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Best Buy Sprint HTC Touch Pro - $750?

So, I went to one of my local Best Buys in excitement, as the online locater showed the Sprint HTC Touch Pro in stock.
I got there, and of course the lady tech person said that she was not allowed to sell the phone until tomorrow. I asked if she could see her manager and get an exception, as I plan on driving to Orlando, FL tomorrow for a 2-month long business trip, and that I wanted to buy it from my local Best Buy.
I planned on buying it outright, as I'm not quite to my 1-year point on my HTC (Sprint) Mogul, but I've been watching the Raphael since I first heard about it back in March.
However, I went in expecting a $569 MSRP on the phone. They instead tried to sell it to me at the 'Regular' price of $749.99.
Am I being delusional thinking that Best Buy should be selling it outright at MSRP? Do I maybe have the wrong MSRP in my head?
I mean, $200 over MSRP for a cell phone doesn't quite make sense to me, seeing as the Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price is still giving Best Buy a decent profit.
For anyone that wants the information, here's what Best Buy printed out for me:
Regular Price: $749.99
Upgrades - Individual and Family Plans (includes Sprint Rebate)
1 Year Agreement: $459.99
2 Year Agreement: $299.99
2 Year New Plan & Additional Lines
Family Plan Lines 2-5: $299.99
Rate Plan Below $59.99: $299.99
Rate Plan Above $59.99: $279.99

They were screwing with you. I picked up 2 today for $299 - 20% Rewardzone smartphone discount. The unconnected price sounds about right as the BestBuy price on the Touch Pro seems rather low (Sprint want $249 after a $100 MIR for the Diamond).
In the end, after selling my 2 moguls, I'll have upgraded for less than $150 to 2 Touch Pros. I'm pretty happy right now.

They weren't screwing with him, that is what they charge if you don't sign a new contract. Sign a new 2 year and you'll have no problem getting it for 299.

ScottC said:
They were screwing with you. I picked up 2 today for $299 - 20% Rewardzone smartphone discount. The unconnected price sounds about right as the BestBuy price on the Touch Pro seems rather low (Sprint want $249 after a $100 MIR for the Diamond).
In the end, after selling my 2 moguls, I'll have upgraded for less than $150 to 2 Touch Pros. I'm pretty happy right now.
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Where did you get 2 for $299? I didn't think the phone was available yet...

Interesting "Currency" Play
How about this.... and disclaimer, I've never dealt with this website and have no idea how good/bad they are, however they are selling on ebay, so in order to continue to do biz on ebay you generally have to have good feedback. Anyway, here's the deal: http://www.cellengros.com/product_info.php?cPath=3&products_id=1263
$799 CAD (Canadian dollars), which at today's exchange rate of $0.78 per $1 Canadian) is about $625 US Dollars. (plus shipping). That compares very favorably with current prices on Ebay and the $750 US you quoted from Best Buy.
Has anyone ever dealt with these guys before? (or I could wait a week and get the Sprint/AT&T version, but the number pad on the ATT version kind of annoys me and i'm pretty sure that's the route i will have to go (wife on ATT)...)

ScottC said:
They were screwing with you. I picked up 2 today for $299 - 20% Rewardzone smartphone discount. The unconnected price sounds about right as the BestBuy price on the Touch Pro seems rather low (Sprint want $249 after a $100 MIR for the Diamond).
In the end, after selling my 2 moguls, I'll have upgraded for less than $150 to 2 Touch Pros. I'm pretty happy right now.
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assuming price with new contract is 300 - 20% = $240
how did you get each TP for $150? that's one heck of a deal!

baboola said:
assuming price with new contract is 300 - 20% = $240
how did you get each TP for $150? that's one heck of a deal!
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Uh do the math? lol
$240 x 2 = $480 = Price of 2 TP's
$115 x 2 = $330 = Price of him selling 2 Moguls?
So $480-$330 = $150? Btw. I think he meant both for $150.

