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How can you get the best price for the Tilt?

Hey guys, well with the Tilt coming out I want to get the best price, but I see that the best prices are giving to new customers. I'm already an AT&T customer and have a long time before I can upgrade. I currently have the 8525.
How can I get the Tilt for around $350? I don't know anyone at a store. Has anyone ever bought a phone as a "new" customer and then cancelled the service right away? What fees are payed and how exactly is this done?
Any advice?!

Sorry Man thats just a cheap question to ask... You get what you pay for is the best lesson in life. I dont think any here will help you plan BS

Your best bet is to wait 4-6 months after AT&T releases the tilt and then look to Ebay...

EkS said:
Hey guys, well with the Tilt coming out I want to get the best price, but I see that the best prices are giving to new customers. I'm already an AT&T customer and have a long time before I can upgrade. I currently have the 8525.
How can I get the Tilt for around $350? I don't know anyone at a store. Has anyone ever bought a phone as a "new" customer and then cancelled the service right away? What fees are payed and how exactly is this done?
Any advice?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can cancel the service, but seeing as how you will have a new contract they will charge you the cancel fee. If you cannot wait then you need to purchase the phone at whatever price they give you. Personally, I'm on a family plan and will be using the upgrade credit from another line to get the phone @ $299.

austinsnyc said:
Sorry Man thats just a cheap question to ask... You get what you pay for is the best lesson in life. I dont think any here will help you plan BS
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Click to collapse
Cmon you don't get what you pay for with phones, -its a big game. Were all paying different prices for the same product.
I got screwed out of 200 bucks on an iphone for my wife because of 48 hrs.
We didn't create the game, the phone companies create the game were just trying to play it. if they just offered it for a price thats one thing, but there are 10 different ways to get this thing at a different price.
easiest way is someone else said, ad a phone an a family plan and reduce the other line to minimum. you ad 10 bucks a month to the bill and get the incentive. Basically your financing the incentive as you will pay 240$ over 2 years with the add on plan.

one thing you can do is to register for a business license and get a sellers permit then you can buy it from manufacturer at cost. just a thought...

treoreloaded said:
one thing you can do is to register for a business license and get a sellers permit then you can buy it from manufacturer at cost. just a thought...
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Click to collapse
I do have a connection at a cingular store and one thing I learned is that they really only need about 6 months into the 2 year to upgrade you. I have never waited for upgrading. You have to be connected though which means go talk to a rep and make a friend and then bring a red bull in the next time as a peace offering

That's not all you need. Good luck getting the manufacturer to give you a good price on one unit.
The best prices are usually for corporate customers, and by corporate I don't mean "business license", I mean "big company that buys MANY phones and service contracts". Basically the best price you can get is a matter of luck and who you know - There are usually no extra tricks available. Either you're eligible for certain deals or you're not.

amazon has it for $50 after rebates with a new service...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000WSP16I

You might find brand new tilt at ebay for around $370. (Sim locked though.) It is not easy to find though. I watched a few of them. The cheapest I watched was $365 for a brand new tilt sim locked.
You can easily unlocked yourself.

Sales / Rebates
You could wait for one of AT&T's sales to buy it at $250.00 with a $100.00 rebate. Then call AT&T and if you get a nice representative, ask if they will process the rebate for you; which, if they do, may take the shape of a 'courtesy credit', bringing you down to $150.00. Then, fill out the rebate form, mail it in, and wait. Once you get the rebate, the phone will have been $50.00.

I've been looking for a good deal on a tilt for a while. It doesn't even have to be a still but just a good price. On AT&T site its not that good of a dea plus the fact I have to renew my contract which I'm only 2 months away from being out of.

Listen, all you have to do is go to amazon.com. They will sell you the phone for 200 dollars! All you have to do is either sign up for a two year contract with att or renew your contract. Also you cant break your contract or change your service package for 6 months. I did it and I have a very nice tilt....Filled with a whole bunch of stuff. It would be filled with more if people would response a little faster on this damn forum.

I upgraded from my old razr to a tilt and i got it straight up for $185 with no data plan or anything from the cingular store.

For those going to the Sprint Store

People who are going to the Sprint store to upgrade to the HTC One should know there is an issue with the system that is preventing the phone from being seen as discount available. They had to call the Sprint National Service Center to put in a manual discount on the account. I was told there were multiple people who tried and had the same problem.
The reason I am posting this is that you shouldn't expect it to be a 5-10 minute upgrade. It took over an hour for me. Loving the phone, so it was worth it.

