Hi all, another long-time lurker emerging from the shadows...
I'll add my own "spoke to verizon store rep and this is what s/he said" anecdote (nothing earth shattering and outside the bounds of current speculation).
I went in to participate in verizon's generous rental program. I've been using a samsung non-smart phone, and for the last two weeks the screen has been 80% black and a good 2/3ds of the buttons non-functional. I'm under a one year manufacturer's warranty, but I've avoided the hassle of going in and getting it replaced thinking, like many of you, that the Nexus was just around the corner. And indeed, the Nexus seems to have an uncanny ability to be just around the corner...
Not having been on any kind of data plan, the double data deal was appealing to me, and I decided rather than just replacing the broken dumb phone I'd rent a Rezound for the time being and get signed up for double data.
While there, UPS shipments were coming into the store (don't get hopes up -- i dont want to string you along). I saw at least 20-30 decent sized boxes being taken to the back. One of the managers was joking with a sales rep, saying "I think we know what those are..." and the rep responded excitedly "really???". Naturally, I couldnt help but interject? "the GALAXY NEXUS??." The manager chuckled and said "ya right." The rep told me they were probably iphone 4s (they had been waiting for a new shipment), and then added that the nexus probably wouldnt be here for "at least two weeks." I will say that this sales rep based on the rest of our conversation didn't exactly inspire confidence that she knows much about phones, android, verizon, life (?) etc, so of course take this with a grain of salt.
I know that there is some question as to what the holiday return policy is. (For those ethically opposed to the rental program, I'd recommend not reading further...). I didn't mention to this rep specifically what I planned to do, but she did explicitly say that I have 14 days from activation, and that the holiday return policy is only for unactivated phones. This definitely spooked me, but luckily I've got a transcript saved with a discussion with an online CSR, and if I have problems, I plan to leverage that as much as possible.
Here are some relevant bits from the discussion with the online CSR (from a few days ago):
CSR: If you return the phone in the 14 days you can get the upgrade back .
me: ah,great. this is helpful. i thought i saw somewhere a deal verizon was running where you have until jan 14 or some date around then to return phones. i don't remember the details exactly. do you happen to know which deal I'm talking about?
CSR: Okay, you are referring to the holiday return policy .
me: so how does that work? because if we buy a phone now? do we have until january 14th to return? not 14 days from now?
...
CSR: Yes this is correct , if you order a phone today you will be able to return it by Jan. 15 2012.
me: does it matter whether i activate it or not?
CSR: Yes this is correct, if you activate the device you can still return it .
me: ... ok this is my last question, just so i can make sure i haven't missed anything
me: 1) i buy, for example, a razr today, signing up for the double data deal and also using an upgrade i have available. 2) i use this phone and assuming the nexus launches sometime between now and jan 15, i return the razr, pay a 35 dollar restock fee. 3) i use that same upgrade to buy the nexus, and i remain on the double data plan
CSR: Yes you can get the upgrade back if you return the phone by Jan 15 , I currently do not no if the promotion will still be on for double the data .
me: oo wait, but if i buy the razr now, dont i already get on the plan? so i would just be switching the razr for the nexus, not my plan.
CSR: Yes this is correct , you will still get this data package .
So I guess the takeaway is, different reps are saying different things. So try a few times and try to get it in writing? The online CSR interface on vzw's webpage has a nice feature where if you want they will email you a transcript of the discussion.
I apologize for low helpfulness to words ratio, but I thought given how much of a free-rider I've been, I'd try to contribute something, however small.
Cheers
