Mobile Phone Pricing Is All Wrong
Over at PC Mag they’re complaining about the confusing nature of mobile phone pricing, pointing out that list prices for phones are often useless, since carriers sell heavily subsidized versions of the phone (at a large loss to themselves) in exchange for having you sign a long-term contract. So, they’ve been having an internal debate over which prices to list when they review phones – but admit that it generally depends on what you’re using it for. The points made are valid – but the companies selling the phones certainly have the right to price it however they want. What people really should be complaining about is all the fine print. Carriers should make it clear: “Look, we’re giving you a great deal on this phone, but to make that up, we want to make sure you remain a long term customer”. Instead, they just pitch the price of the phone, and hide everything else in the fine print, which often makes people upset when they realize what they’ve agreed to.