I got mine without any serious issue. Anytime she tried to print off a receipt her computer would crash. They used another and all was well.

I had no issues.. they didnt get the $100 off instand but manager just over wrote it .... in and out in 15 min before work. Also if u mention that u get extra $50 invoice (currently online only) credit for buisness accounts... they might put that in too. I got that as well.
Sent from my HTC ONE using xda app-developers app

forgive my ignorance what discount is this?

WW3 said:
I had no issues.. they didnt get the $100 off instand but manager just over wrote it .... in and out in 15 min before work. Also if u mention that u get extra $50 invoice (currently online only) credit for buisness accounts... they might put that in too. I got that as well.
Sent from my HTC ONE using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
that credit towards the business account ?

Yes, basically a fam account under a tax id. But the discount should still apply to any account with any monthly discount associated with it, ie student. The credit goes towards ur next bill... its still something making my phone only $50 without htc trade in.
http://sprint.p.delivery.net/m/p/nxt/dev/wdyw.asp
Enter any email ending with edu... and it will give u a coupon code SAVE50.... add the phone to cart and print the cart without actually ordering and take it to the store and they should take care of it.
I do have a pdf when it shiwed the htc one for 99.. let me know if u need it.
Sent from my HTC ONE using xda app-developers app

How much is it in stores with a upgrade?
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda premium

lse4 said:
How much is it in stores with a upgrade?
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
It's $199.99 but if he's correct then you can get it with that extra $50 off at $149.99. There's no way to get an upgrade with the phone only costing $50 without the HTC Trade in. If so the Sprint store is only 1/4 mile from my work and Im heading over to buy mine and then Ill cancel it with Newegg.
I'm just looking for the cheapest price, though I don't want to wait an entire week so that's why I chose the Newegg method. Lucky enough for me, I dont have to pay the 36 activation fee. Thank you, Sprint business account.

toxicfumes22 said:
It's $199.99 but if he's correct then you can get it with that extra $50 off at $149.99. There's no way to get an upgrade with the phone only costing $50 without the HTC Trade in. If so the Sprint store is only 1/4 mile from my work and Im heading over to buy mine and then Ill cancel it with Newegg.
I'm just looking for the cheapest price, though I don't want to wait an entire week so that's why I chose the Newegg method. Lucky enough for me, I dont have to pay the 36 activation fee. Thank you, Sprint business account.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the Save50 is what is being referred to it is a $50 credit applied to the account. But the $100 instant he is referring to and getting that as a transaction override instore is of even more significance if he managed to get the phone at $99 like a new customer rather than the $199 thru Sprint.com upgrade screw..

I got a new line.. ported in a number... so yes the phone is $50 before htc trade in and -$50 If I do the trade in.
Sent from my HTC ONE using xda app-developers app

WW3 said:
I got a new line.. ported in a number... so yes the phone is $50 before htc trade in and -$50 If I do the trade in.
Sent from my HTC ONE using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok new line

$450 instant saving? so the phone is only 99.99? not the 199.99? is it cheaper for business account?

Tried it but when I entered the promo code it said "The promotional code does not apply to any items in your shopping cart. Check the code and try again"
Any idea?
EDIT* Looks like it doesn't work for upgrades.

bummer, sprint sure treat loyal customers pretty well don't they

I went in to the Sprint store this morning to pick up my preorder and I would say I had a very pleasant experience. I dont know if this was the $50 discount spoke about earlier, but without saying anything, the phone rang up at $149. I am upgrading 3 months early, so I paid a $100 UpgradeNow fee. I traded in my Epic Touch 4G for $75 and had the $50 Sprint gift card that I had to buy to hold my preorder, so all in all, I paid $139 in store today. Not too shabby for being impatient and wanting to get rid of my Samsung as quick as possible.
Also, she got my gmail address because she said they were going to send me a $25 Google Play Store card. Nice little bonus :good:

