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Oh yeah it's a great idea......
I'm sure consumers won't mine paying an arm and a leg if they for any reason want to get away from verizon.
And with every single carrier out there in us still charging $175 They won't mine paying double to VZ
This will backfire bad towards verizon IMO.


After a year, the ETF would have dropped to $230, about the same as the $200 ATT bounty that iPhone 3G users had to pay to upgrade to the 3GS.

The higher ETF is because devices cost so much in subsidies nowadays, and people were abusing the system.

It was also predictable, because the feds were starting to ask that ETFs better reflect the actual costs to the carriers. Sometimes we're better off not complaining.
 
You can go for a 1 year contract for just like $70 more on the Droid, or hell buy outright the phone and go month to month.

It wouldn't surprise me to see AT&T follow suit as well, especially since I'm guessing their ETF is probably more abused with the iPhone then any of the CDMA phones. Sprint and T-Mobile aren't in the position to make any bad PR moves.

It amazes me to see a non issue be blown up so much, it's typical internet really. Ignore the fact that at least Verizon offers a 1 year deal for only a bit more on the phone or hell the option to buy it outright for the cost of the phone.
 
Please don't use this as a "HAHA told you the Droid would suck!!!1!!" retort.

The Droid was actually a brilliant, impressive and FUN phone.

But today I found out Verizon has a new policy with their smart phones - $350 early termination fee for smart phones, double what it costs on ANY other carrier in the United States.

I found out about this and was ready to rip the Verizon salespeople a new hole. EXCUSE ME?!? :mad: You keep your double ETF - I'm returning the phone and canceling my week-old contract with you. How dare you.

Back to AT&T and iPhone.

So, what was the real reason?

If you bought the phone a week ago, the ETF would only be $175. The new ETF only started with phones purchased from yesterday forward.
 
this makes no sense

you cancel soley because the etf was higher but to cancel, you payed the etf

what are you on?:rolleyes:



so tell me why you signed the contract in the first place...

this is hilarious
What are you on?
We will gladly accept returns or make exchanges on all merchandise purchased from Verizon Wireless within 30 days of purchase.
:rolleyes:
 
If you can't stay on a big 3 network for a mere two year term, the issue at hand isn't the ETF nor the carrier.
 
Please don't use this as a "HAHA told you the Droid would suck!!!1!!" retort.

The Droid was actually a brilliant, impressive and FUN phone.

But today I found out Verizon has a new policy with their smart phones - $350 early termination fee for smart phones, double what it costs on ANY other carrier in the United States.

I found out about this and was ready to rip the Verizon salespeople a new hole. EXCUSE ME?!? :mad: You keep your double ETF - I'm returning the phone and canceling my week-old contract with you. How dare you.

Back to AT&T and iPhone.
Wait, when did you buy it? I thought that the new ETF only affected phones purchased on or after the 14th (yesterday)...
 
LOL, the ignorance of some people!

JUST BECAUSE I like the Droid doesn't mean I wanna be tied to a carrier for 2 years!!!!!!!

LMAO...

BING! DING DING DING!

Some people just don't get it. A phone is great, but a two year contract? That is a LOOONG time in this day in age where there is a new phone EVERY 6-8 months.

I will NEVER use Verizon again because of their ETF of $350. It's BS. Even if you buy a $49 phone the ETF is $350. It's a crock because they don't want to lose people to BETTER PHONES on other carriers.

I upgrade my phone almost once a year so I like to keep my options open with the least amount of stealing my money. $350 is a lot for a ETF.
 
BING! DING DING DING!

Some people just don't get it. A phone is great, but a two year contract? That is a LOOONG time in this day in age where there is a new phone EVERY 6-8 months.

I will NEVER use Verizon again because of their ETF of $350. It's BS. Even if you buy a $49 phone the ETF is $350. It's a crock because they don't want to lose people to BETTER PHONES on other carriers.

I upgrade my phone almost once a year so I like to keep my options open with the least amount of stealing my money. $350 is a lot for a ETF.

