Choosing where to buy a phone is a decision that you should potentially put more thought into. Just based on the amount of people that we’ve seen in surveys saying they’re unhappy with the payments they have to make to their phone company we could argue not everyone actually gives this a lot of thought. We’ve talked way more than one time on this site about how wireless service providers tie people down with phones. When you buy a phone Verizon has in their catalog you already know that the phone is going to come locked by them. Unlocking your phone isn’t necessarily the hardest thing in the world. It can be an extra hassle though. The biggest problem of all might be that if you buy a phone with your postpaid plan you’re locked to that plan until you pay off the phone.
Being locked on a postpaid plan until you pay off your phone isn’t a new concept. Again this is something that wireless service providers have been doing for years on end. Having said this, there’s an argument to be made that these days you really don’t have to lock yourself down if you don’t want to. There are other places where you can buy a phone and not be tied down to one service provider. At this point it really seems like we’re leaning to one side. That’s not the idea, so we’re going to really explore the costs of choosing to buy a phone Verizon has on their catalog and compare that to other options that are on the table.
- Things To Know Before You Buy A Phone Verizon Offers
- Can You Get A Better Deal Somewhere Else?
- If You’re Sticking With Your Plan Why Not Buy A Phone Verizon Offers
- Does Your Old Phone Have Good Trade In Value?
- Why Buying Directly From The Manufacturer Could Make Sense
- Where You Buy Your Phone Could Affect Your Coverage Options When You Travel Abroad
Things To Know Before You Buy A Phone Verizon Offers
We could go ahead and mention that if you buy a phone Verizon offers that doesn’t mean that you’re always going to get screwed over. It really depends on the conditions that you’re buying the phone under. For example, you have to know that if you buy a phone from Verizon the phone is going to come locked to the service provider. That’s something that will happen virtually with any of the service providers. In fact, we could make the argument that even manufacturers are making it harder and harder to buy an unlocked phone.
The other main thing that you’re going to want to know is that if you’re buying the phone from Verizon with Verizon being your creditor you’re going to have to pay off the phone before you can leave with it to another company. That’s why you see T-Mobile and even Verizon offering to pay off people’s debts with other phone companies so that they can switch service providers. We’re getting a bit ahead of ourselves here, but if we’re honest buying a phone directly from the service provider makes sense when you’re happy with your service provider. Otherwise, you may end up cursing the day that you signed on that dotted line for years to come.
Can You Get A Better Deal Somewhere Else?
So the true answer here is yes, and no. Here’s why, if we’re talking about buying an upgraded version of your current phone you’re probably not going to be able to get a better deal anywhere else but your service provider. You end up, in many cases, in a loop like people who lease their cars out and upgrade every couple of years. The concept is the same. If you want to stick with the service provider or a particular car company you’ll be able to get better deals. If you’re trying to buy an older phone or even a newer phone with cash, then you could look for different options out there.
As we mentioned it does seem like even phone manufacturers are making it harder to go out and buy an unlocked phone. There are a ton of listings on Amazon that you can look at. If you want a pro-tip, don’t be too harsh on the refurbished options that you find on Amazon or other platforms. As long as you’re buying from a platform that offers a money-back guarantee at least. The fact is, that when it comes to phones a lot of the manufacturers have been known for some sketchy business that includes adding used parts to phones and things of that nature. If you send your phone in for repairs don’t expect to get it back with new parts. Those phones that you repair work fine right? A good refurbished phone at a good price could make a ton of sense.
If You’re Sticking With Your Plan Why Not Buy A Phone Verizon Offers
We’ve pretty much mentioned this already. As we’ve mentioned it makes sense to get a deal when you’re sticking with your service provider. Another thing that you can do, if you’re not fully committed to one service provider, is switch carriers every 6 months or so. All of them seem to feature deals at one point or another. Where if you bring your phone they’ll give you better trade value and things of that nature. In reality though, if you’re good with Verizon why not take the deal and trade in your old phone? Oh wait there is an issue that you may have to take into account.
Does Your Old Phone Have Good Trade In Value?
