Can anyone tell me why I would need to buy my phone from Verizon for $100 instead of getting from Walmart for $49 before a $50 gift card (read free)? Obviously, Verizon says their phones are better (hand tested) but aren't the phones exactly the same? Verizon says it will cost $25 per phone to transfer contacts and pictures but that is still cheaper than buying their phone. Are there any downsides to getting phones from Walmart? If there were I would think they would soon stop selling them because of lack of sales once word got around. I don't want to take a chance with coverage issues by going to Consumer Cellular or Straight Talk. Here in Missouri there are a lot of places in state parks in the southern part that coverage is spotty at best which is why I no longer have AT&T. The plans offered at Verizon and Walmart for minutes, text, and data are the same. Its just a matter of where to get the phones that I know I want.THANKS TO ALL!

I don't quite understand why you don't at least consider Straight Talk.I have an Iphone 5 and the unlimited Straight Talk plan which runs on the Verizon system. Same coverage as if you were a Verizon customer. Not trying to talk you in to anything. I just want to make sure you understand how Straight Talk works. Note that not all their phones run on Verizon though. Some use a different provider. Tim

GoPackGo wrote:I don't quite understand why you don't at least consider Straight Talk.I have an Iphone 5 and the unlimited Straight Talk plan which runs on the Verizon system. Same coverage as if you were a Verizon customer. Not trying to talk you in to anything. I just want to make sure you understand how Straight Talk works. Note that not all their phones run on Verizon though. Some use a different provider. TimI have a straight talk iphone 5 on ATT love the phone hate the service. Slow data and dropped calls. It's not Straight Talk's fault it is the ATT network. Next phone will be straight talk with Verizon.

I bought my phones at WM instead of Verizon because they were cheaper. We stayed on the Verizon plan though. I asked them at the verizon store why they were so much more than WM (At least for the phones we bought) that were the same model etc... They gave the excuse of they are not real verizon phones, they are all refurbed, they are made poorly etc.... When i told the WM guy this he just laughed and said 'Yah those verizon phones hate us' He then went on to say its exactly the same phone, its brand new..you can watch me open it up, he cant sell returned phones by law and needs to send them back....all in all we bought a few phones there without an problems

I got my S4 from Best Buy when they were doing a special so it was free. They even transferred the contacts at no charge. Before I got it, I talked with the Verizon store here (actual Verizon store, not an authorized reseller store) and the guy there said they are the same.I'm pretty sure that if the phone were refurbished, they have to indicate that. If mine wasn't new, it certainly was doing a good imitation of new as it was in original packaging including all the clear screen covers and clear plastic over the body.

I had Verizon phones and service for 11 years. Always paid by draft, never late. About 7 years ago my phone died and I went to Verizon and picked out a new one. The salesperson said we can't bill you for the phone like before, you have to pay for it in advance. I told them where they could put the phone, went to Walmart and Straight Talk and never looked back. Never a problem with Walmart phones. ST customer service was really lacking at first but much better now. 3G but only 45.00 per month.

Samsung Galaxy 4S - Walmart vs Verizon? | Good Sam Community

GoPackGo
Explorer
Jun 11, 2014
I don't quite understand why you don't at least consider Straight Talk.

I have an Iphone 5 and the unlimited Straight Talk plan which runs on the Verizon system. Same coverage as if you were a Verizon customer.

Not trying to talk you in to anything. I just want to make sure you understand how Straight Talk works.

Note that not all their phones run on Verizon though. Some use a different provider.

Tim
Ranger_Smith
Explorer
Jun 11, 2014
GoPackGo wrote:
I don't quite understand why you don't at least consider Straight Talk.

I have an Iphone 5 and the unlimited Straight Talk plan which runs on the Verizon system. Same coverage as if you were a Verizon customer.

Not trying to talk you in to anything. I just want to make sure you understand how Straight Talk works.

Note that not all their phones run on Verizon though. Some use a different provider.

Tim

I have a straight talk iphone 5 on ATT love the phone hate the service. Slow data and dropped calls. It's not Straight Talk's fault it is the ATT network. Next phone will be straight talk with Verizon.
austinjenna
Explorer
Jun 11, 2014
I bought my phones at WM instead of Verizon because they were cheaper. We stayed on the Verizon plan though. I asked them at the verizon store why they were so much more than WM (At least for the phones we bought) that were the same model etc... They gave the excuse of they are not real verizon phones, they are all refurbed, they are made poorly etc.... When i told the WM guy this he just laughed and said 'Yah those verizon phones hate us' He then went on to say its exactly the same phone, its brand new..you can watch me open it up, he cant sell returned phones by law and needs to send them back....all in all we bought a few phones there without an problems
p220sigman
Explorer
Jun 11, 2014
I got my S4 from Best Buy when they were doing a special so it was free. They even transferred the contacts at no charge. Before I got it, I talked with the Verizon store here (actual Verizon store, not an authorized reseller store) and the guy there said they are the same.

I'm pretty sure that if the phone were refurbished, they have to indicate that. If mine wasn't new, it certainly was doing a good imitation of new as it was in original packaging including all the clear screen covers and clear plastic over the body.
riven1950
Explorer
Jun 11, 2014
I had Verizon phones and service for 11 years. Always paid by draft, never late. About 7 years ago my phone died and I went to Verizon and picked out a new one. The salesperson said we can't bill you for the phone like before, you have to pay for it in advance. I told them where they could put the phone, went to Walmart and Straight Talk and never looked back. Never a problem with Walmart phones. ST customer service was really lacking at first but much better now. 3G but only 45.00 per month.
cpaulsen
Explorer
Jun 11, 2014
We always get ours at Best Buy and most of the time they include a gift card. Same phones as Verizon and same plans. No difference.
docj
Explorer
Jun 11, 2014
You can buy your phone anywhere you please and it will be exactly the same. Why would you even question whether a sealed box containing a Samsung Galaxy S4 is exactly the same regardless of where you buy it? You don't ask the same question about TVs or toasters.

When you're buying the phone at a subsidized price (the reduced price that requires you to sign a contract extension) there is "margin" in the transaction that the retailer can keep or split with the buyer, so there can be price differences depending on where you buy it, but the product is the same.

As for transferring contacts, etc, Verizon's online Backup Assistant can do that for you instantly and at no cost to you. Why would you pay to have a store do that?
downtheroad
Explorer
Jun 11, 2014
Costco....Gallaxy S4 free with Verizon (contract).
They also have other carrier options..ATT, etc.
Nutinelse2do
Explorer
Jun 11, 2014
GoPackGo wrote:
I don't quite understand why you don't at least consider Straight Talk.

I have an Iphone 5 and the unlimited Straight Talk plan which runs on the Verizon system. Same coverage as if you were a Verizon customer.

Not trying to talk you in to anything. I just want to make sure you understand how Straight Talk works.

Note that not all their phones run on Verizon though. Some use a different provider.

Tim

Can you explain to me how you have a iphone5 on straight talk and state its on the verizon network?
camperforlife
Explorer
Jun 11, 2014
If you are buying a phone from Walmart, Best Buy or anywhere else to be used on a Verizon plan, Verizon will hit you with a $30 activation fee. No way around it.

A new Walmart Verizon phone is a new phone and there is no reason not to buy it. Verizon likes to say that if you have a problem with a phone that you buy from them, their replacements are better than anyone else's. I'll argue that after having problems with a phone and went through 8 replacements each with varied unchecked problems by Verizon, their replacements are nothing to brag about.