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Best place to buy Epic...Wirefly perhaps?

Nothing against Amazon, but Wirefly actually answers the phone and responds to questions on AndroidForums. Have you ever called Amazon?

No, I can't say I have. I did send them an email asking about cell phone porting on sprint though. I believe I posted the email on this thread, though maybe not. Either way, they thoroughly answered my question with both a personal email and an informative link. Also they did this in like 2-3 hrs within my emailing them. I emailed in the morning around 10-12am EST. If they respond that fast and that thoroughly, and I have used them for tons of things and never heard of any issues with them, and when I google their cell phone sales and can't find a single complaint, and nothing compared to how wirefly is, then yes I consider them a good safe place to order from. However now knowing that walmart sells these phones I will likely try going to them on launch day to see if maybe they get the epic 4g.


Also I will say kudos to the ability wirefly has to respond to their customers. However I need to question them more so in lost returns, or lost shipments that are sent to consumers, as well as problems with them properly porting numbers and not allowing number switching. In googling I found tons of recent complaints about wirefly all posted within the last few months and all mentioning issues like this. Also they consistently say that the people on the phones either can't do anything, are rude, or tell them to go to their carrier to change the number or something, which leads to them getting the wirefly fee for changing things before 181 days. Both Wirefly and amazon may have good customer service, but when it comes to lost things in the mail or issues with phone numbers I would be far more likely to trust amazon.com to help with resolving the issue rather than telling people to pay $300 to resolve the issue.
 
I think they'll get the Epic 4G, it's just a matter of when.

They have the Evo as "coming soon" online (although I've seen it in the store in our area already), so they might not have it on release day...but I don't mind waiting. :)
 
Well that's good. I worry about the walmart in vt because it's the middle of nowhere, I know someone who waited like 2 or 3 months for the sprint store to get a freaking lg rumor II. I trust amazon.com and can easily wait a week or so after the phone comes out though. My real worry is having it be sold out like the evo and spending a month going crazy trying to get the phone. At least there are 2 or 3 good cheap options out there, and a few other $250 options. I don't see why anyone would go to the sprint store on launch day at this rate.
 
Well that's good. I worry about the walmart in vt because it's the middle of nowhere, I know someone who waited like 2 or 3 months for the sprint store to get a freaking lg rumor II. I trust amazon.com and can easily wait a week or so after the phone comes out though. My real worry is having it be sold out like the evo and spending a month going crazy trying to get the phone. At least there are 2 or 3 good cheap options out there, and a few other $250 options. I don't see why anyone would go to the sprint store on launch day at this rate.

Well, the cool thing is that you can order online from Walmart too! So if the local store doesn't carry it, you can just get it online. I haven't checked on the number porting thing with Walmart though, so it may not be an option for you if you need that done.


Stoney62, with Walmart/Amazon/Wirefly, these prices are for new contracts only. Sorry, man...gotta go through Sprint or Best Buy if you are doing the upgrade thing (I'm fairly sure about that, but could be wrong).
 
I'm assuming all these options are for new lines and not for upgrades? Tell me my assumptions are wrong.

Amazon.com does not currently do upgrades for sprint. I know that much. However they will at some point, likely when amazonwireless adds sprint (it is still a beta site).

Walmart I am not sure if they do upgrades. walmart.letstalk.com does seem to do upgrades. However the prices are highly variable with the carrier and phone. The Vibrant is free with new contract, $199.99 with renewal, and the captivate is $89.99 new contract or renewal. Looking at sprint there is likely to be a discount on the phone for renewing contracts, but it won't be as good as a new contract price. As for walmart in stores, I am not sure how their pricing and letstalk online pricing compare. However I'd assume they can do upgrades. Go to your local walmart and ask is probably the easiest thing to do.

Also note letstalk.com seems to be linked to walmart but also seems questionable in sales. Despite having an A on the BBB website, they still seem to bring up some bad reviews on google. I wonder if the physical walmart stores also use letstalk.com and if you can return a phone to the physical store.
 
Well, the cool thing is that you can order online from Walmart too! So if the local store doesn't carry it, you can just get it online. I haven't checked on the number porting thing with Walmart though, so it may not be an option for you if you need that done.


Stoney62, with Walmart/Amazon/Wirefly, these prices are for new contracts only. Sorry, man...gotta go through Sprint or Best Buy if you are doing the upgrade thing (I'm fairly sure about that, but could be wrong).

Number porting is doable yes. However I looked, and walmart's cell sales online are through letstalk.com who is basically just like wirefly. It has issues and stuff.
 
Number porting is doable yes. However I looked, and walmart's cell sales online are through letstalk.com who is basically just like wirefly. It has issues and stuff.

