Why are phones cheaper at Walmart/Amazon? - General Questions and Answers

I was looking at the Thunderbolt from Verizon, and online from Verizon's site it is $249.99
At Walmart it's $69.99
Why is the price that much lower?

its kind of hard to explain but bassicly carriers like sprint verizon etc will send 3rd party retailers phones because more people are in and out of places like walmart bestbuy radio shack etc than an actuall verizon store so they lower the prices there so they can get more people to sign contracts thats were the money is at in the contract not the device itself. think about it when u get that phone your guaranteeing them 2 years of your business.

Walmart and amazon can buy in bulk and they get commission off the monthly plan, not the phone.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA Premium App

So is there any downside to getting a phone from Walmart/Amazon?
Hidden fees, etc?
I know about the 2 year contract as that's usually standard.
Thanks guys.

Related

where did u get ur captivate at?

i see a lot of good deals on amazon, wirefly, lets talk.... but i dont know if i can trust those websites or just go to at&t... i really think im gonna choose a captivate over the iphone 4. seeing all the various homescreen mods on a thread here made me want it more lol. so where did u guys get it from and how much? if u got them not at at&t how does the it change ur service plan? does it stay the same? thanks everyone and hope to get a captivate, root and enjoy? im coming from a tilt 2 running one of nrg'z ROM's and have android 2.2 as well . cant wait to see froyo on this beast!
I got mine from Amazon, had to change/add the data plan (didn't get grandfathered in). I think letstalk is the only one that provides an option during checkout to "keep current unlimited plan" as of right now.
Amazon is definitely the best price for just the phone, but if you want to keep your data plan, I believe letstalk is the one you have to go to. You don't confirm any changes until you submit the order just to check, I did the same thing when I was shopping around.
Well I bought mine from a corporate store on launch day of the phone. I got to keep my unlimited data plan because otherwise I would have bought it out right at that point.
HTH,
Charlie
199.99 plus tax a few minutes after it became available on AT&Ts website
Got mine from wirefly, letstalk is another place. Nothing wrong with these sites, just more bs to deal with when ordering
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Amazon from the 1 penny sale. New ATT customer here.
I bought it a day after it was released at the nearby corporate store with no contract for $350.
Got mine at walmart for $148.88 on an upgrade.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
firehazard said:
I bought it a day after it was released at the nearby corporate store with no contract for $350.
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Where was it? I was about to buy one from craigslist for $350. Would anyday prefer the phone without contract at that price.
And was that a Samsung corporate store?
$199.99+tax, upgrade, 11AM EST opening day
Got two,
For the wife - Free with an contract renewal from Letstalk.
For me - Sold old iphone 3GS 32 gig (in contract till march'11), and invested the money on unopened Captivate of Craigslist for $330 USD, still have about $100 in pocket to look at avialable options to upgrade with contract revewal come march.
Btw, will ATT honor the 1 yr warranty on the captivate bought off craigslist?
Um, probably not..
$99 from Lets Talk
I got mine at Best Buy through their Best Buy Mobile department and they price matched Wirefly which had it at $169.99 a few weeks ago. Funny thing is my contract extended, but I still have my upgrade discount for another phone too.
Bought it at Best buy on launch day for $199.
Contacted AT&T 29 days later to complain about GPS and told them I was switching carriers.
They offered to give me the phone for free.
Got my 199. credit and I'm good to go.
net cost: $0 for the phone
Citznfish said:
Bought it at Best buy on launch day for $199.
Contacted AT&T 29 days later to complain about GPS and told them I was switching carriers.
They offered to give me the phone for free.
Got my 199. credit and I'm good to go.
net cost: $0 for the phone
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Click to collapse
I'm surprised AT&T did that since the GPS issue has nothing to do with them. It's all Samsung's fault.
UberGoat said:
I'm surprised AT&T did that since the GPS issue has nothing to do with them. It's all Samsung's fault.
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I bet at the time they didn't know that
gunnyman said:
I bet at the time they didn't know that
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Anyone at AT&T should know a GPS problem is not due to the network. Bottom line is they will do anything to keep you under contract, probably even more so if you're one of those deviants that likes Android better than the iPhone, lol.
I got mine off eBay for $400. I saw it cheap on NewEgg and you could keep your unlimited data plan.
$99 at AT&T, kept my unlimited data plan from my iPhone 3G. Talked to customer service and they told me if you have unlimited data you will keep it as long as you keep a smart phone and dont switch your data plan.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
At best buy mobile for 149.99 and they gave me free car charger and free samsung bluetooth headset and also got to keep my unlimited data
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Stay with Prepaid or go on Contract?

