Buying a new cell phone

[pantsparty]

I have been with T-M.obile for years and I've had my current phone 2 or 3 years now. It's starting to get very slow and I'd like something with a better camera. I have an Android (HTC) and no desire for an iPhone.

However, you can't buy a phone outright with T-Mo.bile anymore! You have to pay a down-payment and then payments are added to your contract for the next 2 years. Lolololololol forever at financing a fucking cell phone!

Are there some other options for buying a cell phone I'm not aware of? How are the kids getting new phones these days?

[mrsukyankee]

Couldn't you buy a phone online and then buy a Verizon sim card for it? You can buy my phone, the HTC one m8 at Amazon. (I love this phone)

[pantsparty]

Mar 4, 2015 11:13:25 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

Couldn't you buy a phone online and then buy a Verizon sim card for it? You can buy my phone, the HTC one m8 at Amazon. (I love this phone)

Oh, you can just buy phones on Amazon? I hadn't even considered looking there. LOL.

[wonderfezz]

ATT is doing the same thing now- although I think there's possibly still an option to buy outright. We just went to get new phones and ended up adding $30 a month (for two phones) on to our bill. I have no idea what the other companies are doing. But I'm assuming that's the new thing for now. I have no idea what the younger crowd is doing.

[pantsparty]

Now I just Googled "how to buy cell phones not from tm.obile"

I have a good feeling about this.

[wonderfezz]

Solid move.

[justemily]

Coworker just bought the Nexus 6 directly from Google and it will work on any network (it's dual antennae) - it's pretty sweet!

www.google.com/nexus/6/

[picaflora]

I'd check with Best Buy & see if you can get around it. They also have a better warranty plan than what the phone companies offer, and generally are less pushy.

[heartmama]

Mar 4, 2015 11:10:06 GMT -5 superduper said:

I posted something similar the other day and no one answered me

Sprint is now the same way, so I'm more than likely to jump ship. I checked Verizon and they do let you buy a phone for a discounted price if you sign a 2 year agreement. I priced out a Note 4 for my husband and it would be $300.

I hope someone else has better ideas, I'm so frustrated with Spring right now.

I just bought 2 sprint phones outright in the last 6 months.  I think the default online is the stupid financing thing, but I bought them at target when they had a sale and the target mobile people did all the activation etc. just like if I had bought it directly from sprint.

[kaybee85]

Buy directly from the maker or on Amazon. H and I bought our Nexus 4 from the Google store when they were on sale for $250. T-M.obile was claiming they cost 500. (Even not on sale the Google store had them for 350)

[glitzy07]

We have T-Mobile and just bought a new phone for H last weekend. When paying, they asked if we were going to add it to the bill or pay outright. We paid outright, so it has to be an option!

[Alyssa]

Verizon also has some sort of new monthly payment plan called 'Verizon Edge'. We were about to go in for an upgrade and were thrown for a loop with billing set-up.

[starlily]

Huh. T-mobile and Sprint both gave us the option to either buy our phones outright or to have a monthly no-interest payment added.

[kwx2]

I bought mine at Best Buy as well. But we have Verizon, and got our unlimited data taken away when we upgraded our phones. But I bought it outright, no payments on the phone itself. it seems so archaic to have to finance i t, like it is 1992 all over again! lol

[pantsparty]

Mar 4, 2015 12:53:27 GMT -5 starlily said:

Huh. T-mobile and Sprint both gave us the option to either buy our phones outright or to have a monthly no-interest payment added.

Maybe I need to actually go into a store...talk to people. UGH! 

[pagas]

What I don't understand is how tablets are less than $100, laptops are less than $300 and phones are all $500 and up. It feels like such a scam.

[sequins]

Mar 4, 2015 11:07:33 GMT -5 pantsparty said:

I have been with T-M.obile for years and I've had my current phone 2 or 3 years now. It's starting to get very slow and I'd like something with a better camera. I have an Android (HTC) and no desire for an iPhone.

However, you can't buy a phone outright with T-Mo.bile anymore! You have to pay a down-payment and then payments are added to your contract for the next 2 years. Lolololololol forever at financing a fucking cell phone!

Are there some other options for buying a cell phone I'm not aware of? How are the kids getting new phones these days?

Buy an unlocked phone on amazon and get a t mobile micro sim to go with it with your existing plan. That's what I have now.

[pantsparty]

Mar 4, 2015 13:41:07 GMT -5 pagas said:

What I don't understand is how tablets are less than $100, laptops are less than $300 and phones are all $500 and up. It feels like such a scam.

YES. THIS MAKES ME RAGEY.

[Alyssa]

I still think that buying a cell phone should be like buying a normal phone. You go to the cell phone aisle at Best Buy, find your phone and then sign up with whatever company you want for service. I hate all this contract shit and being stuck with your phone until your renewal date. We have to wait until March 28th to update our phone, not now, not the 27th....the 28th. LAME.

[pagas]

Mar 4, 2015 13:49:15 GMT -5 Alyssa said:

I still think that buying a cell phone should be like buying a normal phone. You go to the cell phone aisle at Best Buy, find your phone and then sign up with whatever company you want for service. I hate all this contract shit and being stuck with your phone until your renewal date. We have to wait until March 28th to update our phone, not now, not the 27th....the 28th. LAME.

So much this.  And why am I on the hook for an entire month if I port my number the day after the contract is up?  We are currently prepping for DH to switch carriers and it is such a balancing act.

Our plan is to go to Costco and see what the best deal is there.  I have faith in Costco figuring that shit out for us.