VZW phone pricing

[Lifted]

VZW is always telling me they aren't allowed to adjust pricing on Apple products. Fine. With that in mind, can anyone explain why the iPhone 4s, which is the same price as a Droid Razr Maxx at $649, costs $100 less than the Razr Maxx on a 2 year contract? Is this a recent change due to the iPhone 5 being on the horizon?

I know Verizon is flexible with the 4G phone pricing, to the point that they are ready to give them away to me if we move all lines from blackberry's, but why would the retail 2yr contract subsidized price be 50% more for a non-Apple 4G phone when Verizon claims they want to get everyone onto 4G phones as the LTE network is so much more robust? I was even told they would waive the phone fees for all our lines if we went with one of the new 4G phones, those eligible for upgrades AND the other 60% of our lines which are only 1yr into their 2yr terms. They could not do the same with the iPhone though.

 

[AstroManLuca]

http://wireless.amazon.com/Motorola...=INDIVIDUAL_NEW&sr=1-2-entd&qid=1343403681618

 

[Lifted]

http://wireless.amazon.com/Motorola...=INDIVIDUAL_NEW&sr=1-2-entd&qid=1343403681618

Oh yeah, forgot about Amazon and the like.

 

[Dulanic]

Who will ever understand why Verizon does the things they do. They rip people off on devices & plans now. That used to be made up with data speed and coverage but now their 3G is as slow as Sprint.

 

[dagamer34]

Verizon subsidizes the iPhone more than any other phone. It's actually become a nightmare for carriers because it eats into profits. But as a carrier, you gotta sell the iPhone otherwise you're looked at as an also-ran.

 

[lothar]

Verizon subsidizes the iPhone more than any other phone. It's actually become a nightmare for carriers because it eats into profits. But as a carrier, you gotta sell the iPhone otherwise you're looked at as an also-ran.

The problem with that is Verizon wasn't looked at as an "also-ran" when they didn't have the iPhone.

I think the issue is Apple's contracts with the carriers for the iPhone.
They can only subsidize it at the exact price($199, $299, etc...) stated in the contract. Not anything more, not anything less.

If it was not a problem, you would have seen a carrier/Amazon/Wirefly offer an iPhone 4/4S for $150-180 with 2 year contract a long time ago to win over more customers.

 

[KLin]

Verizon subsidizes the iPhone more than any other phone. It's actually become a nightmare for carriers because it eats into profits. But as a carrier, you gotta sell the iPhone otherwise you're looked at as an also-ran.

They're looking at the long term though for profits. It also helps when a large %age of the users pay the ETF on their account just so they can upgrade to the latest and greatest iphone when it's released.

 

[Zor Prime]

Go to an indirect store. I'm a VZW sales rep at an indirect location. Sure, I can't do things like waive activation fees etc. but I can charge whatever I want, even on iPhone's.

Note, profit margin on Apple stuff is horrible ... so it's not like I can give tremendous discounts. Samsung's Galaxy SIII is no different. Actually, I think I might make more money selling Apple gear. The Razr MAXX has a horrific profit margin as well, as does the Razr.

It is easy to sell Apple stuff and the Galaxy S3, though. Best phone in store? S3. Even if you tell people wanting an iPhone what the best phone in the store is, they still want the Apple logo.

Profit margin is with the phones that aren't high-end.