Upgrade prices

K-M · 18-01-2005, 12:50

Hi

I am looking to upgrade my phone (6600 on vodafone contract) and was wandering how in general do the networks come up with the prices for a handset upgrade. from what I have seen, they range from comparing roughly with the cost of the handset with a new contract to three times as much.

I know the cost of an upgrade depends on current tariff/monthly bills but why do the netwroks offer so good prices on new contracts but make existing customers pay so much more? At the end of the day, by upgrading handsets you automatically go into a new 12 month contract (same as if its a new contract) and instead of gaining a new customer, they stop an existing (good credit) customer from leaving.

lalaland · 18-01-2005, 13:29

If you are a decent enough customer, ie one that spends a bit of money with a network and doesn't pay late etc. (don't have to spend lots, just be a decent customer) then you could threaten to leave and they normally drop the prices of the handsets, chuck in a few extras and sometimes give you a free handset.

It's an old trick, but it often works.

Try calling your service provider and tell them that you've seen <rival company> offer x amount of minutes for x amount less than you pay now and they offer a <phone you want> free with it too. Tell them that you would like that deal if your provider could match it and if not you will leave and go to them isntead.

They will try to fob you off with lesser deals, stick at them and eventually they will give you either what you want or pretty close (within reason).

My mate always gave in, year after year with Voda. I eventually convinced him to stand up to them and he managed to get the latest (at the time) Nokia for free, 12 months reduced line rental and almost double minutes for the 12 months.
To his credit, he's been with them for 3 years on the same number, never pays late etc. so he was a valued customer. He finally threatened to leave when I talked him in to it and got a lot more than his usual paid for upgrade and nothing special deals.

Try it.....

K-M · 18-01-2005, 13:38

I don't know if i would be considered a 'valuable customer' My average monthly bill is around £23 (offpeak 900 mins, 50 texts £17.50 and few pounds worth of calls here and there = £23) I have never paid late as im on a direct debit and theres awlays funds available.

I moved to vodafone last year from t-mobile and tried that trick with them threatening to leave, they offered me the crappest nokia for free and thats about it. to be fiar I only gave them around£15 a month though.

If i try to get voda to agree to a free/cheaper handset price, has anyone/are voda likely to agree to add some xnet mins to my tariff?? I am only taking about 20 - 30 mins a month as i only really use the phone offpeak and occasionally have to make a few calls during the day.

msande · 18-01-2005, 13:41

I phoned O2 to upgrade and they offered me the Samsung D500 for £130 and mentioned that I was in the £30-40 price band. I guess if I spent more money I would get the phone for cheaper.

lalaland · 18-01-2005, 13:55

K-M the secret is to try and not be fobbed off.

They will sometimes say "you are on this plan, we can only go this far" and try to get you to move up a plan, but don't fall for it. They are playing you at your own game.

Three tried this recently with me and I managed to get an A1000 upgrade deal from them that was much better than they insisted they could offer. To get this I called back several times after the first three times I was told the same thing. On the fourth time, things started to change, so I took it from there.

It's a bit of luck, almost some sales technique (no I am not a salesman! yuk...) and polite cockiness. To sum it up, it's a gamble.

K-M · 18-01-2005, 14:16

lalaland, thanks for the advice. I just hope that i dont actually end up switching networks after threatening (in a polite way) to move.

But at the end of the day, all I want is a decent tariff and a damn good phone. If voda dont offer it to me than i shall be forced to move on. Just the inconvenice of switching networks is a bit of a pain.

I like the look of the nokia 3230 and will proabably wait for that to come out and then ask for an upgrade. anyone got any idea how much that will be????

18-01-2005, 12:50	#1
K-M Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: london Posts: 377	Upgrade prices Hi I am looking to upgrade my phone (6600 on vodafone contract) and was wandering how in general do the networks come up with the prices for a handset upgrade. from what I have seen, they range from comparing roughly with the cost of the handset with a new contract to three times as much. I know the cost of an upgrade depends on current tariff/monthly bills but why do the netwroks offer so good prices on new contracts but make existing customers pay so much more? At the end of the day, by upgrading handsets you automatically go into a new 12 month contract (same as if its a new contract) and instead of gaining a new customer, they stop an existing (good credit) customer from leaving.

18-01-2005, 13:29	#2
lalaland Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: UK Posts: 11,539	If you are a decent enough customer, ie one that spends a bit of money with a network and doesn't pay late etc. (don't have to spend lots, just be a decent customer) then you could threaten to leave and they normally drop the prices of the handsets, chuck in a few extras and sometimes give you a free handset. It's an old trick, but it often works. Try calling your service provider and tell them that you've seen <rival company> offer x amount of minutes for x amount less than you pay now and they offer a <phone you want> free with it too. Tell them that you would like that deal if your provider could match it and if not you will leave and go to them isntead. They will try to fob you off with lesser deals, stick at them and eventually they will give you either what you want or pretty close (within reason). My mate always gave in, year after year with Voda. I eventually convinced him to stand up to them and he managed to get the latest (at the time) Nokia for free, 12 months reduced line rental and almost double minutes for the 12 months. To his credit, he's been with them for 3 years on the same number, never pays late etc. so he was a valued customer. He finally threatened to leave when I talked him in to it and got a lot more than his usual paid for upgrade and nothing special deals. Try it.....

18-01-2005, 13:38	#3
K-M Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: london Posts: 377	I don't know if i would be considered a 'valuable customer' My average monthly bill is around £23 (offpeak 900 mins, 50 texts £17.50 and few pounds worth of calls here and there = £23) I have never paid late as im on a direct debit and theres awlays funds available. I moved to vodafone last year from t-mobile and tried that trick with them threatening to leave, they offered me the crappest nokia for free and thats about it. to be fiar I only gave them around£15 a month though. If i try to get voda to agree to a free/cheaper handset price, has anyone/are voda likely to agree to add some xnet mins to my tariff?? I am only taking about 20 - 30 mins a month as i only really use the phone offpeak and occasionally have to make a few calls during the day.

18-01-2005, 13:41	#4
msande Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Posts: 1,366	I phoned O2 to upgrade and they offered me the Samsung D500 for £130 and mentioned that I was in the £30-40 price band. I guess if I spent more money I would get the phone for cheaper.

18-01-2005, 13:55	#5
lalaland Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: UK Posts: 11,539	K-M the secret is to try and not be fobbed off. They will sometimes say "you are on this plan, we can only go this far" and try to get you to move up a plan, but don't fall for it. They are playing you at your own game. Three tried this recently with me and I managed to get an A1000 upgrade deal from them that was much better than they insisted they could offer. To get this I called back several times after the first three times I was told the same thing. On the fourth time, things started to change, so I took it from there. It's a bit of luck, almost some sales technique (no I am not a salesman! yuk...) and polite cockiness. To sum it up, it's a gamble.

18-01-2005, 14:16	#6
K-M Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: london Posts: 377	lalaland, thanks for the advice. I just hope that i dont actually end up switching networks after threatening (in a polite way) to move. But at the end of the day, all I want is a decent tariff and a damn good phone. If voda dont offer it to me than i shall be forced to move on. Just the inconvenice of switching networks is a bit of a pain. I like the look of the nokia 3230 and will proabably wait for that to come out and then ask for an upgrade. anyone got any idea how much that will be????

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Upgrade prices