What is the value of a 2 year extension?

[GreenScrew]

2 out of 3 phones on my plan have available upgrades currently. I was considering using one on the 735 for my wife and/or son to play around with. It might be a decent upgrade for them since they are both using HTC 8x's. I have an Icon. The debate I'm having with myself is whether I should just buy the 735 full retail, assuming the possibility that better phones will be showing up on the horizon for the holiday season this year in conjunction with Windows 10.

In then end, if the contract extension value is the same, then I wouldn't even care and would just go ahead and use it on the 735 today. Basically "cashing out" the value now and getting a renewal sooner in the future. BUT, I notice that for example, and iPhone 6 is $200 with contract but $649 without. In this case the value of the 2 year contract is $450. So I'd hate to use the contract extension on the 735 (value is $192 off contract price -$30 contract price = $162). I don't want to end up using my contract renewal now only to be considering upgrading to a future flagship phone at full retail later.

Looking for feedback whether my logic is correct, that the value of the 2 year contract varies with the phone purchase and I might be wise to save it for a future flagship where I can realize the full value of the 2 year contract?

 

[RumoredNow]

For something like a 735, yes, just purchase it outright and save the upgrades for 940 or 940XL, whichever comes to Vzw.

Use the 2 upgrades, had the Icon off to your son and sell the 735(s) when the new phones are set up.

 

[tgp]

Or you can upgrade to an iPhone or flagship Android and flip it. That should net you several hundred $$$$$. Use that to buy a phone such as the 735, and pocket the rest.

 

[GreenScrew]

Or you can upgrade to an iPhone or flagship Android and flip it. That should net you several hundred $$$$$. Use that to buy a phone such as the 735, and pocket the rest.

Oh now, isn't that a brilliant idea? Don't know why I didn't think of that! Any concerns/gotcha for doing this? Like, would I need to activate on a line and then deactivate it (doesn't Verizon pre-set it so it auto-activates on the upgraded line? SIM concerns?

 

[tgp]

Oh now, isn't that a brilliant idea? Don't know why I didn't think of that! Any concerns/gotcha for doing this? Like, would I need to activate on a line and then deactivate it (doesn't Verizon pre-set it so it auto-activates on the upgraded line? SIM concerns?

Well, I can give you my personal experience. I wanted to get the Nexus 6 on Verizon, but they didn't carry it until a couple months after it was released. Plus, I didn't really want the Verizon version anyway because I expected it to be branded (which turned out to be a correct assumption). I used my upgrade to buy an iPhone 6. When I got it, I opened it to pull the SIM card. I then destroyed the SIM card. I inserted my current SIM card to activate the phone. The reason I did it this way was because I was using the workaround to upgrade and keep my unlimited data.

I put the iPhone back in the box without a SIM card, and listed it on eBay as New Other. It sold for about $750, and I had paid the $200 (plus tax) upgrade price. After all fees and shipping I cleared about $450 or so. I then bought a Nexus 6 directly from Motorola.

All you should have to do is to pull the SIM card it comes with, unless you have unlimited data you're preserving. The buyer would either just insert their current active SIM card, or take it to a Verizon store to activate if they don't have a current active SIM card.

Although the iPhone 6 might not bring as much now as it did in November when I did this, you should still clear enough to buy 2 735s off contract. You are correct by calculating the price differential and going with a device with a greater spread. Keep in mind that you will lose some in the process, but you'd still be much better off getting an iPhone with the upgrade than the 735.

For some reason iPhones and some flagship Androids sell for a higher price on eBay than their off contract price in the store. I don't know why that is. I do know that it can be difficult to walk into a store and just buy one. Or maybe someone doesn't have a store nearby (but I doubt that's the case for anyone actually using Verizon service).

There really are no gotchas, as long as you remove the SIM card that comes with the device before you ship it to its new owner. Verizon LTE devices do not need to be activated. They will activate automatically by inserting an active SIM card.

 

[RumoredNow]

...I opened it to pull the SIM card. I then destroyed the SIM card. I inserted my current SIM card to activate the phone...

...I put the iPhone back in the box without a SIM card, and listed it on eBay as New Other...

Thanks, tgp.

Finding out from this post that BNIB Vzw phones need to be activated onto Vzw before a "foreign" SIM will work just allowed me to help someone who PMed me.

She bought a BNIB 928 straight from Vzw and her Metro SIM is telling her "No Service." I directed her here and explained the workaround.

Cheers