1st, the $350 ETF is only for smartphones, that usually cost more than $49.

2nd the reason why Verizon is doing this is because people were taking advantage of the phone subsidies. They would start a new line with Verizon, get a new subsidized phone, pay the ETF and sell the phone for profit.

3rd, having even a $350 is still a hell of a lot better than what most carriers outside of the U.S. do: if you want to get out of your current contract you still have to pay the remaining of your contract, which is a lot more than $350.
 
So while you love the phone and don't seem to mind verzion, you opted not for the phone because of verizon's exceedingly steep ETF? Makes no sense at all.

I actually have to agree with verizon on this one, while it is a bit unfair to most people, the reason is all the folks buying/canceling/reselling the iPhone. Verizon saw this, and knowing they'd take a bath on this, they forced the people to keep the phone/plan.

Could the ETF be implemented better, of course, but it is, what it is, and if you're generally happy with the phone and service, it makes no sense to avoid it because of the ETF
 
Sounds to me like you were already looking for an excuse to go back to an iPhone and the ETF policy just happened to be a timely choice
 
can we just re-title this!

attention_whore4.jpg
:p:p
 
A buddy bought the Droid and I played with it for a bit. it's cool and all. It has a digital keyboard in addition to the slideboard...not sure why they added that slideboard. It makes the phone huge. The case he had the phone was heavy and clunky. They added little things that the iphone doesnt do. Most the interaction with Google. The redlaser type app is better. It searches locally. The navigation is cool with the images. I also think the constellation app is sweet. No where near an iphone killer, imo.
 
this is why i just stick to unlocked phones but $350??? for an etf wow. As some people say you might love the phone now but what if a better phone comes along, even if on verizon you cant upgrade to that phone after a year(well depends how much you pay).

Still its outrageous prices :/
 
1. Part of this ETF was the complaint that the companies didn't charge ETFs that were more in line to the unsubsidized price. People complained, and the phone companies listened. Now ETFs are more in line with the actual unsubsidized price.

2. The $350 is only for "advanced" devices, normal cheap flip-phones on Verizon have the old $175 ETF (or whatever it is).

3. The new ETF + price for the Droid = unsubsidized price of around $550. ($350 + $199 new contract price). Obviously not all phones will be the same but it'd be way too confusing to have different ETF policies for different phones.

4. Verizon offers new customers the option to get a 2 year contract, a 1 year contract with a more expensive phone, or no contract for an unsubsidized price. For $70 more dollars ($270 instead of $199) you can buy the Droid with a 12 month contract. Does AT&T allow that? Nope.

5. If I purchased an iPhone of eBay or from a friend and took that to AT&T to get service they'd still put me in a contract.

6. I give it six months before AT&T does the same thing. If the iPhone stays exclusive to AT&T then come summer when 4.0 is released along with the new hardware AT&T will bump up the price of their ETF, I can guarantee it.

7. The OP jumped the gun for a dumb reason, as the new policy started today. Anyone who purchased a Droid before today is still subject to the $175 ETF.
 
I love seeing vzw fanboys trying to justify a $350 ETF for a lousy samsung glyde I have no respect for u.
The only reason VZ is doing this is so they stop losing customers to the iphone every summer when a new cool iphone emerges and creates a huge buzz.
ETFs should be there for a company to secure back the money they put worth to decrease the upfront cost of the phone, which you pay back over the contract time. So having $120 after 23 months clearly doesn't make sense.
 
A buddy bought the Droid and I played with it for a bit. it's cool and all. It has a digital keyboard in addition to the slideboard...not sure why they added that slideboard. It makes the phone huge. The case he had the phone was heavy and clunky. They added little things that the iphone doesnt do. Most the interaction with Google. The redlaser type app is better. It searches locally. The navigation is cool with the images. I also think the constellation app is sweet. No where near an iphone killer, imo.

Huge? It's a sliver thicker then the 3G/3G S. They added it because some people like choice and right now I'm liking physical. Some may not.

The case might be the culprit, the case my aunt got was terrible.
 
