Marcelo Claure, Town Hall Meetings, New Family Share Pack Plan, Unlimited Individual Plan, Discussion Thread

[avb]

So, I was looking at adding a 2nd line just for the iphone4life;

 

@ $35/month for 128g/6+ times 24 months = $840

 

and not keep the phone. to save $109.

 

or pay the extra $109 and keep the phone, to either resell and re-coop money or keep as backup/ipod or family hand me down.

 

Whereas the 16g/6 @ $20 times 24 months = only $480, to save $170 vs $650 full retail.

 

So if you plan to lease, it might be better to go with the basic 6/16gig, vs the maxed out 6+/128gig.

 

or just buy the phone (via easypay, contract, or put it on credit card) and sell it later when you upgrade.

 

So, in other words, the 'lease' you are still paying for ~75% of the device while keeping 0%, not to mention the additional costs of insurance you really should get in case you lose or break it and have to pay full price for it (assuming they do not pro-rate the pay off).

 

You also don't pay sales taxes  on the full retail price when using the lease program.  8% typical sales tax on a $650 device is another $50 out of pocket should you choose to buy the phone.  So saving $170 + $50 = $220, which isn't too bad for the convenience.

[dedub]

You also don't pay sales taxes  on the full retail price when using the lease program.  8% typical sales tax on a $650 device is another $50 out of pocket should you choose to buy the phone.  So saving $170 + $50 = $220, which isn't too bad for the convenience.

 

You DO pay sales tax, is just included in your monthly payment.

 

please see the * on the iphone for life;

 

https://www.sprint.com/landings/iphone/index.html?ECID=vanity:iphone6

 

 

 

iphone for life plan sales tax is paid monthly, sprint easy pay and 2 year agreement sale are paid at point of sale. all monthly service charge above exclude taxes and sprint surcharges.

so your going to pay the $20 lease fee + taxes.

Edited September 12, 2014 by dedub

[dedub]

you mean the $50 plan?

 

that is irrelevant to my statements above, you still get the $50 plan on any of the 3 plans; lease/easypay/contract.

 

 

Right, my bad sorry.

 

actually, I must correct myself.

 

you do *not* get the $50 plan on 2 year contract, the contract unlimited plan is $85 (which is the subsidized upfront price + ($35 +$50) per month which means your paying $1040 for a $650 device).

 

So really the only good option is easy pay, then pay it off early.

[GoBigRed79]

There is really only one reason to go for the lease, and that comes down to living above your financial means, you simply can't afford the extra ~$50 down and $7 a month for easy pay (or putting it on a credit card).

 

That, and you don't care about paying for 3/4 or more of something and not keeping it.

 

I guess I just don't see a huge difference between easy pay and the lease deal.  If you are going to keep your phone past the two years then yes you should buy but most people upgrade every two years.  When you finance something you don't own it until you pay it off.  And with the lease you are basically paying down the balance as there is an option to buy the phone at the end of the lease that is the difference between the lease price and the sale price (The $170 on the 6 model).  Most people don't like the hassle of selling their old phones and just throw them in a drawer anyway.  Personally I think it is a creative alternative to easy pay.

 

The same argument could be made that easy pay is just for people living beyond their means also.  Just because I have the cash to buy two iPhones outright does not mean I want to lay $1500 when somebody is giving me financing options that are interest free.

 

Also, you seem to think you would have to pay the full price if you have to break the lease early, like if you lose the phone regardless of how many lease payments have been made.  This is not the case.  The price of the phone is $649.  You are paying $20 a month.  If you lose it after making 6 payments you would owe the balance of payments due ($360) plus the payoff balance due at the end of the lease ($170) = $530.  Really no different then easy pay.  You owe the balance due if you end the agreement early.  With both easy pay and the lease insurance would be prudent.

 

What happens if I cancel my service prior to completing my 24 month lease?

If you cancel service during your lease term, you will have to pay the remaining lease payments plus the device purchase option price set forth in the Lease Agreement.

 

What happens if a customer on an Installment Agreement cancels service prior to completing their 24 device payments?

If a customer on an Installment Agreement cancels service prior to completing their 24 device payments, the remaining unpaid balance on the device will be due on customer’s next invoice.

 

[dedub]

Please link where it says you can pay $170 to buy the lease.

