I gather from reading other posts that ATT customers under contract have been able to purchase a Bold at the full price of 550. I walked into one corporate store and called another and neither would sell to me even at full price. I'm currently only 4 months into a 2 year contract.

Any advice?

Try another store and ask for a manager! The shouldn't be that stingy with their supply!

The store/sales rep don't make money when they sell phones at no contract, but they can't refuse you if they have them in stock. I work at AT&T and we sold about 10 with no contract on launch day no questions asked. If they give you trouble ask to speak with a manager and raise hell. No one likes an upset customer.

Wirelessly posted (troydbrown is Chad!)

It is up to store manager if they are low they can reserve the product for upgrading or new activations

i dont think so....

I bought mine at Best Buy for $550 without contract. Had no problems with it. Print out the page from AT&T's website and they'll price match it in store.

Yes they can.

I went to an ATT store in West Los Angeles and they wouldnt sell it to me without a contract... guy was an ahole. Pico and Sepulveda.

I've had my local store not sell me a new phone at full cost saying they were holding them for new customers. Another time they even gave me the "it isn't in stock" when they found out it was just an upgrade, not a new activation. I don't go there anymore and had done a lot of business with them prior.

The store in the Willowbrook Mall, NJ has been good to deal with as is the store in Times Square.

Regards-Michael G.

Like Mikef1182 said, they want the contract and the new service, that's where their money is. If they have the option of selling one outright or with a contract, they'll choose the contract/new subscriber every time.

Oh and the reps will lie to you in the store. I went into the AT&T store to buy my Bold on November 2nd, a couple of days before the launch, and as I was standing there buying my Bold, while it was sitting in the box right on the counter, I heard a rep telling person after person that they didn't even have the Bold in stock. I knew that they had about 11 of them, but they were lying to customers. Maybe they were holding out for their friends. I felt bad for the others and I don't know why the chose to tell me the truth.

I just checked with my manager (Corporate AT&T store) and from what he told, there is no rule in place that says we can deny a customer a phone. Its manager's choice weather or not to sell it at no contract, but they 100% CAN if the store has them in stock. Do not be afraid to ask for a manager and get nasty, the sqeeky wheel gets the oil!

I aswell work for ATT in the Dallas area and to my knowledge it is case by case. If the employee or manager feels they can make it with their current stock to the next delievery date, you got yourself a phone. But if they are low you may have to ask for a manager.

For anyone in California if you go to purchase a phone at full non contract price they must sell it to you under state law. They are not allowed to hold inventory for current or upgrading customers.

If you are given any grief remind them of this state law and you will see a device in your hands fast. I know T-Mobile & AT&T reps are all well informed about this and the penalty is steep.

Well I had to drive half way across town but after a few calls the guys at the ATT store in Thornton CO hooked me up with a Bold without grief.

I'll just be sure to make a few calls next time before driving anywhere.

last time i checked AT&T (and authorized retailers, where many of you are probably having problems) are capitalist businesses, with the right to refuse service to anyone, for any reason. sorry it makes you pissed off that you can't buy the hottest latest blackberry, but nowhere in any literature does it state that AT&T MUST sell you the device if it is in stock.

/rant

on a helpful note- upgrade to familytalk and add a line for 9.99/mo. not only will you get the phone for about the same price after the 2 years, but the sales reps will love you, as new apps are like heaven to us.

don't mean to discredit you Troy, but could you reference that state law please? i was told by my superiors not to sell Bold's without contract, period.

so if you could, I'd like to be aware if I am unknowingly breaking the law, and if so, i retract my previous statement

hahahahaha I feel ya /rant there man. I am out in Dallas with AT&T.

P.S. Sorry guys he is right, we do not have to sell to anyone we dont want to. But I garentee if you found my store and dropped BlackBerryForums.com : Your Number One BlackBerry Community into our conversation, I might hook you up lol.

agreed. anyone in the la jolla, CA area who wants a bold, too bad because my store is currently out of stock

LOL Thanks, but the question was asked under the assumption that we all know how capitalism works and know what they legally can and can't do.

I was just looking for clarification on whether it's a store by store policy or corporate wide policy. Got my answer though.

Regaurdless of any policy, it wont last. Like anything new we have to give them out sparingly, but when stock is larger and carving slows down, no more issues.

lol wasn't directed at you mainly, mostly the people saying that we have to do this and that.

I don't work in this industry, so I honestly don't know. But I have to ask this:

Do you not make any money by selling someone a phone at full (non-contract) price? Or do you just make MORE money if you sell the phone at a discount with a contract?

its different for every business, but in mine, we make a few dollars on an outright sale, independent of the price of the handset.

on an activation or an upgrade, we make a few dollars for the sale itself, and its added into another part of our commission, which makes us more money, and also added into another part, which makes us more money still.

on one outright phone sale, for instance, i make $4. if it was a new activation, the max i could make would be $15, and it would boost the amount i make on all the other sales. kinda like a pyramid scheme, where once the snowball gets rolling, there is no stopping it.

And if you work were I work...

Outright - $4
Upgrade - $10-15 +Points on bonus worksheet
Activations - $20-30 +Points x2...

However, the reason behind not selling the phone outright has to do with the contract not the money we make. ATT could give a shit about us. I make 40 cents on a free upgrade. its the contract ATT, or any carrier, carries about.

damn son! time to get me a job in dallas. haha

I understand now. Thank you for clearing that up for me =)

I get where you're coming from. Uninformed customers are a pain. It's a ***** when you have money in hand and get shut down though. I'll be sure to make a few calls next time. Never had this problem with T-Mo though.