Home  ›  News  ›

Sprint Confirms $350 ETF Change

Article Comments  

all discussions

show all 24 replies

iPhone....

glinc

Aug 31, 2011, 9:35 AM
Well another move that gears towards announcing the iPhone for Sprint.

Also customers can cancel w/o paying ETF because they are raising their administrative charge on 9/9 also
...
acdc1a

Aug 31, 2011, 9:43 AM
Correct on the free out. I can't blame them for increasing ETF though. If you want a huge subsidy on an advanced phone you should be prepared to stay for the full two years.

Frankly I'd still like to see the US market go away from contracts.
...
bradspace

Aug 31, 2011, 11:29 AM
MUCH better idea: let me pay $600 - $1200 for my device and go where I want to. Of course this only works out when they all use the same technology.
...
Jellz

Aug 31, 2011, 12:52 PM
If people weren't so cheap with phones. People would sell their soul to save $100 on a phone, let alone over $400. So carriers will keep giving contracts and people will keep taking them...
...
Jayshmay

Aug 31, 2011, 2:39 PM
Some of the retail prices of the newer smartphones are very, very outrageous though. My smartphone, the Samsung Droid Charge retails for $569!!! That's a real lot of money!!! Why can't these things be less, like $399, $449, or $499.
$569 is way, way toooo much for a smartphone, even if it did have 32GB's of internal memory, $569 would still be too much.
...
HawkeyeOC

Aug 31, 2011, 2:57 PM
Jayshmay said:
Some of the retail prices of the newer smartphones are very, very outrageous though. My smartphone, the Samsung Droid Charge retails for $569!!! That's a real lot of money!!! Why can't these things be less, like $399, $449, or $499.
$569 is way, way toooo much for a smartphone, even if it did have 32GB's of internal memory, $569 would still be too much.


Cost breakdowns are in the $200 to $300 range just to produce I believe for smartphones. Would be nice if retail was lower, but I doubt it will be anytime soon.
...
Jayshmay

Aug 31, 2011, 3:09 PM
Well I guess one way to think of it is as time goes by smartphones have more, and more advanced features. Like for example hopefully in the not too distant future there will be mobile payment NFC, and hopefully mobile DTV. So we do get more for our money, as features advance.
...
Ashke13

Aug 31, 2011, 3:25 PM
Yes we do get more these days but seriously Americans are spoiled and think we are entitled to get things cheap and have learned that the more they complain they will eventually get something, we all want more for less. If people want the latest and greatest then they should pay for it and stop whining about the price. People forget that companies are in it to make profit and rightly so, it's just a phone people should get over it. And if someone doesn't want to pay the going price for a phone or an Early Termination Fee then get prepaid and shut up about it.
...
tuxedosun

Aug 31, 2011, 6:20 PM
Amen
...
Versed

Aug 31, 2011, 5:41 PM
Jay,
Just because retail is that high, doesn't mean VZW or whomever is paying that for the phone.
...
daxdcagain

Aug 31, 2011, 2:05 PM
You are the exception, not the rule. The average customer is not willing to pay that much for a device. The contract model works in the US.
...
furyx639

Aug 31, 2011, 2:24 PM
It'd only be worth it if they pass on the subsidy savings to the customers.

As it is now, if I pay for a phone full price, I still pay the same bill as a 2-year customer.
...
T Bone

Sep 1, 2011, 1:12 PM
The price of the rate plans is in no way determined by the price of the phone you are using.

The two have nothing to do with each other.
...
furyx639

Sep 1, 2011, 2:30 PM
What I'm saying is that the subsidy discount you get on the phone is paid back throughout the course of the two year contract. There should be a discounted plan for those without a contract who are no longer "paying back" their phone.
...
T Bone

Sep 1, 2011, 6:18 PM
Offering wireless service costs what it costs, there is no 'mark up' on the cost of rate plans to cover the subsidy of the phone. The difference is made up over time, not by marking up the cost of rate plans.

The reason the subsidy system exists is because carriers at one time had difficulty convincing people to sign up for rate plans, which used to be a lot more expensive than they are now, so they had to offer the incentive of a 'free' phone to get people to pay for the expensive rate plans.

Rate plans are a lot cheaper now, but the subsidy remains because customers by and large like it that way.

But the rate plans would cost the same they do now even if there was no subsidy.
...
despotic931

Sep 3, 2011, 4:40 PM
You're wrong about that.

The cost of the phone is subsidized over the 2 year contract. I think it takes a carrier about 16 months to recoupe the cost of the phone, but I am just going off of memory, so don't quote me.

Either way, T-Mobiles value plans are proof.
...
T Bone

Sep 3, 2011, 10:59 PM
That's why they are trying to sell off the company....

T-Mobile is proof that cheap rate plans are NOT cost effective....if they were, T-Mobile wouldn't be losing money
...
despotic931

Sep 4, 2011, 4:27 PM
Yes, they are losing money, and the "Value Plans" are a last ditch attempt at stopping some of the bleeding. Look into it. They will allow customers a discounted rate on service if they buy the phone outright or have thier own device. Why? Because they are making profit right out the door on that customer instead of having to recoupe the cost of the handset. Do some research on the subject of subsidized handsets. Seriously, if us Americans would suck it up and spend the money to actually purchase a cell phone, and move us away from the contract model, every carrier would save millions of dollars that is typically lost from customers breaking contract and not returning equipment or paying the ETF. Phones cost money, providing service costs mo...
(continues)
...
HawkeyeOC

Aug 31, 2011, 2:53 PM
bradspace said:
MUCH better idea: let me pay $600 - $1200 for my device and go where I want to. Of course this only works out when they all use the same technology.


Used to be like this way back when in the US. I remember paying about that for our first motorola flip phones. Then came all the carriers with different technology.
...
T Bone

Sep 1, 2011, 1:14 PM
And the carriers switched to the contract/subsidy model because that is the only way that they could convince people to sign up for the uber-expensive rate plans.

It is easy to forget that it wasn't really all that long ago that cellular phone was so expensive that it was a luxury for the rich. I remember when it used to be common for monthly bills to be in the $500-$600 range.
...
revel

Sep 1, 2011, 12:10 PM
yea right, Very few U.S. People would pay regular price. U.S. are ungratefull, rest of the world, pay regular price for phone. switch carriers anytime they want. main reason GSM>CDMA. people complain about contract but dont want to pay to regular price for phone. blame your self, not the company. "oh i gota have the newest phone with the most GBs" and complain paying retail every when new phone comes out.
...
Jayshmay

Aug 31, 2011, 2:26 PM
Administrative fee? What a bunch of crap is that?!!!?
...
not pickles

Aug 31, 2011, 8:15 PM
You won't be able to cancel sans ETF just because they're adding an admin fee.
...
glinc

Aug 31, 2011, 9:51 PM
I did it with my 5 lines that were in contract and you might want to read out this link

http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=3212758 »

That fee is considered a Material Change and anything that affects your current term of contract, you are allowed to opt out.
...
daxdcagain

Sep 3, 2011, 10:06 AM
You in fact CANNOT opt out. Sprint's subscriber agreements state that the administrative fee can be charged up to $1.99. They are being increased from $.99 to $1.50 which is what the customer already agreed to. No ETF waiver available.
...

This forum is closed.

Please log in to report a message to the moderator.

This forum is closed.


all discussions

Subscribe to Phone Scoop News with RSS Follow @phonescoop on Threads Follow @phonescoop on Mastodon Phone Scoop on Facebook Follow on Instagram

 

Playwire

All content Copyright 2001-2024 Phone Factor, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Content on this site may not be copied or republished without formal permission.