i called my local bb, they said that they dont sell the phone outright. was gonna buy it and return it when it came out for sprint on next sunday lol... guess that got shut down

Kraize92 said:
Uh do the math? lol
$240 x 2 = $480 = Price of 2 TP's
$115 x 2 = $330 = Price of him selling 2 Moguls?
So $480-$330 = $150? Btw. I think he meant both for $150.
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ok that makes sense...i thought he meant the price he actually paid for the phones, not after subtracting the amount he got for selling Mogul

Best Buy does allow you to buy the phones outright, perhaps he thought you were a reseller, or had a wait list of people wanting the phone

Picked mine up at BB yesterday $238.00 after tax.

Baffles said:
They weren't screwing with him, that is what they charge if you don't sign a new contract. Sign a new 2 year and you'll have no problem getting it for 299.
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I meant that they were screwing with him by claiming they could not sell it yet.

I don't know where some of you are located but my Best Buy sells phones outright. I can also confirm that the Touch Pro can be purchased for $299 (New customer or upgrade price) plus 20% if you are a Rewards Zone member with no mail in rebates. More info can be found from the link below. It runs through November 1st.
https://myrewardzone.bestbuy.com/

Pictures of the phone anyone?

I got mine for 239.99. ($256.79 after taxes).
I'm still going to try and send the $100 mail in rebate because I have one that doesnt specify the phone had to be bought from a sprint store or sprint.com... nothing to lose sending that in.
And yeah signed a 2 year agreement.

Here's a copy of my receipt..

NexVision said:
Here's a copy of my receipt..
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Weird that they charged me an extra $16.... only thing i can think of is that they applied the 20% before all the instant savings to you, and they gave it to me AFTER the instant savings... retail was ~$750 like the OP said.

I only qualify for the$75 via sprint store. So i would have to pay $750. NO way in hell im paying that much. Ill wait till next Sunday to get it cheaper via sprint store.

yeah i picked up a touch pro from bestbuy for 240.00 also using the extra 20 percent off card for smartphones a great steal and selling my mogul for 150 made out of pocket cost 90.00

tonyfl said:
I only qualify for the$75 via sprint store. So i would have to pay $750. NO way in hell im paying that much. Ill wait till next Sunday to get it cheaper via sprint store.
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it will not cost you 750 if your elligible for the one year upgrade i think its more like 4 or 450 just call the store and ask but there are 3 prices. 2 yr upgrade, 1 yr, and no upgrade

Is there an outright buy price on VZ?

I see VZ's site has the TP2 for 400 and something for "month to month" plan option.
Now I imagine this would entail atleast signing for the first month. Is there a way to opt out of even the first month?
I plan on using this as a travel phone, as I spend most of my time traveling... so no need to lock into a US contract.
Sure there is EBay, but if the phone has problems (dead pixels, etc)... then it's a hassle to try and get fixed, rather than something bought through an authorized channel.

unless I'm mistaken, which I don't believe I am, that's the outright buy it price. month-to-month pretty much means just that, paying month-to-month, not under contract. $489 is hard to believe too, given that the TP1 is above the TP2 month-to-month price, but whatev.

Wonder if I should just get a "2 year plan" then cancel and eat the $175 as the cost of doing business.
$199 + $79 for first month minimum plan + $175 cancellation fee = $453.

twostep said:
unless I'm mistaken, which I don't believe I am, that's the outright buy it price. month-to-month pretty much means just that, paying month-to-month, not under contract. $489 is hard to believe too, given that the TP1 is above the TP2 month-to-month price, but whatev.
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You are correct. The full price of the TP2 is $489. That's how I bought mine. I am locked into a 2 year contract, but was sick and tired of my BB Storm so I went ahead and bought the TP2 full price. I have been waiting for this phone for a while so when I saw the price was under $500 I could not believe it. Not sure how it would go if you were to just buy it and have it on a month to month basis. Would they even allow that?

just buy the phone at the 2 year price and then pay the ETF. that is the cheapest way to go. i always buy my phones with out a contract. and no you wont have to pay the first month. if they give you any hassle about it then just tell verizon you will give the phone back under their worry free gurantee. 9 times out of 10 they will take your money!

