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Why would anyone pay full price to avoid contract?

indyzzzz said:
In my case I bought a pristine iphone 4 (used) and now a used (clean) 4S outright since I wanted to use Tmo prepaid and Straighttalk.

The ip4 cost me about 400, just sold it unlocked for 350.

The 4S cost me 450$ unlocked (64GB) and I can switch between Tmo and Straighttalk ($45 unlimited everything plan suffices for my needs) as needed. My bills when I use Tmo prepaid are 10$ a month :p since I have wifi access 99% of the time.

Huge savings over the past 2 years already.
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For family plans with grandfathered unlimited data like myself with 4 devices it's not cost effective to be on pre paid.
 
macgrl said:
Hi, I have looked at both the option of buying outright and also contract..does it not depend on how many minutes you need etc as to whether it works out cheaper? in my case wanting around 800 mins i couldn't get it to work out a lot cheaper if any than going on contract..have i missed the best sim deals lol:)
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Virgin do a £12 rolling contract with 1200 minutes, unlimited texts and 1GB of data.

Which works out at £673.00 over 12 months, or £817.00 over 24 months (cost of 16GB iP5 included)

You'd have to cut the sim down to size though.
 
-MRB said:
Virgin do a £12 rolling contract with 1200 minutes, unlimited texts and 1GB of data.

Which works out at £673.00 over 12 months, or £817.00 over 24 months (cost of 16GB iP5 included)

You'd have to cut the sim down to size though.
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thanks i will have a look at that...
 
macgrl said:
I didn't know that..worth knowing...will get 4g then? when it comes out
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I'm unsure about that. I do know however that if you took out a contract now - You'll need to renew your contract and pay more to have access to 4G.
 
mpossoff said:
For family plans with grandfathered unlimited data like myself with 4 devices it's not cost effective to be on pre paid.
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Thats true, although unlimited data is usually throttled after the 3GB mark (3G, 5GB for LTE) anyway, at least on AT&T.
My GF had a contract with AT&T. We did the numbers for the both of us to be on a family plan and it was cheaper for us to go to straighttalk and pay 90$ for 2 plans instead of doing the family plan. She rarely uses more than 500mb data and I use wifi a lot, so I dont get anywhere near the supposedly 2GB throttling limit on Straight-talk. Add in the fact that about 6 months out of the year, I switch to Tmo prepaid (useing Google Voice) for 10$ a month (wifi access for data), and we save quite a bit.

Access to unlocked iphones has improved, especially with these ebay sellers selling unlocks for $6. You dont need an unlocked iphone to access straight-talk. If you dont need to always have the latest and greatest, you can get a use a cheap, excellent condition, at&t locked 4S (300-350$ for 16GB) with straight-talk for 45$ a month.

If you have to have LTE though, then you have to pay up. Im sure a lot of folks really dont care for LTE. Its different strokes for different folks.
 
indyzzzz said:
Thats true, although unlimited data is usually throttled after the 3GB mark (3G, 5GB for LTE) anyway, at least on AT&T.
My GF had a contract with AT&T. We did the numbers for the both of us to be on a family plan and it was cheaper for us to go to straighttalk and pay 90$ for 2 plans instead of doing the family plan. She rarely uses more than 500mb data and I use wifi a lot, so I dont get anywhere near the supposedly 2GB throttling limit on Straight-talk. Add in the fact that about 6 months out of the year, I switch to Tmo prepaid (useing Google Voice) for 10$ a month (wifi access for data), and we save quite a bit.

Access to unlocked iphones has improved, especially with these ebay sellers selling unlocks for $6. You dont need an unlocked iphone to access straight-talk. If you dont need to always have the latest and greatest, you can get a use a cheap, excellent condition, at&t locked 4S (300-350$ for 16GB) with straight-talk for 45$ a month.

If you have to have LTE though, then you have to pay up. Im sure a lot of folks really dont care for LTE. Its different strokes for different folks.
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With discount my family plan with 4 lines is $185 plus taxes. Includes unlimited data on each line and unlimited family text, mobile to ANY mobile.
 
