Why don't phone manufacturers just sell phones on their main website?

[kyrax12]

Like Samsung for example.

Why don't they just sell the unlocked international phones on their main website instead of having people go through authorized carriers?

 

[poofyhairguy]

Why don't they just sell the unlocked international phones on their main website instead of having people go through authorized carriers?

Some do. Nexuses are sold this way. Motos are sold this way with customizations. Sony has sold its phones directly on its website before.

Given those examples (aka not very popular devices outside the Moto G) it is obvious why the Samsung's of the world don't do it: there is more money to be made through carriers.

First things first, by going through the carriers they get to ride piggyback on carrier advertising. Sure that means bloatware is part of the deal but when we look back we can easily see Verizon made Droid what it was. Heck some people still call all Android phones Droids.

Also in an unlocked phone world a Samsung actually has to compete on price with a Moto, Zenphone or a OnePlusOne. In a carrier store where every decent phone is $199 they only have to compete with Apple (which EVERYONE does anyway). A carrier phone means $HUNDREDS of that S6 price is margin that goes to Samsung, in the unlocked market a OnePlusOne is barely making any money on each device sold.

It is night and day the difference in profit, which then gives us better products. In fact without the carrier subsidies I fully believe there isn't a phone on the market as nice as the S6. It would be like Windows laptops where each one has a few major flaws caused by a corner cut here or there.

 

[openwheel]

because people bend over backwards for carriers, so carriers exercise their power over everyone including manufacturers. That's why my beautiful S6 has a FUGLY logo on the back that consists of a checkmark, horizontal 4G and vertical LTE.

People are stupid, that's why. I still don't understand why carriers think it's a good idea to slap logos everywhere. Such advertising still works in 2015?

 

[sm625]

Because people want the two year idiot plans where they pay twice as much for the phone just so they dont have to save their money for 2 months.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Because people want the two year idiot plans where they pay twice as much for the phone just so they dont have to save their money for 2 months.

And thank the heavens they want those plans, as the subsidy model has helped us all. All those AT&T and Verizon customers gives the whole industry an economy of scale that even LETS something like a OnePlusOne happen.

We are seeing very clearly in the tablet market what smarphones would be like without subsidies. When people are forced to pay full price then a new tablet every two years (aka what we do with phones) seems wasteful and therefore tablet sales are slowing. Heck there are rumors that the 10 inch iPad might not even get a refresh this year, and the most popular tablet on the planet is the old iPad 2 (in big and little sizes).

Without subsidies maybe Apple is on a two-year cycle instead of one, and instead of Android leaping itself every six months we are just now getting to Galaxy S3 levels of power.

 

[Commodus]

This is actually a big factor in my phone purchases. I've stuck to Apple and Google purchases for the most part, because I like a carrier-independent device that isn't locked to one network or saddled with third-party apps I can't delete.

As to why you don't see this more often? Part of it is just not willing to go through the expenses of setting up direct sales and support, but it's also because some brands are especially beholden to carriers for success. After all, if you kiss up to them enough, you get better product placement and 'free' advertising. Ever notice how many carriers bend over backwards to promote the latest Galaxy S or HTC One, even in situations where it's clear that they depend much more on iPhone sales? Yeah.

 

[openwheel]

Some do. Nexuses are sold this way. Motos are sold this way with customizations. Sony has sold its phones directly on its website before.

Given those examples (aka not very popular devices outside the Moto G) it is obvious why the Samsung's of the world don't do it: there is more money to be made through carriers.

First things first, by going through the carriers they get to ride piggyback on carrier advertising. Sure that means bloatware is part of the deal but when we look back we can easily see Verizon made Droid what it was. Heck some people still call all Android phones Droids.

Also in an unlocked phone world a Samsung actually has to compete on price with a Moto, Zenphone or a OnePlusOne. In a carrier store where every decent phone is $199 they only have to compete with Apple (which EVERYONE does anyway). A carrier phone means $HUNDREDS of that S6 price is margin that goes to Samsung, in the unlocked market a OnePlusOne is barely making any money on each device sold.

