Radio Shack slashes iPhone prices by $50, offering iPhone 4 for $25 with 3GS trade-in

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Comments

  • Reply 41 of 79
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sippincider View Post


    You were extremely lucky.



    From my experience, the average cell phone transaction at a Radio Shack takes the entire staff at least an hour. This includes multiple help calls to support and other stores.



    Radio Shack is in NO position to be boosting their wireless awareness, they can't handle the business they have. A lot of people are going to be leaving the stores disgusted and empty-handed.



    It takes me about 15-20 minutes or less to get someone in and out with ATT or T-Mobile baring anything unusual with their account. Verizon on the other hand is a nightmare, and I've seen it be up to 2 hours for a single customer.
  • Reply 42 of 79
    very frustrating at AT&T won't let me reup my contract till Feburary, when I assume the deal will be over.



    Oh well, if rumors are true, maybe i'll want to switch over to Verizon...
  • Reply 43 of 79
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by benice View Post


    * Subject to contract.



    Headlines like this and the $199 pricing Apple pushes mislead consumers.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post


    That's why they had to launch this promotion. They are not widely known to be an Apple reseller.



    This is far beyond an Apple only trade-in deal, they are accepting trade-ins for computers, TVs, mp3 players, cameras, etc. that can be used to buy any comparable Radio Shack item. Apple Insider is only telling the Apple side of the deal because this is an Apple news site.



    Radio Shack did not do this to tell people they are an Apple seller or trying to mislead Apple customers. Folks may want to actually look at the site and investigate before commenting.
  • Reply 44 of 79
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mobycat View Post


    Here I was thinking maybe it was time to upgrade my 3G. Until I saw the "gift card" part. I don't want a gift card, let alone one to Radio Shack. Sure, I could probably use it eventually, but my out of pocket cost didn't go down.



    I guess I'll stick with my 3G a while longer.



    I had the same reaction. bummer!
  • Reply 45 of 79
    welshdogwelshdog Posts: 1,897member
    My 3G went through the wash last Saturday. After baking it on top of my Time Capsule for a day and then putting it in a silica gel filled Tupperware it came back to life and functions perfectly. The screen however, now has a fascinating water defect on it that sort of looks like 3D water drops.



    I wonder what they will give me for it?
  • Reply 46 of 79
    Went to Radioshack and tried to get this deal. The sales people were clueless. They didn't have any iPhones in stock, and said they could order one to arrive in 3 days. They tried to place the order, but couldn't get the advertised discount to work on their register. The disaster part is that they deactivated our iPhone sim card, so we ended up leaving the store with a dead iPhone 3G and not even an iPhone 4 on order! Called ATT and they say we have to go to an ATT store to get another SIM card for the 3G, because the old one can't be reactivated. What a mess!!!
  • Reply 47 of 79
    bagmanbagman Posts: 349member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by WelshDog View Post


    My 3G went through the wash last Saturday. After baking it on top of my Time Capsule for a day and then putting it in a silica gel filled Tupperware it came back to life and functions perfectly. The screen however, now has a fascinating water defect on it that sort of looks like 3D water drops.



    I wonder what they will give me for it?



    You can sell in on Ebay. Folks are getting upwards of $200 for 3G phones with defects (more for phones in good condition, with no cracks or missing features (sound, etc). I am amazed, but you can get a better deal by selling it this way, which will pay for the upgrade to iP4.



    I sold a 3G 8gb last summer for $260, and a 3GS 16gb, white, for $360 on ebay (both were not damaged, but did notice all the ones that were advertised for sale with minor and major problems (even water damage), which didn't seem to deter folks from buying them. Just be honest about defects, so you won't get it sent back to you for a refund.
  • Reply 48 of 79
    welshdogwelshdog Posts: 1,897member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bagman View Post


    You can sell in on Ebay. Folks are getting upwards of $200 for 3G phones with defects (more for phones in good condition, with no cracks or missing features (sound, etc). I am amazed, but you can get a better deal by selling it this way, which will pay for the upgrade to iP4.



    I sold a 3G 8gb last summer for $260, and a 3GS 16gb, white, for $360 on ebay (both were not damaged, but did notice all the ones that were advertised for sale with minor and major problems (even water damage), which didn't seem to deter folks from buying them. Just be honest about defects, so you won't get it sent back to you for a refund.



    Thanks for the tip, but I searched water damaged iPhones on Ebay and they are not getting good prices. If I can find a Radio Shack has them in stock and knows what they are doing I'll consider giving them a try.
  • Reply 49 of 79
    benicebenice Posts: 382member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cameronj View Post


    Apple would be punished because it would be forced to *warn* customers of its product about the prices charged by another, unrelated company. Just who do you think would be punished when you warn a buyer about that?



