Thoughts On "Installment Payment" Purchase

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Level 1

10 points

Thoughts On "Installment Payment" Purchase

Greetings All-

With the obvious recent buzz over the newest list of devices Apple is launching next week (with Pre-Orders going on as I write this) I have a question I am hoping you folks can help clear up for me a little. Despite being an Android owner for the last 5 years, I own 2 MacBook Pros and the new iMac - plus my wife has the old 4s for her cell phone. I was literally blown away by what was presented during that Keynote presentation, and after seeing this new iPhone 6s Plus I think its time to make the move over to an all Apple household!

What puzzles me is this monthly installment payment program they have, at both the Apple stores and thru the carriers (at least VZW does anyway).

I am quite sure that there has to be some sort of "catch" or gain for these folks to have customers purchase items using this form and wonder if anyone has done the math of it and determined what are the Pro & Cons of making a purchase using this form of payment? I assume that if one likes to upgrade their handset every year, or every other year- using this program is beneficial since they now have the nifty "Trade Up" offer to use the older device as something toward the newer one (Example being using 6S Plus toward a iPhone 7 or whatever they are going to call it) However, I did find this statement while browsing thru material :

"If you go through the full 24 months without upgrading, you'll end up paying more than the cost of a phone on its own, but about the same amount that an iPhone and AppleCare costs together. You would also own the phone outright in this scenario, Apple told Ars. If you upgrade to a new device before the 24 months is up, you start a new 24-month cycle."

Bottom line is this folks. I am NOT eligible to upgrade my current Samsung S5 thru VZW and must pay Full Retail for this 6s Plus ether way. Therefore, the question is whether to pay for it outright and not have any contract at all with VZW - which is same date at upgrade one. This way, if I paid full pop and kept it for 2+ years I wouldn't be under any contracts and free to do what I please afterward.

However, if I choose to go the "Installment" route I believe there would be some form of contractual obligation and the only benefit to this would be upgrading after the first year or more-correct? This is one of MANY questions I have over this device, but this msg is long enough now which i apologize about my friends. (Is 16GB enough for a guy who doesn't listen to tons of music or anything like that?) Sorry- had to slip that in too. LOL.

Trying to figure out the best place to make this purchase since I believe Best Buy and VZW offer installment payments as well. Where do I go?

*Unfortunately, the iPhone is the only item that they don't offer the Govt employee discount on too which stinks!

Thanks for reading and looking forward to the replies you professionals are known for providing!

Semper Fidelis,

Gunny Out..............

Posted on Sep 12, 2015 3:32 PM

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Answer 1

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gail from maine

Level 9

52,575 points

Sep 12, 2015 4:50 PM in response to GunnyFitz

Greetings GunnyFitz,

I've attached a link for you that should help with some of your questions. For me, the upgrade program allows a person to get a new iPhone every year (and we know Apple introduces a new one every year), and also provides you with a never-ending AppleCare Plan. The benefits of the AppleCare Plan provide you with coverage for accidental damage which, for many people is in and of itself very important. According to the link, you are not obligated to stay with the carrier you start with. The phone is unlocked and does not have a carrier contract, so you are not tied to any one carrier.

However, the only place you can enroll in this plan is via an Apple Retail Store. So, Best Buy or Verizon are not an option in this case.

Seems like a pretty sweet deal to me. You would want to make sure that you are familiar with and using iCloud backup regularly, because when you get the new phone, you will want to set it up to start where the one you trade in left off. An iCloud backup will do that for you. You also will want to regularly import your photos to your Mac, and back up your Mac to Time Machine. This is the best protection for your entire photo collection. The iCloud backup will save your Camera Roll and restore it to a new device, but not your entire photo library.

So, here is the Upgrade Program link:

http://www.apple.com/shop/iphone/iphone-upgrade-program

And here is the AppleCare link which shows you the benefits of having perpetual AppleCare for your device:

http://www.apple.com/support/products/iphone.html

Cheers,

GB

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Answer 2

GunnyFitz Author

Level 1

10 points

Sep 12, 2015 4:57 PM in response to gail from maine

Now THAT is an outstanding response my friend! ---------THANK YOU!!

Thankfully, Ive been backing both MBPs and iMac up using time machine and an external drive I got from an Apple store too!

I did NOT know the only place to do all of this stuff was from the Apple Store only though, so great info right there Gail.

Hey, don't know if this is off limits on the forum, but where a bouts in Maine are you? My brother in law owns just about every other building in Portland and even a little Restaurant called The White Cap Grill (or Black Cap Grill) I cannot recall the exact one.

Nice city and great at Christmas time lighting the huge tree in the city center! 🙂

Thanks for your reply!

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Answer 3

Sep 13, 2015 12:59 PM in response to GunnyFitz

Here's a very helpful, but less official discussion: How does Apple's iPhone Upgrade Program Work?

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Answer 4

Sep 12, 2015 9:21 PM in response to GunnyFitz

You are most welcome! 🙂 I'm a little over an hour north of Portland just across the Kennebec River from Colby College. I grew up in California, but we came here about 25 years ago. We love to go down to Portland (the only real city in Maine).... 😁 And I agree with you - it is a wonderful place to be at Christmastime! Doing some Christmas shopping in the Old Port really gets you in the spirit!

After re-reading your post, the whole spiel about the iCloud backup is kind of moot, unless your wife is planning on moving up from her iPhone 4s....(sorry about that...)