I went to a Sprint store earlier this morning. They had no dummy phones to look at, they had no phones to sell, and they also had no idea that the phone was even released today. (I'm guessing it wasn't a corporate store, but you wouldn't know from looking at it (it's just south of Houston, TX.).
I told them "Well, I know Best Buy has them; I just didn't want to drive all the way over there...".
He said "Well, I'm sure they DON'T, otherwise we would at least have a shipment scheduled or something."
20 minutes later, I was doing the paperwork at BB, with my slick new One in my hands...(It was 199+ tax on a line that was eligible for an upgrade.).
How do these so-called "Sprint" stores even manage to get any business if they literally have no idea of a device's existence on a release day?
Anyway, I'm happy as a clam with my white one, FWIW.
I have and probably will keep my Note 2, just to have, and to mess around with different Roms, and also for its screen size, but this One will definitely be my daily driver. The difference in the builds/the quality of the devices is like night and day.

yourbrotherrex said:
I went to a Sprint store earlier this morning. They had no dummy phones to look at, they had no phones to sell, and they also had no idea that the phone was even released today. (I'm guessing it wasn't a corporate store, but you wouldn't know from looking at it (it's just south of Houston, TX.).
I told them "Well, I know Best Buy has them; I just didn't want to drive all the way over there...".
He said "Well, I'm sure they DON'T, otherwise we would at least have a shipment scheduled or something."
20 minutes later, I was doing the paperwork at BB, with my slick new One in my hands...(It was 199+ tax on a line that was eligible for an upgrade.).
How do these so-called "Sprint" stores even manage to get any business if they literally have no idea of a device's existence on a release day?
Anyway, I'm happy as a clam with my white one, FWIW.
I have and probably will keep my Note 2, just to have, and to mess around with different Roms, and also for its screen size, but this One will definitely be my daily driver. The difference in the builds/the quality of the devices is like night and day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
/must hold out
.*arrgh*
:silly::silly:

You guys don't even want to hear my story. So I pre ordered from Lets Talk like some of you may have. I get the notification that it won't be here till sometime next week, so I'm like "OK I'll cancel it" as my local store had some in stock. Cancelled it. Went in this morning to a store right when the doors open. They pull up my account and say there's no upgrade for me. So I end up calling Lets Talk to verify if my order had been cancelled. Lets just say that I've been calling Lets Talk and Sprint from 9am-1pm trying to figure out wtf was going on. I finally decide to call Lets Talk one more time. The rep I spoke to said that the order was cancelled when the item was in activation and picking, so they had to manually deactivate the device. Around 130pm when I'm about to leave I receive a call back from Lets Talk saying the upgrade has been reset. Just to make sure I called Sprint customer service and the local Sprint store just to double check that the upgrade was there. Indeed it was so I rushed to pick it up as I had to be at work at 220pm. Got my phone opened it at work and that's my CRAZY CRAZY story. I hope none of you guys had to go through any of that.
Sent from my HTCONE using xda app-developers app

I just went to a sprint store around where I'm at for the weekend and they didn't wanna sell me the phone out right :banghead:
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda premium

jmlott said:
I went in to the Sprint store this morning to pick up my preorder and I would say I had a very pleasant experience. I dont know if this was the $50 discount spoke about earlier, but without saying anything, the phone rang up at $149. I am upgrading 3 months early, so I paid a $100 UpgradeNow fee. I traded in my Epic Touch 4G for $75 and had the $50 Sprint gift card that I had to buy to hold my preorder, so all in all, I paid $139 in store today. Not too shabby for being impatient and wanting to get rid of my Samsung as quick as possible.
Also, she got my gmail address because she said they were going to send me a $25 Google Play Store card. Nice little bonus :good:
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Click to collapse
wtf? my upgrade is July 1 and I was told I have to pay $175 to upgrade now.............how did you manage this? who did you talk to?

Best Buy

I got my pre ordered One on Sunday from my local best buy. I paid $260 after my upgrade and getting the geek squad insurance and sales tax. I got to reading the wire fly thread and saw that they had them for $119 with $20 visa card. That would drop it down to $100 plus I get the $100 from my OG EVO. WELL...I went into Best Buy tonight and told them I wanted a refund on my phone and I was going to buy from Wire Fly. They asked if they price matched, would I keep it? Said, SURE! Walked out paying $.01 for phone and $9.99 for protection plan. $10.00!!!! I also get $100 back from HTC! In the end I'll have made $90 on the new ONE!
Just had to share my story. Love this phone!

