New Cell Phone..had to ask?

[DD716TED]

My wife and I both have aging Samsung Verizon S-7 Cell Phones that after several years, the batteries are are starting to degrade rapidly.. Time for new phones?? Before I visit any Verizon, Costco or other store to shop, I am looking for recommendations from RVers who have new 5G phones.. I want memory at to be least 64GB, but that is about all I know for now. I have been looking for deals that offer "Buy One and Get One Free" as we did with our S-7's from a Verizon store, but those deals have vanished.. Any suggestions on which phone to look at before a salesman at Best Buy/Verizon/Costco tries to steer me herd me towards the phones he/she can make the most $$ from... Just need ideas and recommendations.. Stay Safe.. Travel Safe..

[mileshuff]

Gdetrailer wrote:
I explained this issue is pretty much everyone now days considers it a "free" phone when they can take an old one in and walk out with a shiny new phone with the newest latest gadgets and it cost them NOTHING, no money exchanged hands, that is what they have been told by the marketing people and they believe it is true so you cannot debate it with those folks..

Mostly agree with you since phone companies will make money and the customer is the only one paying any $'s. That said, a customer may consider it free because they don't have a choice of a lower bill if they opt to forgo the new phone. I recently got a new S20 by changing phone carriers. My new bill doesn't include any extra payment for the phone. The amount I pay is exactly the same as the plan rate anyone else would pay. There is no way for me to get a cheaper plan by saying I'll use my existing phone. The plan cost is the same whether I accept a new phone or not.

[Gdetrailer]

fj12ryder wrote:
Yes, I do agree with everything you said, up to the point where you said that you know that is what happened. Honestly unless you were in line behind the poster, you are assuming that is what happened. It is the most likely scenario, but it really isn't the only scenario, just the most likely. I usually reserve judgement until all the facts are in.

But yes, I do agree that a "free" phone usually isn't.

I don't "have to be behind the poster in line" to know this, I HAVE gone through quite a few cellphone rounds over the last 20 plus yrs of cellphone ownership. First cellphone cost me $150 upfront, $50 per month and 250 minutes prime time and $5.00 PER MINUTE if I exceeded the 250 minutes from 8 AM- 5PM and unlimited "free" use after 5 til morning.. That "contract" was for two yrs and at that time you could not get a "pay as you go" no contract service.

Cellphone companies do not just "hand out" 100% "FREE" phones, YOU know this as well as I do.

I explained this issue is pretty much everyone now days considers it a "free" phone when they can take an old one in and walk out with a shiny new phone with the newest latest gadgets and it cost them NOTHING, no money exchanged hands, that is what they have been told by the marketing people and they believe it is true so you cannot debate it with those folks..

So, no need to be snarky about my explanation and I am done with your trolling me on this.

[mileshuff]

Last year my wife and I got new S20's with a buy one get one free deal from TMobile. Also got their 55 and older deal for 2 unlimited lines for $35/month each. Sold our old S4 and S5 phones on craigs.

[fj12ryder]

Yes, I do agree with everything you said, up to the point where you said that you know that is what happened. Honestly unless you were in line behind the poster, you are assuming that is what happened. It is the most likely scenario, but it really isn't the only scenario, just the most likely. I usually reserve judgement until all the facts are in.

But yes, I do agree that a "free" phone usually isn't.

[Gdetrailer]

fj12ryder wrote:
All you have to do is go in to the store again and get your new phone and when you do you now agree to an new contract period.. Interestingly enough once the contract expires, the price does not go down..

So, in reality, it is not "free", never was free, and never will be free but folks THINK it is free But they PAID for it in the form of a higher service price for the length of the contract.


While this is most likely the way it went. To assert that this is the answer is "ASS-U-MEING", and we all know how that works. I would like to know how it was done, since I also believe that "free" very rarely is "free", but sometimes it does happen.

Suppose someone told you that you could read all the books you want and it won't cost you a dime. And they are popular books, not just ones nobody is interested in. Sounds like a scam if you don't have a library card.

The "answer" I gave IS what happened and I am not "ASS-U-MEING" anything.

The supposed "new phone" someone got, to THEM it seems like it is free because they didn't have to pay one red cent to exchange the old phone for a new phone. In other words no money exchanged.. If no money exchanged they THINK it is free.. BUT WE know that because of the contract they had to agree to they ARE paying for it in their monthly price.

You can opt for a "contract" service or you can opt as a "pay as you go" no contract service.

For instance, we moved from Trac to ATT a couple of yrs ago so we had no ATT compatible phone.

We went with the "Pay as you Go" service which has NO CONTRACT and is month to month.

We had to PAY RETAIL PRICE on the phones we wanted.

In return, we ended up with a MUCH LOWER monthly service cost at $30 each phone with unlimited talk/text and 1 gig of data. We WILL NOT ever be "eligible" for a "free" phone either, we break it, lose it or want to replace it we HAVE to BUY another phone at retail prices.

If we opted for a contract agreement we would be paying $50 each per month for TWO YEARS for the lowest cost phone and it goes up from there. That is $20 MORE than "Pay as you go", $480 for the two yrs contract.

That IS how cellphone companies can "give away "free" phones" and most folks have no idea that they have been hoodwinked..

