topic Re: Why does the same product cost so much less from mobiles.co.uk in Discussions & Feedback

Why does the same product cost so much less from mobiles.co.uk

Dubz — Wed, 15 May 2019 12:43:22 GMT

Hi,

I'm due a phone upgrade and i'm looking at the iPhone 8. I checked the options on the O2 site and the best offer was about £37 per month over 36 months, total cost £1332. I can reduce the term to 24 months and pay £150 up front and it comes down to £39 per month, total cost £1086.

From mobiles.co.uk I can get the same phone and contract with O2 for £150 up front and £24 per month over 24 months, total cost £726.

I can't really fathom how the exact same product costs £360 more when i buy it through O2. I called customer services to see if they could do a better deal but they can't, the guy just told me about how O2 have the overheads of network and customer service etc etc. But i'm buying a contract from O2 so it's using their network and their customer services right??!

Basically it seems i'm paying extra for the luxury of a refresh contract which yields me no apparent benefit since i don't regularly upgrade my phone or make changes to my contract. Is that right? The deal from mobiles.co.uk just seems to good to be true given how expensive O2 is?!

Cheers

Dave

Re: Why does the same product cost so much less from mobiles.co.uk

MI5 — Wed, 15 May 2019 12:51:03 GMT

All the above is true, plus, O2 will pay a commission to third parties that sell a contract, so mobiles.co.uk will use some of that commission to reduce the cost to you and entice you in.

Re: Why does the same product cost so much less from mobiles.co.uk

Dubz — Wed, 15 May 2019 13:22:34 GMT

So O2 will pay a third party a commission to sell a contract to me despite the fact that i'm an existing customer with an existing contract? They won't offer me the same contract themselves but will subsidise a third party to undercut their own prices? Nothing about this makes any sense to me.

Re: Why does the same product cost so much less from mobiles.co.uk

MI5 — Wed, 15 May 2019 13:27:20 GMT

You're not factoring in the thousands of contracts that these 3rd parties sell every month though......

Re: Why does the same product cost so much less from mobiles.co.uk

Dubz — Wed, 15 May 2019 13:32:17 GMT

But surely it would make sense to offer better rates to existing customers who are being 'tempted away'. I would have paid more for the convenience of not having to mess about with a 3rd party but not to the tune of £360

Re: Why does the same product cost so much less from mobiles.co.uk

Dubz — Wed, 15 May 2019 13:35:16 GMT

I'm going to end up buying the deal from mobiles.co.uk, so i will get the contract for a good price and O2 will pay a commission to them for selling something they could easily have matched themselves?!

I DON'T GET IT! If it's viable to pay 3rd parties to sign people up to cheap contracts why is it not viable to sign them up yourself?!

Re: Why does the same product cost so much less from mobiles.co.uk

TallTrees — Wed, 15 May 2019 14:35:46 GMT

Hello @Dubz

I always consider these to be business "anomalies" the unexplained.

I never bother to understand them ~ there are mountains of these "out there"

Do the best for yourself, get the best deal bearing in mind coverage and all

that.

Best of luck and kind regards TallTrees

Re: Why does the same product cost so much less from mobiles.co.uk

Bambino — Wed, 15 May 2019 16:14:07 GMT

@Dubz If you're not interested in Refresh, or any of the other 'perks' that O2 offer by buying directly, then buying through a third party is the way to go.

Re: Why does the same product cost so much less from mobiles.co.uk

MI5 — Wed, 15 May 2019 16:33:15 GMT

If you are eligible for discounts you can get up to 50% off with Family Plan so could work out cheaper that way, but if not, just go for the cheapest deal.

Re: Why does the same product cost so much less from mobiles.co.uk

pgn — Wed, 15 May 2019 19:45:31 GMT

And if you're working in the right sector, don't forget O2 Open, @MI5.

But even with that, the 3rd party contract can work out to be the better deal 😉

Re: Why does the same product cost so much less from mobiles.co.uk

MI5 — Wed, 15 May 2019 20:25:08 GMT

Yeah as I think open is a max of 20%

Re: Why does the same product cost so much less from mobiles.co.uk

pgn — Wed, 15 May 2019 21:33:02 GMT

Up to 40% if you happen to be in the teaching profession, @MI5:

https://www.cable.co.uk/news/o2-offers-teachers-up-to-a-40-discount-on-refresh-phone-plans-700002553/

And O2 are still pushing O2 Priority as one of the perks, although you get that with any O2 phone, regardless of whether COntract from O2 or from 3rd party, or even PAYG.

Re: Why does the same product cost so much less from mobiles.co.uk

MI5 — Wed, 15 May 2019 22:05:39 GMT

Yeah, but it's pants though!

Re: Why does the same product cost so much less from mobiles.co.uk

pgn — Wed, 15 May 2019 22:11:41 GMT

That's putting it mildly, yes!

Re: Why does the same product cost so much less from mobiles.co.uk

gmarkj — Thu, 16 May 2019 07:50:39 GMT

I completely understand your confusion @Dubz.
o2's pricing policy does not follow any conventional logic - no doubt they would have some reasoning for it, but nothing that any customers would understand.
Ultimately it comes down to what is the best deal for you - if, as mentioned by others, you are able to access any of the discounts that o2 offers and that matches or beats the offer from mobiles.co.uk then I would suggest taking that (as you at least have the option of paying off the contract).
If not, then mobiles it is!
Some words of advice: if you do go the 3rd party route, make sure you have paid off the last month of whatever contract you currently have. o2 will not transfer you number across until it shows as paid.
Also, when you do need to transfer make sure you call the customer services team rather than use chat.
Other than that, good luck and welcome to the community!

Re: Why does the same product cost so much less from mobiles.co.uk

davethorp — Thu, 16 May 2019 13:06:45 GMT

It’s the same for most of the major networks with 3rd party stores often having the better deals

It does defy logic as buying direct from a network cuts out the middleman so that saving should be passed onto the consumer but it isn’t and in fact the opposite is true

O2 will of course argue that you miss out on benefits such as O2 refresh and flexible plans by not going direct. If those features do not hold value to you then its a no brainier and you should go for the cheapest deal

Re: Why does the same product cost so much less from mobiles.co.uk

jonsie — Thu, 16 May 2019 15:46:51 GMT

Changing suppliers is the very essence of our disposable income today. Gas and electricity, tv, broadband so why not phone suppliers. Advantages and disadvantages to any supplier and the onus is on ourselves to opt for the best deal to suit our income.