Great purchase experience! Rebates OK but very complicated
Written: Apr 20, 2006
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First off, I'd like to say that Wirefly is a fantastic e-commerce site - the best way to buy a cell phone, hands down. The other reviews here seem to focus only on rebates - not on Wirefly as a whole. This review addresses both aspects as objectively as possible.
Wirefly (which is owned by InPhonic - a public company that also powers the e-commerce sites for companies like Motorola and Radio Shack) tends to have really great deals, with or without rebates.
Wirefly's business is pretty simple: they sell you a cell phone for less than cost, then make back the money from the wireless company when you keep your service for six months or more.
The price you can get on a phone at Wirefly is usually better than prices at the store. Then they offer very large rebate deals on top of the already discounted price. Customers attracted by the "after rebate" price need to pay attention to the terms, however. With some of their rebates, you cannot submit it before 6 months, so don't mistake a "free after rebate" deal for "you don't have to pay any money."
If you can't afford the $100 bucks or more for the newest phone right now, don't buy it because you aren't getting the money back for 6+ months. This goes double if you find any of the rebate terms confusing. Go for a cheaper phone, or one with instant rebates -- there are plenty.
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The Plans
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Wirefly.com searches to determine which carriers and plans are available to you based on your ZIP code. They carry all plans from the national carriers: Verizon, Cingular, T-Mobile, and Sprint/Nextel, and some regional carriers as well. I used their "Shop by Plan" finder on the homepage to decide that Sprint's lowest-priced Fair and Flexible plan was the best deal for my calling needs. I looked at similarly priced plans as well, and even though their tools made it obvious that T-Mobile gave you more minutes for the money, I went with a carrier that had a reputation for better service reliability in my region. The Web site publishes JD Power scores, so you have an objective view of service quality. It's very easy to switch plans for a carrier, or see offers from a different carrier for your zip code.
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The Phones
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Wirefly has a very large selection of phones, much bigger than you could possibly find in a store, and at least as many, if not more, then other sites. I just visited again now and counted 22 choices just for Sprint in my area code, where BestBuy had only 12 models.
The phones available from Sprint are not in general very attractive, so that made it easier for me to find the right phone at Wirefly (sometimes too much choice can just be overwhelming, you know!). I picked the smallest, most streamlined phone carried by Sprint that had the features I wanted, which Wirefly offered for less money than the Sprint site itself. In addition to paying less than what Sprint wanted, I also got a rebate offer from Wirefly. (Details below in my section on rebates.)
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Billing
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You pay Wirefly for your phone, but activation fees and your monthly service bills come directly from the carrier, in my case Sprint. Make sure you pick the right plan when you're making the purchase. The terms of the phone discount state that you cannot make changes to your plan for six months after purchase, or you could get hit with additional fees.
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Rebates
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Since Wirefly makes it's money from the carriers, and that requires that you fulfill your contract and pay your bill on time, a lot of their best deals involve what they call "Loyalty Rebates." These rebates require you to wait and show that you paid your bills for several months before submitting the rebate. Unfortunately, my phone was one of the six month rebate deals.
You must fill out each form in its entirety. If you have multiple rebates, each claim requires its own form together with a complete set of required documentation, in its own envelope. Each claim is processed separately.
I was able to view the details of all the different rebate offers on the site, but the actual forms aren't available until after you complete your purchase because each form is specific to your purchase. Once you have your phone, you can log into Wirefly to view your order history and print out the forms for your specific order. The rebate requirements vary based on what phone you get, but here are the requirements for the rebates that came with my phone.
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REBATE REQUIREMENTS
1. Purchase the Samsung a680 Phone with Sprint PCS calling plan from Wirefly.
2. Maintain your Sprint PCS account in good standing for 180 days.
3. Complete the rebate form provided with purchase. Mail it to the address shown on the form along with the following:
- Copy of the sales receipt included with your shipment.
- Copy of the 12-digit UPC bar code from the Samsung a680 box.
- Copy of your Sprint PCS bill for this account dated at least 150 days after activation showing date, customer name, mobile number, and all balances paid in full.
To qualify for this rebate, you must keep your account in good standing for 180 days. Your rebate submission must be postmarked between 180 and 210 days after the activation or processing date shown on your sales receipt. Submissions not postmarked in the required timeframe will not qualify. Please allow 10-12 weeks for processing. Void where prohibited.
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In other words, each claim needs to include: a copy of the Wirefly sales receipt (comes in the box or can be printed from their web site); the manufacturer's UPC code from the phone box; and a copy of a wireless bill from the carrier that shows all the correct information. In my case, that meant I had to send all of the pages of the bill, not just the top page. The bill has to show that you don't have a balance due.
The bill needs to show 150 days (5 months of service) paid on time and in full, which you would see *on your 6th month's bill*! All this info, including the 6th month's bill, needs to be sent before the 210-day deadline. Be sure to count 210 days after the phone line is ACTIVATED, not ordered, not arrived, not first used... but 210 days after your service is activated by Wirefly. This date is on the receipt they send with the phone.
I did all this and got my rebates from Wirefly.
HOWEVER...
It did not take 10-12 weeks from when I sent in the rebate to get my check like the form says. The processing took 12 weeks, then after it was approved (at which point I was able to see the changed status on their Web site), it took a couple of weeks to get the check. So even after you know you've been approved it's still not immediate. So expect that it can take as long as 10 -11 months to receive the rebate if you make no mistakes.
If you know that up front, I think it's absolutely worth it. The deal you get is better than the store in the first place, and then the rebates on top of that make for a very good deal. I don't mind jumping through some hoops to get an extra hundred dollars for a phone that was on sale to begin with.
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Conclusion
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This store is much better than last year's ratings seem to suggest. Beyond the huge rebates they advertise, which are obvious, they also have a great selection and very competitive prices. But consumers need to be smart and take some responsibility to learn the details of the offer if the mail-in rebates are a deciding factor. Not only are the requirements complicated, but it also took longer to receive the check than I initially anticipated, although in my experience I did eventually get the rebate.
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? Sprint phone
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About the Author
Location: San Jose, CA
Reviews written: 6
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me: Just another liberal arts grad surrounded by engineers here in Silicon Valley.
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