Quote:
Originally Posted by sclitheroe
You're joking right? They'd be delighted to give you a new phone, because the cost of subsidizing it is built into the shiny new multi-year contract they'll make you sign. They also get you back into the store, potentially giving them the ability to sell ancillary services and accessories.
Mobile carriers love subscribers, and they especially love subscribers locked into contracts. They could care less whether they get all the subsidized cost for your cell phone up front, or spread over three years, that's a tiny cost of doing business on very lucrative contracts.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by QuadCityImages
Yeah, in my experience if you haven't upgraded and your contract expires, they realize there's nothing keeping you from switching carriers and they start practically begging you to come get a discounted phone. You have all the leverage at that point.
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Interesting, because this is the complete opposite of my experience in the past. Maybe because I haven't had a contract in quite a while (the value of cell phone contracts is another conversation) but the last one I had ran out and I never heard from the carrier at all.
Although I do see where you're coming from sclitheroe, a contract guarantees them at the very least the buyout cost of said contract and at best 3 years of profit from you.