The month to month is the buy it outright price....you'll have to go to a local store to actually get one w/o a VZW account (tell them it's for a gift). I just called and they added a line to my family plan and gave me the phone for $150 + tax, then cancelled the line and charged me $175 ETF so $325 total.

Thanks for the input. But I've been reading that they aren't available in the stores.
Or is that hogwash?

Finally decided to get this. Now I need some advice.
I can't find this on eBay. There are a lot of Sprint TP2s available but I prefer the Verizon one (cuz it's a looker)
My business partner in the Baltimore has had a Verizon connection for as far back as my memory goes. I'd like him to get this for me. Problem is he's pretty daft and a bit of a ***** when it comes to these things.
I need a step by step guide (literally like 1. Call Verizon, 2. Say hello you get the picture) as to how to go about ordering this from Verizon. I'd prefer if he could do it over the phone or the internet (He is registered on VZW website). Oh and lastly I don't want this to interfere with his line in anyway neither is he looking for a new line (unless we can get the phone and then immediately pay the ETF and cancel the connection.
Also can somebody re-confirm that the ETF is exactly 175.00 in Baltimore?
I like the idea of doing the ETF thing. So any help would be greatly appreciated.

If you pay full price for the Touch Pro 2 it will be $489.00 plus tax which will come out to a total of about $520.00. This is what I paid for it. And you don't get a mail-in rebate for the phone if you pay full price.

I could get it for a lot lower than that on eBay... once the stocks are back I mean.
Looking for something south of 450 though.

<<<BUMP>>>

[Q] Current lowest off contract availble?

Well, since everyone is excited on contract price, I wanted to know if anyone found the lowest off contract price on any store. I was hoping to get the phone off contract from Costco, but it seemed they don't sell it off contract. Being an Even More Plus customer, I got no choice but to buy the phone off contract.
Here are the ones I know.
T-Mobile - $499.00 + tax
Amazon - $509.00
Target - $519.00 + tax
RadioShack - $519.00 + tax
Walmart - $549.00 + tax

My local T-Mo store sold me one for $450 with $65 in accessories (car charger, screen protectors, case, and headphones).

I was able to get one for $250 and I'm an EM+ customer. I guess I got lucky. I went to a corporate store. She was even going to allow me to do the EIP, but I paid in full.
If you have some time just float around to a few and see what happens. Ask if they "can give you a deal?". Worst that could happen is they say no. I'm almost eager to put the mail in rebate form in, but wouldn't want it to backfire on me. I'll just be happy that I got the phone 50% off.

rukawa2k said:
Well, since everyone is excited on contract price, I wanted to know if anyone found the lowest off contract price on any store. I was hoping to get the phone off contract from Costco, but it seemed they don't sell it off contract. Being an Even More Plus customer, I got no choice but to buy the phone off contract.
Here are the ones I know.
T-Mobile - $499.00 + tax
Amazon - $509.00
Target - $519.00 + tax
RadioShack - $519.00 + tax
Walmart - $549.00 + tax
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Amazon looks like your best bet if you have Amazon prime. I would have suggested Cellhub because I got mine for 514.00 (no tax) 2nd shipping

okplaya said:
I was able to get one for $250 and I'm an EM+ customer. I guess I got lucky. I went to a corporate store. She was even going to allow me to do the EIP, but I paid in full.
If you have some time just float around to a few and see what happens. Ask if they "can give you a deal?". Worst that could happen is they say no. I'm almost eager to put the mail in rebate form in, but wouldn't want it to backfire on me. I'll just be happy that I got the phone 50% off.
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Well done!

EIP will let off contact customers spread the payments over 19 months. The best part is you can payoff early if you want.
XDA Mobile

I tried to get the EIP but they couldn't discount the phone and accessories if I did. I'd expected to pay full price up front and it's probably worth it in my case.

