Call me old school but if I can't get a subsidy on my phone I won't go with you. I don't need a new phone once a year and I refuse to pay $700+ for a new phone. I'll stick with my everything data and take my contract. $180 for 3 phones is fine with me. Still take advantage of good phone deals from best buy or target. Do new customers still have the option of contracts, or are they following T-Mobile to the labs of no contracts? I say give people a choice.
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$180 for 3 phones is fine? With who? I think I'd like to be a wireless carrier for you.
We've gone to buying the prior generation flagship when we upgrade. $250 and done. No contract, nothing preventing me from jumping ship.
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Financing is the way to go over subsidy, at least for the company I work for. Sure you would pay the full $660 for the S5 over 2 years, but you don't have to pay the $200 in store for it, waived activation fee, and with the $30/month financing discount on the plan you end up paying $960 less for the subsidy cost, activation fee, and plan. Minus the $660 for the phone and it's $300 savings over the 2 years.
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What company are you with? Sprint, Verizon, and ATT do not offer $30/month financing discount on the plan.
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US Cellular. If you are on the 10 GB or higher plan the connection charges are typically $40 each but if you finance or have your own phone you get a $30 discount on the connection charge. That's how they are advertising the 4 lines 10 GB shared $140 per month. $100 for the base plan, $10 each phone, then it's + the financing cost of devices.
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I totally agree with this. What ever happened to just paying for a subsidized phone and signing a two year contract? I feel like no one does that anymore. I'd rather pay up front and have my monthly bill lower each month than paying $15-20 per phone per month!
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Simple solution, stop buying things you can't afford (without subsidies that is) and save $20+ monthly.
Prior year's flagships run $250 refurbished, even less used. If you don't need a flagship, there are insanely good phones at $200 or less. Stop feeding the subsidy model, it's why phones cost as much as they do.
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Simple solution, stop buying things you can't afford
I'll admit that I'm not exactly an expert in the history of business, but I think that it is probably a good bet that no company ever made much success from telling people not to buy their product.
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Fortunately I'm far removed from this industry. I can only see things as a consumer. Anyone who thinks subsidies are positive doesn't look at the big picture.
On a side note, there's going to be some great opportunity in the industry to make some real money before this price war drives profits and thus employee compensation off a cliff.
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