why so much contract hate?

[strikeout]

So my contract is up. I am currently with Sprint. I was looking forward to getting an LTE phone, since I lost my old S2 and I am currently using my older S1. Looks like they are doing the dumb Tmobil thing where there are no more contracts and you pay the phone up front or installments.

A top tier phone used to cost 199.99 on contract + 80.00 service. on a 2 year cycle that would be 2120 + taxes and fees. Now they want to pay upfront or installments on a new phone (600+) +75/month for service. That comes out to 2400.00(+ taxes& fees) in a 2 year cycle! The 5.00 discount is only 120 bucks total.

Why are trying to lease/trade in things every 6mo/1yr like cars and take a huge hit. Am I the only one who keeps their phone until its totally broken? Two years it not bad of a waiting period unless your the clumsy type who breaks a phone every month. You still have to pay somebody for service, might as well be sprint because of my discount. It seems like carriers don't want to eat the cost of the subsidized phone, but still want to charge you a premium for service because they know you have no where to go. Leave sprint, pay 90 bucks for att, leave att pay 100 for verizon. They only way I would pay full price for phone would be if they charged like 40 bucks for service. Then I know they aren't double dipping on phone purchase and service. AIO wireless is looking real good right now.

 

[Trimlock]

I'm not sure what the question is?

 

[Blue Fox]

Contracts are bad because if you don't want to receive a new subsidized device every 24 months, you still have to pay for it. You also effectively pay considerably more if you don't get the top of the line subsidized device.

 

[strikeout]

I'm not sure what the question is?

Why do people hate contracts so much when its clearly a better deal, as long as you can hold on for 2 years?

 

[strikeout]

Contracts are bad because if you don't want to receive a new subsidized device every 24 months, you still have to pay for it. You also effectively pay considerably more if you don't get the top of the line subsidized device.

The non top teir phones are 99.99 or free in some cases. Most people upgrade their phones every 24 months not because they want to, but because they have to. The phone gets really slow, OS gets outdated and doesn't receive updates, battery doesn't charge on a fixed battery phone, screen broken etc.

You are still saving 300+ on a midgrade phone every 24 months. I think thats better than the 120.00 savings you get from the non contract service plan.

 

[Deleted whining member 223597]

Depends on the plan...

 

[Blue Fox]

Even if the device is "free", if it's worth more then $200 less than the top of the line device, effectively you're paying more for it. I think it's also a bunch of crap that you have to upgrade every 24 months. Can bring up arguments for every one of your points. Sprint is just shafting you on cost.

 

[strikeout]

Depends on the plan...

Please show me a plan that is cheaper over 2 years buying the phone outright. Like I said my contract is up and I'm looking for. If you have a grandfathered unlimited plan from verizon or att, then I envy you and I would have bought a nexus 5 on launch day.

 

[Deleted whining member 223597]

Please show me a plan that is cheaper over 2 years buying the phone outright. Like I said my contract is up and I'm looking for. If you have a grandfathered unlimited plan from verizon or att, then I envy you and I would have bought a nexus 5 on launch day.

Generally it isn't worth it if you need unlimited everything, since that will generally come out to the same as a contract, and if you need multiple lines a contract will be better. But for me I don't need a lot of minutes, so the T-Mobile $30 plan (5gb LTE, 100 mins, unlimited SMS) is perfect and will save me money. It all depends, you can still do a regular contract on Sprint btw.

 

[strikeout]

Even if the device is "free", if it's worth more then $200 less than the top of the line device, effectively you're paying more for it. I think it's also a bunch of crap that you have to upgrade every 24 months. Can bring up arguments for every one of your points. Sprint is just shafting you on cost.

well carriers aren't really offering huge deals to stick with them off contract. As far as 24 month cycle, its pretty good for electronics. GPU's, CPU's etc. Besides who keeps their original android or Iphone.

 

[strikeout]

Generally it isn't worth it if you need unlimited everything, since that will generally come out to the same as a contract, and if you need multiple lines a contract will be better. But for me I don't need a lot of minutes, so the T-Mobile $30 plan (5gb LTE, 100 mins, unlimited SMS) is perfect and will save me money. It all depends, you can still do a regular contract on Sprint btw.

