And another one's down and another ones down....

[PereDroid]

Just traded in our UDP plan on my wife's iPhone to get her a new iPhone.

Apparently, they are sold out just about every where and my wife was a bit ticked off that she was going to have to wait 2-4 more weeks.
I checked VZW: Sold out. (Except the 256GB Piano Black one).
T-Mobile: Sold out. Yes, we are willing to switch.
So I decided to check Apple.com
Huh?!? There are some Silver 128GB ones available. Not caring what color it is as she uses a wallet case on her phones, I put one in my cart.
I chose Verizon and was offered 3 payment plans since my wife is out of contract. 2 monthly options, full price, and 2 yr contract?!? Contract price was $299. Hmmm. I choose a 5Gb plan for $50, even though I know VZW's is $50 for 4. My wife rarely uses more then 3GB.
What is going on here?
I called VZW to see what the catch is. She told me she didn't think there was a catch. Go ahead and buy it from them and if there is something fishy, we will fix it. Apple doesn't bill you.
I web chatted Apple. She said "There is no catch... only a $40 one time activation fee. Call us, we can help you easier on the phone".
So I call. I tell this woman the story. She agrees the only catch is the $40 up front. VZW charges $20 at a store and nothing online. So I'm getting a $749 phone for $299 + $40? Sweet.
Then she tells me "Sorry, sir, I don't see any available at that store. I see one in Toledo."
What?!?
I go back to Apple.com. I go through the process again. Add the phone. Go to check out and, sure enough, it says: Delivery only. Dam... wait... what?
I notice there are 2 phones in my cart. The first one was still there and it says: Available for Pickup.

Apparently the Apple store took it out of inventory when I added it to my cart and I got one of the last ones $400 cheaper because I signed a "contract". #WIN
Bill should be $70 a savings of almost $20.

 

[jstafford1]

Work that system! Similar to what @droidprincess and I did to get our Note 7s.

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[PereDroid]

The first thing I did after getting the email that it was ready is to check the eBay market. LOL.
Prices aren't very crazy yet.

Jonny got a good deal on his Moto Z by working it, too.

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[droidprincess]

Very nice!

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[droidprincess]

I traded my S6 Edge+ for the $300 promo and my Son's S5(which had a jacked battery port) for $200.... was able to walk out with my current bill paid in full, two Note 7's with cases without paying a dime....
My son got @jstafford1's retired Droid Turbo and all was wonderful in the world!

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[PereDroid]

Nice! We should rename this thread "Working it!"

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[jstafford1]

Nice! We should rename this thread "Working it!"

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Right lol...

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[pc747]

Nice, glad you were able to get the phone @PereDroid for the wife. Happy wife happy life.

 

[PereDroid]

Just picked it up. Figured out the 5GB part. All they did was drop UDP and add 5 GB. So there's still $10 for 450 TXTs and $30 for 1400 minutes on it.
As VZW told me "just get the phone and call us and we'll get you dialed in"..Decent experience at the Apple Store. Crowded but I was in and out...

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[PereDroid]

Everything's setup and working but man was it a PITA. I like to believe I am a fan of all tech, and don't truly hate Apple. They do do some things right. But it it hard not to hate them sometimes.
One thing I often say they are good at...swapping phones... But my god...It's a long and sometimes arduous process but when it works, it's near flawless.
It sure does take forever, though. For instance, every time someone gets a new phone and they go to restore to the new phone. Do a Restore which can take a long time. Open iTunes. Connect new phone. "You need the new version of iTunes for this phone.)
EVERY TIME (because no one actually uses iTunes on a day to day basis). Took almost an hour to Restore her phone. She still had to login to WiFi and stuff, which was odd. Normally that you don't. Apple getting sloppy?
Apple set up this weird contract for me. I called VZW and they just put me on a regular plan. Customer service was great but they were totally swamped last night.
Don't tell anyone but I think this is a bit of a loop hole to get a cheap iPhone. I don't think I am in any kind of contract.
Anyway, she just texted me: "Hey, check it out! My phone just told me where I parked the car!"
Ha! I wanted to reply: "Hey! Welcome to 2014!"

 

[Jonny Kansas]

Very nice!

Yeah. I got a great deal on my Moto Z. As I've said in multiple other threads, I wasn't even really in the market, but I couldn't beat $1.99+ tax for the phone and a $40 upgrade fee. Not to mention, the free JBL Speaker mod.

I did spend $35 on an Otterbox case. First time I've ever owned one that I can recall, but it was the only one that wasn't girly at my VZW store & I didn't want a day or 2 for one to ship. If it didn't still keep the phone fairly slim, I don't think I'd have paid the price, but the phone being so dang thin to begin with gives plenty of room for a decently thick case without making the phone huge.

Still made out like a bandit.

Not to mention, Moto sent me a new USB Type-C/Headphone adapter because mine was nowhere to be found and Best Buy is supposed to be sending me a $20 gift card to make up for the same adapter being gone since they couldn't find an actual price on one and wanted me to exchange the entire phone just to get the adapter that should've been in my box.