Buying an iPhone

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tictock81
Posts: 30
Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2018 6:54 am

Buying an iPhone

Post by tictock81 »

I want to buy an iPhone SE - what's the best way to get a bargain on one?

The price on Verizon (my carrier) and Costco online were essentially the same. Should I go in-store? Is there a website that offers better pricing? Or is it all standardized and the same price regardless of sales channel?
Normchad
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Joined: Thu Mar 03, 2011 6:20 am

Re: Buying an iPhone

Post by Normchad »

tictock81 wrote: Tue Jul 20, 2021 8:26 pm I want to buy an iPhone SE - what's the best way to get a bargain on one?

The price on Verizon (my carrier) and Costco online were essentially the same. Should I go in-store? Is there a website that offers better pricing? Or is it all standardized and the same price regardless of sales channel?
I think it’s all standardized, or very nearly so. I buy mine directly from Apple.

You might find a carrier though that would cut you some sort of deal on an SE for switching away from Verizon.
02nz
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Joined: Wed Feb 21, 2018 2:17 pm

Re: Buying an iPhone

Post by 02nz »

iPhone deals come and go. Search at slickdeals.net.

I usually just pay full price for the phone, because doing so to buy an unlocked phone and so that I can get a cheaper plan from any carrier (e.g., $15/mo on Mint Mobile) is usually far cheaper than getting a "deal" on the phone but being locked in for 2 years into an expensive contract. My guess is that an MVNO like Mint would save you enough compared to Verizon to buy a new iPhone SE every year.
marc in merrimack
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Joined: Tue Feb 20, 2007 9:15 am
Location: Massachusetts

Re: Buying an iPhone

Post by marc in merrimack »

Tracfone has been offering the iPhone SE (64GB) for $199. It’s locked to Tracfone for one year. A Verizon SIM is provided with the phone.
So change your service from Verizon (direct) to Tracfone and you’ll remain using the Verizon network. The cost of the phone is half the retail price and the cost of Verizon service through Tracfone will be much less than you’re paying directly to Verizon now.
RudyS
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Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2015 10:11 am

Re: Buying an iPhone

Post by RudyS »

Bought the SE about a year ago, as a second phone for DW, from Verizon, $399. They offered to make it free if i had an unlimited plan. That would have cost me considerably more than just paying for it and continuing to use my 2 GB plan with one additional line.
LLeaff
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Joined: Wed May 15, 2019 10:37 am

Re: Buying an iPhone

Post by LLeaff »

Visible wireless currently has $200 gift card offer if you're moving a phone number to them. The SE is priced at $384.

Visible works on the Verizon network

https://www.visible.com/deals/choose-your-own-gift-card
02nz
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Re: Buying an iPhone

Post by 02nz »

LLeaff wrote: Tue Jul 20, 2021 9:47 pm Visible wireless currently has $200 gift card offer if you're moving a phone number to them. The SE is priced at $384.

Visible works on the Verizon network

https://www.visible.com/deals/choose-your-own-gift-card
It's "up to" $200 depending on device. Only $50 for the SE.

On the plus side, I've done similar deals with Visible, and the phone was completely unlocked from the start, and promo was fulfilled quickly. Downside: Visible was sometimes unusable for me due to deprioritization.
hi_there
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Re: Buying an iPhone

Post by hi_there »

I have an iPhone SE that I bought through Verizon store, or whatever carrier we are using. Turns out the Apple online price would have been lower.
Caduceus
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Re: Buying an iPhone

Post by Caduceus »

You could get one on Ebay. I usually just take hand-me-downs from people who are upgrading, but none of my friends or family had a small Iphone SE 1, which I like because it fits more comfortably in my pocket, so I ended up getting a "Seller Refurbished" one on Ebay for $100. If you buy from Ebay sellers that sell thousands of these phones, you'll be fine (and you can return it anyway if it doesn't live up to your expectations).

It didn't look any different from a completely new one and it's worked well for more than a year now.
hudson
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Re: Buying an iPhone

Post by hudson »

tictock81 wrote: Tue Jul 20, 2021 8:26 pm I want to buy an iPhone SE - what's the best way to get a bargain on one?

The price on Verizon (my carrier) and Costco online were essentially the same. Should I go in-store? Is there a website that offers better pricing? Or is it all standardized and the same price regardless of sales channel?
I just checked the Apple website: $399 for a 64GB SE. 3% reward from an Apple credit card.
https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-iphone/iphone-se

Of course, it pays to shop around!
Carson
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Re: Buying an iPhone

Post by Carson »

Caduceus wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 5:30 am You could get one on Ebay. I usually just take hand-me-downs from people who are upgrading, but none of my friends or family had a small Iphone SE 1, which I like because it fits more comfortably in my pocket, so I ended up getting a "Seller Refurbished" one on Ebay for $100. If you buy from Ebay sellers that sell thousands of these phones, you'll be fine (and you can return it anyway if it doesn't live up to your expectations).

It didn't look any different from a completely new one and it's worked well for more than a year now.
Same here, except I bought my 12 mini phone refurbished from Gazelle this year. Everything went as expected, and even when I needed a new SIM for the 5 g, my carrier was super accommodating. The way the apple iOS transfers the data from old to new was pretty impressive.

You may be set on the SE, but there is a really helpful thread here on the 12 mini vs, SE comparison in case you have a few more :moneybag burning a hole in your pocket.
Tom_T
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Re: Buying an iPhone

Post by Tom_T »

swappa.com
golf101
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Re: Buying an iPhone

Post by golf101 »

When we bought my husbands SE a few months ago Target had a $50 gift card offer, so we took advantage of that.
carolinaman
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Joined: Wed Dec 28, 2011 8:56 am
Location: North Carolina

Re: Buying an iPhone

Post by carolinaman »

I replaced my iphone 6 last year with a 11 pro for $725 thru Costco. My carrier was Verizon and I did 2 year phone financing with them. Due to issues with Verizon service, I recently switched carriers to Tmobile. I did this at the Costco kiosk. Tmobile offered to pay my phone balance at Verizon for the switch, $593, and Costco gave me a gift card rebate for $300, plus I have a better plan (with only a 4 month commitment) with Tmobile at a lower cost. It was my dumb luck as I was not looking for a deal but just wanted to fix my lousy phone service.

Although the phone cost itself may not vary, you may find some specials deals like this if you meet their criteria. It is worth shopping around. The Costco kiosk is a good place to shop because they are not locked into one phone brand or one carrier.
retire2022
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Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2018 6:10 pm
Location: NYC

Re: Buying an iPhone

Post by retire2022 »

Op

I brought my Iphone SE2 last month for $149 from Walmart Straight talk

https://www.straighttalk.com/all-phones ... gb-prepaid

Att was offering it for the same

currently it is going for $199 at Walmart

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Straight-Tal ... /376572337
billfromct
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Re: Buying an iPhone

Post by billfromct »

Make sure you get it unlocked.

bill
theplayer11
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Re: Buying an iPhone

Post by theplayer11 »

$50 if switch to Cricket
Topic Author
tictock81
Posts: 30
Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2018 6:54 am

Re: Buying an iPhone

Post by tictock81 »

Follow-up: I think I'll buy a phone directly from Apple since prices are largely the same unless I change carrier. I don't want to change carrier right now. I've had some success buying refurb'd phones, but want to 'treat myself' to a new one this time.

thanks all
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