Wish I had nice Best Buys near me that price matched online retailers. Mine only does local brick & mortar stores. Congrats!

Hey, I've got black tie, too. Dies having black tie help get any kind of discount even when you're not upgrade eligible? (Sorry, not real familiar with black tie/best buy).
TIA
Sent from my EVO using xda premium

reynoldsrobbie said:
I got my pre ordered One on Sunday from my local best buy. I paid $260 after my upgrade and getting the geek squad insurance and sales tax. I got to reading the wire fly thread and saw that they had them for $119 with $20 visa card. That would drop it down to $100 plus I get the $100 from my OG EVO. WELL...I went into Best Buy tonight and told them I wanted a refund on my phone and I was going to buy from Wire Fly. They asked if they price matched, would I keep it? Said, SURE! Walked out paying $.01 for phone and $9.99 for protection plan. $10.00!!!! I also get $100 back from HTC! In the end I'll have made $90 on the new ONE!
Just had to share my story. Love this phone!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very nice. I wish bestbuy would be consistent with their pricematching.

I had every intention on returning it I even chatted with an online sales person to see if they'd price match, they told me only if it says 'lowest price guarantee". When I went in, the girl asked me if they matched the price, would I keep the phone. She then asked the details she must have misunderstood me and gave it to me for free. Score!
Was able to give evo4g LTE to son and send in his evo for $100.
Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk 2

I bought a HTC One from Best Buy, then realized that Sprint was selling it for $150 less. They would not price match so I ordered one from Sprint, it arrived a couple days later, then returned the first one back to them.
Pretty ridiculous that they wouldn't price match especially considering I bought it off contract.

mutelight said:
I bought a HTC One from Best Buy, then realized that Sprint was selling it for $150 less. They would not price match so I ordered one from Sprint, it arrived a couple days later, then returned the first one back to them.
Pretty ridiculous that they wouldn't price match especially considering I bought it off contract.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I could be mistaken but I believe their policy says they price match most things except "contract phones." Since you were going to buy yours off-contract from BB, they should have price matched. I would call up BB corporate and complain, telling them that cannot see yourself shopping at BB any longer after that experience. I do this every time a BB employee/manager screws up and corporate always makes up for it by sending me a $50 gift card.
Here is the policy:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Payment...ee/pcmcat297300050000.c?id=pcmcat297300050000

Marty said:
I could be mistaken but I believe their policy says they price match most things except "contract phones." Since you were going to buy yours off-contract from BB, they should have price matched. I would call up BB corporate and complain, telling them that cannot see yourself shopping at BB any longer after that experience. I do this every time a BB employee/manager screws up and corporate always makes up for it by sending me a $50 gift card.
Here is the policy:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Payment...ee/pcmcat297300050000.c?id=pcmcat297300050000
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Click to collapse
That's what I thought too but the guys working in the mobile section seem to be a few beers short of a six pack.
I let them know that I would never considering buying a phone from them again. I will continue to use Best Buy for their "showrooming" quality and order my stuff online.

Ya I too bought mine from best buy off contract and I couldn't for the life of me get them to price match sprints off contract price when I use to get them to price match the off contact price on my past phones like the Evo 3d and Galaxy Nexus, they said it was a new policy that went into effect in like March
Sent from my HTCONE using xda app-developers app

reynoldsrobbie said:
I got my pre ordered One on Sunday from my local best buy. I paid $260 after my upgrade and getting the geek squad insurance and sales tax. I got to reading the wire fly thread and saw that they had them for $119 with $20 visa card. That would drop it down to $100 plus I get the $100 from my OG EVO. WELL...I went into Best Buy tonight and told them I wanted a refund on my phone and I was going to buy from Wire Fly. They asked if they price matched, would I keep it? Said, SURE! Walked out paying $.01 for phone and $9.99 for protection plan. $10.00!!!! I also get $100 back from HTC! In the end I'll have made $90 on the new ONE!
Just had to share my story. Love this phone!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hate to one up ya......but check out what I did. Last year my wife and I both got 2 Evo 4G LTE's and I shelled out an extra $30 on each phone for their black tie trade in program. I had to open up 2 new lines as my wife and I's lines were not available for upgrade. Best buy let me swap my 2 new lines to the old lines. This would allow me to upgrade my LTE's in a year if I wanted. (My friend wanted one of my lines and the other went to my mother). So this brings us to this year and the one. When I went to trade in my LTE's, Best Buy gave us $280.00 per LTE for trade....I walked out about $40.00 + after taxes....and have 2 phones to send back to HTC....so end the end....+240.00!!!! (well minus the $60 i paid for the program only $180 ahead.) still not bad being paid for this awesome phone!!

