Contract vs No-Contract (T-Mobile, 3G, Verizon, iPhones)
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Location: Charlotte,NC, US, North America, Earth, Alpha Quadrant,Milky Way Galaxy
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Today I went to get my daughter's iphone's cracked screen replaced and a local cell phone repair shop. While in there and browsing, I saw various adds for a variety of pay-as-you-go services. Talking to the guy at the store he said that most of these pay as you go work on the same network as ATT,Verizon, Sprint. I.e., I thin Net10 is on ATT.
Looking at the prices (i.e., $35-$50/mo for unlimited talk/text/data), I am wondering (and I am basically asking a question I already know the answer to) what are any real advantages of a contract based service? I am on verizon and love the talk and data service - it is pricer but I have an unlimited data plan and I never get a dropped call or bad data throughput. *However*, some of these cheaper alternatives seem appealing. Bring your phone and get hooked up. With Sprint the *only* advantage I used to have is that you could trade your phone in every 2 yr and get a new one at a discount. Verizon I think you need a special program in order to get any sort of discounted device upgrades.
Since these cheaper services operate on the same network - what's the difference? I know some of them throttle data speed after like 500mb/1gh (going from say 4g lte to 4g/3g). That actually doesn't bug me.
Thoughts?
I'm thinking of a "poor-mans" lojack by getting one of these cheap services (like $25/mo) and sticking it on an old phone and using it to track my vehicle using an app I wrote (I dabble in mobile dev as well).
If I needed a new phone I think I'd look at these no-contract alternatives vs. the contract-locking vendors.
Generally one gets better overall phone coverage, customer service and data speeds. Also phone selection. But if price is your top priority, then these chepo companies may work for you. I pay $90 a month for two lines and 3gigs of data. If I go over my limit, no problem. I just pay a bit more for the next gig. Has only happened once.
If customer service isn't an issue, no contract carriers win hands down. Straight Talk offers the same coverage as ATT and T Mobile for half the price. Throttled after 3 gb of data usage per month.
That's not even remotely true. 2 Year Contracts are still a very viable option for some people.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Miker2069
Verizon I think you need a special program in order to get any sort of discounted device upgrades.
VZW still has 2 year contract options where you can get a new phone for anywhere from free to $250 for the latest and greatest Android. (You can pay even more for something like the Samsung Note/Edge or the high memory iPhones). Still significantly reduced.
Or you can do, as Mr. New School up there apparently does, pay full price for the phone (in installments like $25/mo) which gives you the ability to upgrade a whole 6 months early. WooWoo. VZW wants you to do this because they don't want to subsidize your phone anymore. They make more $$ by getting you to pay full price and hoping you upgrade early. This is why they will give you a discount on your data if you sign up with that plan AND waive your activation fees. VZW (and ATT) started these types of plans to compete with the company that started it first: T-mobile.
It's all semantics how you pay for the phone. No contract - pay full price beforehand and cheaper monthly bill. Contract with no interest - pay installments per month in addition to monthly bill. Contract with subsidized phone - pay extra per month on your monthly bill for having the subsidy. In the end you end up paying the same for everything, it's just how/when you want to pay for it.
basically- if you don't want to pay full price upfront for a phone (bur rather pay in installments) and need the latest and greatest models every 18-24 months go post paid, also if you live in an area where roaming is mandatory then you need postpaid. If you can live with older phone, pay full price upfront, and/or don't mind a hit in CS or need roaming very often prepaid is the way to go.
I switched from VZW where I was paying over 110 a month with discount for work and getting one data plan for 2 GB and one non smart phone sharing 700 min and 500 texts. I am now paying 70 total (After tax) a month for two smart phones with unlimited talk and text and and each phone with 2.5 GB LTE and then unlimited 2G speeds after that- on ATT networks. This is after I had 4 months free through switcher and referral promos. Also got a free windows phone as a back up out of it.
That's not even remotely true. 2 Year Contracts are still a very viable option for some people.
Or you can do, as Mr. New School up there apparently does, pay full price for the phone (in installments like $25/mo) which gives you the ability to upgrade a whole 6 months early. WooWoo. VZW wants you to do this because they don't want to subsidize your phone anymore.
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I did the math. I discovered the my new iPhone 5s is going to cost me a lot less due to savings compared to a two year contract and I am not locked into a two year contract.
Zero down instead of $100. $15 savings per mo. for 24 months equals $360. Savings of $460. Price of new iPhone 5s is $550. And if my phone gives me issues in a year I can get a new phone. I am on the easy payment plan
I do not find the two year contract model a very smart choice these days.
I did the math. I discovered the my new iPhone 5s is going to cost me a lot less due to savings compared to a two year contract and I am not locked into a two year contract.
Zero down instead of $100. $15 savings per mo. for 24 months equals $360. Savings of $460. Price of new iPhone 5s is $550. And if my phone gives me issues in a year I can get a new phone. I am on the easy payment plan
I do not find the two year contract model a very smart choice these days.
Swappa.com is the best site for buying and selling smartphones. They have iPhone 5s' in great condition for 300 bucks. I wouldn't buy new from the store. Used to do that until I learned about other ways that save me money and get me the same quality product. I even had to return one once that was damaged during shipping, and it went amazingly. Better than even dealing with a store and risking some rude manager that accuses you of things (as I have experienced as well).
No contract means you can change phones and providers whenever you like, instead of being shackled to the same provider for months and years.
It also means you pay more for the phone and (hopefully) less for the service, because the provider can't build the cost of a phone subsidy into the price of a multi-year subscription.
Swappa.com is the best site for buying and selling smartphones. They have iPhone 5s' in great condition for 300 bucks. I wouldn't buy new from the store. Used to do that until I learned about other ways that save me money and get me the same quality product. I even had to return one once that was damaged during shipping, and it went amazingly. Better than even dealing with a store and risking some rude manager that accuses you of things (as I have experienced as well).
Exactly.
Places like Swappa are the biggest benefit of going no contract. I know that those on T-Mobile benefit greatly with reduced monthly payments from not buying a phone through the carrier. Some people don't seem comfortable with buying a phone from a place like Swappa or craigslist but that's where the savings are. There's really no reason to ever go on contract again if you know what you're doing. Comparing the total 2 year cost of ownership, it almost always comes out worse to go on contract (unless you're on Verizon).
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