I too have a SERO plan and wanted to be able to get my hot mits on a Samsung epic before Oct 1. I didnt want to face stores not having them do to the massive orders by SERO customers! I went to the sprint retail store and well, long story short, they're pretty inept. Called sprint and talked to a rep specifically about the upgrade and she was willing to ship it out and allow me to do the plan upgrade on Oct 1 (exactly like i wanted) however, Sprint charges $100 more and you have to mail in a rebate and wait for your money...I don't like that. Bestbuy online had the phone in stock and allowed me to order as an existing sprint customer without having to do a plan ugrade, just a plan renewal. The process did force me to accept the $10 charge for data, but that was it.
Qty
Product Description
Sprint Mobile Package 1
Samsung - Epic 4G Mobile Phone (Sprint)
Status: Order in process of being fulfilled. Estimated arrival date: 09/30/2010 - 09/30/2010 Your Plan
These items will be billed by your wireless carrier and do not include all fees, taxes and surcharges.
* The monthly rate for your existing plan will remain the same.
Monthly Charges, See below
Sprint - Keep Existing Plan, * No change
With 2-year contract extension
Device Model: SPHD700BKS
4G Premium Data for Individual Plans, $10.00
One-Time Charges, $36.00
Activation Fee, $36.00
Order Total: $272.19
hope that answers your question