LymeWire said:
Ya I too bought mine from best buy off contract and I couldn't for the life of me get them to price match sprints off contract price when I use to get them to price match the off contact price on my past phones like the Evo 3d and Galaxy Nexus, they said it was a new policy that went into effect in like March
Sent from my HTCONE using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
Ya, that new policy in March says no price matching for "contract phone." The employee you spoke with incorrectly applied it to off contract phones. You can see the policy in the link I provided in my previous post in this thread. I would print out a copy and show it to them. If they still refuse, call corporate and complain. They will likely send you a gift card for your trouble at the minimum.

The service at Sprint retail stores sure has gone down hill

I wasn't eligible for a upgrade so I had no problem paying for retail for my SG4. Went to a Sprint store and told the rep I wanted to by the SG4, I'm not eligible for a upgrade and had no problem paying the retail price.
He straight up told me he couldn't sell me the phone, because the store would lose money on it! I asked him to repeat that and asked to talk to the store manager and he said that policy is set by the store manager.
So I left, went to my car and called Sprint corporate. They suggested I call the store manager ask for their name and their regional manager's contact info. I did and of course that changed the store manager's tune, she said the rep was new and wasn't properly trained blah blah blah.
And sold me the phone. Thankfully I didn't get crap or have any issues activating with my Sero plan.
But it really annoys me how bad the customer service in Sprint stores have become. It appears they are too concerned about profit; activating new contracts, selling additional services, and getting you to buy over priced accessories, than actually caring about existing customers that don't fit their own needs.

BamAlmighty said:
I wasn't eligible for a upgrade so I had no problem paying for retail for my SG4. Went to a Sprint store and told the rep I wanted to by the SG4, I'm not eligible for a upgrade and had no problem paying the retail price.
He straight up told me he couldn't sell me the phone, because the store would lose money on it! I asked him to repeat that and asked to talk to the store manager and he said that policy is set by the store manager.
So I left, went to my car and called Sprint corporate. They suggested I call the store manager ask for their name and their regional manager's contact info. I did and of course that changed the store manager's tune, she said the rep was new and wasn't properly trained blah blah blah.
And sold me the phone. Thankfully I didn't crap or have any issues activating with my Sero plan.
But it really annoys me how bad the customer service in Sprint stores have become. It appears they are too concerned about profit; activating new contracts, selling additional services, and getting you to buy over priced accessories, than actually caring about existing customers that don't fit their own needs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How the hell are they losing money selling a device full price at a huge markup
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda premium

I asked the store manager that and she said that while she wasn't accusing me directly, it could be shady that I was buying the phone like that and could be doing it only to return it a few days later or to try and sell it elsewhere for a profit.
The original rep's response was he couldn't make any profit on me... since he wouldn't get the same "quota" for activating a new line.

It shouldn't matter what you want to do with it. Especially if you are activating in store, your chance to make a profit drops. Plus, the Sprint version has not fallen into a shortage, and every one I've seen on craigslist is just retail cost. I'd find another store, don't give them your money
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda premium

I'm guessing that it's a commission issue driving this. Sprint makes money on contracts and selling a phone not attached to a contract probably doesn't count as a "sale" to the store.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2

It would be interesting to know if this was a true Sprint owned store or one of their subcontractors that appear to be Sprint stores.

I have had this happen to me twice, once when buying the One at one sprint location and a gs4 at another location. Sprint is in the business of selling services and they use phones to accomplish that. Most of their profit is in contract sales not phone sales. I highly doubt that sprint or any other carrier for that matter is making any money by selling a phone at regular price without selling the services attached to it. Also for those that think there is a huge mark up on phones, I really don't think there is. Now there may be a huge mark up from the OEM to the carrier(The OEM's have no other way of making money other than actual phone sales) but it can't be that much if any from the carrier to the customer. The mark up would come in the form of what you pay for monthly services, thats why they can sell a phone at a loss if you sign a two year agreement.

