[GibsonLives]

Hi, all! Been checking out the site for over a week, and I love it! I don't have a BB yet, but I'm working toward that goal....most likely after the holidays. I see the Bold listed on some sites like wirefly.com for $149 after rebate, which is obviously half the price AT&T wants to charge. So, here's my dumb question: what's the catch? Am I better off going directly through AT&T, or going through someone else to buy the phone (either way, I realize my service provider will still be AT&T)? Basically, I understand the substantial price difference, but will I end up paying a higher price in headaches, etc. bytaking the bargain? Thanks in advance; crackberry.com's gonna be my new home, I can already tell
Steve

[TheatreHound]

I know you are not looking for an 8320 but Amazon has a good deal. They pay you 100 bucks to take one.. Is the Bold worth 250 bucks more to ya?

[joe003]

Welcome to CB both of you!

Enjoy the addiction

[thepaintedpony]

Welcome to the CB family!

[tech42er]

I've always been wary of going through middlemen like Wirefly. Usually the ETF's are much higher and they charge you an arm and a leg if you mss a payment. They also might force you to buy a data package (but I'm sure you want one anyway). If you do everything by the book, you can save a lot of money, but I'd just make sure you know EXACTLY what you're getting into before you sign that contract.

[Duvi]

The catch is they get commissions for signing new contracts, the data plans, and features. They are then able to subsidize the pricing a bit more.

If you are upgrading your line, then you must first be eligible to upgrade and the price of the device is usually more than what you normally see listed as those prices are normally for new lines stand-a-lone lines. If it is an addition to a family plan it is more as well.

The catch is that you can't change the plan for a certain amount of time or you get charged extra fees. I would read the terms prior to making the purchase. This means if you are on an individual 900 plan, you can't change it for a certain period of time (usually 6 months).

[GibsonLives]

First off, thanks to everyone for your quick and informative responses. I was also wary of the "middleman" concept, so I'll go directly through AT&T to get my phone and plan. About data plans, yes I'd want one anyway, but I was also under the impression that you had to get a data plan with a Blackberry, no matter what (the AT&T rep. I spoke with on the phone gave me that impression, or I at least took it that way). Might also be better for me to have a local AT&T store where I can go if I run into problems with the device, as many in these forums seem to have done. Lastly, in response to the suggestion about the 8320, you make a good point, and thanks for the heads up. That deal was through T-Mobile, I believe, and I've heard unfavorable things about them; I'm currently with Sprint, and one of the reasons I'm leaving them involves coverage....or the lack thereof. There are other reasons I was considering AT&T, and the Bold, and I'll gladly discuss them, but that could make for a mighty long post, and I'd hate to write a book so early into my cackberry.com tenure lol. Thanks again, seriously
Steve

[johnmorganjr1]

Hello and welcome to CB. Hope whatever BB you get that you enjoy it.