Does anyone know of any ways to get around the full (bloated) retail price of the phone if I got one from AT&T?

$449 is an insanely ridiculous price to pay.

Switch over to AT&Tingular

I dont think you will find them any cheaper until people start wanting to get rid of them.

I found one on ebay for $400 unlocked from a reputable seller, so just keep checking!

Yeah with 3 days left on the auction MAYBE, lol... none are closing on ebay for less then $500 at best... more like $600-$800

Not true. Yesterday I saw one go for $430 (it was even unlocked). On Sat, one went for $475 and another for $481.

$299 is my in price. I figure I can turn my 8700g around for atleast $150. So that's $150 out of pocket.

excuse me...unlocked means=can be used in any carrier, right ?? just corious....

any GSM carrier, yes

It'll be hard to find an unlocked curve for less than $400 right now. Maybe when the fire dies down a bit, they'll get lower. Cingular price with no contract is $450 + unlocking. I even called this one authorized dealer and was quoted $799, I laughed and hanged up.

Take it from someone with a decent phone collection, buy it out rite from at&t and get it unlocked! The way the cell phone market is today, with glitches and devices with bugs and what not, your better off in the long run paying retail and having the option to either exchange for a new one if it's a lemon, or just bring it back for a full refund! In the long run you'll save yourself a headache! Or, you could just jump ship from Tmobile and get one for $199 after rebates.