Are you sure you got it for $250? Mine was $246.11 and $20 a month after that. Are you sure you didn't get the installment plan?

What's eip? How does it work?
Edit : Sorry, Did not read above.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA Premium App

btmec said:
Are you sure you got it for $250? Mine was $246.11 and $20 a month after that. Are you sure you didn't get the installment plan?
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Yeah, I'm pretty sure. She basically gave it to me for the cost of the phone on contract. It's $250 w/ $50 MIR. She even offered me the EIP with the $250 price. It would've been $27 down, and $12 and some change a mo. I just forked over the full amount since I would've had to pay over $100 had I been charged full price. I really lucked up man. I was all set to pay the $499, but I walked out paying $264 ($250 + tax).
Why are you paying so much anyway? $246 + (19*20) = $626. Am I missing something?

She probably snuck in a 2yr contract on you for $250 so she gets a kickback. Look online to see your plan.
I used my EIP at first but returned.it cause the screen had bad bleeding. Since I sold my Nexus One afterwards, I just decided to buy it outright. $534 in hand from a store.
I'd rather spend a few extra bucks and have it immediately vs 2 day shipping.
-sent from my LG 2Gx

She snuck in PHP which I probably should keep, but I'll probably cancel it on principle. I definitely checked and I'm still on the EM+ 1500 for families.

Just tried one local T-mobile store and immediately after I asked for discount, the sales rep said NO. She said I can upgrade to EM plan (Which I highly doubted...) Going to try other stores later.

girlfriend works at target and gets 15% off. should i get?

I say 15% off is a pretty decent deal. I'd jump on it..

Costco G2x now $99, Plus get your $50 refunded if bought already

Costco manager here again to save you loot.
We have coupon in store deal on the G2x for new or upgrade customers. Now just $99 with free car kit and travel holster.
Plus if you are like me and bought it at $149,99 at Costco within 90 days you are given any lower price in cash back. So go to Memership counter with or without reciet and they will give you your $50.00 in cash back with no issue!
Ice.

that sounds awesome. Will give it a try

Where do I pick up the coupon and how long is the deal going to last?

If I was to buy at Costco, would I be able to easily swap it out if I had bad screen bleed? Because I know they have (or at least had) a good return policy. Is it 90 days for phones? Any stipulations?

Bsketball said:
If I was to buy at Costco, would I be able to easily swap it out if I had bad screen bleed? Because I know they have (or at least had) a good return policy. Is it 90 days for phones? Any stipulations?
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Yes, you can switch out for any reason in that 90 days! No quetions asked. In fact the policy is that you take out your sim card and pack up phone. They just verify its all there and refund in cash. They give you choice of same or different phone. YOu only have 14 days though to cancel contract all together. The 90 days if for the phone.

noah.labrousse said:
Where do I pick up the coupon and how long is the deal going to last?
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two way, a coupon book is mailed to all Costco Customers. Or simply grab one at membership. There are always tons of them.
Its the sale. I think this one is 2 weeks starting yesterday.

iceshark said:
two way, a coupon book is mailed to all Costco Customers. Or simply grab one at membership. There are always tons of them.
Its the sale. I think this one is 2 weeks starting yesterday.
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Thanks again iceshark
I bought the phone for full price at $399 .... so is this coupon still valid?

iceshark said:
two way, a coupon book is mailed to all Costco Customers. Or simply grab one at membership. There are always tons of them.
Its the sale. I think this one is 2 weeks starting yesterday.
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I checked my most recent coupon book and this is the one I found. A single coupon for the following: up $250 off the G2x, up to $150 off the Droid 2 Global and up to $30 off the Infuse 4G. Is this the coupon you're referring to?

I bought mine online last week. Can I still get $50 back?

This is only for the people who bought it there correct?
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA Premium App

The price shows 79.99 if you bought it online from Wireless Advocates through Costco's website
http://membershipwireless.com/index...nternal/utm_medium/feature/utm_campaign/haven
I'm going there today to get my price adjustment. I bought it for 149.99 on 4/20. Hopefully its 79.99 at the Wireless Advocates kiosk inside Costco. If it's $99.99 there, thats still good and I wont complain about $50 off.

