Related
The original HOT deal has ended. See below for the latest 25% discount. I've been meaning to post this for a couple months now and kept putting it off thinking that a) the promo was about to expire and b) most people might find this too much of a hassle. I however think this is a steal and I'm willing to move to Ptel while it's this price and switch elsewhere if the deal ends. The joys of using Google Voice means I don't really care if the phone number associated with my SIM changes. If you fall in to the same camp, read on.
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Plans
Ptel offers two "unlimited" plans:
$40 unlimited talk and text. First 250MB at 4G speeds then throttled.
$50 unlimited talk and text. First 2GB at 4G speeds then throttled.
Both plans include unlimited international text, MMS, and 411. Also, unlike all other prepaid companies I've tried, Ptel includes conditional call forwarding so Google Voicemail is not a problem.
Promo Codes
PTELG25 = 25% off ($4.99 SIM Card & Free shipping) = upfront cost of $41.24 for the unlimited 2GB plan -OR- $33.74 for the unlimited 250MB plan
This code requires you to buy a sim/top-up card combo each time, unfortunately. I don't see any way to use the coupon code when simply topping up.
Expired Codes
PTELSLICK20 = $20 off (Free SIM Card & shipping) = $30.00 upfront cost
-OR-
PTEL25BRAD = $25 off (Free shipping) = $29.99 Final upfront cost
-OR-
PTELSTUD25 = 25% off your order and free shipping (not really useful IMHO unless you're buying a phone)
Additional Savings (Cashback)
Befrugal changed their policies effective July 2013. No more cashback from them when buying minutes. If you find another site that will do so, please share! In addition to getting their unlimited deal for $30 $41.24, you can get 20% cashback via BeFrugal making the final cost $24 $32.99! BeFrugal will only allow you to cash out after your account reaches $25. For those of you that are new to cashback sites, just know that in order to qualify, you must click through on the cashback site before you go to the carrier's website. I will often open up a different browser, just to make sure I don't mess anything up. For other cashback options, see here:
http://cashbackwatch.com/store.php?store=PlatinumTel
Buying Multiple Months
The deal has been going on since December at least. So, while it's not "guaranteed" $30 service, it has effectively been that for a few months now. Another option to consider is buying several months worth of SIMs if that makes sense for you. Some might consider this to be counter to the premise of buying an unlocked Nexus. My brother is one of those people that thinks buying a years worth of service up front is a bad idea. "I guess it comes down to principle. Buying 13 months is like having a 13 month contract, more or less. I'm not cool with that."
Either way, it's your call. I bought enough for 3 months and as long as the promo continues, each month I buy one more SIM.
Here are more details which I found out from a Ptel customer service rep:
1) You must order a new SIM each time you use the coupon. There's no way around that.
2) The "Activation PIN" that comes with the SIM card can be applied to your original SIM. No need to change numbers each month by using the new SIM they send you.
3) Top-up cards in any denomination are good for a full year, but...
4) Once you activate the card, you must use it up within a certain period of time. For the $50 card, the term is 180 days. Totally fine if you're just using it for the unlimited plan.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, the max number of cards you can buy at once would be 13, I think. Feel free to correct me if my math is off.
Odds & Ends
Other things to keep in mind:
They send you a standard size SIM card. It's too big for the Nexus 4 so you'll need a SIM card cutter. Or you can always ask someone at a Tmobile store to cut it for you (if they have a cutter one available). I bought mine on eBay for a couple bucks. EDIT: As of April 2013, Ptel now sells Micro SIMs too (labeled as Combi Card 2FF/3FF).
Ptel has been around since 2001, but only just switched to GSM (SIM-based) service in December. It seems this promotion is their way of drumming up business on their new plans/network.
I've been on Ptel since January 2013 and have had great luck so far. Good customer service. Fast HSPA+ service in Boston. 16mb down. Zero complaints. If you have any questions, just ask.
Just figured I'd give this post a bump. Just bought another month's worth of Ptel service. The PTEL25BRAD code still works. So, $29.99 service is still in effect (before the $6 cashback).
I don't understand why no one else jumping on this? Give it a try people!
Definitely giving this a try. Thanks for the info.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
Thanks again for the tip. Picked one up last night. My total was only 20 not bad for a whole month of service. Certainly beats my old Verizon plan
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
bkarlsen said:
Thanks again for the tip. Picked one up last night. My total was only 20 not bad for a whole month of service. Certainly beats my old Verizon plan
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad to hear it! How'd you get it down to $20? Or are you doing the first tier of 4G that throttles after 250mb?
Conditional call forwarding works on Straight Talk.
Op you sound like you work for them buddy.
adamr240 said:
Conditional call forwarding works on Straight Talk.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didn't realize that. I was on Tmobile's $30 plan before and had to call and ask them to disable voicemail altogether for GV voicemail to work well.
Underground_XI said:
Op you sound like you work for them buddy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha. Well, if my XDA account was a new one, then maybe that'd be a red flag. That and and if I wasn't finding ways to pay nearly 50% what they charge per month...that too. I'm just a penny pinching mf.
It does sound too good to be true though, I admit. I hope it lasts for a while longer. At this rate, the savings will pay off my N4 by September. The only thing keeping me from buying even more cards at a time (well one of the reasons at least) is that it might be nice to have LTE at some point. It's still not clear if Tmobile will allow MVNO's to use that network.
how is tmobile's own unlimited everything for $50 any worst than this? considering you'll probably get better customer service, choice of buying a new phone and making payments, no contract or buying upfront, discount monthly bill if you're a student or have corporate discount, and last but not least like you've mentioned, simplicity?
