Buying Razr Maxx HD off contract

keepfiring · Oct 18, 2012

So now that it's finally out, I've got my eyeball on the Razr HD, preferably the Maxx edition - love me some battery. However, thanks to a combination of Verizon declaring no more renewal of grandfathered ultd data and Moto taking its sweet time pushing this thing out the door, I'll be buying at retail price, as I gather many of you are. So then it comes down to price and warranty/return policy. Yes, warranty is actually somewhat of a factor to me - my (non-HD) maxx is in the shop right now having the gps chip replaced after I burned it out on a long road trip. Moto's taking care of it. Prior to that, I had a couple lemon gnexes, which the verizon store swallowed back up.

So far, believe it or not, the best un-subsidized price I've found is from Verizon - $649 for the Maxx vs $699 from every other retailer I've seen. I believe Verizon offers the usual 14 day return policy, less some restocking fee, and moto probably takes care of hardware issues for a year or so.

I've heard Costco has a terrific exchange policy but I've also heard they don't sell off-contract phones. Anybody else have a retailer with good policy/service that will do the no-contract thing?

IHateMyTreo · Oct 18, 2012

keepfiring said:
So now that it's finally out, I've got my eyeball on the Razr HD, preferably the Maxx edition - love me some battery. However, thanks to a combination of Verizon declaring no more renewal of grandfathered ultd data and Moto taking its sweet time pushing this thing out the door, I'll be buying at retail price, as I gather many of you are. So then it comes down to price and warranty/return policy. Yes, warranty is actually somewhat of a factor to me - my (non-HD) maxx is in the shop right now having the gps chip replaced after I burned it out on a long road trip. Moto's taking care of it. Prior to that, I had a couple lemon gnexes, which the verizon store swallowed back up.

So far, believe it or not, the best un-subsidized price I've found is from Verizon - $649 for the Maxx vs $699 from every other retailer I've seen. I believe Verizon offers the usual 14 day return policy, less some restocking fee, and moto probably takes care of hardware issues for a year or so.

I've heard Costco has a terrific exchange policy but I've also heard they don't sell off-contract phones. Anybody else have a retailer with good policy/service that will do the no-contract thing?

Best Buy sells off-contract, but the HD hasn't hit their shelves yet, so I don't know what their full retail price will be. I would hope price match would work, as well as the better return privilege. I will be heading to BB when they arrive because I have a truckload of BB coupons and a $50 discount for getting any phone from them, from a promo earlier this year.

ALurker · Oct 18, 2012

IHateMyTreo said:
Best Buy sells off-contract, but the HD hasn't hit their shelves yet, so I don't know what their full retail price will be. I would hope price match would work, as well as the better return privilege. I will be heading to BB when they arrive because I have a truckload of BB coupons and a $50 discount for getting any phone from them, from a promo earlier this year.

I think I read somewhere that best buy will sell it for more than verizon. At least $700 and maybe even $750. I'll see if I can find the link.

Fwiw, this says $700 for RAZR HD and $750 for maxx:

http://www.gottabemobile.com/2012/1...azr-hd-will-cost-700-full-retail-at-best-buy/

Methos1979 · Oct 19, 2012

I bought my off-contract HD Maxx today from Verizon - $649. I want to keep my unlimited data plan, thank you very much! With what it would cost me to change over the phone will pay for itself in a year. No brainer.

keepfiring · Oct 20, 2012

The guy at Verizon actually suggested an interesting workaround - add a non-data line for $10 a month, using an extra flip phone we have lying around, and buy the Razr HD with that line activation. $10/month x 24 months = $240, Razr HD Verizon subsidy = $400 (or $350 for the maxx). It's a bit of a pain but you come out ahead.

Wolfedude88 · Oct 20, 2012

keepfiring said:
The guy at Verizon actually suggested an interesting workaround - add a non-data line for $10 a month, using an extra flip phone we have lying around, and buy the Razr HD with that line activation. $10/month x 24 months = $240, Razr HD Verizon subsidy = $400 (or $350 for the maxx). It's a bit of a pain but you come out ahead.