I love seeing vzw fanboys trying to justify a $350 ETF for a lousy samsung glyde I have no respect for u.
The only reason VZ is doing this is so they stop losing customers to the iphone every summer when a new cool iphone emerges and creates a huge buzz.
ETFs should be there for a company to secure back the money they put worth to decrease the upfront cost of the phone, which you pay back over the contract time. So having $120 after 23 months clearly doesn't make sense.

Wow, this is Apple fanboyism at it's best right here! Your post is laughable. Samsung Glyde? What thread are you replying on?!

ETF's aren't about losing customers. They're about making up the subsidies they lose when a customer purchases a phone immediately. Here's a lesson for you; the carriers lose hundreds of dollars on you every time you do a two year upgrade on your phone. They are paying the retailer that sold the phone plus the manufacturer of the phone. The carrier then has to make up their losses on the phone through you fulfilling your two year contract, plus make a healthy margin for themselves in the process. And that's how business is done, you try to make money. That leads into the discussion of capitalism but that's a different discussion for a different day.
 
Wow, this is Apple fanboyism at it's best right here! Your post is laughable. Samsung Glyde? What thread are you replying on?!

ETF's aren't about losing customers. They're about making up the subsidies they lose when a customer purchases a phone immediately. Here's a lesson for you; the carriers lose hundreds of dollars on you every time you do a two year upgrade on your phone. They are paying the retailer that sold the phone plus the manufacturer of the phone. The carrier then has to make up their losses on the phone through you fulfilling your two year contract, plus make a healthy margin for themselves in the process. And that's how business is done, you try to make money. That leads into the discussion of capitalism but that's a different discussion for a different day.

Exactly. People if you don't know how the mobile phone industry works don't try and make complex "smart" posts.
 
Samsung Glyde was an example of a crappy phone with a $350 ETF along with Versa and Exilim so they're not just referring to only smartphones.
Everyone knows how subsidies work this is just beyond rediculous though.
Hope you enjoy your $350 ETF while beeing stuck with the same phone for 2 years.
Im sure many many will not go for it. I dont care how well they claim their network is. This is a move to lock in as many customers they can with an unreasonably high ETF.
People were paying $175 or less to get out of VZ for the iPhone left and right, now with a huge fee like that they will think twice........

ETF's aren't about losing customers. They're about making up the subsidies they lose when a customer purchases a phone immediately. Here's a lesson for you; the carriers lose hundreds of dollars on you every time you do a two year upgrade on your phone. They are paying the retailer that sold the phone plus the manufacturer of the phone. The carrier then has to make up their losses on the phone through you fulfilling your two year contract, plus make a healthy margin for themselves in the process. And that's how business is done, you try to make money. That leads into the discussion of capitalism but that's a different discussion for a different day.
 
And like I said, there is a shorter 1 year contract for $70 more on the Droid.

$200 with 2 year.. $270 with a 1 year, seems like a very fair deal to me.

Nobody is happy that there is a higher ETF, but we can rationalize it.

If you are worried about not wanting the phone/provider in 2 years, pay $70 more and be done with it.
 
I upgrade my phone almost once a year so I like to keep my options open with the least amount of stealing my money. $350 is a lot for a ETF.

That's an understandable goal, but the free ride is over.

People have been working the system... swapping carriers before they paid off a heavily subsidized phone... and now those actions have raised ETFs for everyone.

----

I can't begrudge the carriers' ETFs to pay back subsidies.

However, I do side with those who want to know why our monthly plans aren't cheaper if we bring in a non-subsidized phone.

If I buy a used phone, I shouldn't have to pay a subsidized plan price.

Now, I realize that it's probably all financially worked out as some kind of everyone-pays-a-share deal, just like data plans currently are (instead of paying per actual usage), but still...
 
I hope you have no plans of moving to Canada.

3 year contracts and $400 termination fees (for Rogers/Fido) and $500+ (Bell/Telus).

Stop complaining and suck it up. You still have it better than us.
 
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