[Playbook007]

In Canada I notice that BlackBerry's in the stores seem to be dwindling. Like they are short on inventory. Now after John Chen tells T Mobile to take a hike, I think he is going to market BlackBerry devices online. Cut the carriers out and I cannot blame them. Then you will see a BlackBerry direct marketing campaign. Online retail is a huge market, and you won't have brain dead reps steering customers away from BlackBerry. I have no problem getting my z30's direct.

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[Bla1ze]

Maybe but even if they did, it won't really help much IMO. Selling devices at $600, $500, $300 a pop just isn't really in the consumer mindset. People are used to subsidies and while it's great for those who get it and want to do that, it's not a wide market who does that. Most people just want their devices at $199 and the thought of paying full price for a device is outrageous to them.

[godsfantasy]

I think the trend is starting, for device makers to cut the carriers out of the equation. In recent times, started with the Nexus devices which did amazing.

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[Fortunate Fool]

Or they could sell it for $199 + $10/month for 24 month or something like that...

I think there's lots of "innovation" that can be done on pricing.

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[AnimalPak200]

Or they could sell it for $199 + $10/month for 24 month or something like that...

I think there's lots of "innovation" that can be done on pricing.

Posted via CB10

I don't think BlackBerry can afford to go into the business of (virtually) unsecured consumer financing. Maybe for businesses, but not average Joes.

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[vrud]

Personally I never understood why to purchase electronics from a service provider. When I got my first cellular phone it was carefully selected online and complimented with a rogers sim. I also purchased TV, a computer and a standalone phone separately from cable and internet providers. Those retailers usually charge premium and have weaker selection. Check for example Nexus 5 - fido sells it for 500, google for 350. I am talking about a consumer. Corporations would like to get a communication system from a single provider.

So, it looks like the trend has started with google selling online. Plus, it is more easier to make an online purchase these days - you don't need a desktop anymore, just click Buy button from the incoming email on your phone.

Posted via CB10

[vrud]

Or they could sell it for $199 + $10/month for 24 month or something like that...

I think there's lots of "innovation" that can be done on pricing.

Posted via CB10

For price sensitive people there will be a Z3 hopefully selling for under 200.

Posted via CB10

[Fortunate Fool]

They would partner with financing specialists of course if they were to go that route. Price sensitive people also want the best phones and that's one way to get one in their hands.

Posted via CB10

[kylef5993]

I would never pay north of $300 for a phone unless my cell phone bill is drastically lowered (which I doubt would happen).

[anon(1852343)]

I don't know, I like getting a brand new BlackBerry from Telus at Zero dollars and signing a contract so I don't have to pay the full price up front. They always let me upgrade early andd just extend my contract with never a penalty. Not sure how tmo did it but it's just going to hurt both companies for all the bad press the ceo's managed. Not a good thing in my opinion, no one looks good after the dust settles. Just sayin



Q10 with Telus on 10.2.1.2141

[early2bed]

I have a feeling that if a smartphone company was going to come in a change the way that consumers in the North American markets buy their phones, it would probably be a company with a wildly successful phone or a significant pricing advantage over the competition.

If you're going to sell direct and bypass all of the carrier stores, kiosks, Best Buys, Wal Marts, Apple Stores, Radio Shacks, or wherever else people go to get their phones then you better give the consumer a compelling reason to do something different. I don't see that Blackberry has that kind of product right now.

The reason why carriers are able to finance their customers phones is that if they don't pay they can cut off phone service. If Blackberry finances their own phones and the customer doesn't pay then they have a couple hundred dollars of unsecured debt which is practically uncollectable. You'd have to sell that kind of debt for pennies on the dollar to a collection company. Anyone who has had to manage this kind of consumer debt knows this.

[Troy Tiscareno]

Personally I never understood why to purchase electronics from a service provider.

It's a legacy of the US carrier system.

