Cell Phone Dealers are the new Car Salesmen

R Q

R Q

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2005
Location
Charlotte
I'm just looking at new iPhones because mine is an 8 and is starting to not charge correctly. I go on Verizon's site and look at a phone deal and it says "New Line required" for this deal or some other crap. Plus there's disclaimers about 5G all over them. You can't get a clear deal anywhere and the stores are worse! I've walked out of them before thinking I got a good deal only to find my bill double! I took that phone back and made them cancel the whole thing because they misrepresented it. Got the manager involved and got the sales guy's hand slapped. lol
I would switch to a Samsung but I'm so used to an iPhone... But the Samsung deals are the same way.
What's a guy to do? I'm staying with Verizon, I like an iPhone, I just want a clear deal
 
Try going to Best Buy. We usually do business there instead of the Verizon store.
 
Pay cash for the mid-level phone. Also, tell Verizon to pound sand. My bill has not changed with ATT no matter what phone I use.
 
Unfortunately Verizon wins on service generally so they have you by the shorties, but yeah they royally suck to deal with in every way. But that also goes for most cable and internet providers too.

Its sad that it has been normalized to get shafted anytime you need to deal with a service provider. I have had fantasies about going to Mint or something along those lines but not willing to take the risk on coverage.
 
CasterTroy said:
Verizon sites are like DMV plate agencies...a franchise.

Call Verizon directly. Deal with them and have them send you a phone by mail
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There's a difference between the actual Verizon Store, and a Verizon Authorized Retailer. Other than occssional high prices (and occasional great deals), I've never had an issue at an actual Verizon store. The Auth Retailers feel slimy and deceptive, and tack on a bunch of fees.
 
jeepinmatt said:
The Auth Retailers feel slimy and deceptive, and tack on a bunch of fees.
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B/c thats basically how they make their money. That and all the extra gizmos that are well above the right market price.

By far the easiest approach for gettin ga new phone is to do some research to pick out what model you want, then search for it on eBay, or even any online store. You can get the same phone from an online retailer fr way less - especially if it is say a 1.5-2 model year old phone newor refurbished in like-new condition. As long as you're ok not having the latest glam, that seems to be the sweet spot for a reasonably good / upto-date thing while being cost effective.

Of course, Verizon makes it a PITA by havin ga network that uses different bands from most and most mfr have a variant that is specific to them if you want to get the same level of coverage... so you have to do a little research on sub-variants. Now I have no idea if this is a thing w/ iPhones but definitely is for Samsungs and such.

After using an S5 for the last 10 months that was a quick on-hand replacement for my S7 that got stuck in a boot-loop, I just bought a new Moto G Ace 5g for $150 shipped to my door in 2 days. For Verizon.
 
R Q said:
I'm just looking at new iPhones because mine is an 8 and is starting to not charge correctly. I go on Verizon's site and look at a phone deal and it says "New Line required" for this deal or some other crap. Plus there's disclaimers about 5G all over them. You can't get a clear deal anywhere and the stores are worse! I've walked out of them before thinking I got a good deal only to find my bill double! I took that phone back and made them cancel the whole thing because they misrepresented it. Got the manager involved and got the sales guy's hand slapped. lol
I would switch to a Samsung but I'm so used to an iPhone... But the Samsung deals are the same way.
What's a guy to do? I'm staying with Verizon, I like an iPhone, I just want a clear deal
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Contact Dustin with Verizon (336) 307-0929. Pretty sure he is running the store in Kernersville now, I haven't gotten a new phone in 3-4 years. We have been dealing with him for about 10 years or more now and he is great. No BS and very helpful.
 
