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So here is my dilemma.
I have been an HTC user for years. My Touch Pro 2 is hanging together by threads and needs replacing. Android is the way to go.
I have a Euro spec factory unlocked Iphone 4 on the way to me from my office in South Africa but I really do not like the Iphone form factor.
I considered the HTC Inspire but wanted to wait for the Infuse which seems to be getting great reviews.
I could probably sell the unlocked Iphone here in the USA for some decent money (they appear to be selling up above the $600 mark!!) and then use the proceeds to buy the Infuse off contract and still have some change so that when the Galaxy S2 comes out I could even sell the Infuse and upgrade to the GS2.
Does my logic make sense?
Any other suggestions?
I basically did the same thing except I had my iPhone for about a year before I sold it so it was fairly used. It was a 16GB black iPhone in fair condition and I jailbroke it before I sold it. I got $380 but I know some people who have gotten up to $450, just depends on the day.
I bought the Infuse off-contract from Amazon Wireless for $580, so it bascially cost me $200. But I'm really happy that when my contract ends next year I can either get off AT&T or sell my Infuse and upgrade to whatever the newest dual-core phone is.
I bought mine with 100 off for early upgrade. Trade in another phone, or sell for a little more and that brings it down more.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA Premium App
samsat said:
So here is my dilemma.
I have a Euro spec factory unlocked Iphone 4 on the way to me from my office in South Africa but I really do not like the Iphone form factor.
I considered the HTC Inspire but wanted to wait for the Infuse which seems to be getting great reviews.
I could probably sell the unlocked Iphone here in the USA for some decent money (they appear to be selling up above the $600 mark!!) and then use the proceeds to buy the Infuse off contract and still have some change so that when the Galaxy S2 comes out I could even sell the Infuse and upgrade to the GS2.
Does my logic make sense?
Any other suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your logic is great, except let me give you some info on what my situation was as it was very similar:
If you're in a good CraigsList city, which I see you're in SoCal... I'm in the bay area. Where there's a big Craigslist community like in CA, you can get pretty good deals on Infuse brand new. I bought several for $375-425 (started buying one for me and my friends wanted a couple so I ended up buying 4 total, haha).
I too came from iPhone 4. I had 2 unlocked iPhone 4s from the UK. The demand in the US for these is absolutely unbelievable. One I sold for $1100 2 weeks ago, and the other I sold for $1050 yesterday. Both sold on eBay. Keep in mind they were both less than 6 months old (one was a 6 week old white version, hence the higher price)... but there's a huge market out there for factory unlocked models. When the iPhone 4 came out, I flew to London, bought 4 and kept 2, sold the other 2 for $2000 each, so it paid off all four ... they're not cheap over there (about $920 USD), which is why they fetch so much resale.
I first tried the Inspire 4G. It's a good phone, but the killer for me was the battery, which to be blunt, sucked. I sold it and got the Infuse. I've only had the infuse for a week now, but the battery is much better than the Inspire 4G, and the overall performance is great. I did like the metalic build of the HTC, but I suppose I can't have it all, and the battery on the inspire was just a total deal killer.
Welcome to CA... hope my info helps Best of luck to you.
Many thanks for the replies.
Bella, thanks for the welcome, I am in SD.
I checked Craiglist here no Infuse adverts but there are quite a few on Ebay.
Another option would be to just pay the $199 to ATT for the Infuse and renew for another 2 years. Its part of a family plan so its unlikely we will change anytime soon.
I will put the Iphone which I think will be brand new in its sealed box, on Ebay. I assume when you sold yours on Ebay you did not allow for any returns?
samsat said:
Many thanks for the replies.
Bella, thanks for the welcome, I am in SD.
I checked Craiglist here no Infuse adverts but there are quite a few on Ebay.
Another option would be to just pay the $199 to ATT for the Infuse and renew for another 2 years. Its part of a family plan so its unlikely we will change anytime soon.
I will put the Iphone which I think will be brand new in its sealed box, on Ebay. I assume when you sold yours on Ebay you did not allow for any returns?
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Click to collapse
Yeah SD is harder for CL because it's not that huge of a town. I used to live there.
The average price on Ebay for brand new infuse is at about $505... don't buy unlocked because it's a simple script to get your unlock code so you're paying for something that's free, hehe.
Regarding your iPhone.... yeah ebay on both mine. If you start them at $0.99 there's no insertion fee (hehehe, insertion fee, lol)... and it'll sell quick. They rape you on the final value fee, but it is what it is. I've been selling on eBay for years, and I never have offered returns (most ebay sellers don't)... it just turns you into a rental office if you offer people to try something then return it. lol
Thanks for the advise. I will hopefully the Iphone 4 in hand early next week.
I will then decide what route to take.
Hi Bella,
I just sent you a PM requesting some advice.