The US carriers use two different, non-compatible standards (GSM and CDMA), and within those standards, the carriers use different groups of frequency bands. Effectively, each carrier had to have phones custom-built for that carrier, with the right standard and the right radios with the right frequency bands, preventing phones from being moved from one carrier to another. Even with LTE phones (LTE as a technology is the same on all carriers, and is based on GSM), the carriers use different bands, requiring different phone builds.

This happened because of the huge number of people using cell phones, the large density of users in cities, as well as the need to cover users in huge expanses of rural areas.

In most countries, GSM is the only standard, and all phones use the same frequency bands, allowing phones to be independent of carriers, and easily moved from one to the other simply by replacing a SIM. Hell, CDMA phones don't even HAVE SIMs - that security is built-in to the phone and non-removable.

The phone manufacturers, realizing that US carriers had to have their own phone models, elected to outsource the SUPPORT of those phones to the carriers. This made sense because the carriers had to have a big retail presence anyway, and because that saved the manufacturers from having to have redundant retail support locations and staff.

Other countries work very differently because most have (or used to have) a much smaller number of subscribers, making it easier for a single standard and single set of frequency bands to cover the whole country. That's just not the case here.

The good news is that LTE is on track to completely displace both GSM and CDMA in the US, with phone calls eventually being made via VoLTE instead of on legacy connections. There are already LTE radio chips that cover all 40 authorized LTE bands, so future phones will only need LTE radios, and they'll be movable from one carrier to another with ease, just like phones are in most GSM countries now. Maybe then the carriers will have a reduced retail role and more manufacturers will handle support directly, turning carriers into the "dumb pipes" that other countries have enjoyed, and that the US carriers have long resisted becoming. But until then, nothing is changing.

[BBUniq01]

The one thing that I do like in regards to online purchases are the product reviews and seller's ratings, such as on EBay. BlackBerry devices have very good reviews on Amazon, for instance. It would bypass all of the sales reps that do not have the correct facts in regards to the devices. I have bought my previous Bold 9900 and my daughter's Z10 from EBay. Warranty was purchased with Square Trade. Then we purchased the Asus MemoPad off Amazon along with the same warranty provider. I was able to research the products and read reviews. Did not have to deal with biased reps.

Loving my Zed 10!!

[garnok]

in indonesia most electronic retail store offer 6 - 24 months , 0% interest rate installment for credit card holders....the retailer store just need to partner up with credit card company

but in indonesia credit card is still growing market...that is why there are lot promotion from credit card company i dont know if the samething could applied in developed countries where credit card already saturated the market...

[campbecw]

If they could do it at a low cost, then it could certainly work. Offering crazy device trade ins would help too. I mean, anyone who got a Nexus 4 through a carrier was an *****; invariably it was cheaper to get them from the Google Play. The big G does it, and I believe BlackBerry could. Especially of they point out that if you bring your own device on almost every carrier you'll get a big discount on your monthly rate plan; the upfront cost would pay for itself through the cheaper rate plans.

Daily Old Radio Shows! The only Channel that actually offers you a source for entertainment. C0012487D

[Troy Tiscareno]

Especially of they point out that if you bring your own device on almost every carrier you'll get a big discount on your monthly rate plan; the upfront cost would pay for itself through the cheaper rate plans.

No discount on Verizon or Sprint (you pay the subsidy fee as part of your monthly fee regardless), and only a limited reduction on AT&T. T-Mobile was the only carrier that separated the entire subsidy fee from the service fee.

[SK122387]

I don't think BlackBerry can afford to go into the business of (virtually) unsecured consumer financing. Maybe for businesses, but not average Joes.

Posted via CB10

There's a BillMeLater option in Pay Pal, which is a method of payment option on Shop BlackBerry.

This would essentially be like the "$0 down" stuff that carriers do, because BillMeLater is credit based. So BlackBerry would get the money up front, and customers that qualify could, well, get billed later. Usually 6 months of interest free payments. It's pretty good, I think.

