whose with me?

[mlin]

Definitely not me. I have recently shopped around for different plans on different carriers and Sprint CANNOT be beat on their prices. T-Mobile is the next cheapest and for my wife and I it would be around $30+ more a month for a comparable plan. Not worth paying the extra money for essentially nothing. I'm not really tripping about the phone selection. The TP2 is awesome and I will have it for a while. I also have a Pre and my wife has a Moment (better than the Droid). Although I have a couple of phones, I do not see the need in buying every new phone that comes out just for the sake of having the newest and best device out. I'll stick with my phones and my carrier and save a few hundred dollars a year...

[spiritcrusher33]

exactly well put..

[spiritcrusher33]

ok so u do paperless billing, and use autopay. problem solved,lol so mine do not go up..still cheaper.lol

[BlackDynamite]

Originally Posted by spiritcrusher33

ok so u do paperless billing, and use autopay. problem solved,lol so mine do not go up..still cheaper.lol

Uh, wrong. T-Mobile was cheaper even without me factoring in any of that, remember?

And I won't be forced by Sprint into autopay. They are already bad enough with billing and customer service- there is no way I would give them uncontrolled access to my bank account. That's probably the last company I would ever do that with.

[darkjje]

If I go to sprint.com and t-mobile.com and put in those plans, with two of each phone (family plans after all minimum 2 lines) I get the following...

T-Mobile
Total due today
$799.98
Total due monthly
$119.99
One time activation fee
$70.00
Mail in rebate
$0.00

Total for a 2 year time frame : $3749.74
Monthly Average : $156.24

Sprint
Total due today
$559.98
Total due monthly
$129.99
One time activation fee
$0.00
Mail in rebate
$200.00

Total for a 2 year time frame : $3479.74
Monthly Average : $144.99

Originally Posted by SaltyDawg

As for your ridiculous cost numbers, lets go over that...

T-Mobile Even More Plus 1500 unlimited text and web, with a MyTouch 3G (comparable to Hero):
Phone cost: $399.99 (no contract)
Plan cost: $119.99
So over the course of that 2 year contract, $16 per month. With the plan and the phone both factored in, that is about $136 per month on T-Mobile- with no contract.

Sprint Everything Data 1500 with Hero:
Phone cost: $179.99 (with 2 year contract)
Plan cost: $129.99
So over the course of that 2 year co0ntract, the phone costs $7 per month. So with the plan and the phone both factored in, it costs about $137, and that is WITH a 2 year contract.

So, again, T-Mobile comes out cheaper. If you get some kind fo discount on Sprint, fine- that will obviously play into it. But for the average joe T-Mobile is cheaper, and they don't even require a contract.

[BlackDynamite]

Originally Posted by darkjje

If I go to sprint.com and t-mobile.com and put in those plans, with two of each phone (family plans after all minimum 2 lines) I get the following...

T-Mobile
Total due today
$799.98
Total due monthly
$119.99
One time activation fee
$70.00
Mail in rebate
$0.00

Total for a 2 year time frame : $3749.74
Monthly Average : $156.24

Sprint
Total due today
$559.98
Total due monthly
$129.99
One time activation fee
$0.00
Mail in rebate
$200.00

Total for a 2 year time frame : $3479.74
Monthly Average : $144.99

Yeah, obviously the more smartphones you buy without a subsidy the more it is going to cost you. But there is no law that you have to get your phones from T-Mobile. If you're not getting a subsidy then you might not want to get the phones from the carrier.

Run those numbers again and say the T-Mobile customer buys his MyTouch phones on ebay for the $275-$300 that they are currently going for (brand new, no contract).

Also- you are not factoring in the sprint activation fee in your numbers. Sprint doesn't charge you n activation fee when you purchase the device, they charge you when you activate it. So while you don't have to pay an activation fee up front form Sprint, it will be on your first bill. Once you factor that in, and shop for a good deal on a brand new in the box T-Mobile phone, T-Mobile is still cheaper.

