Emailed VRZ about $99 Droid

[mikespe]

I emailed Verizon last night regarding the $99 droid offered at a few places (I sent a link to the Wirefly ad) as well as the free T-Shirt (see the T-shirt post) and this is the response I received this morning:

Thank you for contacting Verizon Wireless through our website. My name is Jeremiah, and I understand you would like to know if you can receive an adjustment for the Motorola Droid Smartphone based on a drop in the price it is being offered for. I realize it is important for you to receive the best available price on a new phone purchase, and I am happy to assist you today.
the offer you are referring to is an offer from Wirefly/Dell Mobility and not from Verizon Wireless. Please note: although we will gladly issue a credit for a price drop that occurs within our own sales channels within 30 days of your purchase date, we do not match price the offers of our retail competitors.

Please keep in mind, we are a service provider and we do not manufacture the wireless phones we sell. Like other retailers such as Wirefly, we purchase phones from various manufacturers and offer our own promotions and subsidies so our customers can purchase them at a discount in exchange for a minimum term of service.

Wirefly is considered a retail competitor of ours. They do not sell Verizon Wireless equipment, rather, they sell equipment compatible with Verizon Wireless service and often have additional terms and conditions associated with their promotions that you must agree to in addition to the terms and conditions with Verizon Wireless.

For your convenience, I have copied some information from their website for you to review as a comparison:

When you sign up for wireless carrier service through Wirefly, we discount your phone purchase price by an Equipment Discount amount ranging from $200 to $300. By ordering through Wirefly, you agree to repay this discount if, during the 181 days after your new equipment is activated, if you:

Fail to pay your balance due to your carrier each month
Disconnect this line of service
Transfer this equipment to another line of service
Change your carrier service rate plan to a lower monthly service rate plan
Deactivate the email/data feature if one was required at the point of purchase
Transfer/port an existing phone number from another account if this is a new line of service
Replace an existing account with this account if this is a new line of service
Return or exchange your phone and it is not in its original, new condition with no more than 30 minutes of usage

If you break any of these contract provisions, except as a result of a documented service quality issue related to the carrier service (documented by the carrier), you authorize us to charge your credit card in repayment of the Equipment Discount.

Also, please keep in mind that we do not file manufacturer's warranty claims on equipment that is not directly purchased from Verizon Wireless. As a result, if you experience an issue with a phone that you purchase from a third-party retailer, then you would need to contact them for assistance unless the issue is directly related to our network or service (i.e. call quality, signal fluctuations, connection issues).

I figured I wouldn't get refunded the difference but I had to ask anyway...

 

[jstrick5]

That's why you buy from best buy...

Bought for 199.00. Came back a week later to price match at 149.00. Came back a week after that to price match for 119.99. As long as you're within 30 days you're golden. Gotta play hardball with VZW too, you should have threatened to return the phone if it was within 30 days and told them you were going to go buy it from wirefly or best buy. They might have said we'll charge you a restocking fee but that fee can't beat getting the phone for 99.00.

VZW tries to f you every way they can - I just bought two replacement phones for my parents. Basic Samsung Smooth flip phones. Without redoing my contract they would have cost me 199.00 from VZW. So, I went to Best Buy and bought them as pay as you go phones for 39.00 each brand new Now, the guy at the VZW store told me I was going to have to wait 90 days to activate that pay as you go phone to a contract account. Called cust service and the woman said "I just activated one for a customer the other day, no problem you can do it" SO I told her what the store rep told me, she went back and asked her supervisor who said i'd have to wait SIX months. The cust rep told me i could try it then return the phones if it didn't work. So I buy the phones, called the automated activation and got them up and running. Bingo, 199.00 phone for 39.00 and Screw you Verizon.

 

[LordKastle]

I am surprised BB even price matched you. Most places will not price match unless a physical store is giving the ad and price.

No one is screwing you. The phone is brand new and a 2 year plan for $200 is what the market demands these days. The phone retails for $599.

 

[Mojo]

I just bought two replacement phones for my parents. Basic Samsung Smooth flip phones. Without redoing my contract they would have cost me 199.00 from VZW. So, I went to Best Buy and bought them as pay as you go phones for 39.00 each brand new Now, the guy at the VZW store told me I was going to have to wait 90 days to activate that pay as you go phone to a contract account. Called cust service and the woman said "I just activated one for a customer the other day, no problem you can do it" SO I told her what the store rep told me, she went back and asked her supervisor who said i'd have to wait SIX months. The cust rep told me i could try it then return the phones if it didn't work. So I buy the phones, called the automated activation and got them up and running. Bingo, 199.00 phone for 39.00 and Screw you Verizon.