I dumped Verizon earlier this year. Their service sucked in Rockingham County and in my house in general. Switched to T-Mobile and the service here is much better, my bill went down by almost 50% and my Samsung S20FE's were free. Basically the same plan as I had on Verizon and free Netflix for the life of my account. Plus every Tuesday I get an additional 10 cent a gallon off on Shell gas.
 
cranbiz said:
I dumped Verizon earlier this year. Their service sucked in Rockingham County and in my house in general. Switched to T-Mobile and the service here is much better, my bill went down by almost 50% and my Samsung S20FE's were free. Basically the same plan as I had on Verizon and free Netflix for the life of my account. Plus every Tuesday I get an additional 10 cent a gallon off on Shell gas.
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I'm glad it worked out better for you @cranbiz, but I'd say that's definitely not the norm regarding service with T-Mobile. We had Verizon at work and everything was fine, but a little more expensive. Switched to T-Mobile, and now half the time when the guys call in I can't understand them or the call gets dropped. It's now a running joke when the call gets dropped or you can't understand them, you just holler "You got T-mobile'd"!
 
jeepinmatt said:
I'm glad it worked out better for you @cranbiz, but I'd say that's definitely not the norm regarding service with T-Mobile. We had Verizon at work and everything was fine, but a little more expensive. Switched to T-Mobile, and now half the time when the guys call in I can't understand them or the call gets dropped. It's now a running joke when the call gets dropped or you can't understand them, you just holler "You got T-mobile'd"!
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X2 and I live in Rockingham county! We had T mobile for one week . Took me two months of phone calls to get out of that mess. Went back to Verizon and no issues since other than paying through the nose , but it works when I am on the road and that is what I am paying for.

We are all on Iphones , and I buy a friend of mines used one each Fall as he gets the newest model every year. I pay about half price , and then my old one goes to one of the kids. My wife is in a brand new 13 pro max , but it was free with a trade in.
 
sammi_davis said:
X2 and I live in Rockingham county! We had T mobile for one week . Took me two months of phone calls to get out of that mess. Went back to Verizon and no issues since other than paying through the nose , but it works when I am on the road and that is what I am paying for.

We are all on Iphones , and I buy a friend of mines used one each Fall as he gets the newest model every year. I pay about half price , and then my old one goes to one of the kids. My wife is in a brand new 13 pro max , but it was free with a trade in.
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Maybe Verizon got off their butt and finally fixed the tower in the Wentworth area. It was down for at least 4 months that I know of. I had poor connectivity issues with Verizon in Wentworth/Reidsville and I don't have those problems now and I have been really happy for the last 4 months on T-Mobile. Anyways, use whichever carrier works best for you, I honestly think any of them can be a crap shoot. I dumped Sprint for Verizon years ago when I lived in Durham near Brier Creek due to service issues and down there Verizon worked fantastic.
 
ive had nothing but good luck with tmobile for a decade now.
 
I have said it before, and will say it again.....Google Fi cell service for the WIN! Before I upgraded to the latest pixel, all the midrange phones were Free to $200. Service has been great (both customer service and cell service).

You can use an Iphone on the plan, but overall experience is better with an android based phone, as they jump from providers based on best reception. I have never NOT gotten service in the middle of nowhere when a Verizon phone had service. My wife and I played that game for 3 years....she finally switched to Google Fi a year ago. Saves $600/year!
 
I finally went to Verizon online to get a new phone. It was a good hour and a half dicking around with them to get it done. I told the girl I wasn't doing it until i can see an actual quote of all prices I'll be charged. She kept saying it'll be around $.... I said no, I want an actual written quote. What a bunch of BS! But I made a deal so maybe my phone will work now...
 
The wife and I buy refurbed or mint iPhones from eBay (very high feedback only) that are a few years old. Have not had an issue yet and save a ton.
 
Bebop said:
craigslist phone and a $25/mo Visible unlimited plan that you can cancel at any time.

If I'm ok driving a 20 year old 300k+ miles as a daily, I'm surely not spending anything on a fancy phone.
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+1 on Visible....4 lines, $25 ea/mo, unlimited everything. family has 2 iPhones and 2 Samsungs, no issues with coverage from the coast to the mountains
 
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