The sales rep at the sprint store said I couldn't get a subsidized phone when renewing my contract. I can keep my contract but I have to pay for a new phone in installments or outright. I am really after a newish LTE(s4,g2,m7) phone for 200 bucks and maintaining my service price point.

 

[Trimlock]

Ok I know what you are talking about now.

The new "non contracts" are still the same thing as old ones, the biggest difference is you aren't held to them anymore if you BYOD. No you aren't saving anymore money if you buy your device with these new ones but you are given freedom.

The tactic that some use and is still available is the AT&T and tmo prepaid options on the cheap. There are also MVNOs that will still save you money.

So you just have to realise the contracts never went away, for the new freedom we get there was a small fee applied. If you buy mid range, buy used or trade up you aren't losing money.

 

[Blue Fox]

well carriers aren't really offering huge deals to stick with them off contract. As far as 24 month cycle, its pretty good for electronics. GPU's, CPU's etc. Besides who keeps their original android or Iphone.

Plenty of carriers do. You should do the math on the cost of using say T-Mobile. 24 months terrible for electronics. Will you be throwing out your TV 24 months after you bought it? How about that new PS4? Microwave? The CPU in my desktop at home for example (i7 920) is hardly less capable than a current one and it's more than 5 years old. As for the original iPhone, that's going on 7 years and is a bit dated. Carriers just want you to keep you on a leash by providing a new device every 24 months. They're the ones that decided that was the "right" time period, so that should just about automatically discredit any notion that a phone has a lifetime of 2 years.

 

[strikeout]

Ok I know what you are talking about now.

The new "non contracts" are still the same thing as old ones, the biggest difference is you aren't held to them anymore if you BYOD. No you aren't saving anymore money if you buy your device with these new ones but you are given freedom.

The tactic that some use and is still available is the AT&T and tmo prepaid options on the cheap. There are also MVNOs that will still save you money.

So you just have to realise the contracts never went away, for the new freedom we get there was a small fee applied. If you buy mid range, buy used or trade up you aren't losing money.

Yea I'm looking hard at AIO wireless. I have a 23% corporate discount on sprint so I have close to MVNO upper tier pricing on my service. However, if I get the bottom tier 35 with prepay and 250 galaxy express, I save about 600 bucks in 2 years and still have a better phone. I hear ATT is better in my area too.

 

[munkle]

My family plan is legit. Its 130 a month for 4 lines after fees/taxes. Pricing out the big 4 I think tmoblie/att had a plan roughly the same price. Here's the problem though. With their plans I have to buy my device full price, with the current family plan, we get subsidized phones. So the other plans end up costing more. What's even better is my family doesn't use the upgrades so I get a new phone every year at a cheap price for the same price it would be for these new "better" plans that don't have device discounts. We wouldn't switch carriers anyways as verizon is the only carrier that gets service at our house.

 

[strikeout]

My family plan is legit. Its 130 a month for 4 lines after fees/taxes. Pricing out the big 4 I think tmoblie/att had a plan roughly the same price. Here's the problem though. With their plans I have to buy my device full price, with the current family plan, we get subsidized phones. So the other plans end up costing more. What's even better is my family doesn't use the upgrades so I get a new phone every year at a cheap price for the same price it would be for these new "better" plans that don't have device discounts. We wouldn't switch carriers anyways as verizon is the only carrier that gets service at our house.

Verizon is the only service that works inside my building's breakroom. I would jump to verizon but my wife streams dramas all day long. 10gbs is nothing for her.

EDIT: scratch my previous comment, sprint still offers subsidized phones online. I Just picked up a galaxy S5 for 250-50MIR and I get to keep my service plan rates. I'm juiced!

 

[Vengance_01]

Me and the Wife use T-mobile. We each get 2GB of data (LTE) 1000 mins to share which we never use and unlimited texts for 70$ after taxes etc... I bought both of our phones up front almost 2 years ago. SG3 and HTC One-S. We will use these phones for another year and then I will be looking for the best next version of the moto-X or Nexus 5. I am not paying 500-600$ for a phone anymore. Screw that.

 

[Trimlock]

I feel you on buying high end phones, I'm looking at best pricing now.

With that said I sure do love my subsidized note 3, which was only subsidized for 3 months!

