Purchase from Tmobile or Amazon?

[mullenbooger]

I'm thinking of picking up 2 BB Bold 9700s on tmobile on an even more family plan. Now the bold is $200 each from tmobile (400 total) and only $50 each from amazon (100 total).

Is there any reason why I shouldn't buy the phones from Amazon as opposed to Tmobile? It looks like with Amazon I might not have 14 days to try out the phone and decide whether I like it without paying an ETF? Whereas Tmobile looks like I have 14 days and I can return it with no questions asked. Maybe I'm wrong? Any help would be appreciated!

[NorrisCell]

In my biased view, the savings are not worth the risk of having your account setup incorrectly, in addition to the lack of an easy return if the phones do not work out.

Indirect dealers like Amazon create tons upon tons of headaches for me and many other direct dealers. Unfortunately people keep buying from them because "they're cheaper".

Buy from a corporate store. Have a face to match to the receipt. Split the phone up into payments if you wish. Remove some money from the vicious Amazon/Best Buy/Walmart circle.

[48593039584729]

The people who handle Amazon's cell phone division are just terrible at everything, it has a big possibility to leave a bad taste in your mouth. Best Buy and Walmart is better.. but buying them directly will give you the least amount of problems.

[NorrisCell]

Originally Posted by 48593039584729

The people who handle Amazon's cell phone division are just terrible at everything, it has a big possibility to leave a bad taste in your mouth. Best Buy and Walmart is better.. but buying them directly will give you the least amount of problems.

Best Buy possibly. Walmart is an absolute nightmare though. They are the absolute worst, both from problems they have shipped to my store and second hand accounts from customers who have bought from them in the past. Best Buy has sent me their fair share of problems too.

I've had Best Buy fail to add insurance to an activation, then send the person to my store to try and argue for a new phone for free two months later when it got broken, despite the sales rep having clearly marked that it was supposed to be added on the contract. I've had Walmart run out of a phone, get the customer a free phone, then send them to my store to exchange it for the one they want.

I can keep going...

[Cleothaj32]

checkout Cell Phones for free with Cell Phone Plans from AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless they may have that phone for FREE!! I've ordered 3 phones from they with no problem in setup, shipping is free and nextday is $14.95. (order today it's delivered by 10 am tomorrow) Also most orders are shipped the same day as ordered if ordered before 2 pm.

[Artemis68]

Dealing with T-Mobile directly is your best bet. I'd forgo some minor savings to do things right. If Amazon messes up (which happens often) it equates to big headaches for you and sometimes, you can lose $$ over it.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[mnmnmn]

For a $300 difference, I'd take the gamble. I've known people who went the Amazon route and had no issues.

[NorrisCell]

Originally Posted by Cleothaj32

checkout Cell Phones for free with Cell Phone Plans from AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless they may have that phone for FREE!! I've ordered 3 phones from they with no problem in setup, shipping is free and nextday is $14.95. (order today it's delivered by 10 am tomorrow) Also most orders are shipped the same day as ordered if ordered before 2 pm.

Go ahead and add Let's Talk to that same list. Had a lady in the other day who had ordered from them. They shipped her the wrong phone, then told her she could exchange it at my store, even though it was their error. When she contacted them, they told her she would have to pay a "restocking fee" for returning the phone, even though the correct phone was on her invoice.

But wait, there's more.

She ended up sending the phones back and canceling in order to activate with me and have everything done correctly. Two days later, Let's Talk called Care and cancelled the NEW lines that I had activated. Whether it was out of spite or idiocy, I don't know. All I do know is that the lady's phones shut off randomly in the middle of the day.

[gpgorbosjr]

Originally Posted by NorrisCell

In my biased view, the savings are not worth the risk of having your account setup incorrectly, in addition to the lack of an easy return if the phones do not work out.

Indirect dealers like Amazon create tons upon tons of headaches for me and many other direct dealers. Unfortunately people keep buying from them because "they're cheaper".

Buy from a corporate store. Have a face to match to the receipt. Split the phone up into payments if you wish. Remove some money from the vicious Amazon/Best Buy/Walmart circle.

Very true. As a personal experiment I have experienced every one of the major 4 cell carriers at least one (Verizon/Sprint twice haha), and while I didn't stick with T-Mobile, they had by far the most enjoyable sign up process of the 4 haha.

I had wanted a G1 back when it was $200 I think, and he split it up into payments for me, even though I didn't have the necessary credit history to do so.

Also, with Amazon, while I think they'll probably set you up all right, there will likely be a 180 day period in which you can't cancel your contract with the deal. So on top of not being able to return the phones within 14, you can't lower the price of your plan, or get rid of the phones for 180 days. I don't know if you'll have that, but my contract did. If you do, you have to pay them the difference between what you paid for the phone and retail I believe.

[NorrisCell]

Originally Posted by gpgorbosjr

Also, with Amazon, while I think they'll probably set you up all right, there will likely be a 180 day period in which you can't cancel your contract with the deal. So on top of not being able to return the phones within 14, you can't lower the price of your plan, or get rid of the phones for 180 days. I don't know if you'll have that, but my contract did. If you do, you have to pay them the difference between what you paid for the phone and retail I believe.

That is correct. You cannot downgrade (And in some cases, upgrade) your plan within 180 days or you give Amazon authorization to charge you back ($250 I believe) for the savings on the phone

[mullenbooger]

Thanks everyone!

[Myveggies]

Buying a phone is something you want to deal with in person. I will not trust buying the phone on the internet unless it's directly from the service provider's site (T-MO, ATT, Verizon). All these other online companies are not reliable and it's always better to have someone you can meet face to face when something goes wrong.

There are third-party retailers and authorized dealers in every neighborhood. They often sell the phone for less to gain their comission. You do have to sign another contract with them on top of the one you have with T-Mobile. Most of the time the extra terms are no big deals (no downgrade of plans in the first 180 days, no switching of area codes if you move), things like that nature where you normally wouldn't do anyways. But do read the fine prints closely.