wait a sec OP, you just paid:
$99 (for a barely broke in overpriced Hero, not 'best buy' for you, as I bought in same time frame for $60 w/ free activation, no tax; more so, last time I was at best buy a couple of weeks ago, the Hero was $30 w/ 2 year
$87 + (your trade in price)
--------------------------
$186 = Evo w/ 2 year contract, that's near retail for 'upgrade' or new customer price of $199. Good I reckon if you really wanted to upgrade, I wouldn't say it's as big as you're making it, even if you slide past the upgrade rules which you may or may not, and mind you, it sounds unlikely. Basically what you are proposing is that Sprint will gladly give you a free phone for a month or two of service, then when you would like to upgrade to the latest and greatest, Sprint (in the name of customer serivce) says, "sure why not, here's upgrade pricing even though you are not elgible, and you know that phone we gave to you a mere 1-2 months ago... KEEP IT, it's on US!".
Sounds kinda absurd when you think about it doesn't it?
What I don't get is, presuming this is something everyone can do (which obviously everyone can not nor you probably), why would you even ponderin selling the phone to Best Buy for credit... wouldn't it be more advantageous to sell on eBay, presuming there are no ETF, etc. fees? This reason is a no contract Hero is more desirable than one which carries a 2 year contract.
As an aside, I'd argue against this deal, even if it were true.
I signed up in late March as new customer, but I think I'll keep the Hero. If I wanted a screen as big as the Evo, I might was well get an iPad or sell my ultra portable as it or the phone would be redundant, but I'm leaning toward the phone as I do a whole lot more on my 3lb dual core ULV notebook.
Also screw paying a WiFi tether surcharge.
As far as the Best Buy kool-aid you seem to enjoy, they might have the occasional good deal, particularly w/ handsets and lappies (sometimes requiring a little shuck and jive to achieve), but their prices in general suck, are inflated, and require tax. Ergo, most Best Buy deals are had in manipulating Best Buy as they in general, suck.
Hey, believe what you want. Im getting an EVO and you can stay on your heros.
Gladly! I love the Hero w/ Fresh v2.1.2. I was never turned on by that huge screen on the Evo/HD2, etc.; the HDMI seemed novel at first, but now at best seeing it'll be crippled in many ways, until maybe root unlocks it's full potential and/or Android SDK starts supporting more ubiquitous codecs/containers.
Keep us posted on your upgrade!
