I went to the Microsoft Store Wednesday night and put my $25 down. I'll be buying off-contract.
I know I may have posted this before, but these are the reasons why I'm buying from the Microsoft Store and not from Verizon:
1. I actually had a corporate Verizon Store rep tell me I couldn't buy any phone full-price/off-contract! He said I would have to buy from a 3rd party like the Microsoft Store. I don't know if that 100% true, so don't quote me on that. Maybe broadwaylos or bertongbadtrip can clarify that.
2. With the Microsoft Store, for $100, I can get insurance for 2 years and can get a brand new phone if it is damaged or defective.
3. With Verizon, for insurance, you have to use Asurian and I know it's at least $10 a month, and you'll most likely be getting a refurb as a replacement.
4. With Verizon, if your phone is defective, you may get a refurb as well. That happened to me with my Lumia 822. Verizon wanted to offer me a crappy refurb and my phone was less than 6 months old and still under warranty! They said they don't offer new phones as replacements. WTF!!! At least with the Microsoft Store, I'll get a brand new phone, no questions asked.
5. With the Microsoft Store, I'll avoid the Verizon reps trying to sway me to buy an iPhone or Android!
In conclusion, if I want to buy a new phone and Verizon wants my business, they need to have better customer service than the Microsoft Store has, and have better policies than they do. And yeah, that'll happen when hell freezes over!
So for anyone who lives near a Microsoft Store like I do, these are the Top 5 to avoid Verizon when buying a new Windows Phone.