Glad the info was helpful, and if you get a new 6s, hope you enjoy it!

Best of luck Gunny!

GB

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Answer 5

GunnyFitz Author

Level 1

10 points

Sep 13, 2015 1:07 PM in response to GunnyFitz

Ok Friends-

I have used the links you folks sent me and gone thru the entire Pre-Order process to see where things are. This is what I found.

- To use their program and make a full retail purchase I obviously must add Applecare to it (which is fine by me!)

- I have attempted EVERY choice possible to reserve the color and model I seek, but not one store in Virginia, DC, or Maryland has it available!

- The phone cannot be ordered thru Apple Retail Store and picked up at a local store, or shipped to me at home (ONLY STORE PICK UP!)

- Apple has their own "Recycle" type buy back program called Brightstar, which stated it would pay me $170 for my Samsung S5. They mail one an Apple Gift Card for this amount which takes approx 14 days and obviously wouldn't be present in time to use toward purchase (that stinks)

- Therefore, I guess I just have to wait until they become available at Apple Stores after all the Pre-Orders are fulfilled. Oh well.

Many thanks for your help as always folks. This forum is without a doubt extremely helpful and once I make the move from the Android world all the way over to Apple - I will surely remain engaged here with you all for help and education as I have many times before!

Semper Fi,

Gunny

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Answer 6

Sep 13, 2015 1:16 PM in response to GunnyFitz

Bummer!!! 😟 Looks like you are going to have to stand fast, Marine! But, never fear, we will still be here when you get your new device!

Best of luck,

GB

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Answer 7

GunnyFitz Author

Level 1

10 points

Sep 14, 2015 11:11 AM in response to gail from maine

***I just wrote this in the section on Reserving An iPhone and figured why not paste it into my own thread here as well since it more or less contains some of the same material which may assist someone out there on this entire topic. I hope this is permissible Mods? That thread is here:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7213386

Hello All-

Hope no one minds me jumping in on this discussion with some questions and examples of what I have faced during this whole "iPhone 6s Plus" Pre-Order situation that has been going on this past week? I have tried MANY times to place an "In Store" pickup using the link Gail provided everyone, and others here have used to reserve theirs. Like the OP, I should have done this from the very minute this offer was announced because now it appears that every option has been sold out in local stores, and I cannot find the model I seek anywhere!

Changing gears a minute! Anyone here a Verizon Wireless customer who is seeking to obtain one of these new iPhones?

Well, if so (or FYI for those from other carriers) VZW has their very own In House / Installment Payment Purchase type plan too. They do the same thing Apple does for those who are forced to pay full retail for this phone for whatever reason they are involved in. VZW calls it Verizon Edge or something like that. I am going to try and attach an overall summary of both VZW and Apple here so that you can see what I mean.

Since I am NOT eligible to upgrade my device at this time I am stuck with the full retail purchase. That is why the installment payment option is the only thing I can do (Unless I wish to drop $800+ right away and buy it outright-NOT) So when i spoke to VZW last night using their Chat feature, the Rep stated that since I have not fulfilled the contract yet, I can surely upgrade to new iPhone paying retail BUT that I must give back my present device (Samsung Galaxy S5) to them if I choose to do the installment plan! HOW NUTS IS THAT? If I pay full pop out of pocket right then, I get to keep the S5. If doing it thru Apple themselves, they could care less what i do with the S5 since they won't take it in as part of their iPhone Upgrade Program (anyone have an old iPhone i can use-lol) But they also have a recycle buyer who will offer me $170 for it, like VZW does too.

Therefore, since it seems that any Pre-Order of the model I seek is out of the question, I guess I just stick it out until the stores themselves start filling up with these devices (Anyone know when that is anticipated btw?) IMHO- the better choice here is going the Apple route overall and forget about VZW , thus just riding out my contract using a new iPhone I paid retail for, and not renew my contract when time is up! Also, with Apples Upgrade program I can also trade the 6s Plus back to them should the next model (whatever they decide to call it iPhone 7 etc) which is what they actually want all of us customers to do- since keeping it to the 2 year mark ends up costing you more than if you paid the full retail price in cash!

Thanks for allowing me into your thread on all this and i sincerely congratulate you folks who truly scored your Pre-Orders and have dates and times all set for you to walk to the head of the line and grab the hottest new iPhone ever made! I mean, thats truly what it is right? 🙂

Gunny

Now lets see if i can attach / insert these cost breakdown screenshots I spoke of earlier and perhaps a VZW customer will see it and it will end up helping them make a choice which route to go, ,as it did myself. Obviously, VZW does NOT offer Applecare so I simply added their highest coverage for insurance type purposes. I assume Applecare is better right?

**Sorry- Grand Total was cut off on VZW Breakdown below, but one could easily do the math with numbers at bottom (Subtotal, etc)

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Answer 8

GunnyFitz Author

Level 1

10 points

Oct 9, 2015 7:13 PM in response to GunnyFitz

Hello , Me Again With More Questions

Wondering if anyone has gone thru and purchased the new iPhone via the Upgrade Program yet?

I have gone to both Apple and Verizon and have spoken with them both about financing it thru them.

I still cannot figure out which one of them is the better deal to go with? To me it seems as if Verizon has a less pricey plan and their Ascurion insurance covers more than Apple care - such as loss, theft, water damage etc. I'm still curious who out there has done it either way and can help a fellow member out?

Thanks and enjoy your Columbus Day weekend! 😉

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