Great tip. Ordering
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
khanh1289 said:
how is tmobile's own unlimited everything for $50 any worst than this? considering you'll probably get better customer service, choice of buying a new phone and making payments, no contract or buying upfront, discount monthly bill if you're a student or have corporate discount, and last but not least like you've mentioned, simplicity?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At Ptel's normal monthly fee, the only benefit would be 2gb of unthrottled service instead of 500mb. With the coupon codes in the OP, plus cash back, Ptel's a no brainer in my opinion.
Sent from my Nexus 4
Yeah I went with the first tier. In their terms it only throttles to 3g after 250mb. Can't beat 20 bucks for a full month of unlimited everything even if it is at 3g speeds. I really appreciate the tip.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
bkarlsen said:
Yeah I went with the first tier. In their terms it only throttles to 3g after 250mb. Can't beat 20 bucks for a full month of unlimited everything even if it is at 3g speeds. I really appreciate the tip.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it's 2G, at least according to their official twitter account.
https://twitter.com/ptelmobile/status/285848003506483201
adamr240 said:
Conditional call forwarding works on Straight Talk.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only for Straight Talk AT&T SIM....
it does not work on Straight Talk T-Mobile.
khanh1289 said:
how is tmobile's own unlimited everything for $50 any worst than this? considering you'll probably get better customer service, choice of buying a new phone and making payments, no contract or buying upfront, discount monthly bill if you're a student or have corporate discount, and last but not least like you've mentioned, simplicity?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is just another option offered up by the OP. I personally think it will work out better for me, but if it doesnt I can just toss the sim and go back to Tmobile. But for $20 I felt it was at least worth trialing. That is one of the benefits of using my N4 with prepaid carriers. I can try out whomever I like or switch plans if I wind up needing more 4G data later on. For right now though I use mostly wifi at home and work so I just needed the data for times in between those two.
---------- Post added at 04:16 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:07 PM ----------
nomadism said:
I think it's 2G, at least according to their official twitter account.
https://twitter.com/ptelmobile/status/285848003506483201
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My error, I thought I had seen a note on their website about it being throttled back to 3g if I use up the 250mb. Still I dont mind the slower speed for now. And I can always switch up to their 2gb plan if their services is adequate after my test run with them. Thanks for the info. I will try to put a quick update in a week or so after I have had some time to test out their service.
khanh1289 said:
how is tmobile's own unlimited everything for $50 any worst than this? considering you'll probably get better customer service, choice of buying a new phone and making payments, no contract or buying upfront, discount monthly bill if you're a student or have corporate discount, and last but not least like you've mentioned, simplicity?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because PTel's $50 plan gives more data, and with the coupon alone it costs significantly less. Plus you can save even more with the cash back.
If they ever stop having the coupons, then you can always switch to TMobile, but as long as you can save $20 to $30 per month over TMobile, why not go with PTel?
You can get TMobile refills at a discount as well, but I haven't seen any for effectivly 60% off.
More info here:
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1793983-Took-the-plunge-spent-600-real-money-in-credit
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
I went on to buy a few more and it looks like they are now offering micro Sims and the promo codes are still working. I am still stunned that I can get service for 16 a month after befrugal. Thanks again OP
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
bkarlsen said:
I went on to buy a few more and it looks like they are now offering micro Sims and the promo codes are still working. I am still stunned that I can get service for 16 a month after befrugal. Thanks again OP
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool. Thanks for the update. I wouldn't mind a proper micro SIM. Didn't do a very good job cutting mine down and I'm honestly worried it may not come out without a fight. We'll see!
Oh, and I noticed they're selling the N4 now too, albeit for $399.
Sent from my Nexus 4
OK10 said:
I wan to buy a few too, and it seems to good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought so too but tested out the service this week and it works everywhere T-Mobile does. Plus unlimited phone ,text,and data for that price is amazing. Already bought 6 months worth of cards just in case promo changes. Definitely recommend buying through the befrugal link to save the extra 20%. At this rate switching to my nexus 4 will more than pay for itself.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
Just bought another month. Still working.
So basically I hate rogers. I'm on a 3 year contract got 2 years left and I want to get our of this contract.... Has anyone here gotten out of a contract?
Sent from my HTC PH39100 using xda premium
They have 3 year contracts? That is just cruel . As far as i know you'll have to pay your way out or complain like crazy and hope they don't penalize you.
3 year contracts are the norm up here.
HoFo is probably THE place to ask. I believe the Rogers cancel fees are separate for data and voice. Bend over, it's going to hurt twice!
Are you on one of those flex plans, where you can pay off the balance of the phone subsidy and then walk away?
I ported my number from Rogers to Bell with zero issues, and I am on a Corp. Plan as well (Ontario Government, yes I really am a civil servant).
I've been with Bell for a year and have not looked back.
There's quite a few posts on HoFo on how to get discounts etc out of Rogers. If you have a stellar plan and do not mind giving up your #, you can post there and see if anyone will take over your plan.
Thx nd yeah in Canada we have 3 year contracts but the government is looking at getting rid of them
Sent from my HTC PH39100 using xda premium
camo_flage said:
So basically I hate rogers. I'm on a 3 year contract got 2 years left and I want to get our of this contract.... Has anyone here gotten out of a contract?
Sent from my HTC PH39100 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my dad is a pro at this kind of stuff. He just threatens to leave AT&T or cancel some of his lines (his office phones use AT&T) and they give him whatever
You may not be as bad off as you think, Rogers introduced new cancellation fee rules and you should fall into the time frame of it. Basically, if you got a new phone with your plan, the balance of the subsidized price is the cancellation fee, and it goes down as you pay it down. I know some who upgraded to low cost smartphones, then turn around and cancel so their cancellation fee was like $200, instead of the $400-500 it would have been under the old rules.