Posted via CB10

[CDM76]

I think he is positioning BlackBerry to supplement the carriers by offering online direct to consumer option. Let's just hope it's available for all carriers across North America and the major BlackBerry hotspots


Posted via CB10

[jonno_atamaniuk]

Telus, Bell, Rogers, and each of their respective sub-brands all actually do something if you bring your own phone. Either you have a plan that is about $20 less than buying the same phone on a 2 year term (meaning you either pay less or you get yourself more data) or you can get 10% off your rate plan before taxes. It's not necessarily a lot but it is something.

Side note, on rare occasion the outright pricing from certain carriers is actually cheaper than the price direct from the manufacturer. Two cases in point: the Q5 and the Nexus 4, both are / were anywhere from $50-150 cheaper buying outright from Koodo here in Canada than they are to buy direct from BlackBerry / Google. But at least the BlackBerry you do have the excuse of it's fully unlocked.

Posted by my Z30 via CB10

[W1ck3D86]

so same like what apple is doing...blackberry store

[Akshay Borkar]

Maybe but even if they did, it won't really help much IMO. Selling devices at $600, $500, $300 a pop just isn't really in the consumer mindset. People are used to subsidies and while it's great for those who get it and want to do that, it's not a wide market who does that. Most people just want their devices at $199 and the thought of paying full price for a device is outrageous to them.

blaze.. back here in India.. people like to buy phones at their full price from the electronic shop or online...although we have an option of buying it from the carriers.. viz m using z10 on Vodafone India.. but i got my phone separately for 43.5k (launch price) and sim card separately.. and yes Vodafone India sells z10 as well..but i think hardly anyone buys from them... even now the phone is slashed down for a price more than half of the launch... we Indians prefer to buy it from the electronic shop and not from the carrier.. its only in US like countries..it is followed as legacy,, due to huge market of cdma...maybe that's the huge difference.. In India there's huge GSM market..!!

not to forget...Reliance India sells Iphone for 4k per month..with unlimited calls and 3g data (4g in coming months) on a 3 year contract..!!
they also sell htc one and nokia flagship model in this range.. don't remember the exact figures... but for some reason Samsung is not included in their plans..!! My point is hardly people buy these phones.. coz if you calculate at the end of the contract you end up paying 25-30% more than the original price...plus you get stuck with a ****ty network.. (reliance is top most company in India so they don't care even if their sells go down to zero).. so people prefer to pay a ransom amount at the start... at least this is what i have observed..!!
P.S. banks even give loans and insurance on Samsung flagship models..!!

[Rolf Hed]

Maybe but even if they did, it won't really help much IMO. Selling devices at $600, $500, $300 a pop just isn't really in the consumer mindset. People are used to subsidies and while it's great for those who get it and want to do that, it's not a wide market who does that. Most people just want their devices at $199 and the thought of paying full price for a device is outrageous to them.

I think Bla1ze has a point. It's often the up-front cost of a device that many people (probably the majority) evaluate when selecting a new device. Creating a higher up-front cost on BlackBerry devices could further hurt their sales figures, which are, as Umi noted, key to turning the company around this year.

[Rolf Hed]

For price sensitive people there will be a Z3 hopefully selling for under 200.

Posted via CB10

Has the estimated price of the Z3 been released? (I must not have seen it...)

[iToya]

I think if BlackBerry goes direct to customers, they need to really hit the "direct" portion on the head.

Most people are over having contracts and mess and those who can afford to buy their phone outright and use a prepaid service provider.

I'm thinking a phone like the Z3 can be sold unlocked in a major retail store. Box it up and sell it for 200 bucks through straight talk and call it a day. Can't get more direct than buying your phone at Target or Walmart for those people who need prepaid phones.

Posted via CB10

[Playbook007]

Or they could sell it for $199 + $10/month for 24 month or something like that...

I think there's lots of "innovation" that can be done on pricing.

Posted via CB10

You can get a z30 at Best Buy on contract for $29.00. Don't know how cheaper than that you can go for such a great device.

Posted via CB10