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this post was submitted on 18 Nov 2023
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Is this your recent experience with American wireless carriers? I have experience with phone companies and this is not how the big ones work. They did work like this years ago but it's been a while since they have. The big ones right now have a plan per line and additional charges based on add-ons and device payments. So it'll be something like $80 phone plan + $20 device payment (for 3 years) + $8 insurance. Once the payment plan is over the plan and addon's typically remain the same price. If you bring your own phone as a NEW customer the big carriers give you a discount up front or distributed through a monthly credit, but the plan is the same plan. Once the credit runs out it's the same price as everyone else's plan.
Example bills:
New customer with no promotional offers: $25 iPhone 15 (I don't know the actual price for this) $80 unlimited plan $8 insurance $113 total
New customer with trade in promotion: $25 iPhone 15 -$25 iPhone 15 $80 unlimited plan $8 insurance $88 total (I'm not a Nazi I'm just pretty sure this is the price of the cheapest insurance option)
Existing customer who buys a phone from Craigslist: $80 unlimited plan $8 insurance $88 total
New customer that brings their own Craigslist device: $-5 credit for bringing own phone (probably applied for 24-36 months) $80 unlimited plan $8 insurance $83 total
Ah fair, last time I used a big carrier was when I found out that they were no longer offering any byod or pay as you go options, so I had to go with one of the little guys if I wanted those options. Which I very much do, as I always buy exactly the phone I want, rather than choosing from a small selection locally.
I haven't really looked back since, but only hear about it from friends and family that it was still the case. But I would certainly understand if it turns out they don't do their research and are just placating me.
Edit: and also technically Canada, but probably not much difference. Though as far as I can tell none of the big companies have a 30 dollar plan around here. So not sure how much of it goes to hardware if the price gap is still just as big as it was when I switched. Not sure what else the price difference would be about.