Honestly your best bet is to just call customer service and ask what your fee to cancel would be, and they'll tell you. Also, depending on what your issue's with them are, you can change to a new plan without renewing; there are better ones available now than a year ago.
The only way I've seen someone get out of a contract without any difficulty was to move to an area where they had no coverage. Since they couldn't continue to provide them service, they were willing to waive the cancellation fee. Not suggesting you need to move to Nunavut or anything, but you could if you really wanted to :laugh:
Good luck :good:
Just read today that on 7/19 sprint will be doing BOGO on Galaxy S3 and S4.
Offer valid on new accounts and upgrade eligible lines. So you buy one S4 at regular price and get a second one Free!
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda app-developers app
HeyItsRyan said:
Here's some insider info from everyone's favorite Sprint guy.
Just read today that on 7/19 sprint will be doing BOGO on Galaxy S3 and S4.
Offer valid on new accounts and upgrade eligible lines. So you buy one S4 at regular price and get a second one Free!
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am sure amazon and every other retailer on line will smash that deal, they will would probably offer it for 100 or so.
Same with the htc one, sprint dropped the price to 200, and amazon has it for 50 dollars now..
That great
neonsector said:
I am sure amazon and every other retailer on line will smash that deal, they will would probably offer it for 100 or so.
Same with the htc one, sprint dropped the price to 200, and amazon has it for 50 dollars now..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
50 dollars for an htc1.....still too much...lol but thats great info thanks for passing it on.:laugh:
Originally Posted by HeyItsRyan
Here's some insider info from everyone's favorite Sprint guy.
Just read today that on 7/19 sprint will be doing BOGO on Galaxy S3 and S4.
Offer valid on new accounts and upgrade eligible lines. So you buy one S4 at regular price and get a second one Free!
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am sure amazon and every other retailer on line will smash that deal, they will would probably offer it for 100 or so.
Same with the htc one, sprint dropped the price to 200, and amazon has it for 50 dollars now..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea but sprint doesn't compete with online retailers. Most companies can't.
And the HTC one has always been 200 since the day it was released.
But there are ways a new customer can get an HTC one or S4 completely free.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda app-developers app
Best buy always has various great deals the one for the HTC One is good right now. $99 for the One trade in your old phone and put the amount toward the One and get a $50 gift card for Best Buy. The S4 had a deal a week ago. I will never buy from anywhere but Best Buy from now on and the last place would be from Sprint. They screw me over on my data enough I don't need there ridiculous prices and activation fees and about 1/3 the price for trading in your phone as Best Buy.
Sent from my Sprint Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk 2
GiantJay said:
Best buy always has various great deals the one for the HTC One is good right now. $99 for the One trade in your old phone and put the amount toward the One and get a $50 gift card for Best Buy. The S4 had a deal a week ago. I will never buy from anywhere but Best Buy from now on and the last place would be from Sprint. They screw me over on my data enough I don't need there ridiculous prices and activation fees and about 1/3 the price for trading in your phone as Best Buy.
Sent from my Sprint Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So confused...
What makes you think you don't get charged activation/upgrade fees from Best Buy? Read the contract.
A Sprint store would offer discounts on accessories with a phone purchase, Best Buy does not.
A Sprint store will take the time to educate the customer on their new phone, Best Buy does not.
A Sprint store will assist the customer with applying or re-validating their discount, Best Buy does not.
A Sprint store has access National Sales Support (NSS) to resolve complicated issues, Best Buy does not.
1/3 the price on Buy Back? Where do you get that info from? Sure, Best Buy MAY give you a little more for your phone than a Sprint store will, but we're talking maybe $20 tops. Sprint follows a national AVERAGE for Buyback value on phones.
Sprint stores can also offer different credits and discounts to beat Best Buy prices, such as the $100 port-in credit, or the ability to get $100 off any phone if you sign up for Sprint's Home Phone Connect service. I had a customer the other day who walked out with a FREE Galaxy S4 and free accessories... he had an iPhone 5 from Verizon and cancelled his Verizon contract. He got $100 for keeping his Verizon number, and another $100 for signing up for the Phone Connect... so that's a free S4 right there. Then he traded in his iPhone 5 for a $245 credit and used that money to buy a bunch of stuff for his new phone. Total out the door cost = FREE.
Best Buy can't match everything we do, as Sprint corporate won't allow it.
Hey Ryan, do you think you could explain how this deal works? Do we need two valid upgrade lines or can I walk in the store with my upgrade and walk out with two s4's?
asharm said:
Hey Ryan, do you think you could explain how this deal works? Do we need two valid upgrade lines or can I walk in the store with my upgrade and walk out with two s4's?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you need two VALID lines. You must meet 1 of these 3 qualifications:
1) Be a new customer activating at least 2 new lines of service.
2) Be an upgrade eligible customer upgrading at least 2 new lines of service.
3) Be an upgrade eligible customer upgrading at least 1 line of service and adding at least 1 new line.
Any of those scenarios will qualify you for the BOGO offer.
HeyItsRyan said:
Yes, you need two VALID lines. You must meet 1 of these 3 qualifications:
1) Be a new customer activating at least 2 new lines of service.
2) Be an upgrade eligible customer upgrading at least 2 new lines of service.
3) Be an upgrade eligible customer upgrading at least 1 line of service and adding at least 1 new line.