I currently have Tmobiles $60 monthly 4G prepaid plan. I have been using an HTC G2 I bought off of craigslist. I just sold a Galaxy S and my G2 on ebay and have enough money to get an HTC Sensation 4G.
Will it be better to open a contract with Tmobile and get the phone for $100, or buy the phone off of ebay or the BST here for around $300. I do not know if there are any hidden fees or anything, and don't want to stray to far from $60 a month. What would you guys do? Im leaning towards buying the Sensation 4G off of ebay.
Extra: What phones are like the Sensation 4G and work with Tmobile 4G?
Screw the contracts. I'm on Simple and pay on $40 a month.
Pay cash for all of my phones.
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk
Stay
Stay where you're at if you're happy with it - I pay about $180/month on contract with Verizon for just 2 phones....
I would stay on prepaid. My spouse was with US Cellular and the plan was supposed to be $79.99 a month for unlimited everything. It always came out to be about $140 with all the extra charges. Fees for this, fees for that. We're both on Simple Mobile now and pay $40 each... can't beat that!
if your on Prepaid Stay with it, one of the best things about T-mobile was the use of any phone on prepaid. Still kicking myself over going to a contract
Saito2185 said:
Still kicking myself over going to a contract
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Haha! Same...
pputhoo quoted
I vote for prepaid! No more unwanted bills, just pay and play each month
Especially if you get free extra bonus for extending your account balance with prepaid
Contract ends up cheaper in the long run.
I pay 29EUR a month. For me cheaper as prepaid... With prepaid i was at 60EUR or more a month... And i got a HTC Sensation XE but SGS 2 is better
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
I vote prepaid. I was on their monthly plan and it felt good being able to go to Verizon without paying them anything.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using XDA Premium HD app
Depends on where you use it for. Contracts in my country are obvious cheaper when you call alot, but if you only use mobile internet like me and almost never use up my montly call & sms limit then you might as well stay with prepaid, unless you can score a new phone without having pay high contract costs.
WiFi and voip are the combo I use, I just pay € 10 exclusive tax and then I call for 120 days free with a fup ofcourse and after those 120 days I just start using my credit and pay € 0,02 per min.
But my contract was with a free new phone on that moment worth about € 500 so that;s reason I have a contract with mobile internet, because it just cost me about € 4 each month, so I don't mind that I don't call so much.
But next time I will just stick with WiFi and use no sim card or prepaid as I think in my country the contracts are not cheap any more.
Yeah
I definitely think you should stay with what you have if your happy with it. I'm paying about $155/month on Sprint for 2 phones.
Verizon does offer prepaid for smartphones too, you just need to bring your own device. But, it's gonna run you $80.
Now, you can stay on Tmobile prepaid and use any GSM phone that's locked to Tmobile, or unlocked for any GSM provider(Granted that the phone has the right bands to support Tmobiles HSPA+ connection for full data speeds), but like any prepaid service you're gonna get the bottom of the barrel service. You do pay more with contracts 9/10, but you get so much better service and support. Sprint is going to be the cheapest and most flexible contract service at about $75-$85 after taxes with the starting 450 data plan(unlimited mobile talk, text, and data, 450 land line minutes nights and weekends start at 7), and phone selection isn't too bad either. Now you will be limited on 4g, since Sprint's Wimax service is next to nothing. If you don't have credit, you're looking at $50-$100 for a deposit.
AT&T is known to be the more expensive one out of the 3 carriers, but AT&T is actually just as much as Verizon would be. If you have no credit, you're looking at maybe $200-$400 for a deposit. For $90 a month, you get 450 land line minutes plus any minutes you don't use roll over to the next month, 5000 night and weekend minutes with rollover, unlimited texting, and 3gb of data. For service, it's hit or miss. AT&T will claim they have service in one area, but how AT&T does it is if they can even pull a single bar of service and connect to their towers, it counts as having service. Their LTE network isn't so big right now, but it's growing. Device selection is actually pretty decent right now, about the same as Sprint with the SII, the GS, a dual core Motorola device, a single core HTC phone, a dual core HTC phone, and the Iphones.
Verizon hands down has had the best service, and if you don't have credit maybe $125-$200 for a deposit. Verizon does have the biggest LTE network, and has a deal right now where you can get 4gb for the price of 2gb until the 31st of March on any LTE phone(but it has to be an LTE phone). Their plans are kind of limited though, $90 for 450 minutes, unlimited texts, and assuming you're going for an LTE phone 4gb of data. You only get unlimited to verizon phones, and nights and weekends start off at 9pm instead of 7 like Sprint. You can go up to 900 minutes for $20 more and get 10 numbers to get free minutes to however. Device selection is pretty decent for Verizon, but expensive. The cheapest LTE device Verizon pretty much has that's worth anything is the Stratosphere, but there's hardly any development for it. I love the service I get with Verizon, they're the only company in the Toledo area that has any type of 4g service, but the only reason I have Verizon now is because of the dealer plan Verizon offers to Radioshack employees.
If you're looking for your first contract phone, I wouldn't recommend Tmobile right now, but after they get the spectrum they got from AT&T setup then I would probably consider them, but easily for first contract go Sprint. Flexible, requires almost nothing to be approved, and decent service for Sprint. EVO 3d right now through Radioshack is $50 as well as the Photon, which would be the 2 most cost effective phones on Sprint right now.
vbetts said:
You do pay more with contracts 9/10, but you get so much better service and support.
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If by "service" you mean connection, are there any stats for this? I'm about to switch to their $30 prepaid, and would love to know if there's a catch.
i pay about $100.00 a month with AT&T and i don't have unlimited data. i'm about thinking about switching to prepaid as well when my contract ends.
thebobp said:
If by "service" you mean connection, are there any stats for this? I'm about to switch to their $30 prepaid, and would love to know if there's a catch.
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Most prepaid services are only going to have access to certain towers, meaning you couldn't use a Boost mobile phone that uses Sprint towers and roam off of Verizon or Clearwire, or any CDMA towers.
vbetts said:
Most prepaid services are only going to have access to certain towers, meaning you couldn't use a Boost mobile phone that uses Sprint towers and roam off of Verizon or Clearwire, or any CDMA towers.
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Is this a limitation for GSM-only phones (like mine)?
Edit: or is there any other limitation that you know of?
^ no he's referring to CDMA. Death to contracts.
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk
Yeah... I regret going into a contract.. Paying around $100 a month just for 1 line and its not even unlimited data.
Luckily its up in July and I can hopefully go prepaid