Best Buy sells most cell phones for 150$ more outright. $599 at sprint vs $749 at best buy. Sprint probably is at a slight lost selling it at $599. I think it's kind of like Microsoft and Sony do with their XBOX and PLAYSTATION. They sell the console at a loss but make up for it in games. For Sprint it would be the service.

This happened to my girlfriend when she went to buy the htc one outright and she wasn't up for an upgrade yet. The rep told her the exact same thing that they wouldn't "profit" off that sale which makes absolutely no sense seeing as these phones are way overpriced msrp...
It's disappointing seeing how a company treats a loyal customer (she's been with them for 5 years) like that.
T-Mobile wasn't like that at all when I was under their service. Sprint should stop "training" these reps to only make profit and start teaching them to make their customers happy which will turn into profit in the end.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2
---------- Post added at 03:59 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:56 AM ----------
grad20_09 said:
Best Buy sells most cell phones for 150$ more outright. $599 at sprint vs $749 at best buy. Sprint probably is at a slight lost selling it at $599. I think it's kind of like Microsoft and Sony do with their XBOX and PLAYSTATION. They sell the console at a loss but make up for it in games. For Sprint it would be the service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you think about it what is in these devices that make them worth $600+?
You can buy a laptop that has much more powerful hardware for that price.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2

nemesis93 said:
This happened to my girlfriend when she went to buy the htc one outright and she wasn't up for an upgrade yet. The rep told her the exact same thing that they wouldn't "profit" off that sale which makes absolutely no sense seeing as these phones are way overpriced msrp...
It's disappointing seeing how a company treats a loyal customer (she's been with them for 5 years) like that.
T-Mobile wasn't like that at all when I was under their service. Sprint should stop "training" these reps to only make profit and start teaching them to make their customers happy which will turn into profit in the end.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2
---------- Post added at 03:59 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:56 AM ----------
If you think about it what is in these devices that make them worth $600+?
You can buy a laptop that has much more powerful hardware for that price.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are paying for the size. 15.4/16inch laptops are the norm. If you go bigger you pay more. If you go smaller, you pay more. We pay for them to fit it in a smaller package, with low power consumption. In addition, this has a higher resolution than most laptops that you can buy for 750. Also has many more sensors than a laptop does.

maxnix said:
It would be interesting to know if this was a true Sprint owned store or one of their subcontractors that appear to be Sprint stores.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was a Sprint Corporate store.

i guess this is why it helps to know the managers in the stores. thats pretty unfortunate and i would just go find one in the classifieds. fortunately my buddys father in law is the general manager and i worked with the assistant manager for several years elsewhere so i dont get this kind of BS.

grad20_09 said:
Best Buy sells most cell phones for 150$ more outright. $599 at sprint vs $749 at best buy. Sprint probably is at a slight lost selling it at $599. I think it's kind of like Microsoft and Sony do with their XBOX and PLAYSTATION. They sell the console at a loss but make up for it in games. For Sprint it would be the service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While this logic is mostly true they're failing to account for the fact that not selling someone a phone outright (on their service) encourages them to look elsewhere.
Their play might not have been a "+1" on their report for sales for that day, but if it were me running the store I'd be more worried about the lost customer over the course of a year.
I had a very similar experience when buying the Nexus S 4g the day it came out. It's not a large reason but one of the reasons I left Sprint. Definitely didn't make me feel warm and fuzzy about doing business with a company.

