Buying an Icon Now: Is Verizon Edge a Ripoff?

[coip]

We're on a family plan on Verizon: 6 lines, 12GB shared. All of us are on the 2-year contracts. 5 Windows Phone, 1 Android (sister). One of the lines is up today, meaning that my sister can finally ditch her Android and get a Windows Phone. She chose the Lumia Icon, but when she went to the store, the salesman talked her into doing Edge instead. I told her to go back and cancel Edge because I thought it was a rip off. Admittedly, I was basing this on outdated information from last year. Apparently, they have sweetened the deal a little bit that makes it much more difficult to determine if it's worth it or not. However, I wasn't in the store with her and thus, couldn't look at all the fine print and whatnot, but it sounds like this:
2-year contract: $99 for the phone + $40 per month for service
Edge program: $38 ($23 for the phone + $40 for the service - $25 monthly discount), and apparently she got quite a few accessories at a subsidized rate.

So, the salesman's argument was that it's actually cheaper for her every month to do the Edge program and she gets additional benefits like she can upgrade early. After he explained the benefits of Edge, he was asked to explain the benefits of the 2-year contract and his response was "There are no benefits", which seems unlikely. So, what's the nitty gritty on this? Is a 2-year contract better or is Edge better? My skeptical take on the whole thing is that if a for-profit corporation is trying this hard to convince people to switch from 2-year contracts to Edge that they're doing so because it's good for them not because it's good for consumers. So, I told her not to do Edge and go with the 2-year contract instead, but she opted for Edge. Who is right?

 

[Kebero]

Edge, Jump and Next are great if you upgrade frequently or buy your devices full retail (but need a few months to get it all together).

 

[Jazmac]

With the exception of AT&T's Next plan, I don't know that you do yourself any favors with these plans if you finance a phone. It is always best to buy your phone outright then pick your plan.

 

[oditius]

I almost signed up for the Next plan from ATT, till I found out I would be the next sucker for doing so. In the year you want to trade in the phone for a new one. Except your trade in better be in excellent shape. And if you decide to leave to another carrier, you have to pay off what you owe on the phone. No ETF, but paying off the balance on a $600 phone can be just as costly

Sent from my Nokia Lumia 1520, w/AT&T using Tapatalk

 

[Mmazeo]

If you love the phone and keep it two years I don't see how it's not a ripoff. Only way Edge makes sense is if you're looking to change phones constantly.

 

[Blacklac]

With the exception of AT&T's Next plan, I don't know that you do yourself any favors with these plans if you finance a phone. It is always best to buy your phone outright then pick your plan.

What do you like about ATT's plan? I was considering it, but I still thought it was not a great deal. Maybe I missed something.

I also don't understand, you pick a 12 month plan, but finance the phone for 20 months? What if I stop getting a new phone every 12 months, I just continue paying monthly installments for another 8 months? I don't like that...

 

[alchemyindex]

On a two year upgrade the phone is $99 plus a $30 dollar upgrade, $40 dollar monthly access.
On edge, the phone is zero dollars up front, sales tax is paid on the bill, then $37.91 per month, unless the plan goes under 10 gb, the 25 dollar discount for edge is cheaper than the monthly payment of 22.91

 

[spaulagain]

I almost signed up for the Next plan from ATT, till I found out I would be the next sucker for doing so. In the year you want to trade in the phone for a new one. Except your trade in better be in excellent shape. And if you decide to leave to another carrier, you have to pay off what you owe on the phone. No ETF, but paying off the balance on a $600 phone can be just as costly

Sent from my Nokia Lumia 1520, w/AT&T using Tapatalk

You have to do that with a subsidy contract too. If you sign a new contract, get a $600 phone at $99. Then two months later, break the contract and leave to another carrier, you bet your *** you're going to have to pay off the rest of that phone.


At first these plans were a joke because they didn't discount the price of the plan. But now on the share plans, they do. So they're actually pretty good.

I would say the biggest drawback, at least with AT&T is you have to turn the phone in at the 12 or 18 month point if you want a new phone. You don't actually pay off that phone until 26 months (not 24/2yr).

I personally like to keep and sell my phones independently because I often get at least a hundred bucks which is more than the "trade in" value.