Ahhhh....bummer. :( Well, at least they carry the phones in-store as well (from what I've seen). The prices appear to be the same too. I saw the Captivate in-store the past couple of weekends and it was definitely at that $89 price with a new contract. :)
 
Ahhhh....bummer. :( Well, at least they carry the phones in-store as well (from what I've seen). The prices appear to be the same too. I saw the Captivate in-store the past couple of weekends and it was definitely at that $89 price with a new contract. :)

Yeah, I'm not particularly worried. I know there is Amazon.com for online and walmart brick and mortar stores for in person. Just gotta hope the phone doesn't sell out like the EVO has been for months.
 
Yeah, methinks it could very well be just as bad as the Evo situation if Samsung hasn't produced enough of them. Folks are catching on more quickly about these phones lately. Time to sharpen up our Kung Fu skills.... ;)
 
Yeah, methinks it could very well be just as bad as the Evo situation if Samsung hasn't produced enough of them. Folks are catching on more quickly about these phones lately. Time to sharpen up our Kung Fu skills.... ;)

Kung Fu skills eh? I think I'll stick to using powerful connections. Friends of friends who can get me the phone now if I want it that badly haha. Connections will get you everywhere in the world.
 
Yeah, its too bad all mine are in Columbia, and will either get me killed or a really good deal on "Product". :D

Perfect, a good deal on "product" and a little risk and you're set for your brand new free epic 4g bought at the sprint store for $350, who cares about mail in rebates after you make a killing reselling product haha. I think this is getting a little too far off topic though.
 
I like Wirefly, especially after they came in and pwned Sebastian (lol j/k). I actually used them way back in 2005 to get a Samsung phone on AT&T (after it was Cingular but before it changed back to Cingular).

But I will likely be getting mine at Bestbuy, I go where I am comfortable.
 
hmmm...i definitely feel better about wirefly after they posted in the thread. i decided to check them out just now and it's $239.99 at wirefly.com pre-order.
 
Hi SebastianX,

We appreciate your concerns and apprehensions, and welcome any questions that you may have. Allow me to correct a few points:

In 2007, Wirefly.com was acquired by Simplexity, based in Reston, Virginia. The previous owner, Inphonic Inc., is no longer in business. InPhonic was subject to a class action lawsuit regarding rebate claims. Since being relaunched by Simplexity, Wirefly.com has featured straightforward pricing with no rebates, and a new customer satisfaction guarantee, with free shipping and free returns. Wirefly is currently listed by the BBB. Our BBB report includes all of the past history of Wirefly.com, but we have worked to slowly raise that rating from an F in the InPhonic days to a current rating of B, with zero unresolved complaints in the past year. In fact, our BBB track record since 2007 is superior to that of Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, or T-Mobile. Today, Wirefly is proud to be the Internet’s #1 authorized retailer of cell phones and plans, with an outstanding track record of customer satisfaction.

There is much discussion on forums about the terms of our Instant Savings Discount. In fact, this is nothing anybody should worry about (unless you are looking to steal a phone and ditch the contract ;-). Here are the terms in their entirety, which are disclosed prominently on our purchase pages:

Instant Savings Discount

To provide you with significant savings vs. buying in a retail store, the price you paid for your device includes an Instant Savings Discount from Wirefly. By accepting this Instant Savings Discount, you agree to repay $200 of this discount ($300 for smartphones and netbooks) and authorize us to charge your credit card in repayment of this amount if, during the 181 days after your new equipment is activated, your wireless carrier notifies us that the services you purchased have been suspended, disconnected, or deactivated, or if you return your purchase outside of the return and exchange provisions of our 30-day Satisfaction Guarantee.

Please note some of the reasons your wireless carrier may notify us of a deactivation include if:

  • You transfer this equipment to another carrier line of service after it is activated
  • You change your rate plan to a lower monthly service rate than was specifically required at the point of purchase
  • You deactivate texting/data features that were specifically required at the point of purchase
  • The new line of service activated with your order is used to replace a pre-existing account

I hope this helps clarify a few things. We aren't perfect, but I can promise you that at Wirefly, we are committed to creating superior customer experience, and a better way to shop for cell phones.


Thanks for the history lesson coach, good to know you're doing much better now:

Wirefly Reviews. Buying guides & consumer product reviews at Epinions.com
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/scam-and-cheating-c72407.html
Wirefly (simplexity.com) - wirefly.com - Reviews, Ratings and Prices at ResellerRatings - Page 5
Wirefly - Simplexity Review | Rip-off Report #432020

Damn these bugs, need some repellent.
0511-0703-1312-3727_Scared_Person_Spraying_Insect_Repellent_On_a_Huge_Mosquito_clipart_image.jpg

PS: This was after you bought InPhonic out of bankruptcy right? Just wanted to make sure.
Let your previous customers chime in here, good night... don't let the bed bugs bite!
 
