Bargains make me happy. Canadian phone carriers are all corrupt AF and SO expensive, but my two year contract was almost up so I had to choose to upgrade or pay off my phone, as that’s how it’s mostly done here. When I went into the store the clerk told me to upgrade my phone would cost 30 something more dollars a month, over 100 bucks, and I wouldn’t get a better plan for it. I stared at him and told him I was going home to look into other options and would find another carrier, and he argued with me that it’s a premium phone and that’s a really good price. Uh, no it isn’t.

So my workplace has an employee discounts program for various things, and there were several various phone plans which I had never investigated, and to make a long story short, I got an employee pricing plan and upgrade. The price she quoted me was 60 dollars plus 1 dollar for the phone, which is even a savings from my previous plan, but when I went to pick it up the plan price had dropped (they change for various sale periods) and I got a Pixel 10 for 45 dollars a month plus 1 dollar for the phone, 30 GB more data,and international calling which I didn’t have before. And I still deal with my carrier and don’t have to change stores or anything, it’s just done through an employee pricing plan.

So TL;DR I got a good price and new phone, and I like all of that. I really love when I can get a good bargain.

  • AbsolutelyNotAVelociraptor@sh.itjust.works
    16·
    2 days ago

    Out of curiosity, can’t you just buy an unlocked phone to use with your carrier and get a cheaper plan? I don’t know how carriers work in Canada, but to me, in Europe, 45CAD for a monthly plan is considered a scam. We pay way less for our plans and simply purchase an unlocked phone.

    • Lemmyoutofhere@lemmy.caEnglish
      7·
      2 days ago

      Plans in Canada are expensive. I have a BYOD plan for $50/month, unlimited everything. That’s a decent plan here.

    • 6nk06@sh.itjust.works
      6·
      2 days ago

      I confirm this. In France I pay 12€ for 200 GB of data, and I buy a second hand phone “refurbished” for a cheap price.

      • cRazi_man@europe.pub
        9·
        2 days ago

        And even then the phone will last a good 4 or 5 years before needing to be changed. This 1 to 2 years upgrade contract cycle is bullshit.

        • BonesOfTheMoon@lemmy.worldOP
          31·
          2 days ago

          It is bullshit, but I paid out my Nexus 6 and the battery ended up crapping out so I don’t want to risk it anymore.

          • cRazi_man@europe.pub
            3·
            2 days ago

            I don’t know about Canada, but phone insurance is cheap in the UK and worth getting if you’re worried about issues like this.

            Don’t want to shit on the good deal you got. It’s always fun to get a fun new gadget, even more so at a great price. Enjoy.

        • corsicanguppy@lemmy.caEnglish
          4·
          2 days ago

          Canada has bizarrely high wireless plans. I think it’s the highest of all developed worlds.

          The common excuse uses words like “large country”, “sparse population” to hide things like “monopoly” and “essential service”.

    • calliope@retrolemmy.com
      62·
      2 days ago

      Many (most?) people can’t afford to buy a phone outright for $750. So they essentially have to lease it from the carrier.

      • nao@sh.itjust.works
        9·
        2 days ago

        They could always get a phone for 200 (or keep the old one a bit longer), save the difference to the otherwise more expensive plan, then next time they can afford to buy a more expensive phone. Wouldn’t that work?

      • JoeBigelow@lemmy.ca
        71·
        2 days ago

        Don’t need a new damn iPhone every year, I always buy refurbished. My current pixel 6a was $200 and is pretty good. And I own it.

    • four@lemmy.zipEnglish
      2·
      2 days ago

      Yeah, it’s also baffling to me. Everything is paid in rates now, usually with the exact prices hidden