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Did anyone buy from chinamobile?

Hello everyone,
I found a man called Kenny Taylor that sells phones,and I compared prices,
he`s prices are ridiculously low,
he`s saying that he works at chinamobile as a sales rep,
though I really couldn`t find any information about him or about phones in the site,I could manage to see only blackberry`s there.
He claims that the phones are brand new,in original box and with all accessories and they are not china clones.
He`s quotes for the phones I wanted -
iPhone 3GS 16GB (unlocked) - 300$
iPhone 3GS 32GB (unlocked) - 350$
HTC Hero - 250$
HTC Nexus one - 230$
International shipping via Fedex/USPS - 60$.
The prices here are 300$ less than the MSRP,and I don`t know if I should buy from him - maybe it`s a scam or something.
If anyone knows the person/company,and did buy from one of them - it would be nice to hear about that.
*if the thread is not in the right section of the forum,it would be nice if you could move it to the correct one*
**this thread is not about advertising the company/the guy,just for information matters**
Lots of thanks,
Danny.

100% SCAM!! Those prices are ludicrous, no way in hell are those real, most likely you will get nothing at all. and FYI, mobiles and pretty much all electronics are more expensive in China than in the US, and China Mobile shops are the MOST expensive places. STAY AWAY!

Thank you mlalahoi, actually I was going to buy the nexus one from him,
knew I should ask in here first.

Quick update -
I have got an answer from the company,I have to say that it sounds very believable..
Thanks for your mail.
This person that you are talking about i don't no him but he can be a
scammer too that want to you buy from him...
So i will advice you to buy from us to try and have believe in the
company...we no that there is alot of scam out there.
We are not scam we are real company that as been in business for more
then 8 years now...once we confirm your payment we are going to ship
the phone to you at your home address.
The reason the price is so low is the we buy direct from the company
that product the phone in bulks and right now we are running promo in
the company for buy 3units and get 1 for free.
So if you are going to buy the Htc Nexus one only the payment is via
western union not paypa...because is too low for the payment
condition.
Below is the condition about that payment
Any orders form $100usd to $3000usd=== via western union.
Any orders form $3000usd to $4500usd=== via bank transfer.
Any order form $4500usd above is via paypal.
So you are going to pay the money via western union money transfer.
So get back with your shipping address information so that we can
started packing and label your order ready for shipment.
Regards
Sale Rep.
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dany74q said:
Quick update -
I have got an answer from the company,I have to say that it sounds very believable..
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That's not believable at all if you know what to look for. First, the grammar and spelling is atrocious. Any real company would take the time to actually write their correspondence letters in a professional manner. Secondly, a legitimate, respectable company would never use Western Union to transfer money, no matter the amount. Every money transfer scam I've ever seen uses Western Union, since it's not traceable or reversable. I would not buy from any seller selling new devices at those rediculous prices; even if bought at wholesale prices, they would lose a lot of money selling that cheap. My advice is to stick with a reputable seller so you don't end up losing a few hundred dollars and not get anything in return, as I can guarantee you won't get what you order from these people.

Thank you for your answer Dave,I`ll stay away.
Once again - thank you all for your time.

dany74q said:
Thank you for your answer Dave,I`ll stay away.
Once again - thank you all for your time.
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It's not that bad, heh, but there are a few things you should keep in mind:
do not buy "genuine" stuff from China, either you're gonna get a fake or worse: nothing
go with established stores like DealExtreme or FocalPrice
use only PayPal, only scammers use Western Union
engrish is somewhat the norm, even with bigger stores :/
if you're getting a phone from there, choose one which has been properly reviewed, DealExtreme is very good in that regard as they have a very active forum and users , so you know what are you buying

If she reaches for a handful you'd better have the energy!

Authorized Retailer Pricing?