I have a question for those that buy the phone outright, is your monthly plan discounted? Or are you still paying the $40 a month? If you are, then buying outright is actually worse from a pure costs perspective.

 

[spaulagain]

What do you like about ATT's plan? I was considering it, but I still thought it was not a great deal. Maybe I missed something.

I also don't understand, you pick a 12 month plan, but finance the phone for 20 months? What if I stop getting a new phone every 12 months, I just continue paying monthly installments for another 8 months? I don't like that...

Yes, you can trade your phone in (if in good shape) at the end of 12 months to get a new phone. The carrier uses the existing value (used price) of that phone to basically pay off or offset those remaining unpaid payments.

If you don't get a new phone at that 12 months point, then you have to pay for it for 8 more months or upgrade prior to the end of pay term. If you get a new phone, then you just make the payments on the new phone and they keep the old phone to sell and recover costs.

On the 18 month plan, its 26 months till it's paid off.

 

[MikeSo]

We're on a family plan on Verizon: 6 lines, 12GB shared. All of us are on the 2-year contracts. 5 Windows Phone, 1 Android (sister). One of the lines is up today, meaning that my sister can finally ditch her Android and get a Windows Phone. She chose the Lumia Icon, but when she went to the store, the salesman talked her into doing Edge instead. I told her to go back and cancel Edge because I thought it was a rip off. Admittedly, I was basing this on outdated information from last year. Apparently, they have sweetened the deal a little bit that makes it much more difficult to determine if it's worth it or not. However, I wasn't in the store with her and thus, couldn't look at all the fine print and whatnot, but it sounds like this:
2-year contract: $99 for the phone + $40 per month for service
Edge program: $38 ($23 for the phone + $40 for the service - $25 monthly discount), and apparently she got quite a few accessories at a subsidized rate.

So, the salesman's argument was that it's actually cheaper for her every month to do the Edge program and she gets additional benefits like she can upgrade early. After he explained the benefits of Edge, he was asked to explain the benefits of the 2-year contract and his response was "There are no benefits", which seems unlikely. So, what's the nitty gritty on this? Is a 2-year contract better or is Edge better? My skeptical take on the whole thing is that if a for-profit corporation is trying this hard to convince people to switch from 2-year contracts to Edge that they're doing so because it's good for them not because it's good for consumers. So, I told her not to do Edge and go with the 2-year contract instead, but she opted for Edge. Who is right?

Your case is atypical. The reason she's getting a slightly better deal on Edge than the two year regular plan is because of the 12 GB plan. Otherwise, if it was less than 10 GB plan, the discount would only be $10. In your case, and with the Icon, Edge is better than the 2 year plan it seems. ($147 savings over 2 years).

 

[spaulagain]

If you love the phone and keep it two years I don't see how it's not a ripoff. Only way Edge makes sense is if you're looking to change phones constantly.

Incorrect, the discount on the Edge/Next plan is a fixed rate of $25/month. Most phones on the Edge plan are less than $25 a month on the 18 month plan, so your monthly bill will be less than what it was on a 2 year contract AND you don't pay the down payment which is usually $100 or more. Even when the monthly phone cost is more than $25 a month, the down payment on a contract would offset that cost anyways.

For example (iPhone 5s 32GB) over two years...

2 Year Contract
$40/month Plan
$0/month Phone
$299.99 Down Payment
---------------------------------------------------
$1259.99/2yr Total


ATT Next (18 Month Plan)
$15/month Plan (with Discount)
$28.85/month Phone (for the full 2 years)
$0 Down Payment
---------------------------------------------------
$1052.40/2yr Total


No Contract (Buy Full Price)
$40/month Plan (no discount correct?)
$0/month Phone
$749.99 Down Payment
---------------------------------------------------
$1709.99/2yr Total

I'm assuming when you buy a phone outright, there is some kind of monthly discount. If not, it's the true ripoff.

 

[spaulagain]

Your case is atypical. The reason she's getting a slightly better deal on Edge than the two year regular plan is because of the 12 GB plan. Otherwise, if it was less than 10 GB plan, the discount would only be $10. In your case, and with the Icon, Edge is better than the 2 year plan it seems. ($147 savings over 2 years).

Oh yes, the discount is better with the larger share plan. So I guess it depends on how many people are on your share plan. Which seems kind of ridiculous.