 

[limitedaccess]

Part of it is also more of a hypothetical in that the contact/subsidy based market creates (or at least promotes) a system that is overall less competitive both in terms of the service and hardware sides.

Of course this is somewhat theoretical (outside of comparing against markets that are different) but I feel (and others as well) that not allowing subsidies would make the service providers more competitive against each other and the hardware makers more competitive against each other, which is overall beneficial for consumers as a group (albeit not necessarily every individual consumer).

 

[Romale23]

I pay full price for a phone only unlocked from manufactuter just so I don't have all the carrier bullshit on it and if I'm unhappy I can just change my service at will

 

[teh_chem]

So my contract is up. I am currently with Sprint. I was looking forward to getting an LTE phone, since I lost my old S2 and I am currently using my older S1. Looks like they are doing the dumb Tmobil thing where there are no more contracts and you pay the phone up front or installments.

A top tier phone used to cost 199.99 on contract + 80.00 service. on a 2 year cycle that would be 2120 + taxes and fees. Now they want to pay upfront or installments on a new phone (600+) +75/month for service. That comes out to 2400.00(+ taxes& fees) in a 2 year cycle! The 5.00 discount is only 120 bucks total.

Why are trying to lease/trade in things every 6mo/1yr like cars and take a huge hit. Am I the only one who keeps their phone until its totally broken? Two years it not bad of a waiting period unless your the clumsy type who breaks a phone every month. You still have to pay somebody for service, might as well be sprint because of my discount. It seems like carriers don't want to eat the cost of the subsidized phone, but still want to charge you a premium for service because they know you have no where to go. Leave sprint, pay 90 bucks for att, leave att pay 100 for verizon. They only way I would pay full price for phone would be if they charged like 40 bucks for service. Then I know they aren't double dipping on phone purchase and service. AIO wireless is looking real good right now.

If you're with Sprint, aren't a super-heavy user, and will buy your phone full-price anyway, you should port your number to Ting. They're a Sprint MVNO, get full-access to the Sprint network with voice roaming on T-mobile, and you pay for what you use. If you have huge data usage, it's probably not for you. My wife and I aren't heavy users, probably 200-500min, 200-500 texts, and ~1GB of data, and we only pay $45 for both of our lines for that usage (out the door).

What I've always hated about the contracts and 'subsidized device' model is if you bought your phone full-price, didn't get it under a 2-year contract, you STILL paid the same monthy fees as people who got subsidized devices.

Personally, I'm fine buying my phone full-retail price. But I got very sick of paying exorbitant monthly subscription fees. I want the device to be mine, and I want to pay for what I use. Not some cost-buried pricing scheme over 1-2 years with virtually no justification of cost, and all-you-can-eat for everyone, regardless of how much you actually use.

 

[YeuEmMaiMai]

Why do people hate contracts so much when its clearly a better deal, as long as you can hold on for 2 years?

no it's not

T-Mobile used to charge $60 a month for unlimited talk + text and then an additional $20 for 5 GB internet

Their simple plan was $20 less
so lets so some basic math here

HTC HD2 was $200 on contract and $400 outright (after $50 gift card) when I got it so that means that with their plan I would have to pay a total of $2020.

buying it outright resulted in a savings of $180 as my cost including the phone was $1840

 

[gimp]

Why do people hate contracts so much when its clearly a better deal, as long as you can hold on for 2 years?

Not necessarily.

I'm paying, what, about $80/mo (or $960/yr) to AT&T for the cheapest minute plan (450 I think?), the 2 or 3gb data plan, and unlimited txts.

I could switch to StraightTalk's "unlimited" talk/txt/data for $495/yr (or $41.25/mo).

That's a savings of about $465/yr, or $960 over the course of 2 years.
Even if I bought a brand new unlocked Galaxy S 5, which is around $600-$700, I would still be saving ~$200-$300 over the course of 2 years and still getting the same service since StraightTalk would use AT&Ts towers.

So please explain how subsidizing through the carrier is "clearly" a better deal?

Edit: No, wait. I would still have to pay AT&T $200 up-front for the new S 5, plus the 2-year commitment. So that means the 2-year savings is more like $400-$500.

 

[radeon962]

Depends on the plan...

Exactly. If you are on the AT&T Mobile Share Value plan the new rates are significantly less than previously.

