Bottom Line: Don't ever order cell phones on the internet, no matter how good the deal looks. How come nobody ever beleives me when I say this?

amen, i learned my lesson.

JDigital said:
Bottom Line: Don't ever order cell phones on the internet, no matter how good the deal looks. How come nobody ever beleives me when I say this?

i had a great experience when i ordered both my phones over the net 😛

on a related thread note, CINGULAR was not at fault, it appears that ALL the fault was thru the online THIRD PARTY vendor, and people would not have to go to indirect dealers if the phones would be offered at the same price thru cingular, think about it, if the third party vendor can sell them that cheap then OBVIOUSLY the phones do not cost the company that much money

Dude, you really need to think before you post. First of all, we're all happy that you had a good experience buying online. I'm sure there are others like you, but what I am saying is that there is a very high percentage of people who get screwed, so why take the chance? If you had been one of those people, you would have been kicking yourself for trying to save a buck.
Second... The phones DO cost the company a lot of money. Any retailer, direct or indirect takes a loss on the phone upfront when they sell it to you. If you buy it from the carrier directly, they are counting on the revenue they collect from you over the course of your contract to more than make up for the money they lose on the phone. Indirect retailers get paid in a ...
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JDigital said:
Dude, you really need to think before you post. First of all, we're all happy that you had a good experience buying online. I'm sure there are others like you, but what I am saying is that there is a very high percentage of people who get screwed, so why take the chance? If you had been one of those people, you would have been kicking yourself for trying to save a buck.
Second... The phones DO cost the company a lot of money. Any retailer, direct or indirect takes a loss on the phone upfront when they sell it to you. If you buy it from the carrier directly, they are counting on the revenue they collect from you over the course of your contract to more than make up for the money they lose on the phone.

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But...GSM isn't old in America.

You can guarantee? Are you actually listening to what I say? This is what I DO... I'm not offering an opinion here, I'm stating facts for you.

Hey dude.... we do pay that much for a phone. The V3, as example, costs us $542 and sells for $599.99 with no commitment. The LG 1300 which sells for $149.99 costs us $148. We get an email every month updating how much it will cost us per phone. There are no bulk order discounts.

So what he said wasn't a theory, it's fact. That's the way it is.

temp said:

your theory on actual phone cost is BS and here is why

GSM is old technology, therfore the cost of MFG GSM equipment is low

large companies buy in bulk, bulk drops cost of product

once again, i can guarantee that phone companies do not pay oh say $335 for a $400 phone

*ahem* Are you even considering the fact that the phones nowadays don't have just GSM phones in them. You are also paying for GPRS (EDGE or even UMTS) technology, bluetooth/infrared wireless technology, cameras, color screens, video capturing, speakerphone, instant messaging, etc? Alot of technology is packed into the little space of a wireless phone. It costs money to squeeze all of that into a phone and have it w...
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You couldn't find someone that spoke english at Cingular or the retailer? If you were calling Cingular, all our center are in the US...

And yeah, you'd be better off dealing w/ Cingular direct.

Actually, out of the 7 people I dealt with that day. The ONLY one who was co-operative and spoke english was the one in the call centered that verified my info. So good job there...

And as for being Cingulars fault, no not REALLY, but the people in the store were super unskilled in anything cellphone related (ironic since thats your JOB).

technically... it's their job to sell the phone... 😉

No doubt Speck...it is their job to sell the phone: from within the store. RHPF, the reason they acted that they had no clue to what was going on with your order with that it was in fact an outside channel. The fact you hopped over the company/retail channel just to deal elsewhere externally is enough to make any rep not want to help you

I obviously was not clear.
First, the lady (cingular rep) said if I didnt port my number then it was impossible to switch it later.
She also said there was a fee for canceling a #, I said it was for porting the number to a new one, but regardless ok.
Also the manager kept trying to offer me the phone for 150-50 (mail in) which is the standard price. BUT he kept doing it in a way as to imply a hook up, he asked like "well what are they getting it to you for" and then i said and he goes oh well... did u see our price. I said yes, and he pulls out a piece of paper and writes down 150-50=100 on it and goes here is what I can do. Right buddy, I can read the sign, to act like I am stupid.

They were far from completely innocent.