Thanks
I recently switched over from the Galaxy S i9000 which was a great phone, but this phone is just that much better. The Infuse phone feels smoother than my i9000 ever did with any custom rom or overclocked kernel, and to think we don't even have voodoo or any OC kernels on this device yet. It is definitely worth it. I upgraded my phone on the costco website for $129 which was a steal for this phone, best buy has the upgrade for 149.99. Glad i bought it, the screen is AMAZING.
I did an exception upgrade and paid $299, they added $100 for the early upgrade since it was less than six months out.
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.
Click to expand...
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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Click to collapse
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...
Click to collapse
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
My ATT Samsung Galaxy S2 recently died on me and I don't have an upgrade on my plan until the very end of this year. I am currently using an old feature phone. I was thinking about buying a used Samsung Captivate to get me through, but I am not sure this is a wise investment. Would it be possible for me to find a tablet that I could put the sim card from my SGS2 in and use for data? I don't care much about form factor, and it doesn't need to be a powerhouse. I would like HPSA+, as it is all over my area, but it is not necessary. Budget is a big issue. I am thinking $200 or less, if possible. Maybe $250. I am willing to go for a refurbished unit. Any ideas? Perhaps a used Dell Streak 7 4G for about $160 used on Amazon?
So I am on a Grandfathered unlimited plan on VZW and therefor can not upgrade on my line.. But my dad is on a 4gb Tiered plan, and my mom and sister have feature phones..
So we have 2 upgrades currently. So since I just destroyed the screen on my GNex that I bought used a year ago, I am going to try to preform some trickery..
I have intentions of preordering the Note 2 here in a few day on my dads line, activating it on his line, then moving it over to my line for my use.. But I was wondering how often can you move a upgrade over to a line and upgrade on that line?
There are rumors of being able to get an S3 for $50 or even $1 on black friday with an upgrade, and I was thinking if it was possible, It would be awesome to pick up an S3 on the cheap, Maybe use it as a smaller alternative to the Note 2, or probably sell it and use the funds to fix my GNex screen and put the rest towards school (most likely situation, I loved my GNex)
Anyone have any idea on if this wouldnt work? Does verizon only let a line use an upgrade every xdays?
Moto G, Verizon Droids Coming to Carriers, But Not Moto X
"If you want the new Moto X Style when it comes to market in September, you're going to have to buy it unlocked. Otherwise, you might want to wait a month or two for some Verizon Droid announcements.
The $399 Moto X Style is one of very few phones that can be used on all four major U.S. carriers. So far in the U.S., only the Google Nexus 6 and the Apple iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have that ability. It'll work just fine with AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, or Verizon SIM cards, said Motorola senior vice president of software engineering Seang Chau.
"You buy it once, and you can switch carriers all you want," he said.
But the Moto X Style won't be sold in carrier stores..."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looking forward to this release. If that camera has really improved, bye bye Samsung S5!
I'm looking at the X Style for a couple reasons. UNLOCKED from a carrier, means I don't have to jump through hoops.
Rooting isn't an issue for me. My current 1 year old Huawei Mate2 isn't unlocked either. For work purposes, the camera
has to be a good one, the mate2 13mp is fantastic, coupled with the Camera FV-5 app. More megapixels does not always
equate with a better photograph, but, if DONE RIGHT it will, so, once it gets in the wild and feedback starts coming in,
I'll know. It's a bit smaller than my current device, which comes in with a 6.1" screen. It has a 4,100mAH battery, which
can easily last 2 days. As long as the Moto, can get me 10 hours of usage, it wouldn't matter to me to lose just a bit
of screen size or battery life.
They also say "Screw Canada".
They also say screw anyone who would prefer to pay less than $400 for a phone and are willing to take a contract to do so.
sternum_boy said:
They also say screw anyone who would prefer to pay less than $400 for a phone and are willing to take a contract to do so.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You still end up paying the $400. However best buy and Motorola have very decent finance options. I would rather do that than end up in a contract.
The route I take is I always sell my old phone on swappa before its price drops too low so I'm never paying more and $200 for a new phone. Most of the time it's an even trade.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
orcsbane13 said:
You still end up paying the $400. However best buy and Motorola have very decent finance options. I would rather do that than end up in a contract.
The route I take is I always sell my old phone on swappa before its price drops too low so I'm never paying more and $200 for a new phone. Most of the time it's an even trade.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, you don't end up paying the $400. I am with Sprint and they still offer subsidized upgrades with a 2 year contract. The contract free plans are not at a cheaper monthly rate than my legacy plan (my plan works out to about $60 per line with unlimited data). I typically pay between $0 and $150 for a phone at retail, get a 2 year contract, and then sell my old phone for $50-$100.
orcsbane13 said:
You still end up paying the $400. However best buy and Motorola have very decent finance options. I would rather do that than end up in a contract.
The route I take is I always sell my old phone on swappa before its price drops too low so I'm never paying more and $200 for a new phone. Most of the time it's an even trade.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How? My bill doesn't go up or down when I subsidies a phone. If I pay 200, I pay 200..
They offered unlocked and carrier versions before. They will probably have carrier versions in time.
But with unlocked, you have the freedom to play carriers for the lowest rate and MVNOs too.