 

I have also not found anywhere it says whether or not leased phones are pro-rated during the 2 years,

 

ie if you lose or break it, do you pay the full $650 even though you have paid $20 a month, or are they going to pro-rate your $20 payments into the $650 phone cost?

 

People may not like the 'hassle' of trying to sell their old phone, but paying ~480 to get nothing at the end is pretty extreme. Also that means no handing down phones to kids or other family members.

 

It is a very deceivingly elegant, yet costly in fact plan.

 

I foresee lots of new and existing isheep falling for it. 

 

I do like the fact that they have made the non-subsidized easy pay a better deal than subsidizing, but that is only due to the cut rate $50 plan.

Edited September 12, 2014 by dedub

[Johnner1999]

I guess I just don't see a huge difference between easy pay and the lease deal. If you are going to keep your phone past the two years then yes you should buy but most people upgrade every two years. When you finance something you don't own it until you pay it off. And with the lease you are basically paying down the balance as there is an option to buy the phone at the end of the lease that is the difference between the lease price and the sale price (The $170 on the 6 model). Most people don't like the hassle of selling their old phones and just throw them in a drawer anyway. Personally I think it is a creative alternative to easy pay.

 

The same argument could be made that easy pay is just for people living beyond their means also. Just because I have the cash to buy two iPhones outright does not mean I want to lay $1500 when somebody is giving me financing options that are interest free.

 

Also, you seem to think you would have to pay the full price if you have to break the lease early, like if you lose the phone regardless of how many lease payments have been made. This is not the case. The price of the phone is $649. You are paying $20 a month. If you lose it after making 6 payments you would owe the balance of payments due ($360) plus the payoff balance due at the end of the lease ($170) = $530. Really no different then easy pay. You owe the balance due if you end the agreement early. With both easy pay and the lease insurance would be prudent.

I just ordered a standard 6, via the lease. Technically it seems sprint will charge $200 at the end of the lease if you wanted to buy your device.

 

Totally agree if sprint wants to float me for zero percent loan via easy pay, or the simplicity of the lease I'm okay with it. I understand its not for every everyone.

[GoBigRed79]

I just ordered a standard 6, via the lease. Technically it seems sprint will charge $200 at the end of the lease if you wanted to buy your device.

 

Totally agree if sprint wants to float me for zero percent loan via easy pay, or the simplicity of the lease I'm okay with it. I understand its not very everyone.

This.  I don't care how anybody pays for their phones.  Whatever works best for you is fine.  I think the only thing we can all agree on is phones cost way to much.  iPhone 6+ 128GB is almost a grand!

[dedub]

here is the fine print from the sprint iphone6 page;

 

I don't care how anyone pays for their phones either, as long as they fully understand the financial ramifications and differences between the available options.

 

 

 Phone Lease Offer: Credit approval req. Terms for all other customers will vary including amount due at signing & taxes/fees. Req. qualifying device & service plan. No security deposit required. Upon completion of 24 mo. term, customer can continue to pay monthly lease amount, purchase or return the device. Customer is responsible for insurance and repairs. Early termination of lease/service: Remaining lease payments will be due immediately, and requires device return or payment of purchase option device price outlined in lease. iPhone for Life Plan: Future leasing subject to device availability and monthly payments may vary. Service plan rates and availability subject to change. Req. good standing.

Edited September 12, 2014 by dedub

[S4GRU]

I do appreciate the comparisons you guys work up for the iPhone4life, Family Share, Unlimited, Framily, etc.  Cletus has done a bang up job, especially.  But we should definitely stop short of insulting people's decisions after they hear the comparisons.  As everyone has different needs and budgets.

 

So keep the comparisons and analysis coming.  But stop short of making judgments for people.  Instead of saying someone is stupid to choose Option B, say that you wouldn't choose option B for your needs because of Reason X.  Make it about you, don't make it about others.

 

That's my spiel!

[dedub]

 

 

What happens if I cancel my service prior to completing my 24 month lease?

If you cancel service during your lease term, you will have to pay the remaining lease payments plus the device purchase option price set forth in the Lease Agreement.

 

 

Wow also, per gobigred's quotes above the lease has the worst cancel penalties.. instead of contracts and ETF's, now you have lease termination costs, unspecified 'purchase option price', and doesn't specify if you even keep the phone!