Can you even do that anymore? All of there plans now are the share plans, so for a flip phone it is now 30 a month.

keepfiring · Oct 21, 2012

Wolfedude88 said:
Can you even do that anymore? All of there plans now are the share plans, so for a flip phone it is now 30 a month.

I believe so...if you don't do the share everything deal, you can still do individual data per phone line. New data plans are 2gb for $30, but for the dumb phones he said $10 still. No unlimited talk though.

JRuppenthal · Oct 21, 2012

keepfiring said:
The guy at Verizon actually suggested an interesting workaround - add a non-data line for $10 a month, using an extra flip phone we have lying around, and buy the Razr HD with that line activation. $10/month x 24 months = $240, Razr HD Verizon subsidy = $400 (or $350 for the maxx). It's a bit of a pain but you come out ahead.

Can you explain how this works? How do you add a non-data line and buy a Razr this way? Doesn't buying the Razr by default force you into a data plan? More info would be appreciated. Many thanks!

Sokudo Ningyou · Oct 21, 2012

keepfiring said:
The guy at Verizon actually suggested an interesting workaround - add a non-data line for $10 a month, using an extra flip phone we have lying around, and buy the Razr HD with that line activation. $10/month x 24 months = $240, Razr HD Verizon subsidy = $400 (or $350 for the maxx). It's a bit of a pain but you come out ahead.

My understanding was that you can just cancel the $10 plan once you switch the smartphone back to the original line.

keepfiring · Oct 22, 2012

JRuppenthal said:
Can you explain how this works? How do you add a non-data line and buy a Razr this way? Doesn't buying the Razr by default force you into a data plan? More info would be appreciated. Many thanks!

So I *think* the way this works is when you buy a smartphone on a new line it does sign you up for a data plan, but the 2 year contract you sign in order to get the phone at a sane price is just for the phone line, not for the data. Once you re-activate a flip phone or something that can't use the data plan on that line you just signed up for, the data plan is dropped, leaving you with just the $10/month plan for the new line, and a fancy piece of Razr HD to activate on whatever line you already had.

dirkbonn · Oct 22, 2012

Sokudo Ningyou said:
My understanding was that you can just cancel the $10 plan once you switch the smartphone back to the original line.

Nope, you can't just cancel the line. Well, you can but you'll be charged an Early Termination Fee (ETF) which is currently $350 for a smartphone.

Verizon hasw left the door open to keep unlimited data, but the door's not WIDE open. Just a crack.... :smokingsomb:

JRuppenthal · Oct 22, 2012

keepfiring said:
So I *think* the way this works is when you buy a smartphone on a new line it does sign you up for a data plan, but the 2 year contract you sign in order to get the phone at a sane price is just for the phone line, not for the data. Once you re-activate a flip phone or something that can't use the data plan on that line you just signed up for, the data plan is dropped, leaving you with just the $10/month plan for the new line, and a fancy piece of Razr HD to activate on whatever line you already had.

That makes more sense to me. Thanks for clarifying. I might have to consider this plan. I'm not due for an upgrade for many months but would love a new high-end phone. Thanks...

AntimonyER · Oct 22, 2012

I have done this specific thing twice. As a matter of fact, I plan on just using one of those lines as my dedicated upgrade line. One thing to remember is you do have taxes and fees on the line, so it will actually come out to ~15 per month. Its not a hugely better deal, but it allows you to avoid coming up with the full $650 up front. But basically $45 per month for unlimited data and retaining your ability to upgrade is worth it IMO.

n0m0n · Oct 22, 2012

Methos1979 said:
I bought my off-contract HD Maxx today from Verizon - $649. I want to keep my unlimited data plan, thank you very much! With what it would cost me to change over the phone will pay for itself in a year. No brainer.

So did I today.
Hard to give up $649. but that unlimited plan is to valuable and isn't something I want to ever loose.
Id consider Sprint if they ever force me off.