If you are an individual user things get a little less clear.

Go with who has the best coverage in your area and then look at the plans after that.

 

[rudy]

Go with who has the best coverage in your area and then look at the plans after that.

Maybe if you say go with the best coverage then tons go with Verizon. Its not about coverage anymore since most of the big carriers have acceptable coverage almost country wide with specifc markets or even city blocks being exceptions. Remember most of the towers in any given area are loaded with panels from all of the big 4. The question is who has acceptable coverage in your area, most specifically in your home and work.

To the OP:

Comparing a companies plan that has been soaking people on contract for years to their own competing plan is not really a good way to look at things. Do you think any company is going to just throw a great deal at everyone? And convince everyone to jump off their lucrative contracts? The only reason these non contract plans are showing up is because the smaller MVNOs are attracting people to the lower priced buy your device plans. So the big carriers have to offer something and most are going to offer something that's not that great to start and see if it stops people from walking away. Now days almost everyone has a smart phone and they are becoming more savvy with them. And many are starting to ask do I really need that huge bill every month.

 

[MrCrispy]

A lot of people on online forums are serial upgraders, they buy/sell phones every 6 months or so, they always need to have the latest.

Going with a contract makes total sense for a lot of people, you save money and you get better service since its prioritized higher than prepaid phones on the same network. You can almost always find great deals for any new flagship from the carriers, Amazon etc. e.g. BOGO on the S5/M8.

The monthly installment plans like Jump etc are for suckers who have to do early upgrades and don't mind the cost.

 

[Cerulean]

What I think is pretty retarded is that even if you pay full price of phone, it won't actually save you any money and you will still pay the same monthly fee as everyone else with the same plan whether or not it is a contracted plan.

 

[rudy]

What I think is pretty retarded is that even if you pay full price of phone, it won't actually save you any money and you will still pay the same monthly fee as everyone else with the same plan whether or not it is a contracted plan.

That is what is changing here. The question is how much is it changing and is it really worth it.

 

[MrCrispy]

That is what is changing here. The question is how much is it changing and is it really worth it.

But its not changing unless you go prepaid. For postpaid the monthly plan cost is the same. Unlike carriers outside the US where monthly service is much cheaper because it doesn't include cost of subsidized phones.

 

[Thuleman]

I too get only unlocked phones, but for a different reason. I go to Korea once a year for a couple of months and I want to (easily) use my phone over there.

I go to Europe frequently and had a good experience with getting my AT&T phone unlocked to use a local SIM card. The account has to be in good standing and the phone as to be 60 or 90 days old, but it was simple to have it unlocked.

An added benefit is that the AT&T SIM actually works in Europe for voice and data (if you pay the $30 for an international data plan for that month). That way there's no monkeying around with SIM cards when you step off the plane, email/voicemail just works.

I like the 2-year contracts. My current Lumia 900 was free with contract due to launch fiasco and if I were to get a new S5 it would also be free with 2-year contract ($99 promo price, $100 employer based rebate).

 

[Spidey329]

Why do people hate contracts so much when its clearly a better deal, as long as you can hold on for 2 years?

What plan are you looking at? My TMo pay as you go plan is $40/mo, a comparable contract plan with AT&T or Verizon is $80/mo.

Assuming the plan is $45/mo and I buy a $700 phone. The cost over 24 months is $1780. A subsidized plan on AT&T for the same phone comes to $2120 ($80/mo, plus $200 for phone).

Advantages? Can cancel anytime. A lot can happen in two years.

 

[MrCrispy]

What plan are you looking at? My TMo pay as you go plan is $40/mo, a comparable contract plan with AT&T or Verizon is $80/mo.

Assuming the plan is $45/mo and I buy a $700 phone. The cost over 24 months is $1780. A subsidized plan on AT&T for the same phone comes to $2120 ($80/mo, plus $200 for phone).

Advantages? Can cancel anytime. A lot can happen in two years.

Someone may need VZW/ATT due to better service.
Postpaid customers get preference on the network over prepaid, for all carriers
You don't have to pay $200 for the phone almost ever.
$700 is a lot of money to pay upfront, not everyone has it.
On contract phone plans are much cheaper when you add more lines.

There are many reasons to go on contract, it all depends on personal factors.

