just asked the folks upstairs in my mall and indeed they are doing it. but the girl said only if they mention they would come to sprint but are still in a contract. and the attach the amount of you currents carriers etf to your 2nd months bill. she also said ti depends on what phone, plan, and features your are getting because they dont want to take a loss to much on the phone.

the nextel store is doing it too. FOR EVERYONE 👿 doesnt matter phone, plane, feature, nothing. and they also have this $100.00 deposit thing thats been going on since november of 04. so even people with super jacked credit can get a phone.
these are both indirects.

our sprint corp store is doing it too. but they are also offering free activation, and a 4...
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yeah, someone came up to me and asked for his account number and told me they were doing it, i saw the sign for about a month, but it was the only time anyone mentioned it, also he ended up not porting out, and just signed on another shared line instead, i guess it was cheaper, it was the kids who really wanted the sprint but he ported in from cingular in the first place so he knew he shouldnt leave.

i n our area its not helping them at all much. we are porting numbers in our cingular store from sprint and nextel all day.

and in our area the nextel network is over crowded so everyones been coming to cingular or sprint.

I thought there was a regulation against companies doing that... Maybe it was just a strong suggestion.

when i type stuff like that i cant find mention of it anywhre, not even in yahoo, the other cell phone forums dont even mention it, sounds like it is on the real down low, but sprint corporate has a billboard for it out here.

😲 whoa they are trying hard a little to hard. thats what most the folks around here are saying.

i asked one lady what she felt about it earlier she said if they are offering it to everyone then its not worth it because the service should win her over. not begging for her business. 🤣

I agree with that statement, but then again, I work for another company, so I probably would agree just on that principle.

I don't agree with her statement. There were times when I was with Cingular that I had wanted to switch to Verizon or Sprint. Had they offered this, I definately would've switched right then and there. They didn't offer, though, and I could not afford ETFs on 4 phones, so I waited out my contract.

This is a good idea in areas where another carrier is having reception issues, but they aren't letting their customers go. In a large area, where everything's fine, there's really no incentive to switch.

i dont get why people do this... they already are in a 1-2 year contract.. if they pay the ETF it will be less the combined bill every month..

do the mathmatics it will show you that my statement is true. 🙂

the only way you wouldnt pay the ETF would be that if you have a few months left on the contract, but other than that pay the ETF then leave.

consumers are very naive at this.

Yes, you are true, but a lump sum of $700 hurts a lot more than having to pay the monthly usage fees.

Also, when you change, you're still going to have those fees. So, along with paying $100-$170/month in fees, you're going to have to drop $700 to switch.

perhaps but if one has four phones at an average bill of about $50 that would be $200 per month.. so in 3.5 or 4 months one would already eclipse the $700 that one has to pay for the ETF (on those 4 phones) and chances are one would have a contract longer than 6 months.. so it would be better for one to pay the ETF and switch..

Ok, let's work through this. Let's assume I'm with Cingular, 6 months into an 24 month contract. Service is getting annoying, so I want to switch to Sprint. I have 4 lines and pay $200/month. My ETFs are $175/line, $700 total. Moving to Sprint, my bill is looking to be $170 (gotta love Sprint!).

We'll start in January, 2005 and go June 2008.

January to June, I'd pay $1,200.
June to June '08, I'd pay $4,800. (That's staying with Cingular.) Total, if I stay with Cingular, I'd pay $6,000(we pay way too much for this stuff!)

Now, for switching to Sprint..
January to June - $1,200.
ETF - $700
June to June 2008 - $4,200.

Total $6,100.

The ETF kills the deal, and I end up losing $100. Now, if service was that bad, it mig...
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i didnt do the calculations so i wont argue on that point. so you lose $100? that isnt a big deal especially if the consumer doesnt like the provider for any reason.. (coverage etc..)

anyway the $700 ETF isnt a big deal especially as mentioned earlier 3-4 months later would be close to that $700..

it is funny thought that consumers are very naive at this stuff.. (i tell people- pay the ETF then leave- it is very simple)