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Other Upgrade Program or Purchase Outright
- Thread starter MikeM87
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From my understanding T-Mobile is the only carrier to offer AppleCare bundles in with their insurance and warranty. I currently pay $12/month for my AppleCare, warranty and ability to upgrade with JUMP!
Sim free for me no way I'm paying £56 a month on IU and no way I'm paying £70 a month for a useless data allowance on networks.
Unlimited data for me £13 each month cannot beat that.
Unlimited data for me £13 each month cannot beat that.
Oddly enough, I seem to be going the opposite way of the OP. I have always financed my phones through my carrier (AT&T in this case), but starting with my next phone here in a few weeks, I've decided that I'm just going to purchase outright, and probably going forward.
For most people (including myself up to this point), it is more palatable to finance for $30-40/month for 24 months rather than paying $800-$1,200 upfront, but in the end, you are still spending the same amount of money.
I just like the idea of owning it outright off the bat, and then I'm free to do what I want when I want, and don't have to worry about payoff balances, agreements, etc.
For most people (including myself up to this point), it is more palatable to finance for $30-40/month for 24 months rather than paying $800-$1,200 upfront, but in the end, you are still spending the same amount of money.
I just like the idea of owning it outright off the bat, and then I'm free to do what I want when I want, and don't have to worry about payoff balances, agreements, etc.
Yeah, my point does stand. 8-12% is higher than the long term nominal return return of the US stock market, let alone the real return.
US-backed deposit instruments and bonds are considered riskless. They’ve never defaulted. Equities have market risk and you’d have a hard time finding a credible investment advisor who’d recommend having money in equities if you plan to use it in the next five years or so.
REITs are conservative? You’re moving the goalposts completely off the field.
What are some of these conservative mutual funds with long term returns of 8-12%?
If you only have a thousand dollars saved, buying a thousand dollar iPhone is a foolish way to spend it.
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Once you realize that you're paying way more to AT&T than to other carriers simply so you can finance a phone, it suddenly becomes much more palatable to pay in full and switch to an MVNO or a less expensive carrier if that is an option for you.
Don't forget about the upgrade fee either - all the big carriers charge them on installment purchases, and they're essentially a finance charge. Even though the upgrade fee may only be $30 or so, it's still a fee you don't have to pay when buying outright.
They call theirs a SIM charge, I've never been a T-Mobile customer so I can't say for sure but it appears to be charged to upgrades. Not sure though.
Part from my first iPhone I've always brought my iPhone's outright I personally wouldn't go for the upgrade program since i wouldn't want a new phone every year. I'm still using a 6s and part from the battery replacement that was done I've never had any issues. I used to upgrade every couple of years inline with Apple releasing the s model's but last year i skipped out as i couldn't justify the cost for the 8 only now am i considering getting the 8 since it'll drop in price once the new iPhone's are released.
For people that keep phones for 4+ years it makes sense to buy. If you’re keeping your phone for 3 years or less, you might as well finance. If you buy your phone, it’s going to lose value every year you keep it, so if you’re going to get a new one after 2 years you might as well just lease.
One exception I can think of is phones getting passed down within a family. A 13 year old should be lucky to have a 6s that mom or dad used to have while you get the upgrade.
I’m single and have never kept a phone over 2 years so upgrading every year just makes sense for me.
One exception I can think of is phones getting passed down within a family. A 13 year old should be lucky to have a 6s that mom or dad used to have while you get the upgrade.
I’m single and have never kept a phone over 2 years so upgrading every year just makes sense for me.
I got this too because it seems
Like a really good value. For an additional $40 over the two year life of the insurance I get theft/loss coverage.
I wonder how it works if you cancel though. I assume Apple is notified? I know Best Buy sells a monthly plan for just Apple care.
Correction: actually it's 120 months. So, 120*50=6000
Who the hell wants to pay $6000 for a phone??!!
Buy outright!