I just spoke with Wireless Advocates representative on the phone, and she basically told me that I can't get the $50 off if I go to the Kiosk inside Costco. I'm mad since this phone is less than a week old.

I bought one for $80..nice deal for sure. I had returned my original to t-mobile.

Is it also $99 for people eligible for a 2-year upgrade?

Just came back from Costco. Its 79.99 at the Costco cellphone kiosk if you are getting a new contract. Upgrades or renewals are 99.99. I just got my $50 credit adjustment back to my American Express.
Don't go directly to the customer service/refund section of Costco. They need an item number code from the kiosk. Go to the kiosk directly and get it there. Again if you signed up at Costco on a new contract your new price will be $79.99. If it was an upgrade then its 99.99.
Sale prices end 5/17!!!
No coupon is needed for these sale prices. Always bring your receipt always because it will be faster for you.

m918v did you buy it online or from the kiosk inside the Costco?

to clarify
so - you are saying that with a costco membership, we can get the phone with out a contract for $300?
How much is a membership to costco?

mcaravantes said:
so - you are saying that with a costco membership, we can get the phone with out a contract for $300?
How much is a membership to costco?
Click to expand...
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$50.0 0

grenademasta said:
Just came back from Costco. Its 79.99 at the Costco cellphone kiosk if you are getting a new contract. Upgrades or renewals are 99.99. I just got my $50 credit adjustment back to my American Express.
Don't go directly to the customer service/refund section of Costco. They need an item number code from the kiosk. Go to the kiosk directly and get it there. Again if you signed up at Costco on a new contract your new price will be $79.99. If it was an upgrade then its 99.99.
Sale prices end 5/17!!!
Oh yeah if you just bought the phone there without a contract the price went from 399 to 300 (call the kiosk to verify). No coupon is needed for these sale prices. Always bring your receipt always because it will be faster for you.
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Uh, wasn't it already proven in the other Costco thread that you have to jump through some MAJOR hoops to get phones off-contract from Costco?
Has anyone here walked out of Costco with a $300 phone without signing up or extending a contract?

Yeah scrap that, Costco wont sell you a contract free phone. I just called and they said they wont do that at any Costco location. I thought the price was $300 because that was the new price the Costco employee rang up before the discounts for a new price of $99.
Sorry for the confusion.

Used Phone Prices Make No Sense...to me

With new phone prices without a contract around $500 and upgrade prices for the hot models running $99-250, I was thinking maybe I should shop recent used, i.e. an Incredible 2 or even a Galaxy Nexus or RAZR now that the Maxx is out. So checking eBay and Craigslist, and various forum marketplaces I am seeing that used pricing runs from $100-$300 on the Inc2 to $300-$500 on the Nexus and RAZR.
My son just got an Inc 2 upgrade for free. Why would anyone pay $100-$300 (widely asked) for a free phone? I might pay $50 to play with it. Why would anyone pay $400 for a used Nexus or RAZR when you can upgrade for $199 or $249 (less with a new account). I would pay $100, OK, but why pay more than the upgrade price? I understand the desire to avoid a contract, but seriously you have to get service from somewhere. I can't believe that many of the people selling these things paid full retail, so how can the used prices be more than most people paid in the first place. There can't be that much demand and the supply increases daily.
Please explain.

