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3rd Party Retailer Availability for Sprint Note 2 on 10/25 release date?

drexappeal

drexappeal

Extreme Android User
Okay, I'm starting this thread because I'm sure many of you are looking to upgrade through a 3rd party retailer, rather than directly through Sprint.

That said, I just called my local Best Buy to find out if they're taking pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy Note 2. The rep I spoke with sounded pretty darn optimistic that they'll have it on the release day, but in his words, they "don't have anything to take pre-orders with...yet."

BUT...called a 2nd store to find out if they're taking pre-orders and they said, "No, we're not." Then I asked, if they're going to have it on sale on the 10/25 release day and their answer was, "Yes, we are. It's going to be first come first serve."

Reason I'm starting this thread is to see if anybody else has tried calling any of the 3rd party retailers (Radio Shack, Walmart, etc.) to see if they'll also be selling on the 25th and also if they're taking pre-orders.

Has anybody else tried making calls to see if any of the 3rd party retailers are accepting pre-orders and/or confirming that they'll have the Note 2 on release day? Let's get more reports going on answers from Best Buy's and other 3rd party retailers across the nation.

The Spank Network sounds like they're doing it right!
 
:( i have to get mine directly from sprint!

so anyone hear SPANKY having any sales on the NOTE2.. please throw it up.
 
So best buy would only carry the contracts for the carriers that are releasing on the 25th? What about Verizon and T-Mo that haven't release a date yet? I'm dying over here waiting for news on Verizon. I'm ready to ditch this four inch phone for a beast :)

Sorry I'm not much help, I'm such a noob at this all.
 
Morpeeeenote said:
So best buy would only carry the contracts for the carriers that are releasing on the 25th? What about Verizon and T-Mo that haven't release a date yet? I'm dying over here waiting for news on Verizon. I'm ready to ditch this four inch phone for a beast :)

Sorry I'm not much help, I'm such a noob at this all.
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I only asked about Sprint because Sprint's the only one that announced a formal date (of the US providers).

If Verizon and T-Mo end up releasing on the same date, I can't see why 3rd party retailers wouldn't carry it...unless there's an exclusive to sell only through the provider for the first week or so.
 
drexappeal said:
I only asked about Sprint because Sprint's the only one that announced a formal date (of the US providers).

If Verizon and T-Mo end up releasing on the same date, I can't see why 3rd party retailers wouldn't carry it...unless there's an exclusive to sell only through the provider for the first week or so.
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I'm praying that's what happens. I'm considering going through a 3rd party retailer for the first time. It seems like so much less hassle :).
 
SoulSmilen said:
Why is it less hassle, please'Sir?

I've always thought it would be the other way around, and have never really even looked into it. Can you edumacate me, please? What are the benefits? Any cons?
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1) Usually much better deals from 3rd party than straight through provider
2) Price match no problem, if a competitor has cheaper price
3) At Best Buy, rewards points
4) No limitation of exchange within 30 days at Best Buy. Sprint limits to 1 exchange, from the last time I upgraded directly.
5) Best Buy has always allowed me to activate without even opening the box
6) when there are pre-orders, they call you when the phone is ready for pickup. No need to wait in line.

There are some Drawbacks
- No way to get activation fee waived, when it can be if done directly through Sprint.
- Best Buy charges tax for full price of the phone, not subsidized price (in CA and some other states)

Hope that explains a 'bit better.
 
How can going thru a 3rd party retailer be less hassle than going into a Sprint store? Every phone I bought took less than 15 min from start to finish. Also, if stores such as Best Buy aren't doing pre-orders then I still don't see how one place is better than another.

Unless you plan on waiting a couple of months for the price to drop I have a VERY strong feeling it's going to be $299. wherever you go for it on the 25th.
 