Sebastian, not sure what your agenda is, but since you deep linked to page 5 of the reviews to focus some older more negative ones, I think your point is made. Personally, I have bought about 10 cell phones now and the best experiences have been from Wirefly, so I'll continue to go that route.

My advice to you: Don't buy an Epic at all. Sprint shows 30,000 BBB complaints and with a rating lower than Wirefly, they are not to be trusted.
 
Sebastian, not sure what your agenda is, but since you deep linked to page 5 of the reviews to focus some older more negative ones, I think your point is made. Personally, I have bought about 10 cell phones now and the best experiences have been from Wirefly, so I'll continue to go that route.

My advice to you: Don't buy an Epic at all. Sprint shows 30,000 BBB complaints and with a rating lower than Wirefly, they are not to be trusted.

First off not everyone has an agenda, read the title this thread asks for opinions about WireFly or the best place to buy the Epic, personally I haven't even posted my own having been tempted to use it but never going through with the transaction. After reading and even knowing some people who've had absolute horror stories with mail order cellphone sites (in general) my opinion wasn't even strictly directed at WireFly but since they chimed in here I thought I'd dig up some of their dirt. I've in fact even said there have been perfectly good transactions with mail order cellphone sites but the percentage of good vs bad based on internet reports was horrendous! I was merely trying to show this to new people who might be doing research as the OP was.

Second Sprint has 48 million customers in the US, you say they have 30k bad reports on the BBB wow that's OUTSTANDING! Even though I'd bet my house there's more than that, you're saying that for every 10k+ there's one dissatisfied customer, I know they're good but damn. And please stop giving me advice, last thing I need is advice from someone who can't even properly read my previous posts and know what point I was trying to get across. If you're a WireFly fanboy then good for you! Send me a postcard in the mail or something.
 
will adding an employee discount nullify the instant savings? i've read a lot of reports on another forum of people who lost theirs after ordering an upgrade phone with wirefly and then having to add it back with sprint.
 
will adding an employee discount nullify the instant savings? i've read a lot of reports on another forum of people who lost theirs after ordering an upgrade phone with wirefly and then having to add it back with sprint.
If you have a discount on your account, it will still be there after upgrading with Wirefly. Your account doesn't change.
 
Wirefly is the cheapest place to buy the Epic IF you feel like a hassle. I ordered 2 of them last night, this morning I got an email from them saying Sprint needed to know more information before they could approve our credit. So I call there, there is no one at that place that talks English good enough to even understand. Anyway, since I couldn't understand this guy, I call Sprint. Sprint tells me that my acct is approved, they're waiting on us to receive the phones so that they can activate them. I told them that Wirefly said free activation, this lady tells me that no one but Sprint themselves can activate the phones. So I call back Wirefly, this guy tells me to hold on and he calls Sprint. He comes back and says They say my acct is pending. So I call Sprint back again and got the same exact answer I got the first time, it is approved, awaiting activation.
Good Lord I have never had to beg anyone to let me buy something from them. I don't know if this is Sprint or Wirefly but I do know if it isn't straightened out Monday, I will cancel the whole kit and kaboodle.
With the exception of one person at Wirefly, they all spoke with such an accent you could not understand them, you call Sprint, more accents.......it's ridiculous.
 
I ordered my two Epics last Wednesday with two day shipping from Wirefly and I should receive them both on Tuesday without any issues at all. The site said the phones would be ready to ship on Monday, but they actually shipped out on Friday. It was actually a great deal through Wirefly-No activation fee on up to five lines, $199 per epic and I went through Bank of America's Add it Up Program and will receive $50 cash back, works similar to Bings old Cashback. Hope this helps someone get a better deal. This is the best I could find and I've been searching since release. Unless youre a student I think this is the best deal out there.
 
Wirefly is the cheapest place to buy the Epic IF you feel like a hassle. I ordered 2 of them last night, this morning I got an email from them saying Sprint needed to know more information before they could approve our credit. So I call there, there is no one at that place that talks English good enough to even understand. Anyway, since I couldn't understand this guy, I call Sprint. Sprint tells me that my acct is approved, they're waiting on us to receive the phones so that they can activate them. I told them that Wirefly said free activation, this lady tells me that no one but Sprint themselves can activate the phones. So I call back Wirefly, this guy tells me to hold on and he calls Sprint. He comes back and says They say my acct is pending. So I call Sprint back again and got the same exact answer I got the first time, it is approved, awaiting activation.
Good Lord I have never had to beg anyone to let me buy something from them. I don't know if this is Sprint or Wirefly but I do know if it isn't straightened out Monday, I will cancel the whole kit and kaboodle.
With the exception of one person at Wirefly, they all spoke with such an accent you could not understand them, you call Sprint, more accents.......it's ridiculous.


Can you PM me your order number and I will look into this for you? This doesnt sound right, and I would like to resolve this issue for you.
 
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