Some people have just upgraded recently and can't do a new contract before their two years is up without paying a pretty decent fee. It's cheaper to buy the phone from someone else and maybe get rid of their old phone than to pay the price for getting a new contract. Some people here also own multiple devices and switch them out often, so it doesn't really make sense to open a new contract for each phone. Check people's sigs: some members/devs here have four or five devices at a time.
And just in case you don't know why there's a charge for early upgrades, the carriers give you the phones at discount because over a two year contract you will end up paying down the expense they took. If they give you a new phone every six months you have gone through around $2000 worth of devices and they certainly won't make that up just from your monthly bill.

danam said:
With new phone prices without a contract around $500 and upgrade prices for the hot models running $99-250, I was thinking maybe I should shop recent used, i.e. an Incredible 2 or even a Galaxy Nexus or RAZR now that the Maxx is out. So checking eBay and Craigslist, and various forum marketplaces I am seeing that used pricing runs from $100-$300 on the Inc2 to $300-$500 on the Nexus and RAZR.
My son just got an Inc 2 upgrade for free. Why would anyone pay $100-$300 (widely asked) for a free phone? I might pay $50 to play with it. Why would anyone pay $400 for a used Nexus or RAZR when you can upgrade for $199 or $249 (less with a new account). I would pay $100, OK, but why pay more than the upgrade price? I understand the desire to avoid a contract, but seriously you have to get service from somewhere. I can't believe that many of the people selling these things paid full retail, so how can the used prices be more than most people paid in the first place. There can't be that much demand and the supply increases daily.
Please explain.
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Click to collapse
It is all in being eligible for an upgrade!!! People who break, drop in toilet, or lose their phone are the ones paying. They had a new phone and liked it. But they broke it and aren't eligible for an upgrade price for another two years. They would have to pay full price. A used phone at $250 is better than paying $500 from the provider since you have no upgrade options.
I like it. My last two upgrades I have made money!!!! I had an original droid. I upgraded to my droid X for $299. $100 rebate brings cost down to $200. Sold for $250 on ebay!!! Old droid would have cost someone $400 from verizon if they weren't eligible for an upgrade. They have the phone they want and saved $150 versus buying a new one from verizon.

85gallon said:
I like it. My last two upgrades I have made money!!!! I had an original droid. I upgraded to my droid X for $299. $100 rebate brings cost down to $200. Sold for $250 on ebay!!! Old droid would have cost someone $400 from verizon if they weren't eligible for an upgrade. They have the phone they want and saved $150 versus buying a new one from verizon.
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I understand why it works for the seller . But this sort of presumes that more people are dropping phones in toilets than are buying new phones and retiring old ones, and I am not sure that can be so. Alternatively, it assumes that a real lot of people want to upgrade in less than two years and are willing to pay hundreds for the privilege; and I am not sure that can be so either.
I guess that I am cheap. But if I am entitled to pay, say, $199 in 3-6 months I am not paying more now for used equipment.

Some carriers give a cheaper monthly rate if you own your phone. I always buy phones outright either new or used and save money overall.
Sent from HTC G2

Crashdamage said:
Some carriers give a cheaper monthly rate if you own your phone. I always buy phones outright either new or used and save money overall.
Sent from HTC G2
Click to expand...
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nothing is free.
My phone cost me £120 new which came with a PAYG sim.
My contract sim only is £13 a month.
I could have got the same phone on contract for £35 a month.
So I would be paying an extra £22 a month on a 18 month contract, after 5-6 months I would have been payiing more for the phone and be out of pocket. The contracts where the phones seem free have you paying for the phone monthly instead.

danam said:
I guess that I am cheap. But if I am entitled to pay, say, $199 in 3-6 months I am not paying more now for used equipment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What are you going to do? Pay $50 on a throw away so you have a phone for the next 3-6 months or just go without a phone for that time?
Also, a lot of people don't realize that their old cell phones are worth something. They throw them in a drawer or the garbage or they recycle them so they can feel good. I hope they never find out!!
I will be getting a free RAZR in a few months!!! After rebates and ebay of course!!
I was actually digging through some old stuff a few months ago and I ran across an old Moto Z6TV that I forgot to put up on ebay when I retired it years ago. I put it up on ebay and got $40 for it. I think it was3 or 4 phones ago. And I let the prospective buyers know it would be needing a battery soon in the auction listing.
Peeps need them for something. Maybe they know something I don't and are stocking up for the Zombie apocalypse. Who knows. I don't care as long as they are buying!!