This one is a buy it now, 2 available, for $275 each (and $10 shipping to me). So that would be $560 for the both of them, shipped. And that is the buy it now price, I'm not even talking about playing the bidding game.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Unlocked-myTouch...item3a56a7e47a

That is $239.98 cheaper than your numbers. So that would be $3509.76 total, or $146.24 per month. So that is $1.25 per month more than Sprint. Just Sprint's increased regulatory fee and extra fees for not having auto pay would more than cover that, plus when you get hit with the activation fee from Sprint it way more than covers that.

Also- Sprint charges sales tax on the full retail price of the device, and ebay charges no sales tax. So that should also push the numbers more in T-Mobile's favor...

[darkjje]

I thought we were talking joe average? the guy who doesnt apply discounts or buys phones from anyone but the carrier... as you said earlier. and I was never charged an activation fee from sprint when I purchased online. so it's factored in as advertised and as I have experienced.

[BlackDynamite]

Originally Posted by darkjje

I thought we were talking joe average? the guy who doesnt apply discounts or buys phones from anyone but the carrier... as you said earlier. and I was never charged an activation fee from sprint when I purchased online. so it's factored in as advertised and as I have experienced.

Are you serious? I was chaged an activation fee. Heck, I was even told I would be charged an activation fee when I tried to switch phones temporarily on my already existing account a while back.

And yes, we are talking about average joe here. But if average joe is buying phones online (as average joe's do) then ebay is absolutely valid. Average joe that shops online for smartphones absolutely knows about ebay.

[darkjje]

Yea, you can even activate yourself through an online wizard, free of charge. sales tax shouldnt be factored in as it varies from state to state from none to an insanely high amount. and either route the person can avoid it by buying through the secondary market online. The CS can be completely assbackwards sometimes so I feel ur pain with that.

Originally Posted by SaltyDawg

Are you serious? I was chaged an activation fee. Heck, I was even told I would be charged an activation fee when I tried to switch phones temporarily on my already existing account a while back.

And yes, we are talking about average joe here. But if average joe is buying phones online (as average joe's do) then ebay is absolutely valid. Average joe that shops online for smartphones absolutely knows about ebay.

Edit : there's also the EPRP readily available with the same package with an additional 100 minutes and $110, simple google search brings it up easily. but joe average wouldnt like stumble upon that unless he was doing mild digging (research) for all available plans. and luckily both providers provide a lot of common big employeers discounts (tho not applicable on the Everything Plus More plans on TMobile or the EPRP on Sprint (I think regarding Sprint anyways)

[BlackDynamite]

Originally Posted by darkjje

Yea, you can even activate yourself through an online wizard, free of charge. sales tax shouldnt be factored in as it varies from state to state from none to an insanely high amount. and either route the person can avoid it by buying through the secondary market online. The CS can be completely assbackwards sometimes so I feel ur pain with that.


Edit : there's also the EPRP readily available with the same package with an additional 100 minutes and $110, simple google search brings it up easily. but joe average wouldnt like stumble upon that unless he was doing mild digging (research) for all available plans. and luckily both providers provide a lot of common big employeers discounts (tho not applicable on the Everything Plus More plans on TMobile or the EPRP on Sprint (I think regarding Sprint anyways)

See man that really irks me. I was definitely charged an activation fee on my first bill with Sprint. Not only that, but I took my phones in to get invisible shields put on them, and they said not to use them for a coupe hours and not to use it heavily for 24 hours. So I have a bunch of old Sprint phones from when I had Sprint before. I called to get my old Mogul activated to use for the night, and they wanted to charge me an activation fee. I explained that this was an old phone that I had activated previously on my old Sprint account, and the rep wouldn't budge. I said screw it then and went without a phone for the night.

Something told me to keep calling back until I got someone that would do it for free, but I didn't want the hassle.

Average joe is not getting that EPRP on Sprint, lol. You do have to do some digging to find that. I think the only people getting that plan are the people that already know about it (or SERO) and just dig for the email/code/website, or the real friends of Sprint employees. But the average joe probably has no idea there are such things as that plan.