Any of those scenarios will qualify you for the BOGO offer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm..this sounds like a cool deal. I switched my line from ATT about 2 days ago. I was gonna wait till next month to switch my wife's line over to Sprint. But if they would let me get a free S4 for her considering I just started service a couple days ago, that'll be great. But I doubt they will go for it...but I'll definitely call and try to get this deal next week when its made public...
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2
plmiller0905 said:
Hmm..this sounds like a cool deal. I switched my line from ATT about 2 days ago. I was gonna wait till next month to switch my wife's line over to Sprint. But if they would let me get a free S4 for her considering I just started service a couple days ago, that'll be great. But I doubt they will go for it...but I'll definitely call and try to get this deal next week when its made public...
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Won't work. When the store processes the phone in SNAP, your line would be a service when it has to be a new or upgrade. So even IF the store personnel didn't know what they were doing and gave you the in-store credit, Sprint themselves would not pay the store back for the credit because the BOGO offer was done wrong.
The only way you can do this is if you add TWO more lines of service. Then just give the 3rd S4 to someone else or something.
HeyItsRyan said:
Won't work. When the store processes the phone in SNAP, your line would be a service when it has to be a new or upgrade. So even IF the store personnel didn't know what they were doing and gave you the in-store credit, Sprint themselves would not pay the store back for the credit because the BOGO offer was done wrong.
The only way you can do this is if you add TWO more lines of service. Then just give the 3rd S4 to someone else or something.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If he just does it now it would be the same...considering he has ports he would get two s4's now for 199 either way. Doing it now would be the logical choice.
It could technically be done next week because he is within 14 days...but would be a pita to do AND keep his number
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda app-developers app
HeyItsRyan said:
So confused...
What makes you think you don't get charged activation/upgrade fees from Best Buy? Read the contract.
A Sprint store would offer discounts on accessories with a phone purchase, Best Buy does not.
A Sprint store will take the time to educate the customer on their new phone, Best Buy does not.
A Sprint store will assist the customer with applying or re-validating their discount, Best Buy does not.
A Sprint store has access National Sales Support (NSS) to resolve complicated issues, Best Buy does not.
1/3 the price on Buy Back? Where do you get that info from? Sure, Best Buy MAY give you a little more for your phone than a Sprint store will, but we're talking maybe $20 tops. Sprint follows a national AVERAGE for Buyback value on phones.
Sprint stores can also offer different credits and discounts to beat Best Buy prices, such as the $100 port-in credit, or the ability to get $100 off any phone if you sign up for Sprint's Home Phone Connect service. I had a customer the other day who walked out with a FREE Galaxy S4 and free accessories... he had an iPhone 5 from Verizon and cancelled his Verizon contract. He got $100 for keeping his Verizon number, and another $100 for signing up for the Phone Connect... so that's a free S4 right there. Then he traded in his iPhone 5 for a $245 credit and used that money to buy a bunch of stuff for his new phone. Total out the door cost = FREE.
Best Buy can't match everything we do, as Sprint corporate won't allow it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Buddy you got all the wrong information. I work for Best Buy Mobile, and we do all of that.
Buy any case upto 24.99 get a zaggshield HD or car charger for only $10. OR all 3 for just $50
Buy any case upto 34.99 get a Zaggsheild HD or car charger for only $10 Or all 3 for $60
We price match accessories to any online or store retailer, including the $50 Otterbox's for $25 that are on sale at Amazon. And most of the time if you ask if you can give a discount on a case or charger, mobile manager or sales leads can give you a "customer satisfaction" discount.
I don't think any carrier store spends as much time with a single customer as we do at BBYM. We do not work on commission and don't rush you out of the store to get to the next customer to make money off of them and rush them out. There have been times where I have had older customers come into the store and I've spend an hour with them just educating them about the technology, finding out what their needs are, what they plan on using the phones for, and all of the different pricing options, plans etc. then another hour setting the phones up for them, google, corporate email accounts, apps, showing them how to work it and etc.
True we can't do the $100 credit for new service/bringing your number from another carrier, but Our system we use does allow us to search for corporate discounts to apply to the customers account.
And we do have NSS access to Sales Support for issues that may come up, and trust me, Sprint is the one that usually has the most issues with phones not wanting to update and activate and prl and profile updates not going through, also we have our Sprint Account Manager just a phone call away if there are issues that need immediate attention that calling NSS can't resolve as far as phones not activating due to still being on another account or Bad ESN's that need to be taken care of to reactivate for the customer.
As far as our protection plan, the best in the industry, $9.99 a month (a dollar cheaper than Sprint) with $0 deductible and UNLIMITED Claims. Although we do not cover loss of theft, but then that's why we have zero deductible and unlimited claims. As long as you have your phone, whatever is wrong with it, (cracked, broken, dropped in toilet, charger, battery, charge port) we'll take care of it. As for Iphones go, we now even replace the glass In Store. And if you have our Geek Squad Protection you automatically get our Trade-In Plus for free, and that will give you an additional $50 on top the trade in value of the phone.
00mred00 said:
If he just does it now it would be the same...considering he has ports he would get two s4's now for 199 either way. Doing it now would be the logical choice.
It could technically be done next week because he is within 14 days...but would be a pita to do AND keep his number
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why is it logical to do it now? I will be porting my wife's number over from att
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2
HeyItsRyan said:
So confused...
What makes you think you don't get charged activation/upgrade fees from Best Buy? Read the contract.
A Sprint store would offer discounts on accessories with a phone purchase, Best Buy does not.
A Sprint store will take the time to educate the customer on their new phone, Best Buy does not.
A Sprint store will assist the customer with applying or re-validating their discount, Best Buy does not.
