Verizon ends early upgrade and "New Every Two" programs

2. Gawain (Posts: 426; Member since: 15 Apr 2010)

It opens the door for other carriers to either do the same, or go the other way. It wasn't so long ago that a contract got you a free phone, those days are gone, even on most feature phones.

...and just like jaabubby said, Tiered pricing will follow shortly...

6. dandirk (unregistered)

I was worried there... Will get my last early upgrade possibly in time for a LTE phone

7. saokill (Posts: 2; Member since: 04 Jan 2011)

They only posted part of the online training which introduces the retirement of those specific programs. The next few slides lays down it's successor which in my opinion makes for a more beneficial upgrade program.

14. hornetmx (Posts: 71; Member since: 12 Mar 2010)

What's sad is that the screen before this one, is about the statement of confidentiality that you have to agree to. I understand some people need to feel good about themselves, but doing it by leaking info is pretty pathetic.
I can picture those people looking at these news feeling really good about themselves because they are the ones, "the robinhoods" looking out for websites like this.

Verizon was the only company to even offer an extra discount, the "NE2", to our loyal customers from the beginning. Sorry but ATT didnt do it, and Sprint didnt do it. They would give you the 2 year discount. period. And yes, I did have both companies in the past. As usual they started to follow once the annual upgrade came about because they started to feel pressure from their own customers asking for something "extra" for being loyal. Instead of this we have and will have specific programs targeting customers. Right now many people who just upgraded to non smartphones can also do a second upgrade to a smartphone even if they got the phone yesterday.

My personal guess as to why: it has to do with the cost of subsidizing the newer phones or maybe even with the iphone. Also remember you can always choose a 1 yr price, and then, you can get a phone every 12 months. There are plenty of ways we will continue to lead and take care of our customers.

15. Junior (Posts: 52; Member since: 09 Jun 2010)

I'm with dandirk, hopefully I will be able to get a decent discount on one of the LTE devices as I've been due for a 'New Every Two' since August. It's a shame that these discounts are going away though.

19. TKFox007 (Posts: 303; Member since: 02 Nov 2010)

The Renew Every Two became a joke last year when they lowered it from $50 to $30 and from $100 to $50 (The $50 discount was almost non-existent). At that point the only thing the discount was doing was taking off the taxes on the high end smart phones. I used to work for an outsource call center that did work for Verizon, we used all the same discounts and when sending out new phones, the discounts barely discounted the phone.

20. twashington4 (Posts: 81; Member since: 24 May 2010)

People...1. This is the cost of doing business. All these cell phone carriers have a product in high demand. And what drives that demand...you the consumer. You want talk, text, send pictures, email, and watch video then you're gonna pay for it. These companies are in the business of making money first, and satisfying your needs somewhere after that. Of course when they see that you're starting to get dissatisfied and it's messing with their money, then they are going to do the obvious thing and change their focus. They may be taking a hit when they do that, but I'm sure they hope it's a short term decline. I'm with Sprint and I'm pretty satisfied. Unfortunately my job has moved to a location where Sprint service is not as good. I'm not knocking Sprint because at my last job Verizon was not as good, however, I understand that Verizon may have the best overall coverage. That simple fact there means they touch the most people. On top of that, they've been getting some of the best phones first, so naturally people (by the millions) have gravitated to Verizon and they are a monster in the cell phone business. When you're on top, you try to stay on top. Look at Apple...do you see them cutting prices to move more product? No, because the demand is already so high and they release a quality product. What does this new pricing stuff mean to the consumer? Who knows? Nothing is done without a reason and I don't think consumer dissatisfaction is driving them to get rid of their NE2 and early upgrade program, but on the other hand why do you care anyway? If you got Verizon and you're satisfied with it, it's not going to drive you away. You're going to keep the same plan you've always had until they eliminate your plan and back you into a corner to get the newest phone that maybe does 2 things that your old phone didn't, but the same email, talk and text. I think, at some point, people are going to say "screw it" and just go back to talking and check their email when they get home. :-)

21. Tottenham (Posts: 86; Member since: 05 Jan 2011)

I'll be interested to see what ATT counters with once Big Red starts offering the iPhone. They are going to have to offer some additional incentive to get and keep customers once their 4 year monopoly on the iPhone concludes, especially considering it has the worst service network of the big 4 carriers. US Cellular just started the "Belief Project", which offers some tasty perks to loyal customers.

22. Wireless (Posts: 2; Member since: 07 Dec 2010)

Is kind of contractory though, AT&T is rank as the worst carrier in 2010 whereas the better business bureau rank them as the wireless carrier with the least complains in 2010.

24. Pez_Dispenser (Posts: 2; Member since: 07 Jan 2010)

I wonder if they are eliminating the "New Every 10 Months" program for employees?

25. Sniggly (Posts: 7305; Member since: 05 Dec 2009)

This is extremely odd. I'm out of the game now, so I can't tell you what the next program is that Verizon will be offering. I hope it's beneficial to the customers though. they're going to take a major hit if they get rid of the early upgrade program. That was a lifesaver, especially when people bought bad phones or something happened to the phones.

26. Phullofphil (Posts: 805; Member since: 10 Feb 2009)

if thats true i probably would move to another carrier my phone wont last two years

27. Bum Diehl (unregistered)

Why not keep the customer satisfied with more frequent upgrades? Do the carriers make money on the sale of phones? The service is where they make the profit,no?

29. Aaron (Posts: 2; Member since: 05 Jan 2011)

So if you have verizon already. Does this mean your stuck with your phone forever?

30. trin (Posts: 88; Member since: 11 May 2010)

1. I believe they are still going to extend special offers and promos to consumer and business customers.
2. Want a new phone every year? Sign a 1yr contract. All u have to pay is an additional $70 for your device.
3.Pure Speculation but that most likely means the Feb launch of the Iphone is imminent. Because apple doesn't allow discounting on their phones. It would conflict with Verizon's upgrade policy. Customers would question why they couldn't buy an iphone annually/discounted but that Droid guy did.

31. Aaron (Posts: 2; Member since: 05 Jan 2011)

Verizon said this isnt true. Why would they do that doesnt sound logical.

32. G$ (unregistered)

So in order to use my $50 credit for a new phone, I have to get a new phone by Jan 16...otherwise it goes away?

33. Das70 (Posts: 124; Member since: 05 Jan 2011)

Well this is what happens when a phone becomes more than just a device for making phone calls.LOL You cant have your cake and eat it too. With smartphones becoming more and more mainstream they were bound to make some changes.

Makes one nostalgic for the days when a cell phone was just a phone.LOL

34. Tim of Colorado (unregistered)

This must be in anticipation of the government telling them they must end their high early termination fees. And it saves money in other ways. Support on new devices is expensive, also they will probably get more people to buy their phone insurance. Smart people were probably dropping it after a year, figuring they will just get a new phone anyway. Now they will probably pay the insurance longer. Verizon not always good for consumers, but they know how to make a buck.