Costco Buying??

[needadroid]

Has anyone ever bought a phone from Costco in the past 2 years? What was the experience? pros and cons?

-Did you have any problems with the phone?
-Did Verizon give you and problems with replacements or any type of assistance since the phone was from costco?

 

[TisMyDroid]

Absolutely no problems at all. Probably one of the best places I bought a phone. It was online. Verizon covers the warranty as if you bought it through them.

Sent from my DROID RAZR Maxx using Droid Forums

 

[ambrown]

For many years I always bought my phones through the verizon store directly. But last time around I used Best Buy and had a positive experience. I would say to go ahead and buy through any reputable vendors that sell verizon phones. I would definitely buy through any such vendor in the future. I even found that Costco has some good deals, I found the Droid Incredible 4G there for $50, when they were at least $100 most other places. Plus most of the discounts were instant (no need for mailing something in for the rebate, and then you get that lame verizon card in the mail) when I went through Best Buy, not sure if Costco does that too but I would ask a rep there if you get the chance.

The only specific downside to Costco is that because it's usually a small kiosk that serves the big 4 carriers there isn't a wide selection available. They may be able to special order the phone you want, but then why not just shop online at that point?

Amazon Wireless is a good place to look price-wise, though they don't always have the best price every time. I would shop around and then see if you can get your ultimate vendor of choice to price match

 

[TisMyDroid]

Be aware that Amazon and Wirefly require you to keep the phone on the line of the eligible upgrade phone line that was used for the discounted price for 6 months or get an outrageous $189 penalty. Costco, Verizon and Best Buy do not. Once you buy the phone, if you want to switch it to another line, give it to a friend, sell it...they don't care.

Sent from my DROID RAZR Maxx using Droid Forums

 

[ambrown]

Be aware that Amazon and Wirefly require you to keep the phone on the line of the eligible upgrade phone line that was used for the discounted price for 6 months or get an outrageous $189 penalty. Costco, Verizon and Best Buy do not. Once you buy the phone, if you want to switch it to another line, give it to a friend, sell it...they don't care.

Sent from my DROID RAZR Maxx using Droid Forums

Good to know. I've never bought through Amazon but have considered it.

It's very likely I'll buy through Best Buy again though since they have good deals and give me the instant discount, and can do everything else I need.

 

[akenhart]

buying from Costco

My experience with Costco has always been positive with phones. I bought my razr there and also receieved a HD dock and charger . These items would have been costly if purchased @ a Verizon store. The kiosks are limited in choice but you can see additional items available online.
Costco is a quality store with solid customer service to back them up. That's all I need. Good Luck it's a jungle out there!dancedroid

 

[heavyvino]

I have bought 7 phones at Costco all have been stellar. My supervisor and I have the same modle phone first with the OG DROID now with the RAZR, don't know what why but with both phones my single is always better. His came from Verizon store mine from Costco. Don't know what it means, but it is interesting.

 

[nikecar]

Be aware that Amazon and Wirefly require you to keep the phone on the line of the eligible upgrade phone line that was used for the discounted price for 6 months or get an outrageous $189 penalty. Costco, Verizon and Best Buy do not. Once you buy the phone, if you want to switch it to another line, give it to a friend, sell it...they don't care.

Sent from my DROID RAZR Maxx using Droid Forums

Wasn't it you have to keep the SERVICE, but the phone, you could do what you want. So if you upgrade or whatever with X plan. you must keep X Plan for that period (6 months or whatever) or else pay the fee.

Some people would try to get the discount, then downgrade the plan, keeping the phone. VZW gets their money from the service, not the phone. You can do what you want with the phone, but the service you are stuck with.

This is from Wirefly.

By accepting this Instant Savings Discount, you agree to repay $200 of this discount ($400 for smartphones, tablets, and netbooks) and authorize us to charge your credit card in repayment of this amount if, you signed up for a 2 year agreement and during the 181 days after your new equipment is activated, your wireless carrier notifies us that the services you purchased have been suspended, disconnected, or deactivated, or if you return your purchase outside of the return and exchange provisions of our Satisfaction Guarantee.


Other than simply deactivating a line we’ve activated, your wireless carrier could notify us that you deactivated if:

• You fail to pay the carrier in accordance with their terms and conditions
• You transfer equipment we activate on one line to another carrier line, even within the same account
• You activate this equipment on a new line of service with your current carrier and use it to replace an existing line by deactivating the existing line.

Phone isn't a service, HOWEVER, the bullets show if you transfer equipment they could be charged. This line is new from last year. But again, it says "Could"

 

[TisMyDroid]

When I was shopping for the best price, knowing this was a problem with some retailers, I carefully looked at the conditions. I wanted to purchase on one phone line's eligible upgrade and activate it on my line, all lines within my account. Wirefly's written policies were very clear (as you can see in your post), Amazon's were very vague. I called Amazon and they said that if I moved the phone off the eligible upgrade line to another line in my account before 6 months, I would be charged their fee. I will tell you, they are not real forthcoming with this info either.

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[jackiescivic]

I work at wireless in Costco. It is ABSOLUTELY worthwhile to look at us as a possible buying spot. We may not have the selection that a Corporate store would have, but they tend to keep us with the most popular phones. For some people, the bonus accessory kit is a big benefit of buying from us. For me personally, the biggest benefit is on new lines of service you get the activation fee reimbursed, occasionally we have specials to get the upgrade fee reimbursed, and all of our Motorola phones come with bonus Motorola branded accessories you send in for. Plus, a lot of times our phones are A LOT less expensive than anywhere else...not always, but a lot of times.

If you have any questions, you are welcome to message me.

 

[lakerkev]

My only suggestion is, and this goes for any retailer, verizon included, is that you do your research and know what you want prior to entering the store. I have had some pretty poor experiences with most of the retailers mentioned in the thread. Often they dont know much about the spes and just try to sell you the newest and most expensive phone or tablet they have, without being able to explain the advantages of one device over another. But the instant rebate at b.b. is a great service!