A Sprint store has access National Sales Support (NSS) to resolve complicated issues, Best Buy does not.
1/3 the price on Buy Back? Where do you get that info from? Sure, Best Buy MAY give you a little more for your phone than a Sprint store will, but we're talking maybe $20 tops. Sprint follows a national AVERAGE for Buyback value on phones.
Sprint stores can also offer different credits and discounts to beat Best Buy prices, such as the $100 port-in credit, or the ability to get $100 off any phone if you sign up for Sprint's Home Phone Connect service. I had a customer the other day who walked out with a FREE Galaxy S4 and free accessories... he had an iPhone 5 from Verizon and cancelled his Verizon contract. He got $100 for keeping his Verizon number, and another $100 for signing up for the Phone Connect... so that's a free S4 right there. Then he traded in his iPhone 5 for a $245 credit and used that money to buy a bunch of stuff for his new phone. Total out the door cost = FREE.
Best Buy can't match everything we do, as Sprint corporate won't allow it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol okay. You sound like a Sprint employee for sure. Just speaking from my personal experience. I got $262.50 credit from Best Buy for my S3 Sprint was going to give me $106. I'm not going to argue but simply reiterate that Best Buy is a way better place to buy products, and insurance etc.
Sent from my Sprint Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk 2
HeyItsRyan said:
So confused...
1/3 the price on Buy Back? Where do you get that info from? Sure, Best Buy MAY give you a little more for your phone than a Sprint store will, but we're talking maybe $20 tops. Sprint follows a national AVERAGE for Buyback value on phones.
Sprint stores can also offer different credits and discounts to beat Best Buy prices, such as the $100 port-in credit, or the ability to get $100 off any phone if you sign up for Sprint's Home Phone Connect service. I had a customer the other day who walked out with a FREE Galaxy S4 and free accessories... he had an iPhone 5 from Verizon and cancelled his Verizon contract. He got $100 for keeping his Verizon number, and another $100 for signing up for the Phone Connect... so that's a free S4 right there. Then he traded in his iPhone 5 for a $245 credit and used that money to buy a bunch of stuff for his new phone. Total out the door cost = FREE.
Best Buy can't match everything we do, as Sprint corporate won't allow it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Buy Back everywhere is a joke... $245 for an iphone 5 I would be insulted.. they're what $600 at the store clearly it's 1/3 of the price right there..
my bf did that phone connect discount and he's going to end up paying more over all.... he doesn't even use his phone and hasn't even taken it out of the package...
Sprint Guy... how can a new customer get a free s4?
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda app-developers app
waleed300 said:
Buddy you got all the wrong information. I work for Best Buy Mobile, and we do all of that.
Buy any case upto 24.99 get a zaggshield HD or car charger for only $10. OR all 3 for just $50
Buy any case upto 34.99 get a Zaggsheild HD or car charger for only $10 Or all 3 for $60
We price match accessories to any online or store retailer, including the $50 Otterbox's for $25 that are on sale at Amazon. And most of the time if you ask if you can give a discount on a case or charger, mobile manager or sales leads can give you a "customer satisfaction" discount.
I don't think any carrier store spends as much time with a single customer as we do at BBYM. We do not work on commission and don't rush you out of the store to get to the next customer to make money off of them and rush them out. There have been times where I have had older customers come into the store and I've spend an hour with them just educating them about the technology, finding out what their needs are, what they plan on using the phones for, and all of the different pricing options, plans etc. then another hour setting the phones up for them, google, corporate email accounts, apps, showing them how to work it and etc.
True we can't do the $100 credit for new service/bringing your number from another carrier, but Our system we use does allow us to search for corporate discounts to apply to the customers account.
And we do have NSS access to Sales Support for issues that may come up, and trust me, Sprint is the one that usually has the most issues with phones not wanting to update and activate and prl and profile updates not going through, also we have our Sprint Account Manager just a phone call away if there are issues that need immediate attention that calling NSS can't resolve as far as phones not activating due to still being on another account or Bad ESN's that need to be taken care of to reactivate for the customer.
As far as our protection plan, the best in the industry, $9.99 a month (a dollar cheaper than Sprint) with $0 deductible and UNLIMITED Claims. Although we do not cover loss of theft, but then that's why we have zero deductible and unlimited claims. As long as you have your phone, whatever is wrong with it, (cracked, broken, dropped in toilet, charger, battery, charge port) we'll take care of it. As for Iphones go, we now even replace the glass In Store. And if you have our Geek Squad Protection you automatically get our Trade-In Plus for free, and that will give you an additional $50 on top the trade in value of the phone.
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I'm going on information I have on hand, where I live our Best Buy sucks and I've been told that by customers many times. People tell me it's just like RadioShack, where yea they'll sell you a phone and if you're lucky they'll transfer contacts for it, but that's it. And the reason is BECAUSE you don't work on commission... a LOT of salespeople have no motivation to go the extra mile. They make a base pay and that's it. If they deal with 20+ customers a day, each one ending with the same result, then where's the drive to be the best? If you can't LOSE money as a sales rep, then you shouldn't call yourself a salesman IMHO. In that case you're just a customer service guy.
