Is tere such a thing as an iphone deal?

May 6, 2008 6:47 AM

Is there such a thing as a Iphone deal? I need tips!

Any ideas? I really want one and I have been looking around and I *hear* of deals but I have yet to see one. Any hints?

posted by femmme to technology (8 comments total)

There are occasional refurbs available from both Apple and AT&T which knock a hundred or two off of the price… may be better to wait for the rumored next-gen iPhone, should be a matter of weeks.
posted by mhz at 7:04 AM on May 6

You didn't mention where you are- if you're in the US, they're going to get subsidized soon, if you sign up for a two-year contract.
posted by Dormant Gorilla at 7:05 AM on May 6

A correction to Dormant Gorilla's statement: They might get subsidized soon, if unverified rumors are correct. It sounds plausible, but if I had a dollar for every time someone assumed an Apple rumor was true and got disappointed when it wasn't, I could buy an iPhone.
posted by Tomorrowful at 7:30 AM on May 6

continuing on mhz's comment, keep an eye on Apple's refurb page in their online store. (store.apple.com, lower left of the page they have links to refurb pages)

If you see an iPhone pop up, pounce (it won't stay there long)

Another option is to cruise your local Apple Store and check for refurbs there.

You'd have to be lucky and fast.

The rumor mill thinks that a new model will be released in June when the SDK is formally released at the WWDC...if that is the case, you could pick up a first run model cheaper.

So maybe start squirreling $2 a day into your savings account until June...if they release a new model, Win! if not, you've saved up a good percentage of the purchase price.
posted by device55 at 7:39 AM on May 6

Huh sorry, I thought that one had been confirmed. Didn't mean to spread misinformation. And hope it's true.
posted by Dormant Gorilla at 9:34 AM on May 6

Yes, AT&T was selling refurbs (not the same as Apple refurbs) for $250. Still had the same 1 year warranty, but was AT&T packaged.

I bought one and it looked new, except for a small scratch on the back.
posted by wongcorgi at 10:42 AM on May 6

Depending on where you live, paying $500 on eBay could be a great deal in terms of Total Cost of Ownership.
posted by blue_beetle at 3:03 PM on May 6

I got mine from yourfreeiphone.com - no lie, although it was a pain in the ass and I don't necessarily recommend it unless you're a glutton for punishment.

If you don't have an AT&T contract (yet?), you can also get a free or cheap expensive phone by buying it and your contract through Amazon. You can then activate your iPhone through that contract and sell the Amazon phone on eBay or the like. iPhones aren't subsidized, but you can still get money for signing a contract by doing that, and it helps cut costs, sometimes by quite a bit if you get the right phone.

(If you do that, make sure you don't get a phone with a data plan, though, and that you get the number of minutes that you'll be ultimately planning on getting or less. You are allowed to upgrade your plan - adding an iPhone plan counts - but they'll charge you money for downgrading.)
posted by streetdreams at 3:46 PM on May 6