vB Easy Archive - Blackberry Upgrade Advice for an Amateur

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Blackberry Upgrade Advice for an Amateur
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Posted by: hms2010

Hello all. Recently I have wanted to upgrade my phone. Currently, my mother and I have a 450 minute plan (FAN) with two lines (we share 450 minutes). On my line, I have the grandfathered Mediamax200 for 20 bucks. After a 15% discount, I am paying $60 for both lines.

I want to upgrade to a blackberry for both my mother's and my line. This will mean at least 35 dollars for the BIS Personal and 200 messages on both lines. 70+50=120. After my 15% discount, the monthly total will come out to around 105 dollars after taxes. I have two blackberries that are VERY old. One is the 8700c and the other is the 72xx (not sure of exact model). My mother is saying that she will gladly take the 72xx and is telling me to take the 8700c. I feel that since we are making such drastic upgrades, we should at least get new phones. Right now we both have the LG CU500.

I went to the ATT store to get the BIS and messaging for both of us. I also half-heartedly expected for the Rep to give us an upgrade since we are basically doubling our monthly fee. Last year, although we were in the middle of our contract, the rep said he would give us upgrades to the LG CU500 for $50 each since I was getting the Mediamax200. When I walked into the store however and explained my situation, the salesman said that we weren't eligible for upgrades (which I already knew). When I pressed further about how much we were increasing our monthly fee and how last year an other salesman upgraded us in the middle of our contract, he said that he would have gladly upgraded us but the company was cracking down on such upgrades. He said that to get an upgrade now, we had to purchase some accessories which were like 100 bucks. I am in medical school, and 100 bucks a month is already suicide for me. The same accessories I could find at Costco for like 20 bucks.

How do you guys suggest I go about getting upgrades? I know a lot of you switch phones FREQUENTLY to say the least, and I want to know your "secret." I don't really have time to constantly buy and sell phones because of med school. Also, don't be afraid to tell me that I'm wrong in expecting an upgrade. It's just that last year I got one in the midst of an ongoing contract, and I am expecting the same. Is this salesman lying or is the company really cracking down? I really don't know. PLEASE HELP. Thanks!

Posted by: hms2010

Could someone help me please? Thanks

Posted by: briareus

There's not really a secret in my case. at&t rakes in $250/month for my two lines.

A one-time $100 accessories purchase doesn't seem like much considering the break you would get on the devices.

Posted by: vk2000owner

Try another corporate store. I was able to haggle and get my Blackjack free the day after it came out (this was almost 2 years ago).