Cell phones forum: Sprint Phone Upgrade Question(s)

We are near the end of a 2 year contract currently, which will expire by August. It says online that the Evo Shift is $400 before any discounts, and that if I "upgraded" by August 1 I'd get $150 off, but that would still make it cost $100 more than it's listed.

I've heard I can either take the discount price or, when the contract expires in August, I can do a new agreement/contract and get the phone for the "nationally advertised" price, which is $150. Is this true?

Understand, they have huge incentives for bringing in new customers by providing such 'bait', meaning lower priced phones. They make money off of service and not handsets. Locking someone in for 24 mos. is where they get their revenue stream.

If you were a higher value customer with multiple lines/several hundreds of dollars per month you might have more pull in getting it reduced a little more. A full featured smartphone for $250 is fairly reasonable as an upgrade price IMO and E. Although the big four carriers work similarly regarding upgrades, Sprint & T-Mobile tend to have a little more wiggle room as far as discounts are concerned. They have to worry about losing potential business to Verizon & ATT.

Let's be clear, if a contract has been fulfilled and a customer is eligible for equipment discounts it doesn't matter if you are a new customer or an existing customer (assuming it is purchased from the carrier directly). If the OP is not currently eligible (and they are not) they need to wait until August 1. Why should Sprint offer another equipment discount before then? Gotta fulfill the existing contract first.

On the Sprint site I put my cell number and zip code in for the eligibility of the aforementioned discount(s) and it says I'm eligible and can get any phone for $150 off if I wait until August. But the problem is that the price which the discount applies to is ridiculously high compared to advertised prices (the Evo Shift, Evo and Nexus S are $400, $450 and $550 before the discount, respectively).

The prices you are referring to sound like the no-commitment price which any customer (in or out of contract) can purchase. If the site indicates you will be eligible for an additional $150 discount in August, you aren't eligible for discount pricing yet.

A phone like the Evo Shift can be bought by a non-Sprint customer for $150 (apparently a $250 discount, which the site clearly points to). A $75 and $150 discount are the only discounts the site lists for me. It says if I were to upgrade right now (before the agreement expires) I'd get a $75 discount. I'd get another $75 off if I waited until August when the agreement does expire.

I'll probably go to a Sprint store or call soon to see what they have to say. If they don't let me buy a phone for the advertised price, then I'm going to consider switching carriers.

A new customer is not currently in a contract like you are and qualifies for an equipment discount. In August, you will be eligible for equipment discounted pricing but not until then. If you upgrade in August and purchase a discounted phone, you will have a new contract assigned to your mobile # at that time.

You are in a contract and a new customer is not. Simple as that. You cannot get discounted pricing every 6 months because you want a new phone.

But I went to my nearby Sprint store, and I was told that I can get the Evo Shift for the advertised $150 if I wait till August like I planned. So hopefully I'll be set.