    Just because you think having a contract makes it different doesn't make it so. That's an arbitrary line. Cars come with long term costs that, while not fixed, are extremely predictable over a sample. Light bulbs, just the same. Government getting involved in the marketing of products is a VERY bad idea. Or did you not think that's what this was?



    Consumers are smart enough to figure out what they have to pay for things. Thankfully, that's why none of these complaints resonate outside the world of hand-wringing forum posters.



    I doubt many of us here are the hand-wringing types at all. But these complaints are real for many people. For them, these issues do resonate outside of forums and that's why consumer protection laws already in place define what is fair.



    These things don't just benefit consumers who find it difficult to understand contracts, but also people like us who benefit from having an Apple warranty that is prepared within the rules designed to support the interests of ALL consumers.
  • Reply 50 of 79
    Despite all the previous negative posts about the Radio Shack trade in, I can report that at least in the North Dallas area it works and works well.



    I first went to my nearest RS location where I had traded in my 16G 3G for a 16G IP4 back in June. The manager told me that this go around, they were not getting any iphones as their store simply did not generate adequate traffic for the product. He was very polite and directed me to another store only a couple of miles away which he knew still had product.



    I walked into that store, clean, well organized and nothing distasteful in the least. I had decided that I would make this an upgrade to both our iphones, by handing down my 16G IP4 to my spouse who was running a 16G 3GS and getting me a 32G IP4. I did ask about 16G IP4 availability and was not surprised that they had sold their last one yesterday. He told me that they only get shipments on Fridays (which I already knew). Fortunately they still had 4 32G IP4s in stock so I was in business. He checked my 16G 3GS and confirmed I would get the $125 trade-in value. From the time I walked into the store until I walked out with my 32G IP4 was less than 30 minutes (granted this was Sunday morning and I was the only customer at the time).



    The salesperson was knowledgeable of the entire process and while I have no doubt that there are stores without a clue, there are ones that really know how this is supposed to work and make it happen.



    So the bottom-line including tax was $144 ($299 for 32G IP4 minus $50 RS sale minus $125 trade-in Plus tax). No hassling with Craigslist or ebay.



    All I had to do once home was to restore my spouse's iPhone backup to my 16G IP4 and the backup from my 16G IP4 to the new 32G IP4 and swap SIMs. Simple, painless.



    My advice to anyone thinking of doing the trade in is to set expectations. If you are expecting the Apple store experience, you may be disappointed but having dealt with AT&T on 3 other iPhone transaction, I can say that my experience at RS is on par to slightly better. If you are trading in you already know a lot about the iPhone so the handholding you get at the Apple store is probably not necessary anyway.



    david
  • Reply 51 of 79
  • Reply 52 of 79
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bagman View Post


    You can sell in on Ebay. Folks are getting upwards of $200 for 3G phones with defects (more for phones in good condition, with no cracks or missing features (sound, etc). I am amazed, but you can get a better deal by selling it this way, which will pay for the upgrade to iP4.



    I sold a 3G 8gb last summer for $260, and a 3GS 16gb, white, for $360 on ebay (both were not damaged, but did notice all the ones that were advertised for sale with minor and major problems (even water damage), which didn't seem to deter folks from buying them. Just be honest about defects, so you won't get it sent back to you for a refund.



    You can take a broken phone to the Apple Store and get a new refurbished one for $199 (at least, that's the price for an iPhone 4). My phone fell in the pool and after drying it out, it works except for the camera. They told me I could swap it for that price (which was less than a repair would have cost me). That may be why people are buying defective phones.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by eightzero View Post


    Saw this note this morning and decided to go check it out. Went to a brick and mortar Radio Shack, and asked them about it. I have an upgrade eligible 8gb iPhone 3G. Asked them if they could do a upgrade to iPhone 4 16gb. Sales rep said they didn't have any 16gb, and "final price" on the 32gb iPhone 4 would be $249. She explained all iPhones come from a central warehouse, and since they didn't have any, no other radio shack stores in the area would have them.



    She cited the $249 as the final price with trade in of my 3G. It whole thng seemed to take her by surprise. I didn't want to spend $249 so I left. In retrospect, I probably should have pressed her a bit more on the trade in, as I think she was just telling what showed up on her screen, and hadn't done any trade in deals yet.



    More reason why I detest radio shack. Asshats got me into one of their stores with essentially a bait and switch. Place always remind me of pawn shops.



    Anyone here do one of these deals? I'll be the transaction start to finish takes nearly an hour; the sales reps generally untrained.



    Check out amazingcelldeals.com. I bought our last 2 phones through them and was very pleased with the price and service.
  • Reply 53 of 79
    enohpienohpi Posts: 103member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dtidmore View Post


    Despite all the previous negative posts about the Radio Shack trade in, I can report that at least in the North Dallas area it works and works well.

    david







    I find that the Radio Shack stores around here vary, depending on some different factors. Some are little more than kiosks, some have vast selections of cool stuff. There is also everything in between.



