Re: Why would Verizon start charging an upgrade fee?
tyslogcon
Enthusiast - Level 1

You reported $2.25 BILLIONS dollars in profit during the second quarter of this year.  This upgrade fee is NOT necessary.  Why not be an industry leader and drop this fee, instead of being a follower of the other carriers?  Not very INNOVATIVE.

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Re: Why would Verizon start charging an upgrade fee?
raler
Enthusiast - Level 2

That's one of the reasons they can report $2.25 billion in a quarter.

WE let them charge us.

Buy unlocked phones full price - keep it long and go month to month.

It's the only recourse we have.

We go through this craziness to save a few hundred dollars by letting them subsidize our phones but we end up paying for them one way or another.

Are the phones really getting so much better that we HAVE to upgrade every 2 years?  They aren't.  They've reached a plateau and they're finding it more difficult to wow us now.

UNLOCK and be free...

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Re: Why would Verizon start charging an upgrade fee?
pmangr
Contributor - Level 2

I don't see how paying full price for a device does anything but give them

even more money. Why pay full price for a phone that can only be used on

their network? That is pretty paying full price for your ETF should you

want to switch carriers. There is nothing we can do. That ship has sailed

when the FTC allowed the mergers that created these mega carriers. Lack of

real competition is why this is happening. They will keep raising prices

and adding fees as long as they can get away with.

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Re: Why would Verizon start charging an upgrade fee?
raler
Enthusiast - Level 2

No, you don't understand.

You buy an unlocked phone from the manufacturer.  It's expensive, but the point is that you're likely paying for it anyway.

An unlocked phone can be used on any network.

The point is that it puts control back in our hands.

Our biggest problem is that we feel like we need a new phone every 18 months, why?  Face recognition?!  The processors and screen resolutions have hit their optimum.  The enhancements coming out now are just bells and whistles.  It's just a phone for goodness sake.  Yes, it has other uses, but what you buy today will keep you going for more than 18 months.

OR you guys can just keep dealing with this cr@p and complain about it.

I think what wireless companies are doing is borderline criminal.  They have us over a barrel and if WE don't do something to stop it, we're just going to be miserable, and come here and complain.

It's really a no-brainer.

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Re: Why would Verizon start charging an upgrade fee?
budone
Legend

You can by an unlocked device, but if the ESN is not in Verizon's system, you will not be able to activate it

Sent from my iPad

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Re: Why would Verizon start charging an upgrade fee?
Not applicable

Unlocked phones do not work on all carriers. Two different technologies. CDMA which Verizon and Sprint use. GSM which T-Mobile and AT&T use. Even then the devices may not function properly due to frequency standards.

The real problem is cellular companies like Verizon and AT&T are in colusion with each other as they fend off competition from Sprint & T-Mobile who don't have the buildouts the two major ones have.

Opening up the networks to providers who do not own the towers nor have the overhead such as straight talk, net10 etc. Is what makes those all you can eat at $35 a month a viable alternative. They use the major cell companies to make their money. With a few recent buyouts by T-Mobile and AT&T even those services are being gobbled up to make profits.

Nothing wrong with making profits, that is what any business wants to do.

And you have a choice, either put up with the price gouging or go to another provider.

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Re: Why would Verizon start charging an upgrade fee?
raler
Enthusiast - Level 2

I'm not suggesting that you won't pay for service.  It just enables you go without a contract and if you're unhappy with a provider you can move on.

It's an option.

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Re: Why would Verizon start charging an upgrade fee?
pmangr
Contributor - Level 2

raler wrote:

No, you don't understand.

You buy an unlocked phone from the manufacturer.  It's expensive, but the point is that you're likely paying for it anyway.

An unlocked phone can be used on any network.

The point is that it puts control back in our hands.

Our biggest problem is that we feel like we need a new phone every 18 months, why?  Face recognition?!  The processors and screen resolutions have hit their optimum.  The enhancements coming out now are just bells and whistles.  It's just a phone for goodness sake.  Yes, it has other uses, but what you buy today will keep you going for more than 18 months.

OR you guys can just keep dealing with this cr@p and complain about it.

I think what wireless companies are doing is borderline criminal.  They have us over a barrel and if WE don't do something to stop it, we're just going to be miserable, and come here and complain.

It's really a no-brainer.

Then this is what you really want to buy!

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ubuntu-edge

Snag-0444.jpg

Re: Why would Verizon start charging an upgrade fee?
raler
Enthusiast - Level 2

>>>Unlocked phones do not work on all carriers.

Phones that support both CDMA and GSM are available and will continue to increase in numbers as the demand for world phones increases.

But you've got it all figured out so you don't need to read any further.

It's obvious that everyone's going to try to determine what to do on their own and that will keep us running around in circles.  How do you motivate a group of individuals with similar problems to work as a collective?  Apparently you can't.  I guess there's no solution except to keep doing what we're doing hoping for a different outcome, right?  The way these problems are being approached by the consumer, the best bet we have is that the complaints will fill up available disk space and cause a major system outage.  Oh.  Wait.  Verizon made $6 billion in 2012.  Never mind.  Maybe disk manufacturers won't be able to keep up with the demand...  *sigh*  People always seem to think they work best on their own, but it's not true.

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Re: Why would Verizon start charging an upgrade fee?
Not applicable

$700 is not a bad price. and its good on both carriers. You cannot lose with this device.