It is night and day the difference in profit, which then gives us better products. In fact without the carrier subsidies I fully believe there isn't a phone on the market as nice as the S6. It would be like Windows laptops where each one has a few major flaws caused by a corner cut here or there.

Your analogy is absurd.
First of all, cellphone does not equal tablets. Different product, different usage.
Second of all, other countries without subsidies can sell the latest and greatest faster than us.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Your analogy is absurd.
First of all, cellphone does not equal tablets. Different product, different usage.

Same audience which was my point.

Plus the use cases aren't that different for 99% of people. Just another device to take pictures and get on Facebook. I KNOW you have seen people try to take pictures at some kid's recital using an iPad. There is a reason phablets sell so well, tablets and phones are blurred product categories.

Second of all, other countries without subsidies can sell the latest and greatest faster than us.

Because they aren't saturated yet like the US phone market. What we see if when non-US markets DO get saturated the growth plateaus quickly.

Plus to be frank the US is subsidizing most of the rest of the world. The Apples and the Samsungs make more per client in the US than anywhere else and that is thanks to subsidies. Because we have such a vibrant market we would get the new iPhones or Galaxies no matter what. The rest of the world then benefits from that and provides extra scale. Kinda like the international market and Hollywood.

 

[Roland00Address]

Because it is easier to know how many cell phones to make when you have a 3rd party ordering a set number of cell phones in millions of units. That way if you undersell and have 10 million phones on your hands you do not have to write down a 3 billion write off when those phones drop from 600 dollars sell able price to 300 dollars sell able price.

Also you do not have to deal with things you may not be good at such as marketing, and getting the phones to customers in a situation where they may actually buy them. How many moms and dads buy their phone on the internet vs shopping online. Yes this is changing with the younger generation but old habits die hard when you been shopping in person for expensive items for 20 go 40 years.

Pretty much look into the reasons the first few nexuses phones were total flops.

 

[pete6032]

Why sell direct when you can go through a distributor and have them do a bunch of advertising and take on the role of customer service for your device? Pass on all the downstream costs and risks to the distributor.

 

[RossMAN]

http://www.motorola.com/us/smartphones/all-moto-smartphones.html

 

[A5]

Middle men don't appreciate being cut out, too.

 

[cfenton]

Not having to provide direct support is almost certainly a big part of it. When I worked in-store for a carrier (shudder) more than half my time was spent doing support work of one kind or another. When people have a problem with a device, they go to the store they bought it. In most parts of the world there aren't Samsung, Sony, or HTC stores, so people would have to get support online or over the phone. Almost everyone hates both of those support methods, especially when companies aren't very good at them (which is just about every company). With the carrier model they can just have one repair shop in each country (usually a contractor) and have everything shipped there on the carrier's dime. They also don't have to run call centers or deal with any of the hassles of shipping single units to thousands of different places.

 

[KentState]

Lot of times, carriers buy up large quantities before the phone launches. Look at how much money Sprint paid Apple or Verizon basically giving away iPhone 5 s/c last summer.

 

[cronos]

Like Samsung for example.

Why don't they just sell the unlocked international phones on their main website instead of having people go through authorized carriers?

Samsung doesn't? Motorola, HTC, Sony do sell their phones direct from their website.

 

[Mopetar]

Some of it might also be due to some models being carrier exclusive, so those won't get sold online at all. A lot of phones might also have limited bands or be specially configured for more certain markets which makes it pointless to sell online if it won't work for a lot of consumers. Others may not want to deal with the hassle of running their own store and direct sales.

 

[dagamer34]

Until the subsidy model goes completely away (rapidly happening), even 0% financing of a phone over 24 months ends up being cheaper than buying outright and putting the charge on your credit card. The strength of retail outlets like Best Buy and Amazon selling truly carrier agnostic phones has to go up first before phone OEMs can piss on carriers and sell direct with any reasonable amount of success.

Moto G will probably the first phone that has a chance to work on all 4 US carriers with a price point under $250. Time will tell.