Ok so I always get my phone from Bestbuy or directly from Verizon based on online deals or specials going on when contract is up. Since when was Bestbuy pricing 700$ out of contract compared to $569 of VZ? They always when I checked with is every few months very similar in price. Now I have $300 buyback from previous upgrade done few months ago but considering locking in a second line to 4g Unlimited plan before it is too late.
So just curious did the Retail price 3rd party can sell agreement with Verizon change I was under impression to be Authorized reseller unless you were running a valid promotion, special you had to be in similar price range to Verizon?
I wouldn't be complaining normally but to have to cough up $700 for a retail price over Verizon cost of already high $569 seems way out of wack. I know the phones are 4g and high end but man didn't realize 3rd party places that were once better options now don't even try to compete with Big Reds pricing.
Forgive me if there was some post detailing Bestbuy cost going up or possible changes to why Verizon offers lower cost then retailers selling same phones on their behalf.

If you raise enough hell, best buy will match the VZW price. You just have to prove that the corporate store is charging 569 outright.

BBY will price match VZW... Best buy inflates their retail pricing to negate customers from buying it wo a contract(that's where they make their $$)

They will price match the online price or CS price cause they are not the same not a huge difference I just want to know which price to fight for? Is this generally something they are going to be pricks about I mean I have bought the phone I am going to bring back for the Buy Back Credit and purchased Black Tie Protection I can't imagine they would be to stuborn. I just want equal price and have no problem paying 569-599 at all obviously would be minus 300 GC I would get from the Buyback program.

If you were to come into my store and ask for a price match (I work at best buy), and you planned on getting blacktie and buyback, we would match without question. Other stores may be different, but the margin would be made up with those two components.

Sorry I should of been more clear on the phone I am going to trade in I had Blacktie and Buyback. This phone is to lock in 4g plan before July 7th so I would get Blacktie but no Buyback this time and previous phone is 3ish month old Fascinate. I have 2 Pc's, 2 HDTV and like 5 previous phones and everything has been with Blacktie.
I just want to know if I would be better of having proof cause I have no idea what a storefront of Verizons here has for anything showing retail price, but if I have to go out of my way to prove it. Due to BB not matching "online" prices I will cause I sure am not paying extra 125$ for same phone lol.
Really thank you all for advice so far I usually get great people when I work with Best Buy and after all Zagg shields the mobile department has put on my rounds of bad Thunderbolts they know my acount before they even pull me up as to what I have for phones ect. I just know it was like pulling teeth to get them to replace my non-fuctional Incredible after 2 seperate repairs to get a new device and had to talk to store manager before I got it done without a 3rd repair shipment.

Just bring it in the retail pricing from the online (I work at BBY Mobile PT as well) and Id match it

find the kid who hates his job at best buy and he'll price match it without talking to a manager. i work at best buy and do it all the time.

hackabusa said:
If you were to come into my store and ask for a price match (I work at best buy), and you planned on getting blacktie and buyback, we would match without question. Other stores may be different, but the margin would be made up with those two components.
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Word to the wise. Don't anyone ever get black tie. Its a scam.

I would generally agree to that last post but in my case because Best Buy has the lemon policy on repairing or attempting to fix issues. I went from Incredible that went 2.2 update came out dropped a packet and caused horrible call quality an hardware / software issues. Got me a $600 equal retail value Giftcard that put me into my Thunderbolt. Generally speaking insurance is never needed but I get it to be safe on my high end phones.
Also had to speak with a manager but the Buyback process and getting into the Charge was a painless experience and they gave it to me for $599 cause they know how much business I do there. Thanks for all the help.

[Q] Why smartphones are so expensive?

What is the difference between iPod Touch and iPhone? A $5 GSM/CDMA chip? Why $400 price difference?
Large screen Android tablets can be had for $200. Why unlocked phones are $600-800?
Sorry if it's been discussed, my search didn't find a good topic on the subject.

Wow, no answers! Noone else is interested in this question?
Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk

Which?
They're expensive because of convenience, demand. people want it they gotta pay....
Sent from my LS670 using XDA App

They are so expensive, because people buy them anyways.
Manufactors and carriers are all after our money, why should they lower the price.
Besides that some devices also have to pay back the research that went into developing them.

Don't have any idea why unlocked phones are costlier but it you compare tablet and phone, size does matter. Smaller, faster and costier.

go overseas and see the prices some can have more then a hundred dollars difference even if they are the same devices

The price triples at the 3rd world countries. I wonder why.

