No more contracts for me

I've recently decided that I will never sign another contract with my phone company again. I'm not going to ramble, but I'm just tired of everything that I go through in those three years just so I can save at most $300? I'm a student and I don't have a lot of money. But I'd rather spend that much more money and not be tied down to a company like that for 3 years. I hope this doesn't sound selfish.

I'd like to hear other peoples' reasons why they pay full price for a phone rather than signing a contract and getting the promotional offer. Hopefully I'm not alone in this..

full price??? LOL! Not me! I got TWO storm2's for $180. (or was it $149?) and what's with the THREE year thing? At verizon, I do 2 year contracts. One phone I had I liked so much, I kept it for about 3 years. Other phones I had for as little as 8 days.

So say you spend $500 on a phone that you could get for $200 with signing a new contract. If you buy it at the $200 price and then pay the $200 early termination fee the very next day, your already saving $100 over buying the phone in full. You save money with the contracts period.

Originally Posted by Spiral_ouT

So say you spend $500 on a phone that you could get for $200 with signing a new contract. If you buy it at the $200 price and then pay the $200 early termination fee the very next day, your already saving $100 over buying the phone in full. You save money with the contracts period.

true as stated. on verizon, the ETF is a whopping $350.

I'm with T-Mobile's Even More Plus plan. And i have to pay full price for every phone i use.

Go Big or Go Home

anyway Craigslist.org will soon be your best friend.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Originally Posted by dave1812

true as stated. on verizon, the ETF is a whopping $350.

WOAHHH! I don't see why anyone would ever go to verizon.. Personally..

Originally Posted by Spiral_ouT

WOAHHH! I don't see why anyone would ever go to verizon.. Personally..

coverage.

coverage


coverage

Originally Posted by dave1812

full price??? LOL! Not me! I got TWO storm2's for $180. (or was it $149?) and what's with the THREE year thing? At verizon, I do 2 year contracts. One phone I had I liked so much, I kept it for about 3 years. Other phones I had for as little as 8 days.

I should have been more specific. I'm in Canada. Here, we get the same promotional prices as the US but on 3 years instead of 2. This is another thing that kind of annoys me. I feel the more people that refuse to sign three year contracts, the faster we can catch up to the US' system.

Originally Posted by Spiral_ouT

So say you spend $500 on a phone that you could get for $200 with signing a new contract. If you buy it at the $200 price and then pay the $200 early termination fee the very next day, your already saving $100 over buying the phone in full. You save money with the contracts period.

I don't even know what an early termination fee is. I'm pretty sure there's no such thing for TELUS. If we cancel our contract before the end of the term it's $20/month for the remainder of your contract term with no maximum. maybe that is our early termination fee?

And it kind of sounds like I am alone in this lol..

Originally Posted by dave1812

coverage.

coverage


coverage

My buddies with Verizon lose signal in all of the same places I do. Must vary by location.

Originally Posted by Spiral_ouT

My buddies with Verizon lose signal in all of the same places I do. Must vary by location.

sure. but...I've been in eight states and spent weeks (on various trips) in your area of Mlps/St Paul without issues. My phone has been up and down CA, and in OR, WA, MN, MO, IA, TX, NV. the only places that were iffy were parts of Corpus Christi in certain bldgs; I lost data service (MiFi) in Griffin Park, LA; and years ago, lost cell coverage on I5 around the Lake Shasta area for an hour or so. Not bad when you consider on another carrier, I had trouble receiving/making calls from my home, at work, in just about every large building, all malls... I will never switch to another carrier as long as my service continues to be stellar.

Originally Posted by JGK03

I should have been more specific. I'm in Canada. Here, we get the same promotional prices as the US but on 3 years instead of 2. This is another thing that kind of annoys me. I feel the more people that refuse to sign three year contracts, the faster we can catch up to the US' system.



I don't even know what an early termination fee is. I'm pretty sure there's no such thing for TELUS. If we cancel our contract before the end of the term it's $20/month for the remainder of your contract term with no maximum. maybe that is our early termination fee?