I’ve never paid that fee neither, even when I get a new sim with the new device. I pretty much save the new sim and just insert the sim from the old phone.
Yes I wonder how that works if you cancel it. I didn’t know Best Buy sell a monthly plan for just Apple Care. Glad to know in case I ever upgrade at Best Buy in the future.
Then go with the standard iPhone payments then...which is still 0% and doesn't include apple care.
Which I did, but I went for apple care eventually but I preferred to pay they all upfront anyway
Does Verizon allow you trade in a phone for credit when first signing up for their upgrade program? I have always financed through Verizon and they have always had a decent trade in program when buying my new phone. IE, when I bought my 7plus I received $650 trade in credit for my iPhone 6. That was a no brainer. I would sign up for the Verizon program if I can get some value for my 7 Plus. I would rather not have to see it on the private market.
I think it's new. Within the last year or so. Apple seems to have partnered with Best Buy more than any other retailer, in recent years.
The way I see it is if you finance the phone and then upgrade every year you are essentially making payments on a phone indefinitely. You never actually own the phone. Endless circle.
The way I do it is buy the phone and keep it for at least two to three years. I don't need a new phone every year. Especially with the way Apple has been doing incremental updates. Bigger, smaller, bigger again. Maybe a littler faster, camera, screen, but nothing that says I have to have it. The ones that are coming out next week will in effect be a bigger version of what is already out, some revised models, but essentially the same old same old. We shall see.
The way I do it is buy the phone and keep it for at least two to three years. I don't need a new phone every year. Especially with the way Apple has been doing incremental updates. Bigger, smaller, bigger again. Maybe a littler faster, camera, screen, but nothing that says I have to have it. The ones that are coming out next week will in effect be a bigger version of what is already out, some revised models, but essentially the same old same old. We shall see.
I can easily afford to buy the phone outright, and do so every year, but this year I might finally give in and do the program. I’m worried about everyone being on a program where there will be much less buyers for it, and with a cheaper version of the phone that could significantly lower the value of the X of last years phone, meaning maybe I should just join up.
Maybe I could still make a few bucks flipping it, but the peace of mind and less hassle might be worth that...
Maybe I could still make a few bucks flipping it, but the peace of mind and less hassle might be worth that...
Who is paying $6K for a phone? You own the phone after 24 months of payment, which equals the cost of the phone if you were to buy it outright.
I buy outright.
I don’t do time value of money calculations or consider the social implications by renting a phone or lay awake at night thinking about that large sum of money I just paid...I just buy it.
It makes me happier to buy it outright, that’s justification enough for me. One time payment and forget it. I don’t have to worry about trading it in, being eligible for a new phone, or anything like that.
I don’t do time value of money calculations or consider the social implications by renting a phone or lay awake at night thinking about that large sum of money I just paid...I just buy it.
It makes me happier to buy it outright, that’s justification enough for me. One time payment and forget it. I don’t have to worry about trading it in, being eligible for a new phone, or anything like that.
I upgrade every year and buy outright. My 'old' iPhone gets handed down to my eldest daughter and her ones gets handed down to my younger daughter. When there is a surplus phone I just offer to someone in the family that wants a 3 year old iPhone or sell it if I can. So the Upgrade Program wouldn't be suitable for me and also I don't really want to be forced into taking out AppleCare+. But if someone wants to upgrade every year and wants to avoid the hassle of selling their phone and would also take out AppleCare+ anyway, then I would say the Upgrade Program is ideal for them.
Looking at the pre-order screens on the Apple store, looks like you will be able to do interest free financing without AppleCare+ directly through Apple and not the carriers. I know this option has been available for some time when buying iPhones, but I thought that option was not typically available at launch for pre-orders. Assuming it will be available this year, that’s the way I’m going. My iPhone won’t be locked to my carrier and I don’t have to buy AppleCare+ (which, IMO, is just not worth it). If I decided I wanted to upgrade next year, I’ll simply pay off the remaining installments and send it to Gazelle.