T-mobile S3 FAR Note 2 $199 A/R 2 year contract required w/$20 data plan

Quote from mattb1102 : Membership is required but is free. When combined with T-mobile's 5 add a line and freelancers 10% discount it's a pretty decent deal. Did a TMO rebate a few weeks ago and it only took about 18 days to get a citi issued MasterCard.

What's the best way to do this? Do you get five lines all with free SIII with classic plan then after you get the rebates downgrade to the value plan for $100/month ($90 month after discount)?

5 lines for $100: (2 unlimited talk/text/data with 2GB at 4G for $100) + (3 lines unlimited text, 500 minutes each For $0 per month until Jan 2014. $5 per line afterward)

I only need three lines. Can I then sell the other two phones?

Yes, I would. The ebay market for a new S3 is around $425 and probably a little less on CL depending on the local market. Your etf is going to be $200 per line so $200 X 5 = $1000. If you sell the other two you can almost cover the cost of the the $1000 ETF. Even if you sold the other 2 on CL for $350 a piece that would put you at $700 and the remaining cost of $100 per S3 plus the time you had to keep your lines active to receive the rebates, but its not like you wouldn't be receiving phone service during that time.

Quote from namlook : What's the best way to do this? Do you get five lines all with free SIII with classic plan then after you get the rebates downgrade to the value plan for $100/month ($90 month after discount)? 5 lines for $100: (2 unlimited talk/text/data with 2GB at 4G for $100) + (3 lines unlimited text, 500 minutes each For $0 per month until Jan 2014. $5 per line afterward) I only need three lines. Can I then sell the other two phones?

Keep in mind you cannot switch back to classic once you go to value plan. Otherwise, seems like it should work

Quote from aznsaiyan103 : Keep in mind you cannot switch back to classic once you go to value plan. Otherwise, seems like it should work

Can I downgrade from classic plan to value plan on these lines without paying ETF fees, or do I need to pay the $1000 ETF fees to use these SIII phones with a value plan?

Quote from namlook : Can I downgrade from classic plan to value plan on these lines without paying ETF fees, or do I need to pay the $1000 ETF fees to use these SIII phones with a value plan?

You have to pay the ETF aka "migration fee" if moving from Classic to Value. Otherwise you'd be getting free phones on the discounted Value plan.. doesn't make sense.

Quote from manfromnowhere : You have to pay the ETF aka "migration fee" if moving from Classic to Value. Otherwise you'd be getting free phones on the discounted Value plan.. doesn't make sense.

That's what I thought. If you pay the $200 ETF per line when you downgrade to value plan does the $200 ETF per line get rid of the contract?

Quote from namlook : That's what I thought. If you pay the $200 ETF per line when you downgrade to value plan you are still under contract then?

Yes. Value plans require a 2yr contract. It's not technically an ETF, it's a migration fee since you're going from Classic to Value. You pay a migration fee to offset the phone subsidy you got on your original Classic plan.

Quote from manfromnowhere : Yes. Value plans require a 2yr contract. It's not technically an ETF, it's a migration fee since you're going from Classic to Value. You pay a migration fee to offset the phone subsidy you got on your original Classic plan.

Thanks for the info. Can someone buy five lines, pay first month bill and $1000 ETF and cancel the contract getting five SIII for around $1200?

Quote from namlook : That's what I thought. If you pay the $200 ETF per line when you downgrade to value plan does the $200 ETF per line get rid of the contract?

No, you'd need a 2 year for the value plan but at $90 a month for 3 lines, 2 of which have unlimited minutes and web, does it really matter? I guess you could go to straight talk but that would cost you more than TMO because of the 3rd line. If you sold the other two, your out of pocket would be $300 for 3 s3's and $90 a month. I'm sure the s3' will hold enough resell market value a year from now to cover the cost of the etf's if need be. My s2's held more than enough to cover for me a year later.

Quote from namlook : Thanks for the info. Can someone buy five lines, pay first month bill and $1000 ETF and cancel the contract getting five SIII for around $1200?

Yes. Which would be a very good deal. Just keep in mind that T-Mobile frowns upon this and will blacklist your SSN if you do this repeatedly. Doing it once every few years should not be a problem - what I'm saying is, don't do this every 6 months to get cheaper phones.

I think as long as you're credit class B (their internal rating, they won't easily tell you what you are) or above, you can do the 5 lines with no deposit. I'm credit class A and that's 10 lines no deposit, I think B is 5 lines.

Quote from manfromnowhere : Yes. Which would be a very good deal. Just keep in mind that T-Mobile frowns upon this and will blacklist your SSN if you do this repeatedly. Doing it once every few years should not be a problem - what I'm saying is, don't do this every 6 months to get cheaper phones. I think as long as you're credit class B (their internal rating, they won't easily tell you what you are) or above, you can do the 5 lines with no deposit. I'm credit class A and that's 10 lines no deposit, I think B is 5 lines.

So I could buy 5 lines and my girlfriend could buy 5 lines. We keep three that we need and sell seven SIII phones for around $2500. Pay $2000 ETF (I would cancel the contract and she would migrate to value plan) and also two first month bills and get the three SIII for free. And the value plan would have a 10% discount through freelancers. Do they pay attention to addresses if we both do ETFs on five lines from the same address? She would be migrating and not cancelling the contract. Would this work without anyone getting blacklisted?

Quote from namlook : So I could buy five lines and my girlfriend could buy 5 lines. We keep three that we need and sell seven SIII phones for around $2500. Pay $2000 ETF (I would cancel the contract and she would migrate to value plan) and also two first month bills and get the three SIII for free. And a value plan with a 10% discount through freelancers. Do they pay attention to addresses if we both do ETFs on five lines from the same address if she is migrating and not cancelling the contract or is SS# what matters as far as blacklisting?

I wouldn't do it if you share the same address. Especially if you only need three phones to begin with. That's pushing it. Just do the 5, sell the extra 2, and be happy.

Quote from manfromnowhere : I wouldn't do it if you share the same address. Especially if you only need three phones to begin with. That's pushing it. Just do the 5, sell the extra 2, and be happy.

Ok, I'll just get five. Still a good deal. Thanks.