T-Mobil Pocket PC $300

[sprint]

I am buying new T-Mobil Pocket PC for $300 . $250 mail in rebate .

Is it good price ?

Is any tricks ?

[sonu]

This is not a trick!!! I do believe you are getting a fantastic deal though!! I bought mine for $400.00 after calling T-Mobile and haggling with them. Instead of a mail in rebate they just gave me the credit against my phone bill...$300.00 for a T-Mobile Pocket PC is and excellent deal!!! :lol:

[sacarle]

The local T-Mobile stores here are selling them for $549.99 and aren't seemingly willing to budge. And no rebate either.

The comment a lady made to me were they're selling them quickly at $549.99. :(

[sonu]

depending on the amount of time you have been with T-Mobile, you may have some leverage. I have been with companies that go acquired by TM for about 6 years now so I quite simply had the local TM store rep call the Wireless services group and had them negotiate the cost down to $400.00 with the credit hitting my phone bill. Try doing that. Also try going to another T-Mobile store where the sales rep might be a bit more accomodating!! Good Luck :?

[yubee]

$300 is a great deal. There is no markdown on the devices wholesale versus retail. Whoever sells you the device is getting paid on the activations of voice and data plans, not margin on the device. So if you're buying for $300, he's still paying $549 for it, but he's making his money on the backend based on your activating the services through him.

So there are 3 things that affect how much of a "deal" you can squeeze:

- Whether you are activating voice and data or just data
- How far down the distribution food chain your dealer is
- How much volume your dealer does

If you are buying from a place that does over 500 units a month, is a direct national distributor and you are activating both voice and data, they are probably making about $300 per unit on the activations, so they're shooting themselves in the foot to move volume if they give it to you for $300, but they can do it.

If you are just activating data, your place of purchase is a sub-dealer of a national distributor, or your dealer only sells 50 units a month, there is no way they can match that price.

In all cases, the store or dealer is responsible for the $549 up front.

One of the problems with the marketplace right now, IMO, is that many of the "manufacturers" on the Phone Edition devices are cell phone companies. So their revenue model is the cell phone model (Affiliate programs, MLM style distribution, revenue generated on the activations, etc.). This doesn't incentivize the dealers to sell or service PPC devices, because there is always one guy who will sell 'em for $10 profit and then there is no motivation for the smaller dealers to waste their marketing budget on the devices, which only slows market penetration.

Furthermore, when you buy the "best price" and the guy is making $10, he's not going to want to help you when the paint flakes off, or there is a problem, because he has no margin for "churn" or returns.

He's going to say, "Hey, go talk to the manufacturer." and they're going to say, "You're supposed to take that up with the guy who sold it to you".

I think one of the real issues right now is that the cell phone companies are still at the beginning of the learning curve on how to sell these devices, because they don't realize they aren't cell phones. They're at a different price point. You pay $500 you expect support and service. Devices will crash and have inherent problems occasionally because they are computers with operating systems and that's the way life is.

Right now, there are a bunch of companies selling these devices that have made a living selling "Get a FREE Cell Phone" and getting paid on the activation and swallowing the cost of the device. I don't believe that will work with Pocket PC Phone Editions, but people are trying to do it. I'm afraid those companies won't be around very long.

It's an old story, but the truth holds...sometimes the cheapest price isn't the best deal. As cool as the devices are (and I own one and use it every day) they do have some issues that are documented here and elsewhere. It may be worth an extra hundred bucks to get your device from someone who will still be there or be able to afford to care if you need support. Or maybe it's not. That's up to you. However, just make your decision with the awareness that if your getting a $250 discount, the likelihood is that the guy selling it to you is making very much margin on it, doesn't understand the technology because he's just trying to sell units to make a living, and will not be able to help you very much if you have some difficulties. Not because he's a bad guy, or because he's not reputable, but because YOU made the decsion to go for cheapest price and that's the consequence.

It will be interesting to see how it plays out in the long run. I suspect having players like Dell get into the mix who have more relevant sales experience with relevant products will help shape the way the marketplace is. For right now, though, it's a little screwy.

Be careful. Read the "issues" other users have had. Decide whether or not in a worst case scenario you see yourself sending it back if those issues crop up for you. If you do, consider paying someone a little more so you'll have a shot of having someone care if you find yourself in that worst case scenario. Just my two cents.