Verizon Set to Alter their Upgrade Policy

[Droid_3.0]

Uhhh Do you guys think that best buy will have the thunder bolt before the 16th ?

 

[jkhonea]

Uhhh Do you guys think that best buy will have the thunder bolt before the 16th ?

You'd probably have better luck getting a winning lottery ticket. ROFL

 

[Gritwater]

I guess Verizon is starting a DISBELIEF PROJECT! This seems more backwards progress, than forward!

Sent from my Droid using DroidForums App

Quite the opposite actually... like weaning a drug addict off of something, they think it's 'bad' and hate it but after they have their ****e together years later they are glad they did it... Do you know how few people actually make it through a two-year contract with a phone, so they are essentially tied to a carrier until they decide to eat the ETFs.

Eliminating subsidies is also better for consumers because it forces the carriers to actually provide SERVICE (good service) because when people are locked into contracts and are free to go elsewhere the companies have to 'worry' about keeping their subscribers happy to keep them from leaving. Again look at the rest of the world where this is the norm. Users in those countries report FAR BETTER service and are much happier with their carriers. Not to mention it's actually cheaper in the long run for the end-users (customers). Services in other countries are much cheaper because 1) companies don't have to recuperate the loss of the hardware subsidies and 2) increased 'competition' because customers are contractually bound.

Your message on economics is falling on deaf ears for the most part (I hear ya though)

All people on here wanna hear is ''give me a seemingly cheap phone now''

And I lol at all the 'demands' for non refurbed phones. Lol. So many are naive to successful business models

Sent from my Droid 2 while driving. Thankyou Tapatalk

 

[Droid_3.0]

T_T Thanks for the hope Crush Jk

 

[kodiak799]

Now something that no one here that I have seen or on Android Central have said is how this is worded. Look at it again.. "Begining Jan 16th customers will be eliginble for promotional pricing as well as special offers that we make available." Then it goes to say that the other two programs are being retired. So.. seeing as I am one of those that was looking for the the INC HD back in November I tend to speculate.. Does this mean that they WILL offer something else?? Only time will tell.. Just wanted to throw that out there.. Anyone else reading that like I am or am I just feeding the rumor mills of the good ol forum?

Good points....If I'm reading it right, it sounds like after your next upgrade/contract end date that NE2 goes away and everyone is basically on a 1-yr plan. So people will upgrade every 12mo with a contract extension, but perhaps VZW sometimes offers special deal (likely to manage inventory).

But the Jan 16th date is odd, no? That would be around the time the Thunderbolt is expected to hit.

Simple guess - it's become too hard for VZW to manage inventories/forecast sales between annual contracts, NE2 and 2yrs with annual upgrades. They've probably gotten hosed on some obsolete inventory given the pace of tech.

Between people sitting on upgrades and demanding early upgrades, it has to be a bear to manage. That's the beautiful thing about the IPhone - most of its users upgrade annually like clockwork. Plus, Apple takes a large amount of the inventory risk pushing most of the units in its own stores.

 

[pc747]

an update to this story posted by droid-life.com

More Details on Verizon’s New Upgrade Policy


On 01.04.11, In Breaking, News, by Kellex

Share11​

​

Just over an hour ago, some depressing news hit the interwebs concerning Verizon’s new upgrade policy that will go into affect on January 16th and we’ve now received even deeper details. This isn’t going to make anyone any happier, but as always, we want you to know as much as possible so that you can make the best decision come upgrade time on your current contract.
5 things to know:

1. All customers who activate / upgrade on a qualifying plan prior to January 16th, 2011 are enrolled in NE2 (New Every 2) and eligible to use the NE2 discount for up to six months from the date they become eligible.
2. Any customer who uses an NE2 credit or Annual Upgrade after January 16, 2011 will no longer be eligible for either program. On March 6, 2011, VZW systems will be updated to reflect this.
3. All customers who exercise the NE2 or Annual Upgrade option on or after January 16th will receive a letter notifying them that it was their last NE2 or Annual Upgrade.
4. Business customers continue to receive either the two-year corporate matrix tiered device pricing or two-year retail device pricing per contract.
5. Customers will now be eligible for promotional pricing after 20 months on a 2-year contract and 10 months on a 1-year contract.
​

We are also hearing that the $100 credit that was included in the current NE2 deal will no longer be provided. It looks like promotional pricing is all you will get when eligible for an upgrade. We should also point out that more and more phones are offered for free these days, but still.
Cheers D and money!

 

[Stelv]

Question: I just switched to the 59.99/month calling plan. Am I still eligible to upgrade every year, does anyone know? When I first got my droid I got it with a 2 year contract, but I just recently upped my contract to the 59.99 and they said I now eligible every year because I have a calling plan that is higher than 39.99/month, is that still correct?

