Have you seen the advertisements for the $99 iPhone? They feature a good deal - get the 'current' iPhone for $100 less just before the newer version is released. For those who don't need the extra features, it's a bargain, right?
Well, hold on there Harry (or Harriet), it's not so simple. First, don't forget you will need to pay $30 a month for the iPhone service. And an additional $5 per month for unlimited text messaging, which is NOT included in the $30 service. (And those fees are all separate from your basic calling plan fees.) You will also want Applecare extended warranty (two years), since replacing your $99 phone will actually cost you $499 if you have to buy another before you are eligible for another upgrade. So add $69 for that.
And then, just to add a little salt to your unexpected wounds, AT&T charges you sales tax on the $499 price - the 'regular' retail price of the phone, rather than the 'sale' price of $99. So out the door you go with your $99 iPhone, having paid just north of $200 (plus $35 per month) for the privilege.
Lovely little scheme, 'eh?
It's hard to imagine any other industry getting away with those kind of 'gotchas', particularly that sales tax dodge, but the incredibly wasteful mobile telephony business seems to catch a lot of slack from the Feds.
Very lovely scheme, indeed.
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