Ultimately unlocked is cheaper over time. If you are in an area where you can play the field. I hope more carriers go unlocked.
I just need T-Moble to open up their WiFi calling app to devices like this. But the savings and features outweigh getting a T-Mobile Nexus with WiFi calling IMHO.
Biz!
I hope it's worth it.
They scream screw 1+ lol
Sent from my SM-G920T
Apple
If all the manufactures would do this, you would see the iphone have trouble selling their icrap for $700-800. Of course, the isheep would pay any price for their two year technology. I think it is a simple phone for simple people.
Verizon just announced "no more contracts". AT&T has been offering it for a while. To get those "low" device prices with a contract, you're buying the subsidy. On AT&T you spend $600 over 2 years for the subsidy. Then if you buy the phone for $200 on contract, you've really spent $800 dollars for it. This is the AT&T example, but others are similar. Contacts are not a good deal.
I've been off contract for more than a year now. Bought all my phones outright. The majority of the 9 are MotoG, an original MotoX, and a couple old Galaxy S3. We all share 15GB of data and have unlimited talk and text for about $27 / month / line. But we do buy our phones.
As contracts and subsidies become a thing of the past, and people realize the "true" cost of their phones, the days of $700 - $1000 phones are numbers. I applaud Moto for their pricing and for freeing us from the carrier imposed constraints and bloatware. It all started with the original MotoG and MotoX under Google ownership, and I'm glad to see they continue with this approach under the current ownership.
jswclw said:
Verizon just announced "no more contracts". AT&T has been offering it for a while. To get those "low" device prices with a contract, you're buying the subsidy. On AT&T you spend $600 over 2 years for the subsidy. Then if you buy the phone for $200 on contract, you've really spent $800 dollars for it. This is the AT&T example, but others are similar. Contacts are not a good deal.
I've been off contract for more than a year now. Bought all my phones outright. The majority of the 9 are MotoG, an original MotoX, and a couple old Galaxy S3. We all share 15GB of data and have unlimited talk and text for about $27 / month / line. But we do buy our phones.
As contracts and subsidies become a thing of the past, and people realize the "true" cost of their phones, the days of $700 - $1000 phones are numbers. I applaud Moto for their pricing and for freeing us from the carrier imposed constraints and bloatware. It all started with the original MotoG and MotoX under Google ownership, and I'm glad to see they continue with this approach under the current ownership.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's funny that Moto decided to do this right before Verizon drops subsidized phones. I have to say this phone is way more attractive looking to me. I was thinking of waiting to see what the new droid line had. However the cost will be 200-300 more than this phone. I think this will be a game changer in the way OEMs build and price their phones.
sent from "my kungfu is stronger then yours" XT1080
I'm glad to see moto going this route with these phones. Hopefully it starts dropping the prices of other phones.
I am curious to see how Iphone sales go with no contracts. How many people are willing to spend the big bucks for 64gb and higher iphones. I am ditching my S5 once I can get my hands on these newer moto phones and see if the Moto Pure is too big for my hands or not
[bman123] said:
I'm glad to see moto going this route with these phones. Hopefully it starts dropping the prices of other phones.
I am curious to see how Iphone sales go with no contracts. How many people are willing to spend the big bucks for 64gb and higher iphones. I am ditching my S5 once I can get my hands on these newer moto phones and see if the Moto Pure is too big for my hands or not
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apparently Verizon is keeping subsidized phones for current customers if I read the articles right.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
DaleGriggs said:
If all the manufactures would do this, you would see the iphone have trouble selling their icrap for $700-800. Of course, the isheep would pay any price for their two year technology. I think it is a simple phone for simple people.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really hope Apple starts to lower their prices. With more and more carriers no longer doing 2 year contracts, many customers now have to see the full price of the phone, and either pay for it up front or know they are spending $800 over the course of a 2 year phone loan.
The phones are worth whatever customers will pay for them. I could see iPhone prices declining some, but probably not that much.
Macs still sell pretty well, even though there are better, cheaper alternatives...
I'm really looking forward to this phone. I just hope it gets a lot of developer love.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
geoff5093 said:
I really hope Apple starts to lower their prices. With more and more carriers no longer doing 2 year contracts, many customers now have to see the full price of the phone, and either pay for it up front or know they are spending $800 over the course of a 2 year phone loan.
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Click to collapse
While there may be some correction to improved yields and manufacturing improvements don't count on any substantial price drops (unless they come out with a lower end phone but that will still be pricey). People who like iPhones will have no issues paying for them. I went from a subsidized phones (4 on our account) to non-subsidized (payments over 24 mo.) and my overall phone bill went down. Particularly for iPhones you used to be limited to higher cost plans with subsidized phones. BUT once you had "paid" off your phone at two years you were still stuck with a higher cost plan. I haven't been under contract for many years and never again will be.
I'm waiting to see if the Moto's will bootloader unlockable and see what the new Nexus phones bring to the table then I'll make up my mind, but the Moto X is high on my list.