AT&T wont sell me phone off contract.. At HB store

AT&T wont sell me phone off contract.. At HB store, are most of you upgrading?...
Order online. Tax is a lot if you're paying the full price.
I'd imagine most are upgrading. Getting an unsubsidized phone in the US is a waste of money.
AT&T sold me mine off contract they didnt even hesitate. I have been told that some stores cannot sell phones outright. I would try another store.
Yeah. So debating... Rogers on ebay which is sim unlocked and unlock bootloader for about $700. While AT&T is around $600 locked to AT&T and locked bootloader... Until the petition ..... Then maybe they will do it later.. So For for an extra $100 bucks... You get sim unlock and bootloader.....
Many non-corporate stores won't sell them off contract.
These vendors only make money from contracts. Even at AT&T they won't make money selling you the device off contract, but thankfully they allow it.
Maroon Mushroom said:
Many non-corporate stores won't sell them off contract.
These vendors only make money from contracts. Even at AT&T they won't make money selling you the device off contract, but thankfully they allow it.
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most likely this is the case, its all about profit and non corporate stores are known to do that
(or pretend to be out of stock for people upgrading)
call a corporate store and talk to a manger and complain (and you may get a discount)
a friend of mine did and he got $100 off
or buy it online and prob wont have to pay sales tax
The_Zodiac said:
most likely this is the case, its all about profit and non corporate stores are known to do that
(or pretend to be out of stock for people upgrading)
call a corporate store and talk to a manger and complain (and you may get a discount)
a friend of mine did and he got $100 off
or buy it online and prob wont have to pay sales tax
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Click to collapse
a corporate store won't give you a discount because a non-corporate store wouldn't sell you the phone out right.
the non-corp ones have every right to structure their sales like that.
I'd buy the Rogers version since then you can get unlimited data for $10/15 so you will get your $100 back that way. Plus you can unlock the bootloader and don't have an ugly att logo on the top... But if you don't want to do that I'll sell you my One X that I just got today from Amazon Wireless for $550 + Shipping via Amazon Payments then I'll go buy a Rogers version... ;-)
Maroon Mushroom said:
a corporate store won't give you a discount because a non-corporate store wouldn't sell you the phone out right.
the non-corp ones have every right to structure their sales like that.
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it mayof been two corporate stores not really sure.
And id say it depends on which type (authorized reseller vs almost corporate but not)
I worked at the second type (tmobile though) and although we would refuse to sell phones out of contract at times we could of gotten into trouble if it had been reported through corporate.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
We always just figured most people weretoo dumb to complain through the correct channels
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
Maroon Mushroom said:
Many non-corporate stores won't sell them off contract.
These vendors only make money from contracts. Even at AT&T they won't make money selling you the device off contract, but thankfully they allow it.
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I own a non-corp att store and I sell the one x outright all day long!
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
If you're buying off contract, go to WalMart... they are the cheapest, and they pricematch. I hate Walmart for the people it attracts, buy they do have the lowest prices.
Red5 said:
If you're buying off contract, go to WalMart... they are the cheapest, and they pricematch. I hate Walmart for the people it attracts, buy they do have the lowest prices.
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haha exactly. they dont usually have the sexiest or brightest employees ever
Red5 said:
If you're buying off contract, go to WalMart... they are the cheapest, and they pricematch. I hate Walmart for the people it attracts, buy they do have the lowest prices.
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Just out of curiosity how much is the One X at Wal-Mart? I bought a Galaxy Note off contract a little bit ago for $650 no prob at att while BB was $750. I believe the One X is $550 at At&t.
Sent from my HTC One X using XDA

Best place to get new phone?