???Did I just say that Id consider Sprint???
I need to start drinking :eek:

FussBoss · Oct 23, 2012

I got 2 of these phones tonight from my local Best Buy at 'full price' - Best Buy has the full value of the MAXX HD at $799. But I price matched VZW store price of $650 with no issues at all. And I was able to take advantage of the protection they offer (has done me very well in the past) and sell my phone and my wifes phone back to them at prices I was happy with thanks to the buy back (that they no longer offer in the form they once had).

ALSO - this may help you decide. Best Buy is running a special now that if you buy a phone on contract (Yes a different phone since this would be off contract) you get an instant upgrade to Reward Zone Silver which gives you a 60 day return policy. Note you have a 14 day with VZW for getting out of contract, but this is not an issue here, you still have 30 (or 60 if you are silver member) days to return the phone for a different phone with no restocking fee. Even at the basic 30 day return/exchange policy with no fees beats the pants off VZW policy. But check bestbuy.com or the reward zone site for details on the silver upgrade.

redfish-bluefish · Oct 23, 2012

My local VZ store has their pricing at $800, or at least that is what I was told by the rep there. Has anybody else seen this in the B&M VZ stores? I don't know that BB would honor a price match from an online source ($649 VZ online).

Verizon seriously does not want unlimited data floating around out there, and I think that eventually those of us going this route may be truly burned being "month-to-month."

Can you say "$800 phone that only works on one network and now you are off of it because we said so?" Good, you are hired.

GTIMKV · Oct 23, 2012

keepfiring said:
The guy at Verizon actually suggested an interesting workaround - add a non-data line for $10 a month, using an extra flip phone we have lying around, and buy the Razr HD with that line activation. $10/month x 24 months = $240, Razr HD Verizon subsidy = $400 (or $350 for the maxx). It's a bit of a pain but you come out ahead.

You can save a little bit but not much. Let's suppose your state sales tax is at 7%. Your monthly bill for the flip phone including fees and tax would be $13 per month, or $312 for 2 years. You pay $321 ($299.99 + 7% tax) for the Razr HD, so your total out of pocket for the 2-year period is $633.

If you buy it straight from Verizon it will cost you $695 ($650 + tax), so you are saving $695-$633=$62 by taking the "add a line" route. It may be a good enough saving for some people, maybe not.

There's another way of doing this, which is what I call "the iPhone switch". When a new iPhone comes out, add a line and buy the iphone for $213 ($199+tax). You can then sell it on eBay for $850, which you can keep at least $780 after Paypal and eBay fees, so now you have pocketed $780-$213-$312(flip phone line for 2 years)=$255 already. You just need to spend another $440 to get $695 to pay for Razr HD. This is by far the cheapest way of getting new android phones.

vr4 · Oct 23, 2012

keepfiring said:
The guy at Verizon actually suggested an interesting workaround - add a non-data line for $10 a month, using an extra flip phone we have lying around, and buy the Razr HD with that line activation. $10/month x 24 months = $240, Razr HD Verizon subsidy = $400 (or $350 for the maxx). It's a bit of a pain but you come out ahead.

so this is still working? i have a 3rd line on my contract that im not using but have just been too lazy to call and cancel. currently has a dumb phone on it and is elegible for upgrade.

i was thing vzw would have caught onto this by now.

keepfiring · Oct 23, 2012

GTIMKV said:
You can save a little bit but not much. Let's suppose your state sales tax is at 7%. Your monthly bill for the flip phone including fees and tax would be $13 per month, or $312 for 2 years. You pay $321 ($299.99 + 7% tax) for the Razr HD, so your total out of pocket for the 2-year period is $633.

If you buy it straight from Verizon it will cost you $695 ($650 + tax), so you are saving $695-$633=$62 by taking the "add a line" route. It may be a good enough saving for some people, maybe not.