Not everybody wants a contract. You can get a contract and pay $1k-$2k over the course of 2 years for a "free" phone or you can get a significantly cheaper pay as you go service and pay $200 for an unlocked phone.

I do business on CL all the time. This time of year is notorious for high-priced phones. If you wait until spring and summer really hits, phones will be available left and right.
Usually CDMA phones are cheaper as well, so if you look around daily, you'll find a good deal.
Sent from my 2ghz Impulse 4G

Depends on the financial status of the person to go for used phone or a new contract phone

In the past two years I've gone through 5 android phones and saved a ton of money giving the phones down to my wife and mom and never have to sign a new contract. Currently my wife has an Iphone, my mom a nexus s 4g, and I traded my android phone for an Iphone 4s...I'm going to sell that 4s and get a white Epic 4G Touch for 350 tonight, the Iphone should sell for a decent amount, I'm not out to gouge anyone but the Iphone holds value well (I hated the iPhone or I'd keep it but I miss android)

Well let me explain how it makes sense. Here's my actual history:
Buy an HTC Touch Diamond for $125 close to when it came out on some weird contract thing.
Sold Diamond for $200, bought iPhone 3G when moved to tmobile for $250, did a few other deals in between, but ended up trading the iPhone 3G for an HD2 when HD2 came out on tmobile. Sold HD2 for $250 a couple months ago, and moved to ATT and got a Galaxy Note on Contract (thru a friend $10 add a line) for $300 (soon to be $150 back for the promo), for all the deals I did between there I probably netted a few hundred dollar profit, bought and sold tablets as well (used most of them, I'm not trying to be a businessman here). You get to try out a bunch of devices this way.
If you take care of them, the resale is worth the original purchase. If you bought a Galaxy Nexus unlocked for $650 like 6 months ago, you could probably sell it RIGHT NOW for $650 easy if you took damn good care of it.
It's just how it works, you're not really out that much money if you're smart about how you do it, I've dropped $400 on devices and stuff and used/resold etc...

I agree with the general idea of the thread, some used phones are too much IMO.

There is a reason people are paying the used phone prices and I'm willing to bet they checked their options before dishing out a few hundred dollars.
We all get that most providers essentially mortgage you a device through your plan but if you don't fall under their qualifications to upgrade then your about to realize how much these little gadgets actually retail for. If you can upgrade through your provider that's your best bet. If not the used market is probably your go to option.
Sent from my Galaxy S2

eplote was
Taking into account that most phones are essentially a computer in your pocket, the used prices should reflect upon the age of the tech, total use time and who the owner was.
In the IT industry, hardware drops in value quite rapidly due to new gear coming out.
If the handset is a current model of it's class, then expect a premium price.
As for iDrones, they are like the fashion industry, you pay for a label and a social status as an iPhollower.
/Rant over
Crikey

If that makes no sense to you go take a look what people are paying for "used" Iphones.

for what its worth, used galaxy ace's were been sold for more then I paid for mine brand new.
from what I can see on ebay people usually only take 10-20% of the price of a new phone unless there is obvious damage. if you find a retail phone with a discount it will be less than used on ebay.

Most people charge too much for their used phones yet people due to contract issues buy them^^

My personal experience is that if you try to find a used phone on the E bay the price has no sense, but if you look in a local site of vacancies you can find good occasions, expecially if you make an offer that is lower of the asked price.

heres how i got my amaze, i bought it broken. honestly, as long as it turns on, im happy, i do customer service for t-mobile but i have at&t only because i have been with them since they were cingular. anyways, dont want to get off topic at hand, i can repair anything. my amaze had went through a joy ride through a dryer. and i still payed 250.00, then i had to get a digitizer/LCD, then a back, then a battery, but i still came out cheaper then retail price. i get laughed at on the smoke deck at work because of my phone but as the month went on it got nicer and nicer then a new trainee said when did you get your new phone? lol i build it...really. i got my inspire with a cracked screen the only phone i have that NOT damaged is my infuse lol