Third party retailers will, sometimes, have a little extra when it comes to buying phones from them. For Best Buy, there is the rewards points aspect and Radio Shack has deals where you get free accessories or $25 Google play cards, etc, from buying from them. The carriers generally won't do anything special since they're often the places most people will go to get their phones. This time around, I'm going to look at the third party retailers and see if I can get a little bonus for getting my Note 2 from them. It'll be a hot little seller however I'm hoping retailers around me will have some stock left over for this.
 
dan330 said:
black friday deals... heres to hoping
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I refuse to wait that long to get my Note 2 :D Though I'm certain that, at least, one retailer will pull some Black Friday sale which will make me curse the fact I bought mine on launch day.
 
ScandaLeX said:
How can going thru a 3rd party retailer be less hassle than going into a Sprint store? Every phone I bought took less than 15 min from start to finish. Also, if stores such as Best Buy aren't doing pre-orders then I still don't see how one place is better than another.

Unless you plan on waiting a couple of months for the price to drop I have a VERY strong feeling it's going to be $299. wherever you go for it on the 25th.
Click to expand...

I agree, for this phone, it's not likely that it'll be lower than $299 anywhere else.

But I will say that the Photon Q I got for my family member was $149 (instead of $199 through Sprint), plus there was a special Memorial Day sale that I got priced matched for $74.99. I was disappointed because I recently found out that the Silver Rewards return/exchange/price match window is 45 days (instead of the 60 that I have for other products), so I missed the boat on the $49.99 price match. It's back to 99.99 right now, but that's still better than Sprint's $199.99.

When I got the iPhone 4S the year prior, for the same family member, I got it price matched at $179.99 that was available at Radio Shack (or some other electronics place...can't remember which).

For the Photon 4G, I got a price match to $99 after the price dropped at Best Buy less than 30 days after the release.

Same for the Optimus S, which I got for $49 initially...but then it dropped to free the next day and they also added "buy back" to it, which was important because I got $200 back for that thing, farily quickly after.

Without a doubt, there's absolutely NO way Sprint would match any prices this easily. The amount of money I saved going through Best Buy, rather than directly through Sprint, is exponentially better than anything Sprint could ever offer directly.

The best deal I ever got from Sprint was prior to Dan Hesse coming on board and the customer service was awful...they literally LOST my phone number (released it to a general pool, while trying to set up a modification in my plan which required my account being put into a new accounting system). Nontheless, they ended up giving me free upgrades for all the phones on my account and crediting me a lot of months for service. It still wasn't enough compensation for all the business contacts that I had to reach out to and inform that my number had changed, but the main point is that Sprint is always hesistant to issue any sort of deal...unless you're talking to retentions and they're keeping you from leaving because of their mess up.
 
h1r0ll3r said:
I refuse to wait that long to get my Note 2 :D Though I'm certain that, at least, one retailer will pull some Black Friday sale which will make me curse the fact I bought mine on launch day.
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Well...the 30th (Black Friday) is exactly 30 days from the 25th. You know what's beautiful about that and this is where the advantage comes in with Best Buy?...If they have a Black Friday sale and the Note 2 drops tremendously in price that day...Price Match! When it's at their own store, they don't even need to have the item in stock to price match, which is the policy for price matching with other 3rd party retailers.

For me, I have 45 days (Due to Silver rewards), so that gives me until December 8 to get price match (if there's a drop or special sale anytime withinn that timeframe).
 
drexappeal said:
Well...the 30th (Black Friday) is exactly 30 days from the 25th. You know what's beautiful about that and this is where the advantage comes in with Best Buy?...If they have a Black Friday sale and the Note 2 drops tremendously in price that day...Price Match! When it's at their own store, they don't even need to have the item in stock to price match, which is the policy for price matching with other 3rd party retailers.

For me, I have 45 days (Due to Silver rewards), so that gives me until December 8 to get price match (if there's a drop or special sale anytime withinn that timeframe).
Click to expand...