Yeah, you're lucky for not live in a country like Brazil, there a smartphone like S2 or Iphone4 costs around 1000,00 US$ bucks...

well maybe unlucking phone is expensive because its not really designated in any other area than the original area, but the publisher wants to publicly sale it to other region. that can be the cause too

Development is expensive.

You buy a brand, this is why most of the time you pay double.. buy another phone with the same specs but with a non popular brand and you will pay less...
Not to mention that you are talking about Apple...

All your reasoning would apply for everything else electronic- TVs, MP3 or Blue Ray players, etc. Yet they all keep coming down in prices. But not the phones.

Yea, good question I was wondering the same.
It really is a gigantic gap between say an Iphone and Ipod touch in terms of price, yet the hardware has very little difference.
Seems like a marketing thing, as most users will want all the goodies packed together in a small package + a phone in one device.
It's a conspiracy i tell yea

You should see it like this. When you buy a phone, you pay for the development, the construction, the shipping, the people who check it, the people who made the software. add that up with an expensive casing (like HTC has.) and the euro's (or dollars) fly onto the price tag. With Apple, I don't know, they just rip your wallet.
Smartphones are still upcomming, with new technology added every time a new device is being developed.
Why is SSD more expensive than a normal HDD, because it's a new technology. DVD drives used to be really expensive aswell, look at them now they aren't so expensive anymore.
Anything that's new has a price, and it's your choice if you want to pay for it or not.
I hope this helps.

It's not that unbranded phones are more expensive, the price just isn't subsidised by the network operators.
Network operators sell you the handset at a loss, but tie you into a contract to recoup their initial cost. Customer inertia means there's a good chance you'll stay with them.

well they give you much more ie. i have an ace and i can do everything what i usually do on my pc... except gaming ofc.

Unlocked phones are not only expensive because of the demand. When you buy one on contract, you are going to end up paying over $1000 over the 2 year contract anyways. That's why they discount smartphones so much on contract, they know they will get paid back from the contract.
Sent from my HD2

I'm guessing prices don't come down on phones because carriers subsidize prices. Manufacturers know that and therefore prices will stay rather high. Having said that, development on new phone technology is going at a fast rate right now so manufacturers also are recouping those costs.

Althestrasz said:
You should see it like this. When you buy a phone, you pay for the development, the construction, the shipping, the people who check it, the people who made the software. add that up with an expensive casing (like HTC has.) and the euro's (or dollars) fly onto the price tag. With Apple, I don't know, they just rip your wallet.
Smartphones are still upcomming, with new technology added every time a new device is being developed.
Why is SSD more expensive than a normal HDD, because it's a new technology. DVD drives used to be really expensive aswell, look at them now they aren't so expensive anymore.
Anything that's new has a price, and it's your choice if you want to pay for it or not.
I hope this helps.
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Everything else also has to be developed, designed, engineered, assembled, shipped and retailed. In fact, iPod was developed before iPhone and they mostly made of the same parts.
Also, if you look at pricing for prepaid phones, I don't think that carriers subsidize that much. Mostly they hike their prices to force us in their contracts.
A week or so ago I saw a link on one of the "deal tracking" sites, an HTC tablet was offered for the same price with no contract or service as the "discounted" price from Sprint.

theyre expensives due to all research and work of the engineers...and of course to obtain more money from all of us...you want the finest and latest technology from theirs...you have to pay whatever their wants...