People have commission all wrong and it cracks me up when I see the Best Buy commercials that say you guys don't work on commission. Commission is what motivates salesmen to do a good job. Say a customer comes in my store and buys 4 new phones and I make $100 off that single transaction... it's my JOB to make sure they're 100% satisfied, because if they're not they have every right to return those phones and then I lose the commission, so now I just wasted time AND lost money because I half ass job. A typical single line upgrade will last about 45 minutes with us. We don't rush, and if we have customers waiting we simply set the expectations, tell them how long we'll be, and invite them to come back later so they don't have to wait. We go over ever aching detail from contact, picture, video, email, ringtone transfers to customer education. Then afterwards, the customer gets a CSAT call where they get to rate us. If our CSAT score is too low, we lose even more money off our commission. So once again, the result is that if you're dealing with a salesman who's pay and lively hood is directly effected by your (the customer's) level of satisfaction, then why do people assume commission-based salesmen don't do their job? Makes no sense.
But I digress.. Don't get me wrong bud, I am certainly NOT saying you do a bad job. If your particular Best Buy is a good one, and you in particular do an awesome job in phone sales, then that's great. I'm simply saying ours is not a good store, and the people there don't really give a crap.
Also, our accessory deals are pretty good. We do almost the same thing as you... buy any case for $29.99 or less and we'll bundle screen protectors and a car charger for a flat $40. We simply don't offer Zagg's because we don't believe in wet application screen protectors. OtterBox's are a big seller for us, and if you buy a Defender you don't need a Zagg anyway. We can't really match Amazon pricing for OtterBox because we're a preferred retailer, but we'll take a Defender down to $39.99 if we have too and still make a bundle deal.
kvan1707 said:
Sprint Guy... how can a new customer get a free s4?
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda app-developers app
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NEW customer?
If you port your number to Sprint from a different carrier you will get $100 in-store credit. If you sign up for the Home Phone Connect on top of that you'll get another $100 in-store credit. That means you can get an S4 for only $50 in store, but then you get a $50 mail-in rebate. So after everything is said and done, you get a free GS4.
plmiller0905 said:
Why is it logical to do it now? I will be porting my wife's number over from att
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2
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The current offer is get $100 off when porting in, I assume you did this on your Att port in 2 days ago. This offer expires the day before the new offer starts. Just do that now for her line as it nets the same total cost as the bogo.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda app-developers app
HeyItsRyan said:
NEW customer?
If you port your number to Sprint from a different carrier you will get $100 in-store credit. If you sign up for the Home Phone Connect on top of that you'll get another $100 in-store credit. That means you can get an S4 for only $50 in store, but then you get a $50 mail-in rebate. So after everything is said and done, you get a free GS4.
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If Only, I am on a family plan in someone else's name with sprint right now, I going to break off get two lines, add my subway discount and pay about $154 a month. Need to build my credit.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda app-developers app
http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/15/sprint-early-upgrade-program-in-the-works-promises-to-one-up/
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57603017-94/sprint-preps-one-up-its-own-early-upgrade-program/
This message brought to you in part by Sprint and the letters GS and the number 4
I just saw this five minutes ago
Eventually I'll do the math checking how badly sprint would be screwing us over
Sent from my SPH-L720 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
we used to be able to bill phones to our account a year or so ago and they got rid of it after so many years (been with them since 2002).. IMO they should of grandfathered customers who had the option and had their account in good standing.. it was convenient.. not sure if there was a time limit you had to pay the balance but i always paid it in full when i got the bill.
newalker91 said:
This is probably one of the smartest things that Sprint has done for the consumer, but will probably bite them as such a large percentage is fraud and low credit class customers that send their accounts to collections.
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this option sound interesting, but i would guess there must be some catch.. how about those eligible for an upgrade, no phone discount? kind of sounds like you have to pay retail price.. haven't fully read the details yet, but it looks like you also have to return the old device when you upgrade?
btw, sprint has always had different class rating for each account. meaning they assign a rating to each account when it's opened. higher credit score meant you could have many lines and bill to account, those with lower score/class could only have 1 or 2 lines and no billing on account. i also believe after a certain amount of years they would increase your score if you paid your bill on time so you could get additional lines or maybe even get the bill-to account privileges.. i don't see how this can be that big a problem (people sending accounts into collections) more than they already do.
as long as I'm not getting screwed in the end, I'm all for this as I like to upgrade often lol, my wife says I have a problem
sent from my Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk 4
tft said:
we used to be able to bill phones to our account a year or so ago and they got rid of it after so many years (been with them since 2002).. IMO they should of grandfathered customers who had the option and had their account in good standing.. it was convenient.. not sure if there was a time limit you had to pay the balance but i always paid it in full when i got the bill.....
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This is one of the benefits/features I miss the most and one I wish they'd bring back. I bought more phones, off contract, through BTA (bill to account) than I do without it. I always re-sign up for 2yr contracts so they weren't losing my monthly business they were simply selling phones at full retail on top of it.
Back in the bta days, you had a month to pay your account in full. If you could time it right, you could make it so the new phone wouldn't show up on the next bill. I forgot how to do that. Collections would start calling if you still had a balance the second month. I'd like to get the note 3 but I'm afraid there's not much of a hardware improvement to justify going into debt. Yeah a bigger screen and battery, but still. I'm not sure if they improved the camera module or if it's the same one that's in this phone.
tft said:
we used to be able to bill phones to our account a year or so ago and they got rid of it after so many years (been with them since 2002).. IMO they should of grandfathered customers who had the option and had their account in good standing.. it was convenient.. not sure if there was a time limit you had to pay the balance but i always paid it in full when i got the bill.
this option sound interesting, but i would guess there must be some catch.. how about those eligible for an upgrade, no phone discount? kind of sounds like you have to pay retail price.. haven't fully read the details yet, but it looks like you also have to return the old device when you upgrade?
btw, sprint has always had different class rating for each account. meaning they assign a rating to each account when it's opened. higher credit score meant you could have many lines and bill to account, those with lower score/class could only have 1 or 2 lines and no billing on account. i also believe after a certain amount of years they would increase your score if you paid your bill on time so you could get additional lines or maybe even get the bill-to account privileges.. i don't see how this can be that big a problem (people sending accounts into collections) more than they already do.
