Verizon Early Upgrade

[Deleted]

About an hour ago I dropped my phone in the break room and the screen shattered. I drop my phone pretty much daily and it's finally broken.

I want a new Samsung Galaxy III. My upgrade isn't until April 2013.

Does anyone have any experience getting an early upgrade through Verizon?

[countthestars]

My husband was told that he could early upgrade on anything except an iphone, but he was only 2 months out. I'm not sure how far in advance you can do it.

[panicked]

My upgrade is on the 30th of this month. I called to see if I could get it early and they (in no uncertain terms) said "hell no."

[Deleted]

I did some googling before I asked and it seems like you can get one up to 6 months in advance. But it depends on the representative you talk too and/or the store.

Panicked, I'd call back and speak with someone else. I do know that you can get an upgrade within 30 days of your upgrade date. That's ridiculous that you wouldn't be able to get one a mere 2.5 weeks early.

[Deleted]

Have you looked into buying a used unlocked one on ebay? Might not be cheap, but might be cheaper than brand new without an upgrade discount...

You have phone insurance though, right?

[Deleted]

Yes, I have insurance. I'm debating between paying $50 for a new, same phone now and getting my upgrade in April. Or paying the $150-200 now for a new phone. I really want a SG3 so I'm heavily leaning towards that.

Or going super cheap and using my old blackberry. :/ Or similarly old phone from a friend/relative. I wouldn't buy one of ebay, I'd rather get one from a friend or just buy a new phone all together.

Decisions, decisions.

[Deleted]

If I were in your shoes, I'd do new same phone now for $50 and get the fancy fun new phone in April. It isn't that far away!

[Deleted]

Nov 13, 2012 17:40:10 GMT -5 v said:

If I were in your shoes, I'd do new same phone now for $50 and get the fancy fun new phone in April. It isn't that far away!

But then I'm paying an extra $50. That doesn't seem very MM.

What's the purpose of waiting until April if it's not going to save me any money?

If it does save me money, then yes, that's a better choice.

[Deleted]

Wouldn't it save you money over buying the Galaxy now? And isn't paying $50 now and getting the discounted phone later one of the options you presented? (" I'm debating between paying $50 for a new, same phone now and getting my upgrade in April. Or paying the $150-200 now for a new phone. I really want a SG3 so I'm heavily leaning towards that.") I guess I maybe don't understand what you're asking if paying $50 now and getting the upgrade to the Galaxy in April isn't an option.

Paying $50 for a new old phone now and waiting until April would save you a ton of money over upgrading to the Samsung Galaxy now.

Also, and maybe this is flameworthy in Bliss posts, but not every decision in life should come down to what is the cheapest option. I wouldn't waste money on a Galaxy now if you can get it much cheaper in April, but if you really want a Galaxy, I vote that you get the $50 phone now, save up now, and get the phone you actually want when it becomes MMer in April (rather than paying $150-$200 now for a brand new phone you're meh on).

[Deleted]

Sorry, I don't think I explained it correctly.

My upgrade is in April, I'm going to see if I can get the Galaxy for the $150-200 upgrade price now instead of paying the same upgrade price $150-200 in April.

If I can't get the upgrade price now, I'll likely just use an old phone until I get closer to my upgrade. And not spend the $50 to get a replacement phone. Spending the $50 now would just get me the same phone that I have now, that doesn't seem worth $50 when I plan to spend another $150-200 in less than 6 months.

Does that make more sense?

[diamondsnpearls22]

I got a upgrade 8 months before i should have, but i had a blackberry and they pretty much felt bad for me and gave me the upgrade. I did go to the store first and they told me no but to call Verizon. The customer service is hit or miss but i got a really nice guy and he said since i have paid my bill on time all the time and had good credit they would allow for the upgrade. I was very surprised! So i would suggest to just call Verizon.

[Deleted]

I would get the replacement phone. You can easily turn around and sell it in April for at least $50, if not more. My H just sold his 2 year-old droid for $40 on ebay.

I have upgraded 6 months before my contract date, but Verizon always offered me the upgrade. Usually they send me a flyer in the mail with the offer. Once I tried to upgrade early and they wouldn't let me. They also kept a record of our conversation in their computer system and called me out when I went to another store asking to upgrade early

[brit1017]

Nov 13, 2012 17:44:08 GMT -5 blissanity said:

Nov 13, 2012 17:40:10 GMT -5 v said:

If I were in your shoes, I'd do new same phone now for $50 and get the fancy fun new phone in April. It isn't that far away!

But then I'm paying an extra $50. That doesn't seem very MM.

What's the purpose of waiting until April if it's not going to save me any money?

If it does save me money, then yes, that's a better choice.

It's not very MM to pay for insurance on a phone if you aren't going to pay the $50 to replace the phone. At the very least, I would cancel the insurance no matter what option you choose.

[Deleted]

Nov 13, 2012 20:49:11 GMT -5 brit1017 said:

Nov 13, 2012 17:44:08 GMT -5 blissanity said:

But then I'm paying an extra $50. That doesn't seem very MM.

What's the purpose of waiting until April if it's not going to save me any money?

If it does save me money, then yes, that's a better choice.

It's not very MM to pay for insurance on a phone if you aren't going to pay the $50 to replace the phone. At the very least, I would cancel the insurance no matter what option you choose.

There's no way I'd ever cancel my insurance. Whose to say that the old phone I might use gets stolen or that one gets broken. Then I'm really SOL.

If I wasn't this close to my upgrade I'd pay the $50. But because I'm so close to it, I think it's worth exploring the option.

[Deleted]

Nov 13, 2012 21:01:44 GMT -5 blissanity said:

There's no way I'd ever cancel my insurance. Whose to say that the old phone I might use gets stolen or that one gets broken. Then I'm really SOL.

If I wasn't this close to my upgrade I'd pay the $50. But because I'm so close to it, I think it's worth exploring the option.

You know that makes no sense, right? The old phone would not be worth $50 + your premiums. If you were in that situation, you could buy another old phone for less than $50 on Ebay (or get another one from another friend, or use your Blackberry instead) to use until you're eligible for your upgrade. (And does your insurance even cover loss rather than theft? Many don't).

Cell phone insurance tends to be a sucker deal particularly if your phone isn't expensive to replace. AND PARTICULARLY IF YOU WON'T EVEN USE IT.

You can't complain about the $50 deductible not being MM if you are wasting your money on the insurance premiums each month. You just can't.

[Deleted]

Wait, wait, what? When did I complain about spending the $50 deductible? I'm not complaining about spending the money.

I'm asking whether anyone has had experience with upgrading early because that's the route that I'd prefer to take. I'm not asking whether or not to just use my deductible. I'm aware that's an option.

And like I said in the post you quoted..."If I wasn't this close to my upgrade I'd pay the $50. But because I'm so close to it, I think it's worth exploring the option." For example had this happened in July I would have paid the $50 this afternoon and already order my replacement phone.

[Deleted]

FWIW, you may want to check how much of a discount you will get even if they do allow you to upgrade early. I got my iPhone in February because my old phone died and I didn't have insurance. I upgraded 6 months early and got the promotional rate for the phone. If I had waited until my regular upgrade time, I would have gotten the promotional rate plus the $100 for new-every-two (or whatever they are calling it now).

[hereonceagain]

Did you log into your account and proceed like you are going to buy it? For some reason I often have no charge for upgrades when I log in to check, prior to my true upgrade date. I'd check online before calling.