In Canada we use three-year, not two-year contracts, which is actually a crazy long time. Also, at least on Rogers, there is not *reasonable* upgrade scheme, you pretty much have to pay full price just to upgrade. There's also a premium on plans eligible for a subsidy on the iPhone, usually up to $20 a month on the starting price. Also, I'm looking to move to the US for college soon. So if I had a contract, I'd have to pay an early termination fee anyway, which would likely be higher than the full priced phone as it is.
 
johndallas999 said:
What is the point of not getting a subsidized phone? It's not like youre going to not use it with the carier you bought it for during the next 2 years. I could see this if you wanted to have lots of phones to switch between but other than that what would be the point of having a phone that isn't under contract, so you can cancel and have an iPod touch?
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uh, it actualy makes a lot of sense. what if you are one year into your contract and want a 5?
 
Coleman2010 said:
Some of us are a little more cosmopolitan than others, have a passport and use it. We like to use our iPhone while abroad without paying ridiculously high international roaming rates.

*Turns off smug demeanor**
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Me, too. I can do that with my vzw contracted iPhone. :cool: :D
 
OatmealRocks said:
WHy do you care what other people do with their money? Or a better question is why don't you think your question through? Do you actually think the price you pay in order to get a subsidized phone is the same as prepay? Stay in school..and get a clue.

----------



No he doesn't and neither do you when you do not understanding math and the meaning of present value but in this case paying a premium over a 2 year period. You forgot (not really) or lack the basic understanding that pre pay and post pay plans prices are different.
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Lets see, present value using a realistic interest rate over24 months? Don't think it is going to have a material impact on the outcome. :rolleyes:
 
We have a family plan with AT&T and we get iPhones subsidized because we have no reason to switch carriers. AT&T is still allowing us to get subsidized iPhones and retain unlimited data. If I was with VZW I would have to think about buying at full retail to retain unlimited data but that gets expensive with 4 lines. The only reason I can think of to buy at full price would to retain unlimited data.
 
I see where you're coming from OP but there's different situations in which one route is better than another. Some people don't want to be locked into a contract for various reasons, some people want to keep unlimited data, and some people (like me) are just fine hopping onto a subsidized plan and saving money each month as I don't intend to switch carriers anytime soon.
 
For example In Australia...

You could go with one of the three major mobile networks (I will use Optus in this case).
16GB iPhone 5: $129 AUD a month x 24 Months = $3096 AUD
https://www.optus.com.au/shop/mobilephone/iphone/iphone5#new-white-16gb

Outright phone with a smaller carrier that uses exactly the same network as Optus (Basically leases the Optus network), EXACTLY the same coverage as Optus.
http://store.apple.com/au/browse/home/shop_iphone/family/iphone
http://www.amaysim.com.au/mobile-plans/amaysim-unlimited.html
(16GB iPhone 5: $799 AUD) + ($39 AUD x 24 Months) = $1735 AUD
 
I've stopped buying subsidized phones after my Droid RAZR I purchased last December. Sold it on Craiglsist and am currently using a 4s on Verizon. Contract is up in August but I have no intention on upgrading as I was lucky and got in on Verizon's unlimited data before it was replaced with shared data. Were I ever to upgrade I would lose m unlimited data and be forced to convert to a shared data plan which would: 1. Give me less data 2. Cost more. So it looks like I'm paying full price from here on out, which isn't so bad considering there are deals everywhere, just takes a little time and effort to find. Purchased my 4s 16gb for less than $300 on Amazon and it came practically brand new.
 
Because I would rather pay £11 a month for 12 months with the option to change, than ~£30 a month for 24 months.
 
I think people have different reasons. For some it makes sense, for some it does not. I will share my reasons.

