Is it just me, or are wireless carriers boning customers on new phone prices?

[Kchrpm]

Sure, you have no option of a financed phone, but in the end that doesn't save you money.

That really is the catch. When I told people I paid $30/month for my plan they were all excited/jealous. When I told them I paid about $500 upfront for my phone, they were immediately turned off. People are just accustomed to the subsidized phone prices now, they would rather make the monthly payments than deal with that one big hit, even if it costs them money in the long run. That reflects a lot of American consumerism, though. Like I said, I'm planning on buying my next phone with one of Best Buy's 0% financing for a year or two promotions, nearly the same thing.

[Alan P]

Someone in a position similar to myself can't afford £500 as an upfront payment but I can afford £40 a month. Many people don't do the sums when presented with $40 a month over two years as, hell, it's just $40! Then you tell them that's $960 over two years and they're a little shocked, but it's still only $40 a month and they can manage that.

[thesameguy]

That's true, but do note all of these plans are interest-free. Your $800 phone is $800 whether you pay for it all at once or over 24 equal payments. It doesn't cost more over time. (In fact, technically you're making money since it's interest free.)

What went missing with American plans is the phone subsidy. We used to pay $400 (or whatever) and agree to a contract and they'd cover the difference. Now we don't have that contract, and now they charge us full price.

They also raised the floor a little. In the early days you could get a subsidized phone and a voice-only plan for say $25 and know you only use wifi on your phone. Then they mandated all subsidized phones have an associated data plan, making your minimum $40/mo. Now they have broken up service and device charges, and your floor is $65/mo.

You do get more for each price increase - from voice with data/text/tethering extra to voice/data with text/tethering extra to voice/text/data/tethering - but the minimum is still more than it used to be. You're also not subject to early service termination fees which isn't a bad deal.

The prepaid plans do lower your floor with essentially no penalty in anything assuming you can pay cash for your phone. There is no interest-free financing on prepaid phones. Like Kchrpm said - the lower monthly cost seems really attractive to people until they find that out. Then they're not so mad at interest-free financing.

[drew]

They've been doing that "only $xxx a month!" shit with cars for years. You never see what the actual sticker price is on the car itself, because nobody (apparently) gives a shit about that, just what it is a month.

I bought my Note II outright in 2013, with no upgrade discount (it hurt a bit). While I would really love a new/updated phone, I can't justify the upfront cost of one. Nor am I willing to do the "monthly" thing, because you'd end up paying $200 more for it in the end.

[thesameguy]

Except for that's not how it works at all.

I'm done repeating myself.

[drew]

Sorry, I was off-the-cuff. I believe Sprint's is a no-interest thing (I would certainly hope most/all are), but not all car "deals" are interest-free, that I've seen.

Probably moreso with the buy here/pay here places than licensed dealerships.

sorry if I irked anyone, I haven't had any coffee for three fucking weeks....

[21Kid]

The prepaid plans do lower your floor with essentially no penalty in anything assuming you can pay cash for your phone. There is no interest-free financing on prepaid phones. Like Kchrpm said - the lower monthly cost seems really attractive to people until they find that out. Then they're not so mad at interest-free financing.

Google does.

Payment options
Storage - Pay in full - Pay over 24 months
32GB - $399 - $16.62/mo
64GB - $449 - $18.70/mo
128GB - $549 - $22.87/mo

And they refund your unused data. They just have Zero selection. You get a Nexus phone, 5 or 6. My wife got the 6P though and it's a great phone.

I love the rebate programs. I've been averaging $55/mo for me and my daughter on Republic. And my wife has been averaging $35 on Project Fi.
Plus, I love wifi calling. I never drop calls or have bad sound quality. And because of wifi, I can use it a lot of places you normally couldn't, like the gym in the basement of my office building. I don't have to rely on the cell providers signal strength. That was a big problem for us when we lived in Wisconsin.

[drew]

What the fuck is a gym?

[21Kid]

[thesameguy]

Yeah, I don't get it.