There's another way of doing this, which is what I call "the iPhone switch". When a new iPhone comes out, add a line and buy the iphone for $213 ($199+tax). You can then sell it on eBay for $850, which you can keep at least $780 after Paypal and eBay fees, so now you have pocketed $780-$213-$312(flip phone line for 2 years)=$255 already. You just need to spend another $440 to get $695 to pay for Razr HD. This is by far the cheapest way of getting new android phones.

a) Thanks, I neglected the tax, that does throw a bit of a wrench into things.

b) Holy carp, do people really pay $850 for an ebay iphone? Isn't full retail on those things only $650?

keepfiring · Oct 23, 2012

vr4 said:
so this is still working? i have a 3rd line on my contract that im not using but have just been too lazy to call and cancel. currently has a dumb phone on it and is elegible for upgrade.

i was thing vzw would have caught onto this by now.

You should be golden, Verizon actually lets you transfer your upgrade eligibility to other phones on your plan - we did this a few months back. Sign in online and it should be an option for you. Might want to check first and make sure it preserves unlimited data though

GTIMKV · Oct 24, 2012

keepfiring said:
a) Thanks, I neglected the tax, that does throw a bit of a wrench into things.

b) Holy carp, do people really pay $850 for an ebay iphone? Isn't full retail on those things only $650?

If you watch those auctions on eBay the first week after each new iPhone came out, you will know it's crazy but true. Yes the retail is 650 but it's usually sold out everywere unless you preorder or wait hours in the line. The moment people realize that they can't get the newest iPhone in store on release day, they would go to ebay and drive up the auction to $840-850.

Roll-Tide · Oct 24, 2012

redfish-bluefish said:
My local VZ store has their pricing at $800, or at least that is what I was told by the rep there. Has anybody else seen this in the B&M VZ stores? I don't know that BB would honor a price match from an online source ($649 VZ online).

Verizon seriously does not want unlimited data floating around out there, and I think that eventually those of us going this route may be truly burned being "month-to-month."

Can you say "$800 phone that only works on one network and now you are off of it because we said so?" Good, you are hired.

I'd be willing to bet that wasn't a corporate Verizon store... All corporate stores have the same pricing as buying through Verizon online or over the phone (at least full retail, upgrades may differ).... Other Verizon stores like Cellular Sales or World Cellular, etc are authorized retailers and can set their own pricing to a degree.

And how much data do you people really use in order to "need" to keep unlimited so bad? I mean, I was one of the ones complaining about losing unlimited and what not just like you... But once I actually looked at what we use on our plan I realized we really DON'T need unlimited. For three smartphones on my account we might use a total of 3-4gb a month... I got the 8gb plan and my bill is actually about the same or slightly cheaper per month. There are very few people who actually need unlimited... Though they think they do. And I get the argument of "you never know when you might need it"... But sooner or later you're gonna have to switch anyway, unless you can afford to pay $700 for a phone for the rest of your life. Might as well get it over with because by the time you do end up switching to the new plan, the prices are probably gonna be even more expensive.

vr4 · Oct 24, 2012

Roll-Tide said:
I'd be willing to bet that wasn't a corporate Verizon store... All corporate stores have the same pricing as buying through Verizon online or over the phone (at least full retail, upgrades may differ).... Other Verizon stores like Cellular Sales or World Cellular, etc are authorized retailers and can set their own pricing to a degree.

And how much data do you people really use in order to "need" to keep unlimited so bad? I mean, I was one of the ones complaining about losing unlimited and what not just like you... But once I actually looked at what we use on our plan I realized we really DON'T need unlimited. For three smartphones on my account we might use a total of 3-4gb a month... I got the 8gb plan and my bill is actually about the same or slightly cheaper per month. There are very few people who actually need unlimited... Though they think they do. And I get the argument of "you never know when you might need it"... But sooner or later you're gonna have to switch anyway, unless you can afford to pay $700 for a phone for the rest of your life. Might as well get it over with because by the time you do end up switching to the new plan, the prices are probably gonna be even more expensive.

I use about 12gb and the other line uses about 5gb.

Neither of us tether.

Roll-Tide · Oct 25, 2012

vr4 said:
I use about 12gb and the other line uses about 5gb.

Neither of us tether.

How??

happysteve11c · Oct 25, 2012

how about u just go on motorolas website and get the phone that way when u get the phone take to ur verizon store and get it activated and presto you got a phone and ur still paying less than what verizon is charging you

Buying Razr Maxx HD off contract

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