 

[Kardonxt]

$300 up front for my republic wireless moto X. $28 after tax a month for unlimited everything. That's why lol.

 

[gimp]

You don't have to pay $200 for the phone almost ever.

If you want the brand-new top-tier phone yes, yes you do.

I paid $200 for my Captivate.
I paid $200 for my S2 Skyrocket.
I would have to pay $200 for the S5.

Sure I could get a lower-end phone, but that doesn't change the fact that, compared to an individual AT&T plan, pre-paid is much cheaper even when getting the same phone as you would get on-contract.

 

[Blue Fox]

Someone may need VZW/ATT due to better service.
Postpaid customers get preference on the network over prepaid, for all carriers
You don't have to pay $200 for the phone almost ever.
$700 is a lot of money to pay upfront, not everyone has it.
On contract phone plans are much cheaper when you add more lines.

There are many reasons to go on contract, it all depends on personal factors.

Who said that was prepaid? If you can't afford a phone upfront, you shouldn't be getting such expensive service and/or device! Asinine to pay double the cost over time instead of up front and living outside your means. Put it on a bloody credit card if you have to since it will cost you less over 2 years. As for adding more lines, not at all. T-Mobile is $50 for the first line, $30 for the second, and then $10 thereafter. You also don't have to get the top of the line phone.

 

[MrCrispy]

If you want the brand-new top-tier phone yes, yes you do.

I paid $200 for my Captivate.
I paid $200 for my S2 Skyrocket.
I would have to pay $200 for the S5.

Sure I could get a lower-end phone, but that doesn't change the fact that, compared to an individual AT&T plan, pre-paid is much cheaper even when getting the same phone as you would get on-contract.

As I said earlier, you could get 2 S5/M8 phones for the price of one, maybe you still can. LG G2 was free a very short time after launch. There are these deals all the time depending on carrier.

 

[MrCrispy]

Who said that was prepaid? If you can't afford a phone upfront, you shouldn't be getting such expensive service and/or device! Asinine to pay double the cost over time instead of up front and living outside your means. Put it on a bloody credit card if you have to since it will cost you less over 2 years. As for adding more lines, not at all. T-Mobile is $50 for the first line, $30 for the second, and then $10 thereafter. You also don't have to get the top of the line phone.

You've still failed to give any reason why off contract is cheaper, except for your cherry picked case of TMobile. For anyone who wants to keep a phone for 2 years and is going to use a regular smartphone plan from a major carrier, buying on contract is the cheapest and best option in every regard.

 

[Blue Fox]

You've still failed to give any reason why off contract is cheaper, except for your cherry picked case of TMobile. For anyone who wants to keep a phone for 2 years and is going to use a regular smartphone plan from a major carrier, buying on contract is the cheapest and best option in every regard.

Quite the opposite. Lets look at AT&T for example. A 4 line plan costs $230 a month with 1gb of data per device. T-Mobile is $100. Over the course of 2 years, that's $5520 or $3120 more. Seeing as the top of the line subsidized phones are still $200, we tack an extra $800 onto that. Even if you were to go out and bought 4 phones for $500, that's still nearly $2000 more you'd be giving AT&T. If you went with a "free" phone, still over $1000 extra. Would be even more since a more expensive plan is going to have more in taxes actually! Same story with Verizon.

There's a reason why the rest of the world doesn't operate in such a way and telcos don't have such a stranglehold on things.

 

[Thuleman]

Quite the opposite. Lets look at AT&T for example. A 4 line plan costs $230 a month with 1gb of data per device. T-Mobile is $100. Over the course of 2 years, that's $5520 or $3120 more.

Eh?
4 lines at ATT are $160 unlimited talk and text, with 10 GB to share among all 4 devices via their Mobile Share plan.

Sure, over 2 years that's still $1,200 more than TMo, but you do get a lot more data and you can probably lower the monthly cost if you settle for less data. At $1,200 more for 4 lines over 2 years you aren't better off buying 4 off-contract phones for $650 each even if you have to pay $200 for on-contract phones at ATT (which savy shoppers rarely have to pay).

 

[Trimlock]

That $160 plan doesn't give you subsidized phones. If you get one, say a high end it will add $30+ per phone, per month to your line.