I have Verizon but I am grandfathered into an old Alltel plan with some bonus features. My plan has

500 anytime minutes
10 Friends and Family numbers
7pm nights and weekends
Unlimited data
Unlimited messaging
Unlimited Mobile to Mobile

Monthly cost $69.99/mo

For me the 500 minutes plus the 7pm n&w, plus the 10 friends and family is like unlimited. Most of my friends have Verizon and any clients that don't go in the friends and family list.

Unlimited data is nice to still have. I don't usually use anywhere close to 2 GB of data per month, but it is nice to know it is there.

For me it comes down to monthly cost and value for my money. If I were to upgrade my line, I would be forced onto a Verizon plan. I would gain unlimited calling (not really a factor) and lose unlimited data (not a huge factor, but could be). For the pleasure of this, I would pay $30 more per month.

So over my required 20 months prior to the next upgrade, I would spend an extra $600, which doesn't even factor in the taxes, which are about 20%. So lets say $720 total.

So for my upgrade to the 32 GB ip5, I would have paid $318 for the phone (with tax), plus an additional $720 for the plan. Total phone cost plus additional plan cost about $1,050

Instead, I decided to keep my plan the same and pay $795(with tax) for the phone at full retail. It saves me about $250 over the 20 month period.

Further, if I want to upgrade to the next iteration of an iPhone, I can do it when it comes out where the resale values of the ip5 would be presumably higher than 20 months down the road.

I know mine is a unique situation, but the question posed was why would anyone do this. This is just my example.
 
Daniel L said:
You guys do realize that opening a line and canceling it will result in you paying less out of pocket than just paying full price right? (199+325=$524 vs $649) Not only that, AT&T will unlock the phone for free after you pay the ETF. And for the smarter "cosmopolitan" users, unlocks are only 15 minutes and $15 away. OP has a good point.
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Exactly how drastic an effect it has I am not sure but, everytime you open an account/sign a contract with a company if you just turn around and cancel it, it has a negative effect on your credit score. So yeah if your credit score is really important to you I would recommend you forego the $100 saving.
 
Daniel L said:
You guys do realize that opening a line and canceling it will result in you paying less out of pocket than just paying full price right? (199+325=$524 vs $649) Not only that, AT&T will unlock the phone for free after you pay the ETF. And for the smarter "cosmopolitan" users, unlocks are only 15 minutes and $15 away. OP has a good point.
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The issue I have with this is that, typically, if you cancel during the initial 14 day period, they want the phone back. ETF doesn't kick in until the 15th day. Also, after 3 days, you are paying a $36 activation fee. So this means, we have to factor in the activation fee and also factor in about half a month's worth of service. So the math may look more like: (I'm rounding so I can do the math in my head)

Phone $200
Activation $35
2 weeks service $20. (This will vary based on plan)
ETF $325-350

Total cost for the add and cancel $580-$600

Vs $650 for full retail, no credit hit, no hassle, etc.
 
DollaTwentyFive said:
The issue I have with this is that, typically, if you cancel during the initial 14 day period, they want the phone back. ETF doesn't kick in until the 15th day. Also, after 3 days, you are paying a $36 activation fee. So this means, we have to factor in the activation fee and also factor in about half a month's worth of service. So the math may look more like: (I'm rounding so I can do the math in my head)

Phone $200
Activation $35
2 weeks service $20. (This will vary based on plan)
ETF $325-350

Total cost for the add and cancel $580-$600

Vs $650 for full retail, no credit hit, no hassle, etc.
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If you're a new customer I agree with your points, and that's the scenario you were responding to.

However, many that pay full price are existing customers. That's what I don't understand. At least in the USA.
 
I am not eligible for a full upgrade yet, so the choice is $450 for a two year renewal or $650 and the freedom to jump ship next year. I prefer the latter. If I had a full upgrade available it might be different.
 
johndallas999 said:
What is the point of not getting a subsidized phone? It's not like youre going to not use it with the carier you bought it for during the next 2 years.
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How do you know what everyone else is doing? There are certainly those that buy unsubsidized to use with a different carrier.

As with any topic, if you don't see the point then move on. Others do. Things are rarely one-size-fits-all. Use whatever works for you.
 
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