[GoBigRed79]

Wow also, per gobigred's quotes above the lease has the worst cancel penalties.. instead of contracts and ETF's, now you have lease termination costs, unspecified 'purchase option price', and doesn't specify if you even keep the phone!

 Obviously if you are likely not going to keep a phone for 2 years the lease is not the best option.  Thats why it is great we have several options to pay for our phones. 

[dedub]

Right, well I wouldn't expect existing customers who are already familiar with sprints service to be cancelling the lease...

 

I am just thinking about the new customers that come and think oh the lease looks like a great deal I will try out sprint, then if for whatever reason they are unhappy, they are going to be *really* unhappy to find a giant bill for all of the remaining lease payments + whatever other fee's were specified in the lease.

[Johnner1999]

Right, well I wouldn't expect existing customers who are already familiar with sprints service to be cancelling the lease...

 

I am just thinking about the new customers that come and think oh the lease looks like a great deal I will try out sprint, then if for whatever reason they are unhappy, they are going to be *really* unhappy to find a giant bill for all of the remaining lease payments + whatever other fee's were specified in the lease.

Not that everyone reads the documents, but before accept the order it spells out your fees per month including estimated taxes (very high Estimate at that) and it states the price to buy the phone at the end of the lease. Mine was $200.

[GoBigRed79]

Right, well I wouldn't expect existing customers who are already familiar with sprints service to be cancelling the lease...

 

I am just thinking about the new customers that come and think oh the lease looks like a great deal I will try out sprint, then if for whatever reason they are unhappy, they are going to be *really* unhappy to find a giant bill for all of the remaining lease payments + whatever other fee's were specified in the lease.

I can understand that.  The return trial/return period does apply to the lease so the phone can be returned during that time.

 

Like I said in my previous post, these phones are expensive.  I see the lease option as some outside the box thinking that we have not seen from Sprint in awhile.  My guess is overall it will be a success for Sprint.

[jwang]

There is really only one reason to go for the lease, and that comes down to living above your financial means, you simply can't afford the extra ~$50 down and $7 a month for easy pay (or putting it on a credit card).

 

That, and you don't care about paying for 3/4 or more of something and not keeping it.

 

 

I think all of us are different from each other more or less.

 

Selling the old one to pay for the new one ($649 of the basic 16GB iPhone 6), compared to pay $480 (for basic model of 16GB iPhone 6) in two years for lease and get another one with same deal. To some people there is not a big difference.

 

The iPhone for life plan won't be liked by everyone as no plan will be. But surely it will bring a lot of customer as it is easy to understand and simple.

And it is an option for the people in US. In China and Japan they don't have this kind of deal. I would bet that at least 5% of the 600 million users of China Mobile would appreciate this kind of deal for iPhone. It is equal to 30 million users.

 

btw I will stick with the galaxy note series as this is the best for me.

[jamesinclair]

I like this new CEO guy. He's saying all the right things. It sounds like he understands perfectly what was wrong and what needs to be changed.

 

I hope action matches the talk.

 

Im going to tweet him next week about the international plans, which he hasnt talked about. Sprint is 5 years behind everyone else with their international rates.

[dedub]

Here is another price point example;

 

for 6+/128gig $950

 

on 2 year contract

 

$499 + taxes, + ((extra $35 month over the $50 plan on easypay/lease) * 24 months) = $1399

 

essentially, the 2 year contract makes you pay the LEASE cost + the upfront subsidized price.

 

 

 

 

on easy pay

 

$0 down, + ~$40/month * 24 = $950

Edited September 12, 2014 by dedub

[maxsilver]

> "If you cancel, you have to pay the remaining lease payments *plus* the device purchase option price.

 

Wow also, per gobigred's quotes above the lease has the worst cancel penalties.. instead of contracts and ETF's, now you have lease termination costs, unspecified 'purchase option price', and doesn't specify if you even keep the phone!

 

Woah! That needs to be highlighted in thousand-point-font somewhere.

 

If that's true, then Sprint is making you to pay 2x to 3x the normal ETF cost if you bail on the iPhone for Life plan. I thought Legere was just talking crap during the Chen interview. But his comments seem extremely fair now.

