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Free iPhone and 2 Months of Free Service

Yesterday I announced that I was getting an iPhone, but I didn’t simply decide to get one, walk into the AT&T store and sign up. I was much more involved and I did a lot of research before finally pulling the trigger.

As we know, the cost of the iPhone was $200 and the monthly service is $30 i addition to the service I already have.

I already had some of the iPhone features like tracking my Nike+ runs and the ability to make calls. I bought a Nike+ sportband last summer that broke recently, but since the damage was caused by sweat getting into the display (a common problem) Nike replaced my sportband with a new version for free. Sweet, right? Well, it gets better.

Nike not only replaced my sportband, but they sent me an extra sensor. Well, that’s perfect because the iPhone only needs a censor to track my runs. So I was left with a brand new sportband and censor. I decided to sell it and see how much I could get for it. Well, I was able to snag a cool $40 for it, which I’m very happy about.

$40 down, $160 to go.

Next, since I was having trouble with my phone, AT&T sent me a brand new replacement phone for free. Well, I didn’t need that, so I put it up on craigslist and sold it for $125. Nice!

$165 down, $35 to go.

Finally, since I was having such terrible problems with my AT&T phones (one broke and then the replacement broke two days later!) that the customer service department gave me $105 off my bill to compensate for my inability to make calls or send text messages for about a week. Amazing, right?

$270 down, -$70 to go.

So what does that extra $70 go toward? My first two months of iPhone service!

By being resourceful, I was able to subsidize my iPhone purchase by selling unneeded products (that I got a TON of use out of) for over $250!

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19 COMMENTS

  1. What a great post! Definitely the way to buy something you want is to sell something you are not using or don’t want anymore. No debt is the way to go.

  2. Wow, that is pretty solid man. Resourcefulness will take you a long way. It just goes to show you how even something you think you can’t afford can be obtained with a little ingenuity.

  3. Sounds like a great way to get the funds you needed!

    But isn’t an AT&T plan for the iPhone about $100? I always felt the price of the phone was secondary to what I’d be paying for the plan for two years.

  4. Daniel,
    Great story. Your opening statement set the tone: “I didn’t simply decide to get one, walk into the AT&T store and sign up.” How many of us simply decide to go “get something”…cell phone, TV, Satellite TV, computer, car, etc?

    You showed how to make win-win out of a “purchase” by simply deciding to test the waters and ask questions.

  5. We did something similar to get our iPhones last year! The hubby actually sold his broken one to Gazelle for just enough to pay for the old once. A year later? When he dropped it and shattered the screen on his brand new phone? Gazelle again paid as much as it costs to buy with a contract renewal at AT&T. It was amazing!

    Congrats on your new iPhone (and your ingenuity in getting one!)

    • @Keith @ LifeTuner, Wow, very creative Keith, I’m impressed. I actually used my mom’s upgrade (Mine wasn’t up until February 2011). I don’t know how much the 3G was worth, but I imagine there are those out there who would be willing to do it for very little. That’s a great tip to keep in mind.

  6. I still can’t stomach the $70+ dollars a month to run the phone. I might take the plunge this summer with our corporate discount.

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