nemesis93 said:
This happened to my girlfriend when she went to buy the htc one outright and she wasn't up for an upgrade yet. The rep told her the exact same thing that they wouldn't "profit" off that sale which makes absolutely no sense seeing as these phones are way overpriced msrp...
It's disappointing seeing how a company treats a loyal customer (she's been with them for 5 years) like that.
T-Mobile wasn't like that at all when I was under their service. Sprint should stop "training" these reps to only make profit and start teaching them to make their customers happy which will turn into profit in the end.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2
---------- Post added at 03:59 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:56 AM ----------
If you think about it what is in these devices that make them worth $600+?
You can buy a laptop that has much more powerful hardware for that price.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
snowmanwithahat said:
While this logic is mostly true they're failing to account for the fact that not selling someone a phone outright (on their service) encourages them to look elsewhere.
Their play might not have been a "+1" on their report for sales for that day, but if it were me running the store I'd be more worried about the lost customer over the course of a year.
I had a very similar experience when buying the Nexus S 4g the day it came out. It's not a large reason but one of the reasons I left Sprint. Definitely didn't make me feel warm and fuzzy about doing business with a company.
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I actually ran into the problem at a Best Buy, the one closest to my house. I called to see if they had them in stock, they had 9. I drove up there and first they can't touch my account because i have an EPRP account. Then, I tell them i want to buy it outright. I told them I wanted to price match Sprint outright price, they can't do it. Then I tell them fine i'll pay full price. They go and get their BBY Mobile manager and tell me they can't sell it to me because the phone is too new and they can't sell them outright until they have stable inventory, he said they only have like two white ones. I had just called minutes before going there and they had 9 black ones for Sprint.
I went up the road about 8 miles to another BBY, bought it there outright. They also said they can't price match "contract phones", however I don't think that's correct( They said it's a new policy) I bought my Note 2 and an IPhone 5 outright in November of last year and had them both price-matched.
I'm calling corporate to see what they say about the price-matching. Worst case scenario, I return it all. I've got thirty days. I think their price-matching policy might change when I attempt to return the 2 yr insurance policy and the phone together totaling right at a grand.
To make it even better, I'm going to attempt it at the first store who wouldn't sell it to me in the first place, so that they take the hit. I used to work at Best Buy, and that is not the way to treat a customer willing to buy a phone outright full price.

This seems to be the case with the sprint stores around my area as well. More interested in the "commission" rather than the actual customer service. I have to drive out of my way to a different sprint store further from where I live, because the ones in my area have gone to crap in terms of customer service.
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BamAlmighty said:
I wasn't eligible for a upgrade so I had no problem paying for retail for my SG4. Went to a Sprint store and told the rep I wanted to by the SG4, I'm not eligible for a upgrade and had no problem paying the retail price.
He straight up told me he couldn't sell me the phone, because the store would lose money on it! I asked him to repeat that and asked to talk to the store manager and he said that policy is set by the store manager.
So I left, went to my car and called Sprint corporate. They suggested I call the store manager ask for their name and their regional manager's contact info. I did and of course that changed the store manager's tune, she said the rep was new and wasn't properly trained blah blah blah.
And sold me the phone. Thankfully I didn't get crap or have any issues activating with my Sero plan.
But it really annoys me how bad the customer service in Sprint stores have become. It appears they are too concerned about profit; activating new contracts, selling additional services, and getting you to buy over priced accessories, than actually caring about existing customers that don't fit their own needs.
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Was the store a Corp store or third party? Some of the third party stores might say that but I have never heard of a Corp store doing it. In fact when I went in to get mine I was told it was 2 days before I was due for an upgrade, I hadn't realized it. They said to upgrade before my date it would be $100. So I bought it out right, and they did not say a thing. Did not have to renew my contract.
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I went into a corporate store this weekend hoping they would match Neweggs upgrade price (199.99) they wouldn't even consider it. Went to the Best Buy down the street and they matched it without any question.

onehitch said:
I went into a corporate store this weekend hoping they would match Neweggs upgrade price (199.99) they wouldn't even consider it. Went to the Best Buy down the street and they matched it without any question.
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Sounds like you lucked out. BB's official policy is that they do not price match "contract phones." This change in policy was done back in March. Obviously, not every store seems to be following this. Two separate local BBs correctly rejected my Newegg price match request.

Marty said:
Sounds like you lucked out. BB's official policy is that they do not price match "contract phones." This change in policy was done back in March. Obviously, not every store seems to be following this. Two separate local BBs correctly rejected my Newegg price match request.
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I actually ended up going to two different stores because the first one was out of stock, neither had a problem when I asked to match. The guy in the first store didn't know what newegg was and had to ask a manager if they matched to them.

Emailing Sprint's executive office seemed to get their attention, I missed their call, but they left a message saying they would like to talk to me about my experience.
How would any of you approach this? Is it worth asking for a credit for them jerking me around and wasting my afternoon? I am pretty much done with Sprint retail at this point. The only thing keeping me around is SERO and having useable LTE now.

Anyone else disappointed with Sprints pricing?

$250 (upgrade price), $36 activation fee...then add tax. I think it's annoying that Sprint is making us loyal customers pay the difference for new customers (as they save $100 upon signing up.)
Had to vent...

