1. rijulu's Avatar
    How do these things work? Amazon selling 9700's for 1 cent? What's the catch?

    I am currently on AT&T, approaching the end of my contract in November. I have a 9000 and would LOVE a 9700. Do i have to automatically renew my contract w AT&T for another 2 years in order to take advantage of the 1 penny price? If I buy the phone thru Amazon, will AT&T refuse to set it up for me or something? Anyone know just how these things work?

    -Rick in Woodstock
    05-15-10 09:45 AM
  2. eliirodz's Avatar
    How do these things work? Amazon selling 9700's for 1 cent? What's the catch?

    I am currently on AT&T, approaching the end of my contract in November. I have a 9000 and would LOVE a 9700. Do i have to automatically renew my contract w AT&T for another 2 years in order to take advantage of the 1 penny price? If I buy the phone thru Amazon, will AT&T refuse to set it up for me or something? Anyone know just how these things work?

    -Rick in Woodstock

    Yes. The "catch" is a new contract. I have a 9700 ( THAT I LOVE!!!) with T-Mobile. I got it for $130 if I signed a new 2 year contract and then I received $100 if I sent in my 8320. So I basically got it for $30. I pay $70 a month for my plan which is a whole lot of minutes (more than I use in a month) and unlimited data usage and texting.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    05-15-10 10:51 AM
  3. pilsbury's Avatar
    If you can get a 9700 for a penny by simply renewing your contract for 2 years-do it. You wont find a better deal. But be warned, if you terminate the contract early you will most likely not only be charged an ETF by AT&T, but Amazon as well.
    05-15-10 11:07 AM
  4. b8x4c34's Avatar
    I think the price on amazon for a penny only applies to new activations on an individual contract, and the upgrade price is $75. At least thats what I'm seeing here:

    AmazonWireless: BlackBerry Bold 9700 Phone (AT&T)
    05-15-10 11:14 AM
  5. maxiang's Avatar
    I renewed my contract through letstalk.com for a free 9700. Different site, but the process should be the same as they and amazon are authorized retailers for AT&T. The retailer gets x amount of dollars from carriers for signing you to a contract of y amount of dollars. They then drop the phone price to encourage you to buy through them. The retailer usually has an amount they expect you to pay them if you cancel or drop your plan to a lower monthly rate within six months to recover the money they lose from the carrier. Perfectly reasonable IMHO. You are held to the retailers return/exchange policy, not AT&T's (ie you can't walk into a corporate AT&T store to exchange for another phone for free). The one year BlackBerry warranty and cell service are AT&T's responsibility.
    Long story short: research, research, research!!! Make sure you know what you're getting into. All retailers should have their terms listed, but you may have to dig around to find them. Savvy?

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    05-15-10 11:31 AM
  6. rijulu's Avatar
    THANKS FOLKS!! I didnt expect so many replies in just a couple of hours! You've all been extremely helpful. Yeah it's like I figured, if something sounds too good to be true...

    Anyway, I might just hold out til earlyl June, pay the early cancellation fee to AT&T, switch to Sprint and sthen start rockin the Bold 9650 which comes out 5/23. 512MB of mem is gonna feel like paradise compared to the anemic 128MB on my 9000!

    Thanks again guys
    05-15-10 11:46 AM
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