Egzthunder1's "TMOUSA" Method for Saving Money on HD2

egzthunder1 · Apr 19, 2010

For my 3000 post, I figured I would do something special for those of us fresh into TMOUSA's crappy 2 year contract (and for those thinking about it).

We all drooled and drooled consistently until TMOUSA came out with the HD2. There is a catch though, it is through TMOUSA. Many people have reported crappy service (cell-wise) and flat spots for data coverage (3G areas turning into Edge, turning into GPRS, into no-data). On top of that paying $450 for a device is not exactly appealing either ($199 sounds like a much better deal after all). I have been thinking about it long and hard and I came up with the perfect mathematical solution for getting a cheaper HD2, sticking to TMOUSA cheaper plans (or leave TMOUSA altogether), and not paying for such crappy data plan/coverage. If you are like me, you are surrounded by an accessible Wifi signal about 70-80% of your waking day, so being forced to pay $30 per month is borderline stupid.

[highlight]Edit: My method is only for brand new devices. A lot of you are suggesting cheaper solutions by buying them off eBay or craiglist, which will come with the added risk of device malfunctions or scams. If you feel adventurous enough to go down these paths... by all means. It usually works out better in the end anyways. But this method ensures a brand new device, that you will get on the spot.[/highlight]

Without Further Ado, I give you the "Scr3w You Very Much, TMOUSA" Method...

Getting HD2 without contract from the store:

$450

Cheapest Unlimited voice only plan from TMO: $49.99 (without contract)
Cost over two years: $49.99 * 24 months = $1199.76

Getting HD2 with contract from the store:

$199

Cheapest Unlimited voice + Data (they will force you into this) plan from TMO: $89.99 (2 year contract)
Cost over two years: $89.99 * 24 months = $2159.76

Cost to get out of the contract (option available only after 15 days from establishing a contract - aka remorse period): $200

Difference in phone price (with and without contract difference):

$450 - $199 = $251

Cost of breaking Contract and Keeping New Phone: $199 + $200 = $399

so we are saving $50 right off the bat (remember that the no contract price is $450, so $450 - $399 = $51)

Plan Cost:

$2159.76 - $1199.76 = $960 savings over two years

Total Savings over 2 years ($960 plan cost savings - $200 early cancellation fee + $50 for savings versus purchasing HD2 @ full price)= $810

You may think "but I still need internet" on the road... simple answer to that too:

Internet package from non contract plan = $25
Internet package from contract plan = $30

Savings over 24 months contract = $120

May not seem like much, but when you add that to the $240 from the unlimited voice plan difference (49.99 w/o contract vs $59.99 w contract), it adds to $360 for the life of the contract, plus you can leave them dry at any point you want...

I hope this is useful into deciding if you are getting a HD2 but don't want TMOUSA as your carrier or simply don't feel like paying a lot to them.

joshkoss · Apr 19, 2010

Good to know for us tmobile users my friend.. i'll stick it as requested.

rickyoon.vegas · Apr 19, 2010

But there are those of us who actually need more than the basic services.
My business requires me to have unlimited minutes, texts, and e-mail access at all times.
So, over all, T-Mobile is cheaper than At&T or Verizon.

But I do see your point.
$30 a month for 3G internet service does seem a bit too much, when I pay the same amount for 4G (Clear Wireless) at home.

Funkyrocemz · Apr 20, 2010

I would much rather opt out of TMOUS 2 year contract and jump ship to AT&T/Verizon/Sprint...

TMOUS has the absolute WORST service...

alefsin · Apr 20, 2010

I guess you forgot the %35 Bing cash back when you shop online and pay full price! $300 with no contract is the best deal

gsvnet · Apr 20, 2010

Funkyrocemz said:
I would much rather opt out of TMOUS 2 year contract and jump ship to AT&T/Verizon/Sprint...

TMOUS has the absolute WORST service...