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I may be wrong, but i believe you can still "bill" a phone to your account. I recently purchased my S4 at best buy. I was asked to verify my account...after verifying, the best buy sales person made a call to Sprint questioning what he saw on the screen. I patiently/politely waited. Sprint confirmed to the salesperson what he was seeing. I've been with Sprint for 10ish so years...evidently I have no limits on devices or charges(correct term)? He asked if I wanted the device to be billed to my account or if I would pay them. I chose to pay and didn't think anything else about it until now. At the time of purchase, 4 weeks ago, I had the opportunity to bill my account the purchase price of the phone.
Edit: I had the opportunity to bill 2 lines. My wife kindly just reminded that we bought her phone at the same time. And she remembers thinking that it pays to pay on time.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2
JUST STOPED IN TO SPRINT STORE AND THEY SAID THE HAD NO CLUE WHAT THIS WAS AND NOTHING LIKE THAT WOULD BE COMING TO SPRINT.SPRINT ALWAYS SEEMS TO BE THE LAST TO KNOW ANYTHING..PLUS THE LAST TO GET ANYTHING NEW IN....
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda premium
Please go here for this discussion http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2434020
Here is the text of the email I just sent to Dan Hesse. The savings you supposedly get from the Framily plan are a joke.
I recently jumped on the Framily plan bandwagon for my 6 lines of service to take advantage of the savings that are advertised all over Sprint.com. I actually started to convince my friends and relatives that they should move to Sprint for this fantastic deal.
Then when I inquired about adding a new line to the Framily plan and found out that there are no discounts on equipment I slammed on the brakes and reversed my feelings. Then I additionally found out that my existing lines would no longer be eligible for discounted equipment. Now I am feeling really deceived.
So the end result of the Framily plan hoax is that the monthly savings you supposedly get are the direct result of losing the discount on new line/renewal equipment. I am so angry about this that I will most certainly move back to the plan I was on previously and since 5 of my 6 lines all expire in the next 6 months I will probably take them elsewhere.
To be the number three carrier and do this to your devoted customers and expect them to help you get new customers shocks and amazes me.
I brought my family's lines to Sprint because they were the best deal for me. I can say that you are now following along the path of money sucking that your competitors have been on for years.
I hope that you get many more of these letters as I will be spreading the word to have everyone I can to contact you about this horrible plan.
I to hate losing discounts on equipment, but Sprint has to make money somewhere. Lower monthly rates (yes, 25 a month for unlimited talk/text 1GB of data is LOW) usually means a higher cost somewhere.
I have an unlimited everything plan for 45 a month on the Framily plan, phone costs 25 a month, but heck, I'll take it! Better than anything Big Red or TMob can do.
I will direct your attention to the fine print if you want to be even more upset, particularly the section about data and video streaming.
I'm on mobile, but if memory serves, it basically says that framily plans get bumped down in case of localized high data demand + video streaming is limited to the point of being useless to ease network congestion.
Hesse: data will remain unlimited. Yeah, OK guy.
No discounts are applied until you hit 7 users on the plan then you get the $25.00 a month, you can forget about device discounts too. If you want unlimited data add another $20.00 a month which brings the plan higher then what I am paying now for 5 phones. I will keep my family plan I have now, well actual 2 family plans, better deal and new phone every 2 years with discounts and savings...
Sezmar said:
No discounts are applied until you hit 7 users on the plan then you get the $25.00 a month, you can forget about device discounts too. If you want unlimited data add another $20.00 a month which brings the plan higher then what I am paying now for 5 phones. I will keep my family plan I have now, well actual 2 family plans, better deal and new phone every 2 years with discounts and savings...
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Just checked my bill, I have 3 lines, and all of them are getting $10 off, making them $45 each. You get more off for each line until they're down to $25 each, IIRC.
First of all, for clarification purposes I think it's appropriate to call them "device subsidies" rather than "discounts".
Next, I am not sure what the OP's "big surprise" here is. The Framily plan is a no-contract engagement. As such there are no device subsides provided under it. This isn't any different than any of the other large carriers' no-contract offerings.
clshores said:
Here is the text of the email I just sent to Dan Hesse. The savings you supposedly get from the Framily plan are a joke.
I recently jumped on the Framily plan bandwagon for my 6 lines of service to take advantage of the savings that are advertised all over Sprint.com. I actually started to convince my friends and relatives that they should move to Sprint for this fantastic deal.
Then when I inquired about adding a new line to the Framily plan and found out that there are no discounts on equipment I slammed on the brakes and reversed my feelings. Then I additionally found out that my existing lines would no longer be eligible for discounted equipment. Now I am feeling really deceived.
So the end result of the Framily plan hoax is that the monthly savings you supposedly get are the direct result of losing the discount on new line/renewal equipment. I am so angry about this that I will most certainly move back to the plan I was on previously and since 5 of my 6 lines all expire in the next 6 months I will probably take them elsewhere.
To be the number three carrier and do this to your devoted customers and expect them to help you get new customers shocks and amazes me.
I brought my family's lines to Sprint because they were the best deal for me. I can say that you are now following along the path of money sucking that your competitors have been on for years.
I hope that you get many more of these letters as I will be spreading the word to have everyone I can to contact you about this horrible plan.