    It seems to vary based mostly on demographics, at least around here. The big fancy areas have big fancy stores. The "urban" areas sometimes have crappy stores.



    There are several that are nothing short of excellent. From what I have seen, if you go to one which is near a bunch of fancy downtown office buildings, or one at the rich folk's mall, the service will be excellent. If you go to one in an average area, it varies.
  • Reply 54 of 79
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by grandinetti View Post


    Went to Radioshack and tried to get this deal. The sales people were clueless. They didn't have any iPhones in stock, and said they could order one to arrive in 3 days. They tried to place the order, but couldn't get the advertised discount to work on their register. The disaster part is that they deactivated our iPhone sim card, so we ended up leaving the store with a dead iPhone 3G and not even an iPhone 4 on order! Called ATT and they say we have to go to an ATT store to get another SIM card for the 3G, because the old one can't be reactivated. What a mess!!!



    It might be okay in it's home base of Texas, but where I live Radio Shack has been famous for many years as being a crap store with little stock and over-the-moon prices. Their staff are renown for great stupidity and lack of knowledge of almost any topic to do with electronics.



    US residents might not be aware that Radio Shack as a brand store, has pretty much *failed* all over the world and is currently just a US company whereas not many years ago they operated in many other countries. For instance, it was one of the leading electronics outlets in Canada up until recently, and now it doesn't even exist up here anymore.



    Radio Shack is teetering on the edge of existence, and it fell off the cliff of relevance a long time ago.
  • Reply 55 of 79
    kibitzerkibitzer Posts: 1,114member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Prof. Peabody View Post


    It might be okay in it's home base of Texas, but where I live Radio Shack has been famous for many years as being a crap store with little stock and over-the-moon prices. Their staff are renown for great stupidity and lack of knowledge of almost any topic to do with electronics.



    US residents might not be aware that Radio Shack as a brand store, has pretty much *failed* all over the world and is currently just a US company whereas not many years ago they operated in many other countries. For instance, it was one of the leading electronics outlets in Canada up until recently, and now it doesn't even exist up here anymore.



    Radio Shack is teetering on the edge of existence, and it fell off the cliff of relevance a long time ago.



    Radio Shack occupies a certain niche in the community, though it's not a metro area leader in some of the more current product areas like smart phones. A week ago I needed a cable A/B switch, which you're not likely to find at most WalMarts, Targets or even Best Buys. They're very useful for those electronic odds and ends like cables and connectors. Unless you want to wait for your eBay or Amazon order, that's really convenient. Losing a Radio Shack in a place like Spencer, Iowa means a 35-mile drive to Mankato, Minnesota or Sioux Falls, South Dakota for electronic miscellany.
  • Reply 56 of 79
    bagmanbagman Posts: 349member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Kibitzer View Post


    Radio Shack occupies a certain niche in the community, though it's not a metro area leader in some of the more current product areas like smart phones. A week ago I needed a cable A/B switch, which you're not likely to find at most WalMarts, Targets or even Best Buys. They're very useful for those electronic odds and ends like cables and connectors. Unless you want to wait for your eBay or Amazon order, that's really convenient. Losing a Radio Shack in a place like Spencer, Iowa means a 35-mile drive to Mankato, Minnesota or Sioux Falls, South Dakota for electronic miscellany.



    You make a very good point, and probably the SOLE reason they still exist. Best Buy, Walmart, Target, Office Depot or OfficeMax, etc, just don't stock the odds and ends electronic stuff you may need, but, increasingly, you can find most everything at Home Depot or Lowe's these days, so Radio Shack may not be able to make it selling low margin items.



    You may recall (actually, I'm old enough to recall) when Radio Shack was the only way to get a catalog that had radio and hifi components and kits (similar to Heathkit, etc), so you could get things that the Sears catalog didn't carry, and no one else in town cared to stock. Most TV shops of the day were only interested in selling you TV's or console HiFi setups.



    Anyhow, I remember just recently that Radio Shack was the LAST retailer that I have ever known to finally switch to electronic cash registers - yes, they did all their sales on PAPER multi-copy receipts, which took sooooo long to do, even for a 99 cent transaction. I realized then that they were at least a decade or more behind the curve, and they never had the vision to convert themselves into a Best Buy or Circuit City (which is bust now).



    The future hands-down leader in the field is Fry's, and they will make Best Buy look ridiculous. They have EVERYTHING you can imagine - a true super-store (but in a good way), from computer hardware and software, phones, audio, car audio, music, appliances, office furniture, as well as the components you need to repair almost any type of electronic device. I never shop at Best Buy, unless I have a special need, because Fry's always has what I need, at better prices (no, I don't work for Fry's - they started in Silicon valley, and they are now in several major cities in the West, and I'm sure they plan on expanding - check out the store in Vegas sometime.)