Depends on where you are...they work quite fine in many major areas.

joefx13 · Apr 20, 2010

This does make sense. But then again it doesnt. Think about it!
Tmobile sells it on a 2 year contract for $199.
Walmart sells the samething (online) for $99 plus theres many coupons foe $25 off. So thats $75 on a new 2 year contract. Walmart also pays taxes.
Thats $75 vs. $450+ tax.

Now let me get to the point. If you want data+text+500 minutes. Its 59.99 on even more plus. Vs. $79.99 on contract.
So thats $20 more a month.
Heres the catch. If you cancel your contract after 6 months. The fee goes from $200 to $100 per line.
So lets add this up.

Buy the phone for $75. Add ($20 extra a month for 6 months= $120). And then add another $100 for the contract cancellation. Thats a total of $295.

So $295 vs. $450+ tax. Which sounds like a better deal?

After you cancel the contract. Just sign up for even more plus..

bogdatov · Apr 20, 2010

As an alternative (I did that personally), buy one get one free from T-Mobile promotion ... and pay $200 + tax for TWO HD2 phones. Activation waived.

So you pay $214 (in FL) for 2 phones.
Then you pay for 2 weeks of cheapest service (around $70) and cancellation fees of $400 for 2 phones

Total loss: $684
And you eBay your 2nd HD2 for $500 (around 450 after all fees)

You get your new shiny HD2 for $234 and you did not even extended your contract yet

alooohaboy · Apr 20, 2010

Don't Forget HTC has extended the turn in a old phone and get 50.00 on top of that with teh purchase of a HD2, G1, etc... I think till May 19th
recyclerebates.com/htcWebQuote.do;jsessionid=B386A281A1471313D8E724CBA74DD8B4

egzthunder1 · Apr 20, 2010

joshkoss said:
Good to know for us tmobile users my friend.. i'll stick it as requested.

Thanks a lot josh!

Always a pleasure hearing from you, my friend!

egzthunder1 · Apr 20, 2010

rickyoon.vegas said:
But there are those of us who actually need more than the basic services.
My business requires me to have unlimited minutes, texts, and e-mail access at all times.
So, over all, T-Mobile is cheaper than At&T or Verizon.

But I do see your point.
$30 a month for 3G internet service does seem a bit too much, when I pay the same amount for 4G (Clear Wireless) at home.

You may think "but I still need internet" on the road... simple answer to that too:

Internet package from non contract plan = $25
Internet package from contract plan = $30

Savings over 24 months contract = $120

May not seem like much, but when you add that to the $240 from the unlimited voice plan difference (49.99 w/o contract vs $59.99 w contract), it adds to $360 for the life of the contract, plus you can leave them dry at any point you want...

Internet with the cheaper plans is cheaper ($5 a month cheaper to be more precise)

egzthunder1 · Apr 20, 2010

alefsin said:
I guess you forgot the %35 Bing cash back when you shop online and pay full price! $300 with no contract is the best deal

It isn't as much as I forgot, but rather I had no idea about it (then, again, I have never used Bing)

egzthunder1 · Apr 20, 2010

joefx13 said:
This does make sense. But then again it doesnt. Think about it!
Tmobile sells it on a 2 year contract for $199.
Walmart sells the samething (online) for $99 plus theres many coupons foe $25 off. So thats $75 on a new 2 year contract. Walmart also pays taxes.
Thats $75 vs. $450+ tax.

Now let me get to the point. If you want data+text+500 minutes. Its 59.99 on even more plus. Vs. $79.99 on contract.
So thats $20 more a month.
Heres the catch. If you cancel your contract after 6 months. The fee goes from $200 to $100 per line.
So lets add this up.

Buy the phone for $75. Add ($20 extra a month for 6 months= $120). And then add another $100 for the contract cancellation. Thats a total of $295.

So $295 vs. $450+ tax. Which sounds like a better deal?

After you cancel the contract. Just sign up for even more plus..

