destructor wrote:
Well I only have 1 device and don't want nor need a 2nd device or line and I have unlimited data and want to keep it and want to still be able to get subsidized upgrades. $500+ is way too much for a phone. Not to mention that even if you were to pay that much you still have to pay the same rate on the contract as someone who gets a subsidized phone basically, so you're paying for the phone twice in essence, which is ** and simply theft IMO. Since I want to keep things as is, they are giving me 2 choices, keep my current device and pray that it doesn't decide to stop working, or switch to a different carrier (or go pre-paid).
With your unlimited plan, when you pay full price for the phone, you are NOT signing a new contract, you are still month to month. What they are trying to do is get those people off the unlimited plan as they are chewing up their data network, and the "Family Share Everything" plan is one way, but not offering the same unlimited data plan when doing a subsidized upgrade is the other. I just did an upgrade on 2 of my 3 smartphones that have unlimited data, just so I got to a 4G phone, plus I am locked in for another 2 years. Once this contract is up, I plan on either paying full price for a new phone, or buying something from eBay to activate on my line. I won't do a subsidized upgrade unless there is a compelling reason.
^^Exactly...
"you are NOT signing a new contract, you are still month to month."
But I am still paying the same rate as those who are under contract, that was my point. They're not lowering my rate just because I'm not under contract (as far as I know), so why should I have to pay for the phone twice? If I'm buying a phone at full retail, I shouldn't have to pay $70-90/month or however much it is. Those prices are to cover the cost of subsidizing the full price of the phone which when bought on contract is several hundred dollars lower.
destructor wrote:
"you are NOT signing a new contract, you are still month to month."
But I am still paying the same rate as those who are under contract, that was my point. They're not lowering my rate just because I'm not under contract (as far as I know), so why should I have to pay for the phone twice? If I'm buying a phone at full retail, I shouldn't have to pay $70-90/month or however much it is. Those prices are to cover the cost of subsidizing the full price of the phone which when bought on contract is several hundred dollars lower.
Most are complaining that the new plans would make their bill go up. By paying full retail and keeping your current plan and unlimited data, isn't Verizon effectively charging you a lower rate compared to if you had upgraded and switched?
No. Let's say a new phone costs $600 at full retail. If my current monthly bill is $80 on the unlimited data plan and I stay with that for the same length of time as a contract would be (2 years), then that's $1,920 ($80 per month times 24 months) in monthly charges, plus $600 for the retail price of the phone originally. That's $2,520 total for the 2 years I'd be with them.
Now if I switched to a tiered plan or a share plan, I'd get that $600 phone at let's say $200 subsidized. If I switched to say the 2 GB tiered plan, I'd be paying $30 for that (the same as unlimited now), so the monthly charges would still be $1,920, plus the $200 subsidized cost would be $2,120. So that would be less, but I also would no longer have unlimited data. Not sure if there's an additional access fee on tiered plans or not, so if so, that'd raise the rate higher.
If they get rid of the tiered plans eventually like they probably will one day so they can make more money, and I were on a share plan, 2 GB would be $60 for that (double what unlimited is now for me), plus the $40 access fee, that's $2,400 plus the subsidized $200 phone would be $2,600 total, an increase over all options including my current plan ($1,920 total for 2 years).
So to sum up:
Current Plan: $1,920 for 2 years
Current Plan + Full Retail Upgrade: $2,520 for 2 years
Tired Plan (2 GB): $2,120 for 2 years
Share Plan: (2 GB): $2,600 for 2 years
So no matter which of the 3 new options I picked, I would be paying more than I pay now.
destructor wrote:
"you are NOT signing a new contract, you are still month to month."
But I am still paying the same rate as those who are under contract, that was my point. They're not lowering my rate just because I'm not under contract (as far as I know), so why should I have to pay for the phone twice? If I'm buying a phone at full retail, I shouldn't have to pay $70-90/month or however much it is. Those prices are to cover the cost of subsidizing the full price of the phone which when bought on contract is several hundred dollars lower.
but you can walk any time you want. it's not about the price of the plan. it's about the two year commitment. you get a subsidized price because they have you under contract for 2 years. THAT is how they recoup. when you're not under contract you are free to cancel anytime and go to another carrier. people under contract can't do that. they make $XX on every customer every month. they are willing to knock $200-400 off of a device when you sign a contract because they want to guarantee that they make $XX every month for 24 months. when you're off contract, they don't have that guarantee. NO carrier has ever given you a break for buying your own devices. it doesn't make sense.
AZSALUKI wrote:
NO carrier has ever given you a break for buying your own devices. it doesn't make sense.
Tmobile does or at least did.
AZSALUKI wrote:
destructor wrote:
"you are NOT signing a new contract, you are still month to month."
But I am still paying the same rate as those who are under contract, that was my point. They're not lowering my rate just because I'm not under contract (as far as I know), so why should I have to pay for the phone twice? If I'm buying a phone at full retail, I shouldn't have to pay $70-90/month or however much it is. Those prices are to cover the cost of subsidizing the full price of the phone which when bought on contract is several hundred dollars lower.
but you can walk any time you want. it's not about the price of the plan. it's about the two year commitment. you get a subsidized price because they have you under contract for 2 years. THAT is how they recoup. when you're not under contract you are free to cancel anytime and go to another carrier. people under contract can't do that. they make $XX on every customer every month. they are willing to knock $200-400 off of a device when you sign a contract because they want to guarantee that they make $XX every month for 24 months. when you're off contract, they don't have that guarantee. NO carrier has ever given you a break for buying your own devices. it doesn't make sense.
Maybe you have an infinite amount of money to spend, but I do not, EVERYTHING is about price. And no I know carriers will not give you a break for buying your own device, but they should, since we're not paying for the subsidy.
PJNC284 wrote:
AZSALUKI wrote:
NO carrier has ever given you a break for buying your own devices. it doesn't make sense.
Tmobile does or at least did.
i tend to forget about them since i honestly don't know a single person who uses them....lol.
PJNC284 wrote:
AZSALUKI wrote:
NO carrier has ever given you a break for buying your own devices. it doesn't make sense.
Tmobile does or at least did.
Also virtually every European carrier. In fact, most won't sell you a phone at a discount at all. Now that we are all moving to LTE with SIM cards in the US, I wouldn't mind a similar model here. (in fact, Verizon used to let you bring other CDMA phones onto the network, but that stopped about 12 years ago).
Alan
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