Welcome to the world of sales. It's all about acquisition.
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Sell your old phone on ebay/Craigslist or just sell it back to Sprint. If you work hard enough you can get the $36 activation fee waived.
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mjs2011 said:
Welcome to the world of sales. It's all about acquisition.
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It'd be different if other carriers did it, too. Every single other carrier has it for $200 on upgrade.

You should be able to get the activation fee waived. I have every single time.

Ascertion said:
It'd be different if other carriers did it, too. Every single other carrier has it for $200 on upgrade.
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Check out wirefly and amazon mobile. Sometimes they are around $50 less than Sprint.

I bought my S4 from Sam's Club for $190. On an added bonus...Sam's Club only charges tax on the sale amount and not the regular retail price.
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I'm way more disappointed in Sprint's cell service. The S4 is a great phone and well worth $250, I payed full price off contract for mine $599, -$263 that I got for my S3 on trade in at Best Buy. But being locked into a two year contract with Sprints pathetic network is another thing.
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GiantJay said:
I'm way more disappointed in Sprint's cell service. The S4 is a great phone and well worth $250, I payed full price off contract for mine $599, -$263 that I got for my S3 on trade in at Best Buy. But being locked into a two year contract with Sprints pathetic network is another thing.
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Hopefully the completion of their LTE rollout wins you over...

ive been a sprint customer for 12 years and the last phone i got they refused to waive my activation fee. i used to just make a simple call and request they waive it, i wasnt rude, or threatening and they flat out refused. they gave me the "we're trying to expand our network and push lte to more markets" excuse. and i bought it. i figure if my 36 bucks gets lte here faster then its worth it. that wont stop me from calling every time i get hit with an activation fee.

Ascertion said:
$250 (upgrade price), $36 activation fee...then add tax. I think it's annoying that Sprint is making us loyal customers pay the difference for new customers (as they save $100 upon signing up.)
Had to vent...
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sams club has i for 166 and they waive the activation fee the first weekend of the month so im paying aroun 175 for it lol

harmansingh said:
sams club has i for 166 and they waive the activation fee the first weekend of the month so im paying aroun 175 for it lol
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Don't you need a membership for that? I would so do that if it was possible.

I upgraded with Sprint at Costco (yes you have to have a membership).
Phone was $195, no activation fee, and it included an accessory bundle. Not the best bundle, but hey, a free TPU case, Car charger and some other items aren't bad.

I only got charged $150 for the device when activating a new line (of course plus the activation fee, all carriers charge this). However, I also got charged a $100 deposit on the line, I'm assuming because of my credit or lack thereof. So I wound up paying $250 when I got my GS4. Is this what everyone else is talking about or did they itemize the phone as costing $250? As a note, I ordered online, not in a store if that makes a difference for anyone.

Yea, it's ridulous that Sprint would charge the most among the carriers. But I bought the S4 off-contract and they offered the best price when the preorders were going on ($599.99).

optimummind said:
Yea, it's ridulous that Sprint would charge the most among the carriers. But I bought the S4 off-contract and they offered the best price when the preorders were going on ($599.99).
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Amazon also has it for $599 off contract, so I went to Best Buy and had them price match and got the phone there.
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optimummind said:
Yea, it's ridulous that Sprint would charge the most among the carriers. But I bought the S4 off-contract and they offered the best price when the preorders were going on ($599.99).
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Sprint has always been cheapest carrier in terms of nearly everything (plans, phones, etc.) But this was a surprise. I'll probably wait until a 3rd party retailer has a big sale and jump on it then.
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Can I upgrade through Costco/Sam's club online without membership?

I couldn't resist. I got it the first day I had an upgrade. With everything (taxes and upgrade) on top of the 250 bucks for the device my out of pocket was aroubd 280. It was quite disappointing and the insult was that I didnt enjoy the device at first after being a die hard HTC follower.
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GiantJay said:
Amazon also has it for $599 off contract, so I went to Best Buy and had them price match and got the phone there.
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I thought of Amazon as well but when I submitted my preorder, Amazon didn't have the Sprint S4 for sale.

optimummind said:
I thought of Amazon as well but when I submitted my preorder, Amazon didn't have the Sprint S4 for sale.
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They didn't have it in stock either when I had Best Buy price match them.
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