Yeah that is a little trick that you will not get out of VZW and one that they definitely do want to be publicized. What is funny is through EROS the activation system that most direct and indirect agent locations use will not even allow for a "prepay" phone bought at wal-mart or best buy to be activated. But dial *228 option 3 and activates right up. :icon_ banana: I keep this one in my back pocket for customers that want something basic to replace a broken or lost phone. When they dont have insurance or cannot afford to pay retail price.

I actually go to wal mart about once a week and buy 2 or 3 of them. Just to keep in the back of my store

 

[db83]

no one pays 599 for their phone. or at least almost no one. I think verizon really should consider some more incentives if their competitors are knocking the price down by half. A lot of people don't care about the conditions that are listed by wirefly. Those conditions are only for people who change their services anyways.

 

[LordKastle]

I was forced to buy a Samsung i760 for full retail when it was released and it cost $549. I bought it as a gift and could not upgrade my line as I got a phone 4 months earlier and did not have the information for their line. (SS #, PW, etc)..It also saved their upgrade to a later date, which happened to be used on a Droid just recently.

So of course people will buy a Droid for $599 if necessary. People who do not want to go through the hassle of getting others billing info and who are not eligible for an upgrade anytime soon.

If you think Verizon should sell the phone for anything under $200, you are crazy. By decreasing the price so much you make the product seem cheap too, regardless of the reality.

 

[rogo43]

99 bucks. lol damn that is a good deal. but i wen to best buy for a blackberry updated phone and i got my bill at the month and they screwed everything up and i had a 500 dollar monthly bill. so im skeptical of them.

 

[Signum]

I just bought two replacement phones for my parents. Basic Samsung Smooth flip phones. Without redoing my contract they would have cost me 199.00 from VZW. So, I went to Best Buy and bought them as pay as you go phones for 39.00 each brand new Now, the guy at the VZW store told me I was going to have to wait 90 days to activate that pay as you go phone to a contract account. Called cust service and the woman said "I just activated one for a customer the other day, no problem you can do it" SO I told her what the store rep told me, she went back and asked her supervisor who said i'd have to wait SIX months. The cust rep told me i could try it then return the phones if it didn't work. So I buy the phones, called the automated activation and got them up and running. Bingo, 199.00 phone for 39.00 and Screw you Verizon.

Yeah that is a little trick that you will not get out of VZW and one that they definitely do want to be publicized. What is funny is through EROS the activation system that most direct and indirect agent locations use will not even allow for a "prepay" phone bought at wal-mart or best buy to be activated. But dial *228 option 3 and activates right up. :icon_ banana: I keep this one in my back pocket for customers that want something basic to replace a broken or lost phone. When they dont have insurance or cannot afford to pay retail price.

I actually go to wal mart about once a week and buy 2 or 3 of them. Just to keep in the back of my store

direct retail stores dont use EROES.

 

[Token]

Um I bought my moto droid through verizon on the 8th of nov. Online and it was only $99.00. How? New every 2 credit( $100) and another $100 off for buying it online, all instant rebates and they deduct from new customer price of $299.00. That's 1 of my reasons for staying w/ vzw plus they let me bill it to my acct !

 

[Mawnee]

That jerk didnt telly ou a thing about the T-shirt! :biggrin:

 

[Backnblack]

I was forced to buy a Samsung i760 for full retail...

How were you "forced"?

 

[jstrick5]

I was forced to buy a Samsung i760 for full retail when it was released and it cost $549. I bought it as a gift and could not upgrade my line as I got a phone 4 months earlier and did not have the information for their line. (SS #, PW, etc)..It also saved their upgrade to a later date, which happened to be used on a Droid just recently.

So of course people will buy a Droid for $599 if necessary. People who do not want to go through the hassle of getting others billing info and who are not eligible for an upgrade anytime soon.

If you think Verizon should sell the phone for anything under $200, you are crazy. By decreasing the price so much you make the product seem cheap too, regardless of the reality.

"People who do not want to go through the hassle of getting others billing info" What are you talking about?

If you think Verizon should sell the phone for anything under $200, you are crazy. By decreasing the price so much you make the product seem cheap too" Why would the product "seem cheap" selling it for what it's worth and why would that matter anyways lol?

The reason the phone is 39.00 when you buy it pay as you go is b/c that's what the phone is worth - actual cost of the hardware. No one (best buy OR verizon) is taking a hit on the actual cost of the phone if you decide not to activate it and smash it instead. They can charge 199.00 at the store b/c they know they have you by the balls if you're already under contract and MUST have a replacement.

