[GRojasHruska]

I'm with Fido, while in China this past week my Z10 was pickpocketed, I hadn't any connections on so as to save battery at the time, anyway, no way to locate it, I'm sure some frustrated pickpocket is now wondering what to do with a completely locked device.

Point is, I want to keep my existing contract with Fido as it's been "grandfathered" in and so I get all sorts of awesome goodies* and the price has gone up since launch on the PassPort everywhere.

Checking Kijiji I thought "maybe I can get an iPhone on my contract and trade it with someone?" Turns out a few people already had a similar idea or bought an iPhone and realized it wasn't for them or whatever, basically, between Toronto and Ottawa there's only one person "considering" a trade in the direction I want (in case you forgot I want a PassPort, and in their case they MAY want an iPhone) anyway, I emailed them and haven't heard back.

As things stand, it appears that I would either have to sign on with another carrier and still pay 249.99 or 250** (leaving me with a contract I cannot afford / or at least have no interest in paying - they all start around 60 per month) or pay outright 699.99 plus tax or 799.99... None of these sound appealing or entirely reasonable - I'm just coming out of finishing a university degree and one year of college, I have other paying priorities.***

So basically, I'm asking everyone, any ideas? Some sort of manner in which to avoid this hefty cost and not have to settle for what Fido offers?****

* 3 gb data, unlimited Canadawide calling + text + photo, voicemail, caller id - all somewhere in the vicinity of 50 bucks a month.

** Ref. Rogers and Telus (Bell keeps messing with my out of touch with tech Dad so, in the most polite sense, screw them).

*** The trip to China was personal.

**** At present they only have the Q5 flavour of BlackBerry, which for me would feel like a horrible regression, kind of like the last time I tried using a Samsung Note 3.

P.S. Sorry for all the details, I just figure it's easier to explain now rather than later...

[Silverfern]

Sounds like in your case, the best solution is to buy outright for $700 before tax, since you missed out on the 25% off coupongate

Posted via CB10 from BlackBerry Passport

[Arjun Sahota]

Same boat as you, Fido customer wanting the Passport... Fido's being difficult, don't understand why Rogers can't share inventory, ridiculous.

Posted via CB10

[dejanh]

Buy off of Craigslist. At least you'll save tax.

Posted via CB10

[Smiley88]

I got my from BB store unlocked. Haven't gotten a sim yet. My z10 is on Fido so I might go with Fido or rogers. Best is buy an unlocked version from BlackBerry store.

Posted via CB10

[anon(870071)]

How important is it to retain your current #? There are a few options,either port over to rogers where they can price match for 199.99$ on a new activation. Do you have fido rewards? Can you use it to lower the$. Lastly cancel and sign a new contract. Have your dad switch to a share plan and add your line to his plan, the base rate of your portion is 60$ only.

Posted via Passport OS 10.3.0.908/Rogers Wireless

[thymaster]

Btw, the minimum plan is $80 with Robellus now. You need to add a minimum $20 / 500 MB data feature on top of the $60 to get subsidy pricing for the passport at $250 ($200 if you ask to price match Futureshop). Your best value is to buy your phone out right and put in your Fido sim.

I'm with WIND right now and happy with their service for over 3 years. I can't see myself justifying to pay $80 a month with only a quarter of the feature compared to WIND and paying $35 a month.

[thymaster]

Better yet, Amazon.com have it for $600 and will ship to Canada. For me after tax, exchange rate and shipping is about $650. Better then nothing at the moment.

Sounds like in your case, the best solution is to buy outright for $700 before tax, since you missed out on the 25% off coupongate

Posted via CB10 from BlackBerry Passport

[GRojasHruska]

Sadly my Dad just resigned with Bell a couple months ago, I'm not sure I can convince him to switch - it would most likely be costly as he would have to pay off his phone. I will try contacting Rogers, today and seeing what they can do. Thank you!

[anon(870071)]

Btw, the minimum plan is $80 with Robellus now. You need to add a minimum $20 / 500 MB data feature on top of the $60 to get subsidy pricing for the passport at $250 ($200 if you ask to price match Futureshop). Your best value is to buy your phone out right and put in your Fido sim.

I'm with WIND right now and happy with their service for over 3 years. I can't see myself justifying to pay $80 a month with only a quarter of the feature compared to WIND and paying $35 a month.

Wowowow 80$ I'm in shock! Did that change since the beginning of Sept /Oct? I added a new line to my in-marke share plan and it was only 60$ only.

Posted via Passport OS 10.3.0.908/Rogers Wireless

[GRojasHruska]

Sadly this did not work, Rogers offered me a plan at $90 per month, with a 5 month introductory rate of $70 per month...

[GRojasHruska]

Btw, the minimum plan is $80 with Robellus now. You need to add a minimum $20 / 500 MB data feature on top of the $60 to get subsidy pricing for the passport at $250 ($200 if you ask to price match Futureshop). Your best value is to buy your phone out right and put in your Fido sim.

I'm with WIND right now and happy with their service for over 3 years. I can't see myself justifying to pay $80 a month with only a quarter of the feature compared to WIND and paying $35 a month.

Wind has great plans, sadly they no longer carry any BlackBerry phones. =(

[dejanh]

Better yet, Amazon.com have it for $600 and will ship to Canada. For me after tax, exchange rate and shipping is about $650. Better then nothing at the moment.