Wow! I had no idea Walmart sold these... I bought mine at Best Buy (had a $70 coupon from Rewards)

I was looking at this option and it is done through "Let's Talk"... and they do have their own set of rules (apart from TMOUSA)

$200 LetsTalk instant discount
Purchase select T-Mobile phones online or through our customer service department and receive a $200.00 instant discount when you activate new T-Mobile service on a plan of $59.99 per month or higher and in conjunction with any feature or bundle or any other plan option at least $30.00 per month or greater. This exclusive offer is limited to select online retailers and is not available in any stores. Certain rate plans may not apply. This promotion applies only to individual plans or line 1 to line 2 of a family plan and requires a (2) two-year service agreement.

Offer Qualifications and Restrictions:

Cancellation of this purchase option within the first 61 days of activation will result in a $100 penalty charge.
Customers who add a qualifying feature after their service has been activated by LetsTalk.com are NOT eligible unless the feature is activated by LetsTalk.com directly.
If the customer receives their phone and the qualifying data feature is not active, the customer must contact LetsTalk.com directly to have the feature added in order to avoid a chargeback.
If the customer receives their phone and wishes to add the qualifying feature to take advantage of the offer, the customer must contact LetsTalk.com's Customer Service center and LetsTalk.com must add the qualifying feature through their activation system.
Customers who contact T-Mobile directly to have the qualifying feature added to their accounts post activation will not be eligible for this offer.
The customer may not change the feature activated by LetsTalk.com through T-Mobile's website, call center retail stores or any other T-Mobile agents or representatives and must maintain the same qualifying feature selected at the time of purchase for 61 days in order to avoid a deactivation chargeback.
If the customer wishes to change to a different qualifying feature they must contact LetsTalk.com directly and LetsTalk.com must change the data feature directly otherwise the customer may be liable for a chargeback.
LetsTalk.com imposes this chargeback solely to recoup plan feature commissions deducted by T-Mobile.
Phones Eligible for this Promotion:
Samsung Behold II (T-Mobile), HTC HD2 (T-Mobile)

Qualifying Plan Features for this promotion:
Android Unlimited Web, Android Unlimited Web for Flexpay, myTouch Unlimited Web, myTouch Unlimited Web for Flexpay, BlackBerry Unlimited Web, BlackBerry Unlimited Web for Flexpay, BlackBerry Unlimited Web w/Enterprise Email, BlackBerry Unlimited Web w/Enterprise Email for Flexpay, Sidekick Unlimited Web, Sidekick Unlimited Web for Flexpay, SmartPhone Unlimited Web, SmartPhone Unlimited Web for Flexpay

But you are absolutely correct about everything you are saying... There will be various methods for doing this (which result in different savings) based on personal usage of the features of the plan. In my case, (as I explained in the first post) I don't really need internet 24/7 on my device since most of my waking time, I am in areas where wireless is available, so for me this translates into at least saving $30 per month (without accounting the fact that the unlimited voice is $10 cheaper as well), and here is the thing why I posted this. Remember that having internet when you are in a contract is not an option, it is a requirement... there is no way out of it unless you break your contract or pay full price for the phone. I figured this way to be cheaper for my usage type.

Maybe I will change the title of this thread to "Ways of Getting a Cheaper Device and No Contract" or something like that. I appreciate your input on this

egzthunder1 · Apr 20, 2010

bogdatov said:
As an alternative (I did that personally), buy one get one free from T-Mobile promotion ... and pay $200 + tax for TWO HD2 phones. Activation waived.

So you pay $214 (in FL) for 2 phones.
Then you pay for 2 weeks of cheapest service (around $70) and cancellation fees of $400 for 2 phones

Total loss: $684
And you eBay your 2nd HD2 for $500 (around 450 after all fees)

You get your new shiny HD2 for $234 and you did not even extended your contract yet

Not bad, but why would someone pay $500 for a device on eBay (assuming shipping is included), when they can buy it brand new, from the store, no contract needed for $450?

egzthunder1 · Apr 20, 2010

alooohaboy said:
Don't Forget HTC has extended the turn in a old phone and get 50.00 on top of that with teh purchase of a HD2, G1, etc... I think till May 19th
recyclerebates.com/htcWebQuote.do;jsessionid=B386A281A1471313D8E724CBA74DD8B4

I just checked it out and in order to do this, you have to have proof of purchase (receipt or UPC box label). I have a 7 year old Wallaby bought in eBay, a 5 year old Blue Angel, 2 0.5 year old Vogues (soon to be 4), soon to have a Tytn, and a Wizard (which I sold, but for the sake of argument, I will throw it in as well).... I cannot use any of these devices for that since I have no way of providing them with proof of purchase (and this happens to be the case for a lot of htc device owners around here).