I'm up for a phone upgrade with Verizon and am wanting to get a Razr M for it's superior specs over my Droid 2 and the fact the Razr M isn't the size of a 5 subject notebook like so many of the new phones seem to be now.
That said I know I can get it from Verizon, but have noticed Best Buy and Radio Shack both have the phone. I've heard bad stories about Best Buy screwing up peoples contracts or accounts and haven't heard good or bad about Radio Shack.
Also right now the Razr M is free AFTER rebate from Verizon if I visit their store while I believe Best Buy and Radio Shack both are free out the door.
What are your thoughts? Is there another, better, place I should go and renew?
Costco. Hands down. Free accessory bundle with every phone, USUALLY cheapest price in town and a 90 exchange period. No brainer.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
Amazon.com
I got a very reasonable price from ebay because the legal backing from PayPal. PayPal will back the buyer in the event of a misleading advertisement. You still need to be careful and do your research, but ebay has my vote.
Depends on which manufacturer
Costco is good. Amazon maybe?
If you are willing to do it online then checkout wirefly or amazon wireless
If you want it in person then give best buy a try. The reason you hear so many horror stories is because they are the most popular non carrier store to get phones. They get it right more often then they get credit for. you don't have to worry about that rebate crap and they can set it all up if your not too tech savy. Plus occasionally they run promotions where people who upgrade through them get a $50 prepaid visa debit card
I worked at a Verizon store, trust me. I've had to deal with plenty of ****ed up accounts another vzw retailer screw up.
Sent From My Samsung Hercules
I usually buy from people outside and then activate it o.o
or craiglist probably
xdomri said:
I usually buy from people outside and then activate it o.o
or craiglist probably
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eBay
My suggestion is eBay or flipcart.:thumbup:
Try it out..
................................................................................................
I made some good deals on ebay as well as "ebay Kleinanzeigen"

[Q] Off Contract Advantage?