So yes, VZW DOES try to screw you by overcharging for things like certain phones and most of all, accessories that can be bought 2.00 on ebay brand new.

 

[LordKastle]

Forced meaning that was my only option. I purchased someone a phone as a gift. The line is under someone else's name than the person I was talking to. I wasn't going to ask for the last 4 digits of the social security numbers and password.

And to the latest post..first off I don't know where you came up with the $39 figure. I am talking about the model Droid. But it's called market value. If you lower the phone to an extremely cheap price you make the phone...well pardon the term but somewhat "ghetto". (perception wise)

I could care less either way. I like my Droid but just food for thought.

 

[jstrick5]

Forced meaning that was my only option. I purchased someone a phone as a gift. The line is under someone else's name than the person I was talking to. I wasn't going to ask for the last 4 digits of the social security numbers and password.

And to the latest post..first off I don't know where you came up with the $39 figure. I am talking about the model Droid. But it's called market value. If you lower the phone to an extremely cheap price you make the phone...well pardon the term but somewhat "ghetto". (perception wise)

I could care less either way. I like my Droid but just food for thought.

Lol ok, so does the fact that the droid is offered for $99 make it "ghetto" now compared to if you bought it for 500? Maybe VZW should have two prices 1) for the people that want to pay the actual cost of the hardware like I did for the 39.00 basic flip phones 2) for people that want to take it in the poo-hole and pay the 199.00 inflated price for the same phone because they think anything less would make it ghetto.

Don't get me wrong, I know the droid hardware probably isn't as low as $99.00, I would guess it's actual cost is more along the $200 - 300 mark they charge you when the renew your contract... not 500.00.

 

[davidh2497]

I emailed Verizon last night regarding the $99 droid offered at a few places (I sent a link to the Wirefly ad) as well as the free T-Shirt (see the T-shirt post) and this is the response I received this morning:

Thank you for contacting Verizon Wireless through our website. My name is Jeremiah, and I understand you would like to know if you can receive an adjustment for the Motorola Droid Smartphone based on a drop in the price it is being offered for. I realize it is important for you to receive the best available price on a new phone purchase, and I am happy to assist you today.
the offer you are referring to is an offer from Wirefly/Dell Mobility and not from Verizon Wireless. Please note: although we will gladly issue a credit for a price drop that occurs within our own sales channels within 30 days of your purchase date, we do not match price the offers of our retail competitors.

Please keep in mind, we are a service provider and we do not manufacture the wireless phones we sell. Like other retailers such as Wirefly, we purchase phones from various manufacturers and offer our own promotions and subsidies so our customers can purchase them at a discount in exchange for a minimum term of service.

Wirefly is considered a retail competitor of ours. They do not sell Verizon Wireless equipment, rather, they sell equipment compatible with Verizon Wireless service and often have additional terms and conditions associated with their promotions that you must agree to in addition to the terms and conditions with Verizon Wireless.

For your convenience, I have copied some information from their website for you to review as a comparison:

When you sign up for wireless carrier service through Wirefly, we discount your phone purchase price by an Equipment Discount amount ranging from $200 to $300. By ordering through Wirefly, you agree to repay this discount if, during the 181 days after your new equipment is activated, if you:

Fail to pay your balance due to your carrier each month
Disconnect this line of service
Transfer this equipment to another line of service
Change your carrier service rate plan to a lower monthly service rate plan
Deactivate the email/data feature if one was required at the point of purchase
Transfer/port an existing phone number from another account if this is a new line of service
Replace an existing account with this account if this is a new line of service
Return or exchange your phone and it is not in its original, new condition with no more than 30 minutes of usage

If you break any of these contract provisions, except as a result of a documented service quality issue related to the carrier service (documented by the carrier), you authorize us to charge your credit card in repayment of the Equipment Discount.

Also, please keep in mind that we do not file manufacturer's warranty claims on equipment that is not directly purchased from Verizon Wireless. As a result, if you experience an issue with a phone that you purchase from a third-party retailer, then you would need to contact them for assistance unless the issue is directly related to our network or service (i.e. call quality, signal fluctuations, connection issues).

I figured I wouldn't get refunded the difference but I had to ask anyway...

Reading the verizon reply, I see nothing in there that has to do with Wirefly making a profit. All the conditions are related to a verizon plan. I deduct from that that they must be in cahoots with Verizon. Thus for Verizon to say that they have no control over that market is bull.
As for the warranty issue, Motorola is responsible for that, not Verizon.
We who bought the phone at its release only to see it sell for 50% less in a mere 2 weeks are suckers and I for one have learned my lesson.