 

Finishing the lease payments seems fair (same as everyone elses device plan). Buying the remainder of the device seems fair (similar to the ETF's of subsidised pricing).

 

Making people do *both* is entirely unreasonable. This Sprint plan is basically just as bad as T-Mobile's old pre-Legere Value Plans (which also had 2X ETF fees).

[cletus]

Here is another price point example;

 

for 6+/128gig $950

 

on 2 year contract

 

$499 + taxes, + ((extra $35 month over the $50 plan on easypay/lease) * 24 months) = $1399

 

essentially, the 2 year contract makes you pay the LEASE cost + the upfront subsidized price.

Correct. The 2 year price is a ripoff unless you are already on a subsidized plan. Even the iPhone 6 16GB ends up costing an extra $236 over easypay

[maxsilver]

Ok, this is bugging me, the pricing can't be this bad for ETF-folks.

 

Does anyone have a copy of the actual Lease Agreement? I've dug through everything I can find on the site , and found lots of statements like "you will have to pay the remaining lease payments plus the device purchase option price set forth in the Lease Agreement." but can't find the actual Lease anywhere.

 

Perhaps someone in Retail can post it   It can't be confidential, since customers have to sign it.

 

Surely they must at least discount at least some portion of the phone price on a per month basis.

[GoBigRed79]

Woah! That needs to be highlighted in thousand-point-font somewhere.

 

If that's true, then Sprint is making you to pay 2x to 3x the normal ETF cost if you bail on the iPhone for Life plan. I thought Legere was just talking crap during the Chen interview. But his comments seem extremely fair now.

 

Finishing the lease payments seems fair (same as everyone elses device plan). Buying the remainder of the device seems fair (similar to the ETF's of subsidised pricing).

 

Making people do *both* is entirely unreasonable. This Sprint plan is basically just as bad as T-Mobile's old pre-Legere Value Plans (which also had 2X ETF fees).

Keep I mind if you pay the remaining lease payments plus purchase option you are basically just paying off the balance owed on the device. You will own it. Not much different then early termination of an easy pay plan. The reason there are two fees is the total lease payments don't cover the entire price of the device. The purchase option makes up the difference.

[peteyz24]

$950 seems like a ripoff to me as well. For that price it should be able to do a whole lot more than just be a phone

[dedub]

$950 seems like a ripoff to me as well. For that price it should be able to do a whole lot more than just be a phone

 

Well for $950 you get a 5.5" HD TV* with itunes store and 128gig of storage, which is a ton more than any other tv.

 

*NTSC broadcast not supported, must buy or steal content from the internets

[maxsilver]

Keep I mind if you pay the remaining lease payments plus purchase option you are basically just paying off the balance owed on the device. You will own it. Not much different then early termination of an easy pay plan. The reason there are two fees is the total lease payments don't cover the entire price of the device. The purchase option makes up the difference.

 

Do we know that though?

 

If you start with the $749 iPhone, then you should only have to pay $250 to keep it if you quit at 20 months. $750 - ($25/month * 20 months) = $250.

 

But the document sounds like it's saying, if you quit at 20 months, you owe all the months remaining and the purchase price.. Which would be ($25/month * 4 remaining months) + $750 = $850 to cancel. And that's after you already paid $250.

 

That's why I want to see the Lease. I'm hoping they've defined some sort of "Lease purchase price" that drops each month. Otherwise, this is a crazy lock-in scheme.

 

- - -

 

Another weird tidbit in the plan : "As a customer in good standing, at the end of your lease, here are your options:

• Turn in the iPhone, get a new one with zero down
• Purchased the leased iPhone
• Continue leasing the iPhone on a month-to-month basis
• Note: If you paid money down at signing, your month-to-month lease payment will increase starting in month 25 to the amount you would have been required to pay per month if you had not been required to pay money down at signing."

So, it's really unclear, but based on that wording, it sounds like if you put money down, pay for 24 months, your price on your lease goes up, even if you "continue leasing the iPhone on a month-to-month basis?"

 

Surely that can't be right either...

 

Either this plan is crazily predatory, or the wording is terribly misleading.

[twospirits]

Someone posted on twitter tonight and I had to retweet cause it had me lmao.

 

$900 for a iphone 6? airplane mode better take me on vacation.

 

TS