Buying a cell phone from Amazon?

[aphex]

My mom needs a new cell and was really happy with her old razr and wants something similar, so i figured the Razr2 would be her best bet right now.

AT&T sells it for $200 (after $50 MIR)

Amazon has it for free, but with some strange conditions;

Conditional $250 Discount
The Price listed above for this phone includes an instant $250 discount from Amazon.com. You agree to repay this $250 discount to Amazon.com if, during the six-month period following the activation date or renewal date of your existing contract, you: (1) fail to pay your balance due each month on time; (2) fail to maintain your account in good standing; (3) disconnect the line of service; (4) transfer the phone to another line of service; (5) change your service rate plan, including canceling or removing required PDA, BlackBerry, or smartphone features after your product has shipped; or (6) use this line of service to replace an existing account with the carrier. The discount is available only if you are activating a new non-substitute line of service or extending an existing line of service. If you do not follow these rules, you authorize Amazon.com to charge your credit card $250 as reimbursement of the discount without need for further approval. Third-party resellers are prohibited from purchasing cell phones on behalf of customers. **Purchase limit five (5) cell phones per household.**

I don't get the changing the rate part though, why would that incur the $250 penalty if your just upgrading your phone? Its not like you are signing up for new service with amazon.

Anyone have any experience with this?

 

[Deeko]

My guess is Amazon is getting a discount based on you signing up for a particular plan - such as data plan with a blackberry - so if you remove any plan you were required to sign up for, you'll lose the discount. I don't think they're going to charge you $250 if you decide to add text messaging.

 

[aphex]

Actually I just found some more fine print and it looks like if your upgrading 1 phone on a family plan your not eligible for a discount. That sucks, oh well.