It is a good resource to have though. Thanks for sharing.

kcaj32 · Apr 21, 2010

Just spoke to LetsTalk customer support. aka Walmart $99 purchase.
They'll give you the phone for $99 but if you break the contract within 6 months, you'll have to pay $250 disconnect fee to LetsTalk in addition to the $200 charged by T-Mobile.

I went to a Sams Club last week and they had it for $142 + tax. The guy there said I can keep my existing plan (family plan and $25 android data plan).

So my plan is to buy the phone from Sams Club. If I like it, I'll stay on the new 2 yr contract and if I don't I'll break the contract after 30 days and sell it on craigslist (ebay charges a lot of fees).

I've been waiting for a good android phone for a long time (my contract on the G1 got over more than a year ago. But since T-Mobile is not getting any good androind phones, I'll try WM 6.5. Microsoft wins and Google loses. The last WM device I used was an MPX200. I would have bought the Nexus One if they allowed me to add it to my family plan with a discounted rate.

mrbox23 · Apr 21, 2010

before u go getting phones at contract discount and canceling. you may want to read this http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1634784

basically says tmobile will start blcking IMEI's of phones from canceled contracts. I dont know if its legit but i just bought a HD2 from ebay and now im paranoid

anyone heard of this?

Edit seller assured me thats not the case for me but still thats kinda scary.

joefx13 · Apr 21, 2010

kcaj32 said:
Just spoke to LetsTalk customer support. aka Walmart $99 purchase.
They'll give you the phone for $99 but if you break the contract within 6 months, you'll have to pay $250 disconnect fee to LetsTalk in addition to the $200 charged by T-Mobile.

I went to a Sams Club last week and they had it for $142 + tax. The guy there said I can keep my existing plan (family plan and $25 android data plan).

So my plan is to buy the phone from Sams Club. If I like it, I'll stay on the new 2 yr contract and if I don't I'll break the contract after 30 days and sell it on craigslist (ebay charges a lot of fees).

I've been waiting for a good android phone for a long time (my contract on the G1 got over more than a year ago. But since T-Mobile is not getting any good androind phones, I'll try WM 6.5. Microsoft wins and Google loses. The last WM device I used was an MPX200. I would have bought the Nexus One if they allowed me to add it to my family plan with a discounted rate.

This is true!
But if you plan on keeping the phone for atleast 181 days, then lets talk will remove the fee (plus tmobile will only charge $100 per line). This would be the best decision for someone looking to keep the phone and not sell it anytime soon.

egzthunder1 · Apr 21, 2010

mrbox23 said:
before u go getting phones at contract discount and canceling. you may want to read this http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1634784

basically says tmobile will start blcking IMEI's of phones from canceled contracts. I dont know if its legit but i just bought a HD2 from ebay and now im paranoid anyone heard of this?

Edit seller assured me thats not the case for me but still thats kinda scary.

I guess this would apply more to being careful about buying the phone from 3rd party (places like ebay, craiglist, etc)

kcaj32 · Apr 21, 2010

joefx13 said:
This is true!
But if you plan on keeping the phone for atleast 181 days, then lets talk will remove the fee (plus tmobile will only charge $100 per line). This would be the best decision for someone looking to keep the phone and not sell it anytime soon.

I spoke to T-Mobile too. Their policy for canceling 2 years contract is:
If you have more than 180 days from the end of the contract, you pay $200.
If you have more than 90 days but less than 180 before contract ends, its $50, and less than 90 days for contract to end, you pay $25.

But yes, I agree that someone who plans on keeping the phone for 2 years, its a good deal.

Egzthunder1's "TMOUSA" Method for Saving Money on HD2

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