Best way to get an Iphone 5, 5S, or 5C

[Schfifty Five]

Fiance's bday is coming up and she is in need of a new phone. I've been wanting to get her an iPhone 5/5S/5C but she's with T-mobile and they don't offer subsidized phones with 2 yr contracts anymore. She can't really switch carriers either b/c she's got her whole family on her plan as well.

So as I see it, the only options are to buy an unlocked phone from amazon (or other store), buy it from a T-mobile store, or pay the monthly payment ($20 or so for 24 mo) from T-mobile, all of which will still be the retail amount.

Are there any other alternatives to getting an iPhone 5/5S/5C for less?

Thanks.

 

[SlitheryDee]

The only way I can think of would be used, and even then you're not going to get very much off for one in good condition. I think I would get it from T-mobile so you can go to them for support should you need it.

 

[manly]

since you're open to paying the unsubsidized price, just get the 5S. It's a little memory-constrained, but will be more future-proof than the older model.

No great options as far as getting a deal; I'd consider the Apple online store with ShopDiscover's 5% cash back. Discover Card will also double the warranty like Gold Visa or MasterCard does.

 

[boomhower]

Used. Since it's for a female I'd the 5C is a serious option since the colors tend to lean that way. Your essentially getting an improved 5 for less money. I'm seeing them go for ~$350 for 32gb in my area, not hardly any 16gb oddly enough.

 

[junpertys]

I prefer 5C more that 5S, apple will update iphone all the time. I why not save some momey to do something else

 

[Aikouka]

So as I see it, the only options are to buy an unlocked phone from amazon (or other store), buy it from a T-mobile store, or pay the monthly payment ($20 or so for 24 mo) from T-mobile, all of which will still be the retail amount.

Why not just pay the monthly payment to T-Mobile? The other carriers bake the fees directly into your plan so you never stop paying them. You think AT&T, Verizon and Sprint would ever take $450 off the price of an iPhone ($649 off-contract MSRP vs $199 on-contract MSRP) out of the kindness of their heart?

 

[manly]

Why not just pay the monthly payment to T-Mobile? The other carriers bake the fees directly into your plan so you never stop paying them. You think AT&T, Verizon and Sprint would ever take $450 off the price of an iPhone ($649 off-contract MSRP vs $199 on-contract MSRP) out of the kindness of their heart?

what I inferred from the OP is that he's willing to drop $700 on an unsubsidized phone and that used doesn't make for a great gift. So in his case, spreading the cost over 24 months is immaterial. How does that work anyway, it's added to the fiancee's bill? That would kinda ruin the surprise.

Having said that, boomhower is seeing $650 used iPhone 5Cs go for $350 in his area? Is that carrier locked and even so, that's pretty low.

 

[Aikouka]

what I inferred from the OP is that he's willing to drop $700 on an unsubsidized phone and that used doesn't make for a great gift. So in his case, spreading the cost over 24 months is immaterial. How does that work anyway, it's added to the fiancee's bill? That would kinda ruin the surprise.

That could make sense about not wanting her to see the extra charge on the bill. Although, with how he mentions that T-Mobile no longer offers subsidizing, I assume that was one of his first choices. Subsidies tend to be a little less transparent, so he could hide it better, but he would need to be an admin on the account or get someone who is an admin to perform the upgrade. I guess that's all possible given she's on her family's account.

I mean... while T-Mobile has been trying to demonize the industry's buzzwords (subsidy, ETF, etc.), they off the same things just with a lot more transparency/fairness to the end-user. So, when he talked about there not being a subsidy, I consider the monthly payment to be a subsidy, and by definition it is. That's why I mentioned it.

Having said that, boomhower is seeing $650 used iPhone 5Cs go for $350 in his area? Is that carrier locked and even so, that's pretty low.

If it's a Verizon phone, then it has to be unlocked per the rules with the FCC about the 700Mhz spectrum purchase. Note that rule applies to all LTE-equipped Verizon phones (and possibly other devices?). If your phone is no longer on contract, AT&T and Sprint will unlock it.