Why Subsidized Phones Are a Rip-Off

The big American telecos have always been pretty high up on my list of evil corporations, so I wasn't exactly surprised to hear that Verizon – perhaps the worst offender of them all – is making the consumer bear the brunt of another frivolous fee. From now on Verizon subscribers will have to pay a $30 fee every time they upgrade their phones. While we've all gotten used to carriers inventing bogus fees literally out of thin air, it is important to take a step back and understand exactly how Verizon, AT&T and the rest are shamelessly ripping us off with every monthly statement.
For years now, wireless providers have been luring consumers in with top-quality phones at reduced prices in exchange for a two-year commitment. You get to keep the phone, while the carrier has the pleasure of charging you a hefty monthly sum for the service. Seems like a fair enough deal, right? At least, that's what the carriers would like to have you believe. The reality, however, is much more sketchy and sneaky as is often the case with companies that have a quasi-monopoly over any given product or service.
If you actually sit down and do the math, you end up paying the carrier back way more than just the price of the phone. But that's not the story the carriers are selling to the media. In fact, based on the decrease in profits carriers are complaining about how much money they are losing on subsidized phones. So in an attempt to allegedly compensate for providing us with phones at subsidized prices, US carriers have systematically introduced a so-called “upgrade fee” on top of all the existing charges lurking underneath the surface of your cell phone bill.
What may look like a relatively small fee will actually bring Verizon an extra $1 billion a year in terms of profit. And now that they've jumped on the “upgrade fee” bandwagon consumers are left with no choice but to shake their fists at the telcos and shell out an extra $30.
And get this, according to Verizon, this new fee is meant to “help continue to provide customers with the level of service and support they have come to expect”. If by that they mean that we've all become used to the fact that Verizon is one money-thirsty leech of a company with terrible customer service – then, yes, we agree.
As Americans we've become addicted to two-year contracts and subsidized phones, but my recommendation to you would be to use your Internet browsing skills and buy your Android phones at full price. Thankfully, there are plenty of good deals to be had on eBay and online discount stores. Don't let the Big Three bleed you to death with fees, fines and small print. Just keep one thing in mind: with these telecos it's always the consumer that gets the short end of the stick.

This is not only an issue in America but other parts of world too. I urge all consumers to band together & resist this kind of extortion. Vote with you money. Hurt evil monopolies where it will hurt them the most.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium

Have you no consumer protection lobbies in the US?
Over here for instance, I've got a HTC Sensation, free on O2 for £32 a month giving me 600 minutes, unlimited texts and 500MB a month along with free access to BT Openzone and O2 wifi hot spots. I also get a discount on my home broadband.
It's a 24 month contract but I can change after 21 months as I'm a valued customer.
So in total it's going to cost me £672.
At the time the Sensation without contract was around the £450 mark from reputable retailers (not ebay where you have very little come back if something goes wrong), even now it's £350.
So the contract actually cost me £222 which is under £11 a month. Even at £350 for the handset it'd be £15 a month.
Now looking at O2's sim only contracts, the same would be £21.50 a month, so it's cheaper to get a free phone on contract.
Even running the whole 24 months it works out at less than £17.50 a month if you take the free phone. To break even you'd need to buy a Sensation for £252 which means second hand.
Having looked at prices on US provider's websites and complaints posted on here, you guys seriously need to get the industry regulated to protect consumers from being ripped off.

How is it a rip off if I was going to buy that smart phone anyway and use that carrier? If I pick all the options I want carrier with phone and they are willing to subsidize the phone how is that ripping me off? I'd be using that phone and that carrier anyway so why not take the subsidy?

the_main_app said:
How is it a rip off if I was going to buy that smart phone anyway and use that carrier? If I pick all the options I want carrier with phone and they are willing to subsidize the phone how is that ripping me off? I'd be using that phone and that carrier anyway so why not take the subsidy?
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Good example is tmobile Monthly 4g plan is $70.00 flats fee for unlimited everything talk and text and 5 gigs data. This plan is non contract can leave when you want and comes up to $1680.00 after two years.
Classic plan for tmobile for the same features are 59.99 for talk and text. 35.00 dollars for 5 gig data. $94.99 let's add taxes and fees after. Which is around 11.00 extra which brings you to $105.99 note this is without $8.00 insurance added on. Two years on this plan is $ 2543.76.
Tmobile value plan is for the same features are $74.99 with taxes its $85.99 a month. Again without the insurance. You bring your phone and your also locked in a contract. You get no subsidize phones on this plan. Two years this plan is $2063.76
Classic vs value you save $480 dollars on value plan.
Classic vs monthly 4g you save $863.76. On the monthly 4g non contract plan
Value plan vs monthly 4g you save. $383.76 on the monthly 4g.
When you are on contract you wind up paying more for the phone then what's its worth on the contract. As you can see the savings alone can easily let you buy a phone off contract.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium

You guys still have it better with 2 year plans, and we are stuck in "3rd world " like stage with 3 year contracts....

