Your phone is on its last leg, but that’s okay because your upgrade eligibility date is today.  You know because you just checked last month.  You go down to the store to pick up that new phone you’ve had your eye on, but when you get there something has changed.  The store rep advises you that you’re not eligible for another two months.

“There must be some mistake, I just checked last month and I’m eligible as of today.”

What happened?

This is a follow up to our article titled “The Basics: Understanding Verizon’s Upgrade Policy.”

We get a lot of searches and questions from people trying to understand Verizon Wireless’ upgrade policies and discounts.  Our Upgrade Policy article accounts for a lot of our traffic, but upon further review, we felt it might be prudent to follow up with an article explaining why discounting has changed over the years, and what it looks like today.

If you haven’t read the original upgrade article, please read it first.

And now… the fascinating world of Verizon Wireless subsidy.

Of all the questions and search keywords we come across on this site, there’s one that rises above all the rest: help me understand a Verizon Wireless upgrade.

This question is understandable, really, seeing as how Verizon’s upgrade policy has been rewritten a bit over the past couple months.  But even before the changes, people were asking us for help.

Upgrades are really quite simple, but because of the recent changes, we’re going to split this answer into two sections: customers who signed their last contract in 2010 or earlier, and those who signed their contract in 2011.  New customers will want to pay attention to the second section, as this will pertain to them as well.

Come along with us as we tackle the complexity of a Verizon Wireless upgrade.

Ready for a new phone?  Are you eligible?  How does all this eligibility stuff work anyway?

Everyone knows that you get a good deal on a phone when you start service with a company and sign a two year agreement.  Every so often that same company your with will do the same thing for an existing customer.  This is called an “upgrade.”

Just when a line is able be upgraded varies on a line-by-line basis, but in all cases it will either be 13, 18, or 20 months since you signed your last contract. (all lines are now 20 months)

Read on to learn about the basics of AT&T’s upgrade policy…

As bizarre as it may seem that a big company would be giving you something for nothing; letters like these go out semi-regularly.  I frequently see customer questions about these letters in forums.  The first thing people want to know is: what’s the catch?

If you’ve received one of these letters or are just curious as to what these campaigns are all about read on to find out more.

Now that Verizon Wireless has the Iphone, they’re taking some time to change their upgrade and return policies.

Make no mistake; these changes came when they did because of that device. Call it a “cost” of selling the device that so many wanted. The iPhone is expensive, and Apple has some VERY specific price points where they sell their product. But there’s no use arguing over the why, what’s important is how it affects you the consumer.

Join us after the break as we go over what’s changing, what isn’t, and what you can do about it.

Mellowlen62 asks:

Took my son to VZW corp store to price the Droid X at full retail. He wants for Christmas and was giving me half of the price. No upgrades at this time. Rep says “running a promotion. Put another line on your account, get him the X, put an old phone on his existing line and we will waive the $10 fee for the life of the 2 yr contract.” Does this sound legit?? I’ve been scratching my head…

Sounds like a sales rep trick I like to call “the new line switch."  Let me explain…