That seems awful low, even if you're in Alberta with their low taxes. The exchange rate alone will result in a ~17% premium over the US price, and this is before any taxes and shipping. Buying from Amazon US from Canada is at best the same as buying locally, at worst, more expensive. If our dollar was on par it would make sense, but the USD is about 13% stronger than the CAD right now, and CC providers typically charge another 3.5% forex rate on top. Then there are taxes which are applied to the value of the item in CAD.

Posted via CB10

[Silverfern]

Sadly this did not work, Rogers offered me a plan at $90 per month, with a 5 month introductory rate of $70 per month...

I thought at release they were offering it subsidized with 60 plans and Telus at 70?? Such a ripoff now. Way better to buy it unlocked and go on wind for $33 a month. It will be worth it in like 9-10 month

Posted via CB10 from BlackBerry Passport

[spike12]

I'm on Fido as well.. I usually just buy unlocked and find the most economical plan for myself. Usually the difference in price when you factor in taxes saves you money.

[robert_in_la]

Better yet, Amazon.com have it for $600 and will ship to Canada. For me after tax, exchange rate and shipping is about $650. Better then nothing at the moment.

That can't be right. Between PST and GST (HST) you're looking at between 12-13% plus exchange rate which is roughly 13 cents on the dollar + credit card transaction fee, you're looking closer to 15 cents.

If you're in AB then you're looking at 5% GST only + exchange rate.

So at $600 USD the tax (assuming you're not in AB) alone would be a minimum of $72 USD = $672 USD x .15 = $772.80 CAD.


Posted via CB10

[robert_in_la]

You're better off buying it locally than ordering it from Amazon in the States.

[fof9l]

I had exactly the same issue; Fido are not presently carrying the Passport, and they don't even seem to be carrying any other BB phones apart, as you said, from the Q5.

So, I could either wait till they catch up with Rogers (hmm, unlikely I think) or just buy one. Your Fido plan looks great, so I'd be very tempted to keep it. The issue is, where to get the phone?

The $599 US price looks interesting but, when you add the local tax, then shipping to you from wherever it's sent to, plus exchange rate, plus you also have to allow for paying Canadian taxes, I found that the net advantage to buying in the US was only about $20.00, even with their discount. I decided to hang it and go with a direct Canadian order for the unlocked phone, pay the tax and be done with it. One advantage of that is that, in the (unlikely) event that I don't really like it, I can always return it for a refund.

Also, just a thought: Did you have insurance for your trip to China that would pay you out for your stolen Z10?

Good luck

[fof9l]

Oh, another thought. If you decide the Passport is too expensive, I have a great condition Z10 that I could sell you....

[Mayor McCheese]

Leave big 3 (if viable)

Posted via CB10

[Resilience]

How much fido dollars do you have?

[tigerinexile]

Hang onto your Fido rate. You won't get anything like it now.

Get an unlocked phone. Passport if you can, something else if you must. Z10s are cheap used now. Maybe the Passport will be cheaper by the new year?


Sent from my iPhone 6 using Tapatalk

[GRojasHruska]

I had exactly the same issue; Fido are not presently carrying the Passport, and they don't even seem to be carrying any other BB phones apart, as you said, from the Q5.

So, I could either wait till they catch up with Rogers (hmm, unlikely I think) or just buy one. Your Fido plan looks great, so I'd be very tempted to keep it. The issue is, where to get the phone?

The $599 US price looks interesting but, when you add the local tax, then shipping to you from wherever it's sent to, plus exchange rate, plus you also have to allow for paying Canadian taxes, I found that the net advantage to buying in the US was only about $20.00, even with their discount. I decided to hang it and go with a direct Canadian order for the unlocked phone, pay the tax and be done with it. One advantage of that is that, in the (unlikely) event that I don't really like it, I can always return it for a refund.

Also, just a thought: Did you have insurance for your trip to China that would pay you out for your stolen Z10?

Good luck

That's a great point I can check to see if my insurance will cover it! Thank you!

[GRojasHruska]

I had exactly the same issue; Fido are not presently carrying the Passport, and they don't even seem to be carrying any other BB phones apart, as you said, from the Q5.

So, I could either wait till they catch up with Rogers (hmm, unlikely I think) or just buy one. Your Fido plan looks great, so I'd be very tempted to keep it. The issue is, where to get the phone?

The $599 US price looks interesting but, when you add the local tax, then shipping to you from wherever it's sent to, plus exchange rate, plus you also have to allow for paying Canadian taxes, I found that the net advantage to buying in the US was only about $20.00, even with their discount. I decided to hang it and go with a direct Canadian order for the unlocked phone, pay the tax and be done with it. One advantage of that is that, in the (unlikely) event that I don't really like it, I can always return it for a refund.

Also, just a thought: Did you have insurance for your trip to China that would pay you out for your stolen Z10?

Good luck

Sadly I just realized I only purchased medical insurance out of experience that the likelihood for anything else was next to nothing (clearly I should have better researched statistics on the matter maybe?)...

[GRojasHruska]

Oh, another thought. If you decide the Passport is too expensive, I have a great condition Z10 that I could sell you....

That might actually work for me, I was thinking of seeing if (individual) Fido stores had any stock to see if I could get it for free with a renewed one year contract, how much would you like for it and can you DM me? THANKS!