Regardless of the phone cost, you're still shelling out decent amounts of money for your cell service, if you want to be up in arms, do it about your monthly bill costs.

the_main_app said:
How is it a rip off if I was going to buy that smart phone anyway and use that carrier? If I pick all the options I want carrier with phone and they are willing to subsidize the phone how is that ripping me off? I'd be using that phone and that carrier anyway so why not take the subsidy?
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If you don't see that its a rip off, then you are as much the problem.

It's all about cash flow to be honest. I bought my phone outright thinking it would be cheaper but if you want data then you end up paying over £20 in any case and if think about it only saves you around 30-50, for paying £500 upfront...

Killbynature said:
Good example is tmobile Monthly 4g plan is $70.00 flats fee for unlimited everything talk and text and 5 gigs data. This plan is non contract can leave when you want and comes up to $1680.00 after two years.
Classic plan for tmobile for the same features are 59.99 for talk and text. 35.00 dollars for 5 gig data. $94.99 let's add taxes and fees after. Which is around 11.00 extra which brings you to $105.99 note this is without $8.00 insurance added on. Two years on this plan is $ 2543.76.
Tmobile value plan is for the same features are $74.99 with taxes its $85.99 a month. Again without the insurance. You bring your phone and your also locked in a contract. You get no subsidize phones on this plan. Two years this plan is $2063.76
Classic vs value you save $480 dollars on value plan.
Classic vs monthly 4g you save $863.76. On the monthly 4g non contract plan
Value plan vs monthly 4g you save. $383.76 on the monthly 4g.
When you are on contract you wind up paying more for the phone then what's its worth on the contract. As you can see the savings alone can easily let you buy a phone off contract.
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Crikey those tariffs are steep!
Would I be right in thinking that the phones offered on the tariff are not free but only subsidised? So you're still forking out $150-250 for a handset?

ACtually it's not the subsidised phone that's a ripoff but the plan itself.
Keep in mind that the price of the plan is the same regardless of you getting a new phone with or not. There's no cheaper plan options for people opting out of the phone. Or any kind of saving.
The phone itself is basically an added benefit to you the user. Compare about the atrocious data and smd plans instead.

I got my samsung gio with a vodafone prepaid card + 5 Euro free to use prepaid money, the whole package cost me 112 Euros while in my country the cheapest GIO without a simlock (mine is simlocked) costs around 155 Euros.
I pay 30ct per MB though if I purchase a one month internet bundle via my prepaid money I pay 7ct per MB. I can also buy MB's that are usable for a day which will cost me 10ct per MB. Though the amount of MB's you buy are locked, I am pretty happy with my prepaid phone.
I also agree you should refrain from sticking to multi year contracts, who knows what happens in two years, or even one year.

http://cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/18626772.jpg

xaccers said:
Crikey those tariffs are steep!
Would I be right in thinking that the phones offered on the tariff are not free but only subsidised? So you're still forking out $150-250 for a handset?
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Yeah pretty much you can buy a phone from any other place cheaper. I don't know where you live but a free phone in the USA. Isn't free. You have upgrade $30 or $18 just to update. Staying off contract would still be cheaper and you can just sell your old phone and the savings alone would make it cheaper. Another benefit is that you aren't worrying about your carrier for updates. Buy the original phone and it will be updated better than a carrier branded version of the phone.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium

shardnet said:
ACtually it's not the subsidised phone that's a ripoff but the plan itself.
Keep in mind that the price of the plan is the same regardless of you getting a new phone with or not. There's no cheaper plan options for people opting out of the phone. Or any kind of saving.
The phone itself is basically an added benefit to you the user. Compare about the atrocious data and smd plans instead.
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Actually in most cases, the big carriers do charge you the same price on the plan regardless of whether you bought the phone subsidized or not. But they are not the only companies you can get a plan with. You can always go the prepaid route and you can get the same mobile and data service as the big carriers as many of the prepaid plans are MVNOs. F0or example I bought an International Galaxy Note recently and put it on Straight Talk's Unlimited Everything plan for $45/month. Over 2 years it will cost me $1080. Add in the cost of the phone, I will have paid $1665 over 2 years. Buy the phone from AT&T for $250 and $100/month on service ($40 for voice, $20 Text unlimited, $30 for 3GB data, and taxes), $2650 total over 2 years. I would have saved almost $1000 over the 2 years AND not tied to a contract.