    Anyhow, Radio Shack even toyed with changing their "image" by changing their name to The Shack - good luck with that. Hope they survive, but doubt it once Fry's gets to town across the US.
  • Reply 57 of 79
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    I don't usually do this, but a few years ago I wrote a post on my feelings about Radio Shack, past and future, and it seems to remain relevant, so here it is:



    OK, so I've been using Radio Shack since I was a kid. Sure, there are more fully stocked electronics places, but if you need a dipole switch or an LED or a DC connector or a cheap audio or video adapter on a Sunday night, where else are you gonna go? Having all that stuff from 9am-9pm, more or less 7 days a week, never more than a half mile away, has saved my gadget happy ass on more than one occasion.



    So I have a kind of fondness for the old girl, with their odd mix of down market A/V products and DIY gear. They always seemed to manage to hit this middle ground between hobbyists, enthusiasts, and bargain hunters, with the occasional genre busting wildcard, ala the venerable TRS 80 or any number of head scratching audio offerings (for instance, they started putting Lineaum ribbon tweeters into cheap bookshelf speakers for no apparent reason, other than someone in the company though it was cool and got to do it). And then there was the portable CD player that had the audio press in fits of rapture, but only if you ran it off the batteries. I have no idea. But then that's the wonder of the thing.



    But as far as I can make out, Radio Shack has entered a period (or has been in a period for a while) of complete cluelessness as to how to proceed. Like, falling apart before our eyes.



    I don't have any figures on this, but my guess is that the Radio Shack empire was built on a post-war golden age of tinkering and the first big wave of "Hi Fi" hobbyists. That was always the main part of the mix: parts and audio gear. Ok, batteries and cheap RF junk.



    I always had the feeling that the people running Radio Shack were sort of like that. Tinkerers at heart. Possibly a tad insane. So: a very eccentric product mix, with some stuff that only an engineer could love. Amazingly hit and miss managerial styles, franchise to franchise, as if, when you sign on, they give you a key to the front door and tell you to just wing it, as long as you can sell some shit. If that means piling stock in the middle of aisles and hiring spooky oddballs, so be it. Really, not another store like it, for better or worse.



    But nowadays when I walk into a Radio Shack I never know what store I'm going to enter. Seems like they feel like the old, low margin "I think I'll buy a cheap RF thing and a cheap PA thing and a cheap LCD thing and some wire and see what I can make" isn't cutting it anymore, so they're moving into Sharper Image lifestyle electronics n' gifts territory.



    Like, hideously overpriced, insanely over-packaged "robotics" sets. Or entire walls of their take on the little battery powered car craze of a few years ago, but with a whole line of "modding" parts for far too much money. Fucking ionizers. Fucking iPods. I'm sorry, Radio Shack cannot have iPods. It's like running into a big Sonoma Williams display at the corner liquor store. Just conceptually wrong.



    And, of course, cell phones, which sometimes seem like what's keeping the doors open.



    I think they've cleaned house and gotten rid of the weirdoes and are endeavoring to become some kind of proper, well lit, expensive toy store.



    And I think it's a shame. The Radio Shack of my youth was always a slightly scurrilous place, patronized by people who either didn't know any better or knew perfectly well.



    There are plenty of nice stores to buy nice things. Radio Shack, bravely, was a half-assed store to buy cobbled together things, in the company of the like minded. I'll miss it.
  • Reply 58 of 79
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by enohpI View Post


    I think that it is sad to see Apple stooping down to this level just to try to stay competitive. They should just wait out Android - it is poised to implode into a sea of fragmentation. There really is no reason to copy Android and be giving away iPhones for free.



    The vast majority of Android phones have been upped to at least 2.1 by now. There are a few stragglers that are still on 1.5/1.6 but mostly because of hardware limitations it seems.



    While there still is a spread of OS levels, the phones being released now all ship with 2.1 and the manufacturers are getting better at keeping up with Google.



    There is no "waiting out" Android. Apple could have had a chance to stop the Android rising when it first began by releasing the coveted Verizon iPhone, but it decided to "wait it out". Now look where that waiting got them.
  • Reply 59 of 79
    Just got back from getting my new iP4.



    I traded in my 3G and received the full $75 on top of the discounted phone. The time took a lot longer as I had to go to two Radio Shacks to seal the deal.



    The salesperson didn't verify if my 3G was fully functional. All he did was look at it, front and back and that was it. Like the other person said, they wanted the USB cable, the wall plug and of course the phone.



    Out the door price: $80.11.
  • Reply 60 of 79
    I followed up on the radio shack website to ck if I qualified for an upgrade(AT&T had already told me I did) and they said yes. Then I followed the links to upgrading w/ my current account and found that my 450 min /mo account was not listed and the current 900 min would cost $20 more than I pay now. Anyone else run into this problem?

    Mark
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