People just got used to exchanging phones anytime after their contract expires and call it "free"..

Therefore, it IS NOT "FREE" which is the point I was making.

[BobsYourUncle]

I always buy my phones outright. Personal preference.

Then I offer my willingness to use the service to whoever has the best deal. That deal will be lower than if you get a "free" phone. Free phones are not free, they are built into your monthly plan.

If my carrier decides to goose me then I am free to tell them where the bus leaves the station and go with somebody else who has a better deal. No cancellation fees, no contracts or phones to pay out, nothing.

I just found a good deal at Koodo for 45 bucks a month. So I just simply switched to get away from my $85. plan with Telus. Easy, I am in the drivers seat.

[fj12ryder]

Gdetrailer wrote:

pianotuna wrote:

Bill.Satellite wrote:
I buy brand new Samsung's. The 2 I just bought this week cost ZERO dollars with trade-in. Hard to beat!

Where do you get them from?

Like anyone else that "trades in", their local store front for the carrier they are using..

Carriers like Verizon, ATT and such do a sucker deal of "free" qualified trade ins to keep you locked into that service vendor.

Works like this..

You "buy" a phone upfront at a substantially reduced price, this gets you locked into a two yr contract.. Break the contract before it ends and you have to pay a huge fee to get out of it which covers the cost of the phone (see where this is going?).

All along in reality you are paying an extra fee for the phone in the form of a higher cost of the service amortized out for the length of the contract price..

Now, if you stay the entire time of the contract, you become "eligible" and they will "reward" you with a new "free phone"..

All you have to do is go in to the store again and get your new phone and when you do you now agree to an new contract period.. Interestingly enough once the contract expires, the price does not go down..

So, in reality, it is not "free", never was free, and never will be free but folks THINK it is free But they PAID for it in the form of a higher service price for the length of the contract.

Sometimes one can take advantage of that service because of the phone getting stolen, lost or damaged just by going back to the store and getting a "free" replacement phone by agreeing to another new contract period.. But they STILL PAID for the phone so it isn't really "free".

While this is most likely the way it went. To assert that this is the answer is "ASS-U-MEING", and we all know how that works. I would like to know how it was done, since I also believe that "free" very rarely is "free", but sometimes it does happen.

Suppose someone told you that you could read all the books you want and it won't cost you a dime. And they are popular books, not just ones nobody is interested in. Sounds like a scam if you don't have a library card.

[Gdetrailer]

pianotuna wrote:

Bill.Satellite wrote:
I buy brand new Samsung's. The 2 I just bought this week cost ZERO dollars with trade-in. Hard to beat!

Where do you get them from?

Like anyone else that "trades in", their local store front for the carrier they are using..

Carriers like Verizon, ATT and such do a sucker deal of "free" qualified trade ins to keep you locked into that service vendor.

Works like this..

You "buy" a phone upfront at a substantially reduced price, this gets you locked into a two yr contract.. Break the contract before it ends and you have to pay a huge fee to get out of it which covers the cost of the phone (see where this is going?).

All along in reality you are paying an extra fee for the phone in the form of a higher cost of the service amortized out for the length of the contract price..

Now, if you stay the entire time of the contract, you become "eligible" and they will "reward" you with a new "free phone"..

All you have to do is go in to the store again and get your new phone and when you do you now agree to an new contract period.. Interestingly enough once the contract expires, the price does not go down..

So, in reality, it is not "free", never was free, and never will be free but folks THINK it is free But they PAID for it in the form of a higher service price for the length of the contract.

Sometimes one can take advantage of that service because of the phone getting stolen, lost or damaged just by going back to the store and getting a "free" replacement phone by agreeing to another new contract period.. But they STILL PAID for the phone so it isn't really "free".

[fj12ryder]

"...closing on obsolete..." How so? As a phone? Or as a multi-function gadget?

[coolmom42]

TurnThePage wrote:
I bought new Pixel 5s for my bride and myself. They're cheaper than the new phones from the competition, perform very well, excellent photos, big storage, and the battery charge lasts twice as long as anything else I've ever tried.

Nothing against older phones, except that stuff does actually eventually wear out, and more importantly those models stop being supported and so fall behind on security updates.

I have a Pixel 3 and will upgrade to whatever the current version is, when this one bites the dust. Super simple operation, no bloat-ware, no apps from Samsung that you can't get rid of.

If you are looking for a deal, go on Swappa.com and get a good used one.

S7s are closing on obsolete and will probably have other problems than battery before long. I wouldn't spend $$ on one.

If not buying off Swappa, look at the "contract" price from your carrier. That is quite a bit less than buying one outright. I have no desire to switch carriers, so don't care if there is a contract or not.

[pianotuna]

Bill.Satellite wrote:
I buy brand new Samsung's. The 2 I just bought this week cost ZERO dollars with trade-in. Hard to beat!

Where do you get them from?

[philh]

New batteries is your ticket

[Bill_Satellite]

I buy brand new Samsung's. The 2 I just bought this week cost ZERO dollars with trade-in. Hard to beat!

[1492]

I too have only bought refurb. iPhones, six to date. It's my primary mobile smartphone, though have a backup Samsung Note which I actually prefer on a different network.