I am on the Sprint Network and will stay with them for a variety of reasons. I have always had a contract with them and upgraded whenever that opportunity presented itself. I am no longer on a contract and I'm considering a few options. The Note 3 (probably won't go that way due to problems on voice calls), The LG G2 or the Nexus 5. Advantage of the Nexus 5 is that it is off contract but if I am staying with Sprint anyway what advantage is there to being off contract? Sprint won't discount my monthly bill as far as I know so the off contract advantage has me a bit puzzled from the purely dollars and cents point of view. I'd be happy to hear views from others as to why this seems like a good idea. I'm leaning toward the LG G2 which will likely have a better camera and battery than the Nexus 5 and it's only $99 at Sprint with the 2 year contract. I'd go for the Nexus 5 at 399 for the 32GB model if it meant something off my monthly bill but I don't see Sprint giving me a discount just because I bought the Nexus 5 off contract. What am I missing?
I am in the exact same situation as you, except I bought a Note 3 and just returned it. If the Sprint Nexus 5 is available through google play, you buy that, use your upgrade towards an iphone 5s and sell it sealed. If the Nexus 5 winds up being only available through Sprint, then I'm not so sure what I'm going to do.
You can change your mind and leave whenever you want. And with the nexus you will be able to go to any carrier you want (except Verizon).
All in all, it gives you more options on what service provider you want. I would recommend seeing what offers the best service (data and calls) and pick that carrier or see if you can go prepaid. I know straight talk offers at&t and T-Mobile Sim cards and its like $51 a month after taxes for unlimited everything with 2.5 GB uncapped data.
Sent from my HTC6435LVW using xda app-developers app
ricecake2000 said:
You can change your mind and leave whenever you want. And with the nexus you will be able to go to any carrier you want (except Verizon).
All in all, it gives you more options on what service provider you want. I would recommend seeing what offers the best service (data and calls) and pick that carrier or see if you can go prepaid. I know straight talk offers at&t and T-Mobile Sim cards and its like $51 a month after taxes for unlimited everything with 2.5 GB uncapped data.
Sent from my HTC6435LVW using xda app-developers app
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Yes, I totally agree that there are A LOT of options. I've even thought about picking up Tmo @ $30/month, but I'm on Sero, only pay $50/month for unlimited everything, and my Sprint service has been fantastic since relocating to Orlando, FL. Oh decisions decisions
Jocelyn said:
I am in the exact same situation as you, except I bought a Note 3 and just returned it. If the Sprint Nexus 5 is available through google play, you buy that, use your upgrade towards an iphone 5s and sell it sealed. If the Nexus 5 winds up being only available through Sprint, then I'm not so sure what I'm going to do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Boom Baby. Haha
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Trying to weigh my options as well.
My 2 year contract expired many months ago. I can buy the 16g Nexus 5 for $150 if I sign a new 2 year agreement, I can change to the Sprint One Up plan so I can be eligible for a new phone once a year (not sure pricing details), or I can buy through the Google Playstore for $350/$400. I have so many family members tied to the plan I am on I probably wouldn't switch carriers.
So if I bought through Google and in a year's time I wanted to switch phones I guess I could sell the Nexus 5 then use my upgrade to buy whatever phone I wanted. If I buy through Sprint, the upfront cost is cheaper, but I will have to wait a couple years if I want to switch phones.
Decisions, what do ya'll think?
For someone off-contract but that wants to stick with their post-paid account, the only advantage is flexibility. If coverage or financial conditions changed, you have the choice to be able to switch providers with no termination fees.
