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Getting a Galaxy S4 for less than 600 bucks?

W

waterjug

Senior member
I have a friend that is on one of those pre-paid non-contract deals with T-Mobile. She wants to finally take the leap and get a smartphone, and wants a galaxy s4. The only problem is that every carrier she looks at (including T-Mobile) seems to indicate, at least on their webpage that the phone is 600 bucks. I've been with Verizon for ages and just upgraded and only paid 300 or whatever since I was an existing customer. I'm thinking there must be some way though for new customers to get the phone cheaper than like 500 or 600 bucks though, right? That price would be such a major deterrent to anyone wanting to sign on with a new carrier, what am I missing here?
 
You have the answer in your own post. It's contract price vs. non-contract price. Them's the break.
 
You're talking about a friend who is on a pre-paid no contract deal and then compared to yourself who is on a Verizon contract.
 
I would definitely try and steer her towards a Nexus 4. Either that or find a used SGS3. The only issue with buying something used is that you have to make sure you get the TMobile variant for the best coverage. They AT&T versions will work, but you won't get as much high speed coverage and possibly none at all depending on your area.
 
yeah may just steer her towards something else; I feel bad for her forking over that much cash. She can get a contract now, and then get in on the next round of smart phones cheaper.
 
What's being missed here is that paying more per month for contract service to get a "cheaper" subsidized phone is at least as expensive (and often more expensive) in the long run.
 
Trombe said:
Almost certainly over 100%. No idea how much of the profit belongs to Samsung versus carriers though. This markup is not at all unusual with flagship phones.
Click to expand...

All this markup is based on a BOM price. It's not the true cost of a phone including R&D, marketing, etc. If everything in this world is simply based on BOM price + razor thin margins, then we'd be screwed. Look how badly the whole semiconductor industry is doing. It's practically a game of margins. Working for any of those companies sucks balls these days. You work like a dog and you get paid crap. The glory days of 20 years ago are long gone...
 
Over the long run

Contract 1yr with data 90 (est) x12=1080+300=$1380

No contract, data slowed from LTE to 3g at 250MB (cheapest I could find for me) 1yr 30x12=360+500 (S3)=$860

Savings $520.

Obviously adjust to your situation.

Edit: That's MetroPCS. $40 base plan was on sale.

Videos load slowly but it's fine for my use.
 
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