Palm Pre $199 *No rebate* direct from Sprint YMMV *Ends this weekend*

I went into a Sprint store on June 27 to purchase a Pre. The last time I updated phones (January 2008 -- purchased a Treo 755 plus two centros) the rebates took SEVEN MONTHS to arrive. I spend many, many hours on the phone with Sprint to get them. In any event, when I walked in to the store I was certain that I was not willing to endure that crap again. I asked them to sell me a device for $199 instead of having to play rebate roulette. They refused and I walked out the door. Later that day I noticed that Sprint had made the Pre available via telesales (phone) on June 24. I have been a long-time Sprint customer (10+ years)... I called and was able to order a Pre as a replacement for an existing line for $199 (instead of the terminally stupid $299 with a $100 rebate). A few days later I did it for a second line. Many co-workers have also reported being able to successfully do this, one as recently as today (Friday) morning.

Related to this... I have heard rumors that Sprint is pulling the Pre from telesales effective July 6. I could speculate why they are doing this but my bad attitude about Sprint's abysmal customer service might mean my comments would be less than flattering.

In any event, I am posting this because of the impending end to Pre telesales. It seems they have already been pulled from the Sprint site but that didn't seem to stop a sale this morning. 1-866-866-7503. Good Luck.

Do you have one of the expensive plans needed for Pre activation or is there a way around it?

bestbuy have always had no mail-in rebates since launch. should of shopped there

is that a sprint number you called?

Guptaji - I have five pda phones that eat off one plan. Use about 2000 voice minutes per month plus a b*ttload of data. Monthly bill never exceeds $180 (now that I have the spawn trained to use the web instead of 411 for directory assistance).

denbo32 - yes, that is a sprint number... directly from their web page.

fanwh29 - They might be closed today for the holiday. I would not wait until Monday... per the precentral site (http://www.precentral.net/) telesales for the Pre end Sunday.

Get the Pre from bestbuy or RadioShack, no rebates.

this is another number for telesales: (866) 735-1879

Good deal. I just got my ($150) Sprint rebates in three weeks, no hassles....

LuNoTiCK said: Get the Pre from bestbuy or RadioShack, no rebates.

My understanding is that they require activating a new line of service. In my case I just want to replace existing devices.


rbraden said: FYI, just because you paid $199 doesn't mean you can't still apply for the rebate. Got my last phone from BB for the "after rebate" price and still got the $100 rebate.

Hmmm.... worth a try. Thanks.

I have the Sero plan with unlimited data. I went to the store to buy the Pre and they told me I needed to upgrade my plan to the unlimited to get the Pre. Is there anyway around this?

area123 said: I'm assuming all the employee discount plans go through True Wireless but I'm not sure about that.

The two company's i've worked for that have sprint discounts have the wireless program managed by Bluefish.

Suppose someone calls Sprint and says they work for Company A which provides a 20% discount on service. Will Sprint just add them to that program with the discount or do they have to prove that they work for Company A?

@markbyte: They'll probably ask for proof like a business card or pay stub. At least they did for me.

They neew you to show proff of work ID to get a company discount.

I have Sero too- they want us to give it up for the everything plans. It was the same way with the Instinct. It will not change any day soon. Its not worth giving up the Sero plan. I will take it to my grave and beyond.

If you were able to find a phone on craigslist or eBay would the Pre work with our Sero plan? I am confused as to whether they just want you to switch or if the phone only works with the everything plan.

steelycat said: If you were able to find a phone on craigslist or eBay would the Pre work with our Sero plan? I am confused as to whether they just want you to switch or if the phone only works with the everything plan.
No. They're trying their damnedest to kill SERO, and I don't really blame them for it. The ban is on the activation, not just the purchase -- so trying to buy a handset off eBay will just leave you with a fancy little paperweight (or, at best, a tiny internet tablet with WiFi).

markbyte said: I keep hearing everyone mention SERO, so is that dead now? I know they've renamed it to Everything Plus. If you go to their website you can still see a way to sign up so I don't know how it could be dead if there's still a page to sign up.

The old SERO plans are dead ($30 for 500 mins; unlimited text and data), and there are now new "SERO" plans which are similar and start at about $60. Some refer to these as EPRP plans (everything plus referral plan?). So, yes you can sign up for the new plan, but it's basically twice as much for the new plan, and people like myself will have their original SERO plan pried from our cold dead hands.

Can U get a 2nd new A/C (under the same a/c name, but a new line of service under sero pricing-discounted) through an existing SERO A/C plan on file, & STILL get the Pre??
2)How do U get around the disconnection fees, late fees if U feel Sprint has misbilled U, & U delayed paying the bill, thereby they disconnected it- ALBEIT temporarily until u pay your bill, partially, etc.?

NO SERO ON PRE!

tampatonz said: Sprint techs at the store. They've been getting a lot of heat in the last week about these issues. My tech said it and noted it was not for public consumption. But you know what they say about "How do you keep a secret with 3 people?"... Please feel free to spend your $199. You have 30 days to return the product, if you buy it from Sprint, no questions asked. I'll bet 3 weeks is all you need, and if you love it, good for you! That's what makes our country great, freedom of choice.
Mine went back within 4 days. I was terrified of a cracked screen, disappointed with the pitiful battery life, the reception was terrible, you could fry an egg on it, the rubberized keys were akward, and I had dead pixles and splotches on my screen.

I am back to my BB Bold and could not be happier. My Bold does everything the pre did and then some.

See www.treocentral.com for more info. Best of luck for those who get this device. The hardware is horrible but WebOS is pretty cool. I give it two revisions before I jump.