The only real exception to that would be the newer T-Mobile post-paid accounts where they do offer plans with lower base costs per month because they split off the phone subsidy, so if you bring your own phone you pay less since you aren't using a subsidy.
If you have a high degree of confidence you will be staying with your current contract provider and that other things like your financial situation will remain stable, I would say it makes more sense to just re-up with them and choose whatever phone you want from them. As far as which one, read some reviews and then try them out in-person at your local provider's store. Everyone has slightly different things they want out of phones, so without specific criteria it would be hard to say whether a Nexus 5 would still be the best phone for you.
I agree with you, flexibility is the main advantage of staying off contract. I've had an S3 for the last couple of years and am getting the itch to switch. If the HTC One came out today I would probably get that because I love the looks and build of it and I liked my original Evo, but it's so "old" now I want something newer - LG G2, Nexus 5 or some other upcoming phone.
electricpope said:
For someone off-contract but that wants to stick with their post-paid account, the only advantage is flexibility. If coverage or financial conditions changed, you have the choice to be able to switch providers with no termination fees.
The only real exception to that would be the newer T-Mobile post-paid accounts where they do offer plans with lower base costs per month because they split off the phone subsidy, so if you bring your own phone you pay less since you aren't using a subsidy.
If you have a high degree of confidence you will be staying with your current contract provider and that other things like your financial situation will remain stable, I would say it makes more sense to just re-up with them and choose whatever phone you want from them. As far as which one, read some reviews and then try them out in-person at your local provider's store. Everyone has slightly different things they want out of phones, so without specific criteria it would be hard to say whether a Nexus 5 would still be the best phone for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It always amazes me how people would rather be in a contract that will require them to pay between $1-2,000 more over two years, instead of buying a phone outright and upfront, and save the money. Unless someone is too broke to afford a phone upfront... Of course if you can't afford a phone upfront, you likely can't afford a $100 monthly cell phone bill either.
wvcadle said:
It always amazes me how people would rather be in a contract that will require them to pay between $1-2,000 more over two years, instead of buying a phone outright and upfront, and save the money. Unless someone is too broke to afford a phone upfront... Of course if you can't afford a phone upfront, you likely can't afford a $100 monthly cell phone bill either.
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Click to collapse
Sure, but for people who only pay $50/month for essentially unlimited everything ( 1000 landline minutes, unlimited mobile minutes, texts, and data), subsidizing phones works in our favor.
We've been w/Sprint forever and have numerous phones on the account. I'm one of the ones who pays $50 for unlimited. I'm assuming I would continue to pay $50/month whether I bought a phone outright or through contract. I doubt if I bought a phone off contract my bill would be lower than $50/month.
Jocelyn said:
Sure, but for people who only pay $50/month for essentially unlimited everything ( 1000 landline minutes, unlimited mobile minutes, texts, and data), subsidizing phones works in our favor.
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If your on contract, why not buy the phone through google play and just use that on Sprint til you leave for ATT/Tmo?
I'm off contract, like a year now.
SageWilliams said:
If your on contract, why not buy the phone through google play and just use that on Sprint til you leave for ATT/Tmo?
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