Verizon wireless - can I get a 2-year contract phone from Best Buy?

Parent Cafe
1

For years, I’ve been upgrading phones through Verizon for good prices in exchange for 2-year contract extensions. We have 4 lines, and we don’t upgrade our phones as frequently as every 2 years, so I always have a couple of upgrades available. My phone is dying, so I went online to upgrade. The prices offered were either retail price (really, really expensive) or the retail price/24, paid in monthly installments over 2 years. This happened a few months ago when I upgraded DS’ phone, and when I called they gave me the low, 2-year contract price.

I tried to order a phone tonight, and used the online chat to ask for the 2-year price. I was told that because I switched plans a few months ago, I was no longer eligible for contracts. I do occasionally switch plans, when I happen to be talking to a representative and they offer a better plan with a lower price, but no one ever mentioned losing the eligibility for low-cost phones. And I was told tonight that it is not possible to switch back.

This is irritating, because whatever I saved by the latest plan change will be eaten up by the $20-25 monthly installment for the phone. And eventually we will have to replace the other phones.

I was reading about this online, trying to find an alternative, and I read that it is possible to get contract phones through Best Buy. I went online, and was able to buy the phone I want for $99 instead of $500 with a 2-year contract. I had to put in my cell number and other information so that my account could be checked. It did allow me to get the phone. I didn’t complete the purchase because I am worried that there will somehow be other charges from Verizon - it seems too good to be true.

Does anyone know about this?

2

This stuff confuses the heck out of me. All I know is, neither Verizon nor Best Buy nor smartphone manufacturers are in business to lose money.

3

We chose to buy our iPhones outright from Apple, just to be sure to get unlocked phones that could work on ANY network and then used it for TMobile. We pay $122 (including tax) for 4 lines–voice, text and data!

4

I used to work on projects for Best Buy mobile and honestly don’t know the answer given the recent changes to the way they handle phone renewals. I’d call both Best Buy & Verizon to discuss… (and LasMa has it right about them being in the business to make money!).

5

You can buy 2 year contract phone from Best Buy. My son got one 2 years ago. In fact it was recommended by Verizon sales representative when I called them and asked for better price. He told me that it is almost always cheaper to get Verizon phone not from Version.

6

We have purchased phones from various vendors OTHER than the cell carrier for great prices, including at Costco at BestBuy. I agree that talking with the company AND BestBuy and getting names of those you talk with and contact info is safest so you’re not getting and paying something that you aren’t planning for.

7

Sounds like Verizon may be doing something similar to what AT&T did a few years back. Like you, we always used to buy our new phones at Best Buy (usually for $0 - $50 depending on the sale) with a 2 year contract extension. The last time around, starting about 2 years ago, I noticed our bill starting to go up after each renewal. When I called AT&T they said all 5 of our 2 year contract lines had been “discounted” the entire time we had them (although it never showed that anywhere on the bill) and that they had stopped discounting 2 year contract lines. We were still able to purchase the sale price phones and extend the contracts, but our price for each line we did that on increased about $20-$25 per month. “Strangely” enough…the cost of the monthly installments of a phone under their AT&T Next program is pretty much the same amount.

They’re basically funneling everyone into the installment payment plan for new phone purchases, and Verizon may be using the same tactic now. They’re going to get their $20-$25 per month from you one way or the other.

Since you said you tend to keep phone longer than 2 years (most of our 5 lines do as well) you might see the “savings” 2 years down the road. We kept our bill about the same by switching contract lines to Next lines as they came up eligible for renewal, and as the installment payments are expiring now we’re seeing our bill drop by $20-$25 per month as each Next line hits the end of the payment plan.

8

Both ATT and Verizon have gone away from “contracts” ATT has the next program and Verizon has something similar Gone are the days of cheaper phones. We just had to upgrade my daughters and ended up buying it outright from Apple. They gave a $150.00 trade in on the old phone and sold us an unlocked phone. So if we do switch carriers or she gets her own plan she can without a new purchase. In doing the research few months back it is cheaper to buy the phone outright than to get in on installments.

9

Why is this so complicated? My sons are 31 and 26 and they are both still on our family plan because changing them to their own contracts would require each of them to promise their first-born to the wireless company.

10

Verizon only has one plan now called The Verizon Plan, which you switched to recently. Though while you likely were “offered $0 down, pay the sales tax now, pay for the new phone monthly over two years”, you were probably also offered a $20 credit each month off the $40 monthly line charge under The Verizon Plan.

11

I have 2 phones on Verizon that completed the 2 year contract period in early May so I was expecting the per line charge for each to go from $40 to $15 since I have the 6 GB More Everything plan. Nope - that discount ended in March for phones just coming off 2 year contracts. Feels like I am over paying now because if I switch to The Verizon Plan but keep my old phones, I’d get $20 off monthly per those two lines, (but there’d be increases for our other three lines).

12

Highly recommended you CALL VerizonWireless & SPEAK DIRECTLY to a representative who is working near where you live… (e.g. @NYMomof2 if you live in NY, then not someone in the South or West Coast or outside the US)

I have a very, very old plan that’s been grandfathered… remember unlimited data & free phones when renewing a 2-year contract?

Although I no longer have unlimited data for all lines, I do have 6G per cell line. (and, I got a free phone the last time I upgraded ~2 years ago) Whenever I call for help with anything, a rep typically checks to see if there’s a less expensive plan, no one has found one.

Based on my past experience, I would have thought that changing that one line wouldn’t necessarily affect the others… unless all lines share the same amount of data, e.g. 4 lines share 10G.

The last time I spoke to a rep,* when Verizon began it’s most current plan(s), the rep underscored to call. What’s online doesn’t always match what a phone rep can do, i.e. speaking to a rep might lower cost of phone itself, & a rep has told me about discounts they anticipate, say in a month or so, advising me to wait. (The cost of monthly service contract, in my case, has remained the same… altho’ in the past there was a one-time charge to get a new phone connected to cell towers.) Logging into my VWireless account today, the once free cell upgrade is ~$200 for most recent models, ~$100 for model that preceded most recent one, 99cents for iPhone SE. (Bear in mind they might not have the cell phone you really want.)

Also, if you want to save money, consider other Wireless Providers. In some areas the quality of the phone or data from smaller companies might be just as good as the biggest companies. It can be very complicated. If you’re discerning & like doing field research, you can do what my son did. He bought a used cell phone to test service in the metro areas he would need cell service when he cut the chord from our family plan. (Verizon uses a different medium than all the other companies)

  • (please read @Madison85 for more info about current plans)

… this is a sidebar… Verizon (landline company) is about to resolve strike, which includes a small group of wireless workers… during the strike & now, wonder about various aspects of service & cost

13

Great advice, ManhattanBoro - I called in this morning, intending to ask whether I could get the 2-year contract price through BestBuy even though Verizon wouldn’t give it to me, and the agent said, “let me interrupt you because the information you have is absolutely not true” and she went on to say that I am still eligible for the “consumer price” - as opposed to the retail price and monthly price (retail/24) that the chat agent told me were my only options. So I’ve ordered my phone at a great price, it wlil be here by Tuesday.

You were so right - CALL.

Thank you, everyone, for the helpful responses.