 

[pc747]

Threads are now merged as one. Let us continue the discussion in this one thread.

 

[Blackhawk55]

Jan 16th is indeed an odd date! My annual upgrade kicks in Jan 21st!!! :icon_evil:

And the heck of it is VZW mangled my deal. I got my Droid on release day (11/6/09) so I should have been eligible 11/6/10. However, when I bought my Droid the VZW rep said she could "save me money" on my plan and lowered it $10. So when I inquired on my upgrade a couple months ago I was informed that she had dropped my plan below the annual upgrade plan eligibility level so I was no longer eligible! Eeyow! I screamed bloody murder and the best I could do was have them offer me 1/21/11! Now I see that might be five days after the cutoff? Can they be that evil or can fate be that cruel? Hopefully, things will work out for the Thunderbolt release if I choose to go that route.

 

[???]

im going to call bs, my girl has been wanting a droid pro to replace her blackberry. so we were at verzion in the mall and asked if we could upgrade early. the sales guy pulled up the account and said no. and shes well over 13months into her contract.

 

[KZIWarrior]

I guess Verizon is starting a DISBELIEF PROJECT! This seems more backwards progress, than forward!

Sent from my Droid using DroidForums App

Quite the opposite actually... like weaning a drug addict off of something, they think it's 'bad' and hate it but after they have their ****e together years later they are glad they did it... Do you know how few people actually make it through a two-year contract with a phone, so they are essentially tied to a carrier until they decide to eat the ETFs.

Eliminating subsidies is also better for consumers because it forces the carriers to actually provide SERVICE (good service) because when people are locked into contracts and are free to go elsewhere the companies have to 'worry' about keeping their subscribers happy to keep them from leaving. Again look at the rest of the world where this is the norm. Users in those countries report FAR BETTER service and are much happier with their carriers. Not to mention it's actually cheaper in the long run for the end-users (customers). Services in other countries are much cheaper because 1) companies don't have to recuperate the loss of the hardware subsidies and 2) increased 'competition' because customers are contractually bound.

Your message on economics is falling on deaf ears for the most part (I hear ya though)

All people on here wanna hear is ''give me a seemingly cheap phone now''

And I lol at all the 'demands' for non refurbed phones. Lol. So many are naive to successful business models

Sent from my Droid 2 while driving. Thankyou Tapatalk

Lol, so I've noticed. Glad to someone gets it... People need to realize that these BS policies of subsidies and contracts are why our phones (here in the US) are so far behind other counties... That's one reason Nokia has all but abandoned the US market and they have some great phones. It's also why there are so few models for us to choose from compared to other countries. Go to any cell carrier in Europe or Asia and there are DOZENS if not hundreds of the newest, latest and greatest phones every few months whereas here in the US we get what maybe a handful of mediocre phones that have been stripped down so the manufacturer can squeeze out what little profit they can and the carriers don't have to worry about supporting multiple devices.... again, get rid of subsidized phones and within 2 two years the whole of cell service in the US will change dramatically for the better.

 

[Blackhawk55]

im going to call bs, my girl has been wanting a droid pro to replace her blackberry. so we were at verzion in the mall and asked if we could upgrade early. the sales guy pulled up the account and said no. and shes well over 13months into her contract.

There are documented rules for the upgrade program. So much ($59.99) per month, auto-pay, good history, etc. I don't have them with me but not every VZW customer is eligible.

 

[dankarlinski]

doesnt doing this violate contract? so, couldnt people theoretically leave verizon because of this and not pay the ETF?

 

[Martin030908]

So those of us past the 13 months in our 24 month contract (but not 20 months in) can still use the Annual upgrade this last time correct?

Catch is, to use it they're gonna have me sign another 2 yr contract, no?
No way I'm doing that with this new policy. So basically I am stuck with my D1 til I've run the course of my two year contract? ... or they let me resign with a 1yr instead of 2 with my Annual upgrade (I'll gladly pay the extra 70 bucks if that's the case)

VZW needs to offer 2 yr product warranties if they're going to be doing this... a 1 yr warranty for a device that has to last 2 years doesn't add up, and no I don't mean the extended warranty.... that's just another charge they're extorting.

 

[Stelv]

I think this got lost in the thread merge....Question: I just switched to the 59.99/month calling plan. Am I still eligible to upgrade every year, does anyone know? When I first got my droid I got it with a 2 year contract, but I just recently upped my contract to the 59.99 and they said I now eligible every year because I have a calling plan that is higher than 39.99/month, is that still correct?