The concept of trading in your old phone to get a good discount on the new one works a lot like with car leasing. Yes, we are going back to this example, because it’s just the best one that we can put forth. Right now Verizon is offering 400 dollars off maximum to folks who trade in their old phones to be able to get a new iPhone 13. You need to have an iPhone 11 or better to be able to trade that in and get the 400 dollars discount price. Is that really a discount? How much money could you expect to see for your iPhone 11 if you just sold it? We’re seeing refurbished iPhone 11 max phones go for over 700 dollars. If you have one of those you may want to check the street value first.
That being said, maybe you have an iPhone X and you can get more value from it by selling it to another person rather than using it as a trade-in. Does that then completely disqualify Verizon’s trade in policy? It depends, did you pay off the phone already? There are different things that you need to consider. It’s a per-case basis. We do feel that an iPhone 11 Pro Max in good condition may not be a good phone to trade in for an iPhone 13. We would urge you then, to check the trade value of your phone before you go out and buy a phone Verizon offers via a trade in.
Why Buying Directly From The Manufacturer Could Make Sense
In doing research for this article we noticed that Apple was actually differing a lot of the sales from their products through wireless service providers. We’ve always felt that tying yourself down to a service provider with a phone isn’t the greatest idea. Just because it literally means that usually, you’re going to have to see your contract through, and you could miss out on plenty of deals. Also, if you run into hard times you can’t really do much to cut down on your bill if you’re tied down. This is precisely why we feel that buying from the manufacturer makes sense. In broad terms, you can also get financing options to buy a phone via a monthly fee. With your phone in hand you can shop for the best plans and you can make sure that you’re not tied down long term with one service provider.
As we mentioned, you’re going to be able to buy a phone from manufacturers like Samsung through their own credit options. Whether that’s a good idea or not is going to depend on the phone that you want to buy and the payment options that Verizon or other wireless service providers have. You can also get into a trade in lease scheme with a phone manufacturer. At least that is the case with both Samsung and Apple who happen to be the two most popular brands. The way that we see it you’re really not losing out on what wireless service providers are offering. You’re also not tying yourself down with the plan. A lot of times though it could come down to what deal you’re being offered at any particular time.
Where You Buy Your Phone Could Affect Your Coverage Options When You Travel Abroad
This is something that we alluded to in the last paragraph, but we really didn’t hit the nail on the head. Always when you buy a phone Verizon offers you’re going to be getting a locked phone. This is also the case with eSIM phones and phones with dual-SIM capabilities. Yes, the device itself allows you to insert two SIM cards, but you won’t be able to do it seamlessly because the phone is going to be locked. That being said, all that you really need to do is make sure that you unlock your phone before you travel. That way you’ll be able to insert a SIM card or eSIM card to get local coverage. We’ve actually talked about different ways to unlock your phone on this site.
The way that we see it a lot of people will think that unlocking your phone is easy enough. Therefore, buying a phone Verizon offers isn’t a big deal. You just need to make sure that you unlock it. Particularly if you’re an avid traveler who follows our tips and tricks to get coverage abroad. The problem that we’ve also seen is that there are plenty of folks who don’t think that unlocking their phone is overly easy. They even ignore that this is an issue and they end up with a phone that won’t work on any network that’s not Verizon’s. If you don’t want to deal with the hassle of getting your phone unlocked then the best thing that you can do is buy an unlocked phone from the manufacturer or from Amazon or other sites.
Buy A Phone Verizon Conclusion
The bottom line that we’ve come to is that if you like your plan and you like the deals that you can get on new phones with Verizon it can make sense to buy from them. You have to really like your plan though because you may get tied down to the company for a while if you buy the phone off of their credit options. When you’re looking for a bit more freedom while still paying for the new phone on a month to month basis it can make more sense to buy the phone directly from the manufacturer. Even if you still owe the phone you can switch service providers. As long as you don’t get yourself into a long term deal with your current situation.
Wireless service providers these days run all sorts of promotions to help people get out of their contracts with their current service providers. If you’re in that type of situation already it can be a good idea to look for what’s out there. The way that we see it though is that if you buy an unlocked phone you’re going to have more freedom as a consumer. Now, is that freedom going to keep you from getting better rates with certain service providers that give loyalty discounts? Sure, that could be the case, but for the most part service providers give better deals to new customers. So, are you really missing out on much? If you have an unlocked phone you can scan for better deals seemingly whenever you want. If you buy a phone Verizon offers just remember to unlock it. Just in case!