 

[Robinsonmac]

Its not a rip off at all. The rip off is if you buy your phone out right you still pay the subsidised phone price on your plan. I have 3 lines on Edge now & will have paid only $72 more over the course of the year for the ability to upgrade to a new phone now on all 3 lines(since it's past 30 days, all I have to do is pay 1/2 the retail price to upgrade or wait until i've paid enough intrest free monthly payments.) I get a $25 per line dicount on the $40 access charge on all 3 lines on Edge. On my Icon my monthly payment is less the the $25 dicount. My wife & daughters phones are $3 more per month per line or $6 total per month. For the cost of 1 starbucks coffee every month I get to upgrade, pretty much when I want. Or I can wait the full 2 years, sell the phone & upgrade.

 

[anon5954042]

My plan is to pay off my Icon within the next month or so and go prepaid.

 

[Tepid]

I have our Icons on the Edge plan, it was the only way I could go from the 928 to the Icon.
The 928 was nice,, but the Icon was worth it
I do hope that Verizon gets an even better phone by this time next year, cause I will take advantage of the Edge up again.

It did add a little to our monthly bill,, but int he long run it will be worth it. I have found that the 2 Year wait is generally too long
Especially right now with the frequency of new hardware changes that are on the horizon.
Plus, this time Next year we will be seeing WP9.

If I did not do the edge up plan, I would have had to wait at least till 2016 to upgrade.

The Edge Plan is making that affordable in the long run to upgrade more often or even as needed.

The pricing is based on 24 Month Payment Plan

But once you pay off half (12 Months or Buy Out sooner) you can upgrade, (as stated), without a down payment in advance.

The trade off is worth it in my opinion.

 

[iconuser165]

I don't think Edge is a ripoff. I think it's designed for those who love to constantly upgrade to the latest and greatest. I am not that guy. When I buy a phone, I keep it well past the 2 year contract period. Bottom line for me was Edge would cost me $10.00 more per month (I have a family plan) for a service that I wouldn't really use. Everyone has to make their own decision of what value the Edge program has for them.

 

[TheJoester09]

Edge was a ripoff, but as soon as they implemented the $20/month discount, I jumped on it. Then they raised the monthly discount to $25/month, and now I'm REALLY happy with it! It's nice to know that when the next great Lumia comes out on Verizon, I won't have to jump through hoops to get my hands on it.

 

[oditius]

I have a question for those that buy the phone outright, is your monthly plan discounted? Or are you still paying the $40 a month? If you are, then buying outright is actually worse from a pure costs perspective.

I am on the BYOP family share plan, I pay $140 a month for 3 lines For Unlimited Text, Calls and 10GB data. I also save 20% from my job. 10GB a month normally cost $40 a month, but it's discounted $25 per line on my Bring Your Own Phone family plan. And being I have the only smartphone, I get to use all 10GB for myself. :devil:

 

[radmanvr]

I made a thread about this topic when I made the switch to the Verizon Edge program I don't recall the exact details but basically I ended up paying $10 more for 6GB more data and 2 Icons. Still worth.

 

[richard_rsp]

I am currently on Edge with an Icon, and no, I do not feel it is a ripoff. On the contrary, I feel that the 2-year contract is a ripoff if you need 10GB.

Currently, on Edge, I pay $100 for 10GB of data, $15 for line access ($40 minus the $25 discount for Edge), and $23.06 for the phone. $0 down (but paid $38.50 in tax on my first bill). That's a total of $138.06 (plus fees). [My wife also has a 2nd line on here, but I am leaving this out due to ease of calculation]

If I would have been on a standard 2-year contract: $100 for 10GB of data, $40 for line access, and $99 (plus tax) down payment. That would be $140 per month (plus fees).

While Edge is only a couple of bucks cheaper per month, it also gives me the option to buy out the phone at any time (and upgrade at any time), OR if I want to trade in after a year, I have that OPTION. Also, If I want to buy out the phone, I can do that as well, at the same price it would be to purchase it outright ($549 minus any payments I have made). With a 2-year contract, I am stuck with that phone and with a higher payment for 2-years.

Now, if you use less than 10GB of data, then you would only get a $15 discount per line instead of $25, and the 2 year contract could save you about $10 a month. But you are still limited in your options mid-contract.

IMHO, I am VERY happy with the Edge program!