I leased my Essential PH-1 from Sprint in December of '17 on an 18 month term due to the amazing deal they had at the time: $29.17 a month with 18 $23.17/mo bill credits. This is for a phone that retailed at $750.
At the end of the lease, Sprint allows you to buy out the lease for the "fair market value" of the device, which of course they calculate. Luckily for me, I have an extremely obscure phone that has almost no "value" on the used market (except to those in the know). My buy out price? A whopping $30.11 after tax.
All in, I'm at $7 x 18 = $126 plus whatever tax I paid at the beginning of the lease. With the $30 I paid to buy the device, I'm at right around $200. I could easily sell it for that today, although I have no intention to as I love the phone and nothing out there matches what I want at the moment. Needless to say, I'm happy.
Next step is to have the phone sim unlocked so I can start shopping for a lower-cost MVNO plan.
At the end of the lease, Sprint allows you to buy out the lease for the "fair market value" of the device, which of course they calculate. Luckily for me, I have an extremely obscure phone that has almost no "value" on the used market (except to those in the know). My buy out price? A whopping $30.11 after tax.
All in, I'm at $7 x 18 = $126 plus whatever tax I paid at the beginning of the lease. With the $30 I paid to buy the device, I'm at right around $200. I could easily sell it for that today, although I have no intention to as I love the phone and nothing out there matches what I want at the moment. Needless to say, I'm happy.
Next step is to have the phone sim unlocked so I can start shopping for a lower-cost MVNO plan.
Last edited: