TMO Off contract: impossible?

[eruptflail]

Pardon my rant as I as a question.

I decided to go with the HTC 8x over the unlocked Roger's version of the L920, because for the price I can skip out on the only two features of the l920 that mean anything to me Nokia apps and the Camera. I have a nice DSLR so I don't need Nokia's camera, and the apps don't actually mean that much to me, being as I have a GPS if I want turn by turn directions.

So, I decided to check out the 8x at TMO. Being as I've never owned a smartphone before, I decided I wanted to go with TMO because 30$ a month for a smartphone is right up my alley. However, I can't actually buy the TMO 8x from their site without agreeing to a contract... why in God's green Earth can't I?

I don't understand why TMO would make it so hard for potential customers. I'm not a TMO customer, so I'm put off at the fact that they don't want to take my money unless I sign up for a contract. I'd be just as happy nixing them if I actually wanted an Iphone from virgin mobile for the same price.

So, am I missing something here or should I write TMO a strongly worded letter on how they fail at customer acquisition and sales?

P.s. US cell phone companies are hellish.

 

[eric12341]

Not impossible, other stores like WalMart and such have the option to buy it without contract. There's also eBay.

 

[oolgac]

I think you can also buy the devices off-contract (as a replacement phone) on the Microsoft Store site