I was always thought Black Friday was the exception to their price matching rule. Will they price match something you bought previously for a BF price?
 
boxcarspawn said:
I was always thought Black Friday was the exception to their price matching rule. Will they price match something you bought previously for a BF price?
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Really?...Ok, so maybe that would suck...but I'd say it never hurts to try. I know they would be much more receptive than Sprint ever was at any kind of price matching or "deal."
 
drexappeal said:
Really?...Ok, so maybe that would suck...but I'd say it never hurts to try. I know they would be much more receptive than Sprint ever was at any kind of price matching or "deal."
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Yeah, I think you can do what amazon has you do, which is to return the item and purchase it again at the lower price on BF. Although you'd have to deal with the lines, the return policy would still work in your favor if thats the case.
 
drexappeal said:
Really?...Ok, so maybe that would suck...but I'd say it never hurts to try. I know they would be much more receptive than Sprint ever was at any kind of price matching or "deal."
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lol wow, I really need to finish reading all the posts before hitting that like or thank button. this is the second time today I did that. lol

Either way, I can't take advantage of the Best Buy route since one of my two photons is not eligible for an upgrade and thus have to do it at the Corp store for them to let me buy out of the contract for the second photon (upgrade early plan) and then get the Note 2.

Sure would've been nice though.

TS
 
twospirits said:
lol wow, I really need to finish reading all the posts before hitting that like or thank button. this is the second time today I did that. lol

Either way, I can't take advantage of the Best Buy route since one of my two photons is not eligible for an upgrade and thus have to do it at the Corp store for them to let me buy out of the contract for the second photon (upgrade early plan) and then get the Note 2.

Sure would've been nice though.

TS
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You sure that's your only option?
http://androidforums.com/sprint/633442-sprint-early-upgrade-rules.html#post5092175
 
boxcarspawn said:
Yeah, I think you can do what amazon has you do, which is to return the item and purchase it again at the lower price on BF. Although you'd have to deal with the lines, the return policy would still work in your favor if thats the case.
Click to expand...

That's why I don't think Black Friday would be a problem (with exception to the lines, which as long as the "special" price lasts all day, I'm not worried about the stock necessarily). I'd imagine doing a whole return and re-buy would be much more painful for them than just doing a price match.
 
I live in Phoenix Arizona and a few months ago signed up to a offer they sent out to me. Im also a silver member, there coming over to calibrate my 60 inch for free, anyway i signed up for "by any smart phone by the end of 2012 and get 50 dollar in store gift card. I used it with my wife when she got her GS3 a month ago so it was only 150.00 instead of the 199 sprint was charging. I am hoping that maybe best buy will offer the 32gb or even the 64gb internal storage variant. I am peeved that sprints news release only said 16gb will be sold. considering i am hearing that you wont be able to move my apps to external sd. and i have alot of them. I also enjoy getting those 5-50 dollar gift certs everytime i spend money there. you win win buying from best buy, well as far as cell phones go lol. if there selling them on the 25th i will be at the front door when they open.
 
tonyrl50 said:
I live in Phoenix Arizona and a few months ago signed up to a offer they sent out to me. Im also a silver member, there coming over to calibrate my 60 inch for free, anyway i signed up for "by any smart phone by the end of 2012 and get 50 dollar in store gift card. I used it with my wife when she got her GS3 a month ago so it was only 150.00 instead of the 199 sprint was charging. I am hoping that maybe best buy will offer the 32gb or even the 64gb internal storage variant. I am peeved that sprints news release only said 16gb will be sold. considering i am hearing that you wont be able to move my apps to external sd. and i have alot of them. I also enjoy getting those 5-50 dollar gift certs everytime i spend money there. you win win buying from best buy, well as far as cell phones go lol. if there selling them on the 25th i will be at the front door when they open.
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Can you call your local best buy to verify they're also selling on the 25th?

I'm only partially disappointed they aren't selling the higher memory versions. Ideally, I wish they had every version, but I 've held off on my last 1 year upgrade long enough.

Realistically, because it seems that manufacturers have stopped partitioning internal storage, I should be fine with the 16. Would have been ideal with 64, but no use complaining if they don't intend offering it
 
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