shardnet said:
ACtually it's not the subsidised phone that's a ripoff but the plan itself.
Keep in mind that the price of the plan is the same regardless of you getting a new phone with or not. There's no cheaper plan options for people opting out of the phone. Or any kind of saving.
The phone itself is basically an added benefit to you the user. Compare about the atrocious data and smd plans instead.
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Like I said it's different in the USA. Our plans pretty much make us pay for the full price + extra. All phones have a 1 year warranty. Even then using tmobile insurance it will cost you an extra $120 every two years. They also charge you a fee for delivering a replacement now. I think it's $5 om insurance and 20 dollars without.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium

I fail to see the point. Yes Verizon is spendy but they are the best. But if you want a cheaper phone and plan there are options. I pay $25 bucks a month for my virgin mobile plan and I paid $240 for my epic touch that I modded to run on virgin mobile USA. I will probably keep this plan for as long as I can. If I need to use more minutes that's what internet calling is for. It may not be as dependable as Verizon or at&t but it gets the job done.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA

Killbynature said:
Yeah pretty much you can buy a phone from any other place cheaper. I don't know where you live but a free phone in the USA. Isn't free. You have upgrade $30 or $18 just to update. Staying off contract would still be cheaper and you can just sell your old phone and the savings alone would make it cheaper. Another benefit is that you aren't worrying about your carrier for updates. Buy the original phone and it will be updated better than a carrier branded version of the phone.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
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Over here in the UK, phones are generally what is used by providers to snag customers.
So people pick the phone they want then search the providers for the best deal offering that phone, either for free (normally a higher monthly cost) or at a reduced price.
We also have various organisations keeping charges low.

I personally feel the opposite of the OP. How exactly is a subsidized phone a ripoff? The PLAN is going to be the same whether you bring your own phone or get one from the carrier. If you know you aren't going to be sticking around for 2 years then buying your phone outright might be the way to go. Otherwise I'd say save some money.

edit wrong thread.

[Q] Best place to upgrade 2 year contract (T-Mobile)

Hey guys my 2-year contract is up and I'm looking to renew it with T-Mobile. Are there any stores that offer a better promotion than others? For example, maybe at Best Buy they will give you a free case or something (I just made that up). I usually renew my contracts at official T-Mobile stores but I'm wondering if stores like Best Buy, Radioshack or any other electronic store that is affiliated with T-Mobile might give better deals.

I am a TMobile customer. The answer is, not really. Occasionally, but not often. Most of the big deals they were doing were during the holiday season.
Be sure to read tmonews.com. They have a nice rss feed and they list deals when they happen. Very good news.
Note that since your 2 year lease is up, you should consider a non-subsidized phone in the future due to the cost savings. Also, make sure you have a plan where you are not paying the hardware subsidy fee.
You may be able to change your plan now to something slightly cheaper. Even if it is only $5 cheaper, that is $60 per year.

jmomo said:
I am a TMobile customer. The answer is, not really. Occasionally, but not often. Most of the big deals they were doing were during the holiday season.
Be sure to read tmonews.com. They have a nice rss feed and they list deals when they happen. Very good news.
Note that since your 2 year lease is up, you should consider a non-subsidized phone in the future due to the cost savings. Also, make sure you have a plan where you are not paying the hardware subsidy fee.
You may be able to change your plan now to something slightly cheaper. Even if it is only $5 cheaper, that is $60 per year.
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Wait I don't understand what you mean about hardware subsidy fee. I am in a family plan right now and I am planning to get four new discounted phones from the start of a new 2 year contract. Does T-Mobile add additional cost so I have to pay off the four phones in the length of 2 years?
Also, what if I purchase a discounted device for $200 and resell online for $400+?

kharnage said:
Wait I don't understand what you mean about hardware subsidy fee. I am in a family plan right now and I am planning to get four new discounted phones from the start of a new 2 year contract. Does T-Mobile add additional cost so I have to pay off the four phones in the length of 2 years?
Also, what if I purchase a discounted device for $200 and resell online for $400+?
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bump