And it kind of sounds like I am alone in this lol..

Sounds like its more of a question for Canadians orTelus users. T-Mobile takes care of their customer and makes sure there is an incentive to signing a contract.

Originally Posted by dave1812

sure. but...I've been in eight states and spent weeks (on various trips) in your area of Mlps/St Paul without issues. My phone has been up and down CA, and in OR, WA, MN, MO, IA, TX, NV. the only places that were iffy were parts of Corpus Christi in certain bldgs; I lost data service (MiFi) in Griffin Park, LA; and years ago, lost cell coverage on I5 around the Lake Shasta area for an hour or so. Not bad when you consider on another carrier, I had trouble receiving/making calls from my home, at work, in just about every large building, all malls... I will never switch to another carrier as long as my service continues to be stellar.

Was just in Corpus Christi last month visiting my half sister and didn't run into any coverage trouble. I also travel a fair amount, for family and friends more than business now. Family in Portland OR, Yuba City CA, Springfield and St. Louis MO, Chicago IL, and Waco & Corpus Christi TX. And get great signal in all the places. I was most shocked that I got signal in Waco. With available signal in those locations, true unlimited data, free tethering, and $200 ETF, I can't see myself ever switching to another carrier either.

Originally Posted by dave1812

true as stated. on verizon, the ETF is a whopping $350.

Yeah, but that ETF is prorated, right, so the more months you've spent on the current contract, the less it costs to get out of it? (I've never even considered breaking it).

As far as the whole "why would anybody want Verizon" argument, I kinda have to agree on the coverage point. The only place I've ever been where I've seen Verizon have poorer service than AT&T or Sprint is in and around Morgantown, WV. Everywhere else I've ever been (and I've been around), my service has been top notch. It's not even just signal strength -- in the past 5 years I've had maybe 3 dropped calls while in my "home" area...total. Verizon has always been the easy choice for me here in the DC/Baltimore region. In some other places, it may be a different story, but I don't live there.

Originally Posted by Spiral_ouT

Was just in Corpus Christi last month visiting my half sister and didn't run into any coverage trouble. I also travel a fair amount, for family and friends more than business now. Family in Portland OR, Yuba City CA, Springfield and St. Louis MO, Chicago IL, and Waco & Corpus Christi TX. And get great signal in all the places. I was most shocked that I got signal in Waco. With available signal in those locations, true unlimited data, free tethering, and $200 ETF, I can't see myself ever switching to another carrier either.

I know you aren't trying to compare T-Mobile's coverage to Verizon!? Thats just ludicrous man!

Originally Posted by Tranerek

I know you aren't trying to compare T-Mobile's coverage to Verizon!? Thats just ludicrous man!

I'm saying in the many different places that I travel, T-Mobile performs equally if not outperforms vzw.
Check this out Cell Phone Coverage Maps - AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile others seem to agree.

The contracts are BS. The carriers used to pretend that the need for the contract and etf was to protect them when they subsidize a phone for a subscriber. But when you bring your own phone, they still make you sign a contract and agree to an etf, and the story changes to: "The contract and etf are there because we reserved a PLAN for you."

Originally Posted by JGK03

I've recently decided that I will never sign another contract with my phone company again. I'm not going to ramble, but I'm just tired of everything that I go through in those three years just so I can save at most $300? I'm a student and I don't have a lot of money. But I'd rather spend that much more money and not be tied down to a company like that for 3 years. I hope this doesn't sound selfish.

I'd like to hear other peoples' reasons why they pay full price for a phone rather than signing a contract and getting the promotional offer. Hopefully I'm not alone in this..

Why is selfish bad? It's your money. You are under no obligation, other than the force applied from the government, to spend it in anyway objectionable to you. No one owns you. And, unless you are married/have kids, no one else has a damn thing to say about it. Spend your money how you will and enjoy yourself.