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Click to collapse
I got to tell you, you are whining about nothing. I don't have this plan, but why would you expect device subsidies on a price that low. It obviously isn't a plan for some one that wants a new phone every two years and do the math. You could pay Sprint $30 more a month for your supposed phone upgrade discount which amounts to $720 over 2 years plus the $199 you paid for your discounted phone totaling $919 for you discounted phone. Or pay cash for your phone $600 and save $319 over the same 2 year period. Now, where was your discount? Oh wait there is more, no contract, cheap monthly bill, leave when you want. What are you complaining about.
cruise350 said:
I got to tell you, you are whining about nothing. I don't have this plan, but why would you expect device subsidies on a price that low. It obviously isn't a plan for some one that wants a new phone every two years and do the math. You could pay Sprint $30 more a month for your supposed phone upgrade discount which amounts to $720 over 2 years plus the $199 you paid for your discounted phone totaling $919 for you discounted phone. Or pay cash for your phone $600 and save $319 over the same 2 year period. Now, where was your discount? Oh wait there is more, no contract, cheap monthly bill, leave when you want. What are you complaining about.
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No argument on most of the points. My biggest complaint is that they don't come out and tell you up front that this is the way it works. It all just seems a little deceiving to me. I will get my first Framily bill soon and I will see what my actual monthly change is and then I will pass judgement on what/if the savings based on a traditional plan will be.
Glad to read these issues. I've got 5 family phones still on my Sprint Everything Data Family 1500 and it sounds like I will just stay. I tell everyone that Sprint in OKC is a great wifi use and limited data with partial phone calling. Basically it sucks but with 5 phones my bill is still less than most of the 2-3 smartphone plans of other carriers.
It at least helps when I can't download or even make a call from my house.
@jtsv. I have the same plan so I think I will stay on it as well. I pay $190 for 4 lines unlimited everything.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk
cruise350 said:
I got to tell you, you are whining about nothing. I don't have this plan, but why would you expect device subsidies on a price that low. It obviously isn't a plan for some one that wants a new phone every two years and do the math. You could pay Sprint $30 more a month for your supposed phone upgrade discount which amounts to $720 over 2 years plus the $199 you paid for your discounted phone totaling $919 for you discounted phone. Or pay cash for your phone $600 and save $319 over the same 2 year period. Now, where was your discount? Oh wait there is more, no contract, cheap monthly bill, leave when you want. What are you complaining about.
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Yeah cruise is right on this one. I was thinking of doing the Framily Plan also but I get a 25% discount on my monthly bill from work. I called up Sprint and inquired extensively about this plan and even asked about my discount and was told that it would apply to the unlimited data which would bring it down from $20 to $15. I was also told that if I move a line into the plan and it wasn't eligible for upgrade that it would cost me an extra $15 a month for 12 months or until the upgrade was available. There are a lot of hidden things in that plan but that's why it's always best to call and get info on it before you make a decision. They aren't going to come out and tell you anything unless you ask. They are hoping more people just switch to the plan without asking about the intricacies of it.
jtsv said:
Glad to read these issues. I've got 5 family phones still on my Sprint Everything Data Family 1500 and it sounds like I will just stay. I tell everyone that Sprint in OKC is a great wifi use and limited data with partial phone calling. Basically it sucks but with 5 phones my bill is still less than most of the 2-3 smartphone plans of other carriers.
It at least helps when i can't download or even make a call from my house.
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When I hit 6 lines I could no longer use the Family 1500 plan. I had to go to the My Everything plan. Like I said I will have to analyse the bill and see if I should switch back.
travisw0204 said:
Yeah cruise is right on this one. I was thinking of doing the Framily Plan also but I get a 25% discount on my monthly bill from work. I called up Sprint and inquired extensively about this plan and even asked about my discount and was told that it would apply to the unlimited data which would bring it down from $20 to $15. I was also told that if I move a line into the plan and it wasn't eligible for upgrade that it would cost me an extra $15 a month for 12 months or until the upgrade was available. There are a lot of hidden things in that plan but that's why it's always best to call and get info on it before you make a decision. They aren't going to come out and tell you anything unless you ask. They are hoping more people just switch to the plan without asking about the intricacies of it.
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They are currently waiving the $15 fee.
Woah, thanks for the info. I was thinking about switching to the framily plan but hadn't looked into it yet. Now I know it's not for me. It may be a good choice for people who don't mind keeping phones for a long time though.
With sprint, read the fine print
So it's a trade off between equipment fees and the monthly bill?
Smashbro29 said:
So it's a trade off between equipment fees and the monthly bill?
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Essentially. But with the added feature of not being under contract which means you can jump ship at any time unless you still have time left on your existing contract then you will be contract free from that point forward.
I've been curious I kind of understand how their new plan is working but I have a question has anyone seen any fine print on the new plans say in 12months u upgrade but your existing phone shows signs of being rooted or knox is tripped? Just wondering if theres anything in there about it.
MrWicked1 said:
I've been curious I kind of understand how their new plan is working but I have a question has anyone seen any fine print on the new plans say in 12months u upgrade but your existing phone shows signs of being rooted or knox is tripped? Just wondering if theres anything in there about it.
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There is no fine print in regards to that. The early upgrade portion is saying that 12 months in, with unlimited data, they will let you upgrade at no charge.
You don't turn your phone back in or anything like that.
join my sprint framily plan
hey guys join my framily E00395575cg i have 3 people so far lets get this price down
Thanks guys
lawmangrant said:
There is no fine print in regards to that. The early upgrade portion is saying that 12 months in, with unlimited data, they will let you upgrade at no charge.
You don't turn your phone back in or anything like that.
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Ah ok thanks that's what i was wondering I was assuming you have to turn your phone in.