone (or more) versus fetching $250 for a SGSIII...

Sprint offered me an early upgrade buy-out for $60 (I'm 18 mos into contract, was originally eligible in January 2013) but since they also offered to buy back my HTC Evo Shift for $60, it cancels out (I don't think it's worth the effort and time to make another $10 or so by selling it on Ebay)...so that's how I came to where I'm at now...

 

[charliecc]

Wow, you guys are getting raped in the US, you need some decent regulation.

 

[Surrylic]

Wow, you guys are getting raped in the US, you need some decent regulation.

Yeah we do lol. I hear prices in other countries for cell service is way less...

Hey OP, I'm in the same boat as you. I switched to an Android phone in February and WOW was I blown away when I saw how much it's worth on eBay right now... way less than I'd hoped it'd be Apple products hold their value way way better.

 

[charliecc]

Yeah we do lol. I hear prices in other countries for cell service is way less...

If I was so inclined I could pick up the iPhone 5 16GB, unlocked, for £530. Stick in a SIM with as many mins and texts as I'll ever need and 1GB of data for £10 a month. Total cost for a year: £650. Sell the phone after a year for about £280, total cost ~ £370 = $600.

Hey OP, I'm in the same boat as you. I switched to an Android phone in February and WOW was I blown away when I saw how much it's worth on eBay right now... way less than I'd hoped it'd be Apple products hold their value way way better.

No doubting Apple products hold their value much better. However, Android phones also get discounted, unlike Apple, so if you can bare to wait > 1 month after an Android phone is released, you can probably save what it loses in resale value of the iPhone.

 

[Surrylic]

If I was so inclined I could pick up the iPhone 5 16GB, unlocked, for £530. Stick in a SIM with as many mins and texts as I'll ever need and 1GB of data for £10 a month. Total cost for a year: £650. Sell the phone after a year for about £280, total cost ~ £370 = $600.



No doubting Apple products hold their value much better. However, Android phones also get discounted, unlike Apple, so if you can bare to wait > 1 month after an Android phone is released, you can probably save what it loses in resale value of the iPhone.

It's amazing that the best deal for an iPhone here is about $45 USD/month. You make a very good point about Android phones getting discounted, I never took that into account before. If I ever give Android another try I'll be sure and wait a couple months after release before picking it up..

 

[travisiscoolest]

Yeah we do lol. I hear prices in other countries for cell service is way less...

Hey OP, I'm in the same boat as you. I switched to an Android phone in February and WOW was I blown away when I saw how much it's worth on eBay right now... way less than I'd hoped it'd be Apple products hold their value way way better.

not to mention, new Android phones came out every few months (at least in the past, not sure about the future). and updates are horribly slow-even old iPhone 3G's still get updated. Android? Don't even think about it if your phone came out a year ago

 

[austinguy23]

Wow, you guys are getting raped in the US, you need some decent regulation.

"Decent regulation" is an oxymoron.