I thought I would never buy a new phone

Maybe you could get the $29.99 price if you placed an order for the bulk quantity like they do. But it is certainly not a "haves, and have nots" example.

And your example of the Iphone prices and quick sellout is a prime example of "sell it for what the market will bear". And they buy new phones every year. Nuts!

Love the phone and hardware as well. Fell in love with the stylus and never bought another phone without one again.

The "Wants" and the "I don't give a crap"s.... Some people want the new bleeding edge stuff for whatever reason. I'm way more pleased having them troubleshoot the bugs and issues and will happily wait until the bleeding edge has bled out and the thing two generations newer has been released.

I don't get upset about people - even large numbers of people - lining up to get the newest gadget or to attend the newest Star Wars movie. In almost all cases it is good marketing, not product quality, that stimulates that interest.

The emotional high of owning the newest iPhone will soon wear off, and many will experience remorse for spending $1000 for a device that is a millimeter thinner or has 16 GB more memory. Then Apple will develop a new advertising campaign to generate the necessary excitement to sell their next device for $1500.

Just like Blackberry ..... Greed is good? I couldn't believe that even Huawei passed Apple in global smartphone sales last summer. Granted, it was short lived but surely an indicator of what's ahead.

Consumers are beginning to see the differences between different smartphones. It's a slow process but hey, that's what basic propaganda does.

that much, but my 2015 Galaxy S4 (was 2 gen old but new out of the box) is having issues. I asked the rep and he said dang $29.99 is not bad, kinda ridiculous that a S7 is $576 full retail. I think eBay is reasonably a fair barometer, and it was never less than $309 new in box / Verizon. Also I am not an apple person but at $199 I'd take a i8.

I am amazed how everything is broken down to a monthly payment. Shame on me too. In order to get the $300 off, I had to make it monthly, there was not an option to pay in full. In some weird sense it is nice to not have the phone hang for something as simple as checking the outside temperature, or a stock price. I get a stipend too so it offsets, but my employer was smart enough to lower the stipend as the monthly costs were going down....

Weirdness--I had not heard of fast charging, so I said what the hey, I'll try a Anker 12V cig lighter adapter for $25. Didn't work on the S8. Returned and got a $39 Samsung kit which includes another AC fast charger, DC 12V fast charger, 2 USB C cables, one USB micro cable, and the wireless pad. Very gimicky for sure, but $39 isn't the end of the world, way better deal than the Anker $25....

I've seen good prices for "refurbished" phones. Anyone have experience with one of those?

I bought a refurbished LG Tracfone smartphone for $60. It was like new and does everything I need it to do including Android Lollipop, Garmin Viago, Garmin Smartphone Link, Android Auto with Google maps and navigation, Kia UVO and a few other apps. It is now a couple of years old and you can't install new Android versions on Tracfones, so I may replace it in another year or so to get a newer Android version. The main drawback is its onboard memory of 8GB. I have to go in every couple of months and clear out app data and cache. Otherwise I have had no problems with it. When I replace it, I will probably get another refurb and definitely do not plan to pay more than $100.

http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1899350-Moto-E4-VZW-ATT-TMO-42-Walmart-(in-store-only)

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Verizon-Motorola-E4-16GB-Prepaid-...

A warranty replacement is nothing more than a refurb, right?

Meaning, with Verizon, it's a courtesy that they send you a replacement phone in 2 days within 1 year. The warranty is in reality through the mfg?

If this is the case, yes, years ago, I got a replacement Droid X because the screen went bad, and the replacement lasted at least 3 years. But this is a mfg. refurb, not a seller refurb.

I think that if I can get a real $300 off (meaning the phone is from either Verizon or a Verizon authorized reseller, not eBay), then I am willing to pay the spread, $456 for a S8, vs. $310-$340 on eBay for a new in the box S7. Even my own account shows it at $576 to order.

If I cannot get a real $300+ off in the future, I would go eBay new in box (imho it's not going to be stolen, because the transaction is protected by PayPal). New 2 generation old phones are imho $250-$300. Just feel that an eBay refurb, anything could happen. Actually I did buy an S4 for $200 supposed to be new in box, and it was not, it was probably a refurb, dented etc.

The only reason I want a new phone is because they build in battery obsolescence. When the battery in my old Garmin GPS died I replaced it myself despite what Garmin had to say about it. Now that my Droid Turbo 2 is having issues with the battery I looked into how to replace it myself. Yeah...... Right. I'm not at all sure I want to get into the type of deconstruction needed to do it myself. My eyesight and hand/eye coordination are not at all what they used to be.

The phone market is crazy. The dang things are sooooo expensive. My phone still works but when it gets down to around 40% on the battery meter it will drop to zero within anywhere from 5 - 20 minutes. What a crock. I love the phone and have no desire to change devices but I'm sick of the rotten battery life. Of course anything else I buy will almost certainly have the same issues. It will likely work just fine until about a month or so before it's paid off and then start being a drag.

That is an excellent point. I also miss phones which would allow the end user to swap out the battery.

I also have a Motorola Moto Droid Turbo 2. I am still having good performance with my battery, but that can't last forever.

... I have a Samsung. Batteries easily replaced

Ah! but here is the catch you are not just buying a new phone think of it this way, you are buying a phone that works almost anywhere on earth, a Browser, a GPS that doesn't depend on quarterly updates, a spread sheet, a word processor, a sophisticated clock, a calendar with reminders, a video and photo camera that rivals many of today's DSLR and on and on and on

Where I live I found someone on Kijiji who will replace an iPhone etc battery for almost what I'd pay for a DIY.
Suggest you look at Kijiji where you live!
Just a thought!

There are numerous places that do battery replacements for phones and other devices. Cell Phone Repair or CPR is one, Batteries Plus is another.

the battery, I used to always get a spare when I got a new phone (had a corp phone through 2010). Funny thing is I never used the spares. imho, this business with unauthorized cables not working, phones slowing down due to battery, etc., this is a manufactured condition. First time I experienced it was on an iPad retina--after an iOS upgrade (forget which), suddenly, my long lightning cable didn't work anymore, and I had to buy one that was certified. I have my own opinion of that company, and it's not good, but let's be realistic, how much in your retirement do you own of that co's stock, indirectly? Could be 30k or more, do you really want them to go out of business?

On my S4, I started using it 3/15, and for whatever reason the eBay seller gave me a 2nd battery (new OE). Again, never used it, nothing wrong with the current one.

I'm a bit skeptical about this adaptive fast charging, but whatever...