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Quite a few of you have dropped us a line to let us know that Best Buy has an outrageously high price tag on its off-contract price for the Motorola Moto X. It’s $700, and that definitely would seem a tad too high for a phone of this caliber (let’s face it — the Moto X doesn’t scream overly-expensive). There’s only one problem with that — Best Buy’s pricing isn’t to be trusted. Best Buy often prices its off-contract smartphones beyond normal.
The reasoning? They don’t stand to make much money on the sale otherwise. Two-year contract pricing matches up with (or is sometimes better than) what carriers offer because Best Buy gets a sizable commission on that. Without a contract, they’re left up to their own devices to make money on each sale, and the end-result is usually an inflated price tag.
Take the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 I bought from Verizon, for instance — they were selling it for $700, while Best Buy had it for $800. That’s not to say for sure the Moto X will be cheaper than $700, but it doesn’t mean that is the price we can expect carriers to put on it. Let’s take a deep breath, wait, and hope that off-contract pricing for this thing is a bit easier to swallow when these carriers and Motorola share more details.
[via Best Buy]
#Fail Motorola….. No way in hell I’m going to pay that price for a mid range device
IF you new anything about how best buy sells phones outright you wouldn’t even consider reading this article… they overprice EVERY phone…
and for those calling the X a mid-range phone you need to get your head out of the core count hole its been living in…
does more HP always mean a better car? no there are more factors to performance than just ONE contributor
yea actually it does… Technology comes from pushing the limits, they innovation in F1 cars 5 years ago is to a large degree making its way into the daily drivers we buy today, from push button start to composite and alloy components.
Same with the phone, i guess the X8 architecture is cool. But in reality at the end of the day its a largely outdated processor with last years screen res. You really cannot match this phone to the current flagship devices, and it was released 3 months AFTER all of them…. underwhelming really
The real innovation here is the customization. Google isn’t stupid, they likely did their homework and held focus sessions with average people and must’ve gotten the overwhelming vibe that the average joe wants customization over top of the line specs. All the pretty color options are what made Nokia phones all the rage back in the early 2000’s
What’s wrong with getting both or all 3 of them, S600 (optimized just like the S4Pro), 1080p 4.7″ display and customization to your hearts desire -_-
Money! Get your cake and eat it too and it’ll be like $400 on contract! One has to imagine that Moto and Google have to pay for their initial investment of opening that plant in Texas and setting up the Dell-style assembly line and customization.
Don’t get me wrong this is one of the device that I’m planning to upgrade from my G-Nexus, the others are the G-Note 3, Droid Maxx and the LG G2. But I doubt that I’ll be getting the LG G2. I’m just waiting to see what the rest have to offer to pull the trigger.
If they did that then why not put a 5.5″ display instead of 4.7″, don’t stop at the s600 and 1080p
I’m pretty sure not everyone is looking for a phone with a 5.5″ display. Moto is trying to get the average consumers to buy this device not those looking for a gigantic display. Besides Moto is trying to climb back onboard and going for a 5.5″ is not going to help them at all..
Exactly. This isn’t a phone built for you or me, but for the average consumer that doesn’t care about any of the the things you think it should have. For the price you are getting customization and American made while having decent hardware that has been optimized. 1080p on a 4.7″ screen isn’t that big of a deal.
I know what you mean but still that price is kind of steep. I just hope that it doesn’t disappoint and it works just like Moto is expecting it to work in the hands of the consumers.
Then why didn’t you say so originally instead of baiting someone?
Mark my words, watch the success of this phone…
Customization is great for marketing, from a manufacturing stand point I really
think the hassle of the options and configuring them is going to greatly
outweigh the sales success of this phone. And you are absolutely right… Core
counts are not the end all be all. However, architecture should be. And why do I
want a Krait processor which is far outdated when the A15 is mid cycle and
being optimized. Not everyone is a power user but really look where the volume
of sales success has been. HTC One and GS4 and iPhone 5, Nexus 4 even. All of
these devices were designed to some extent to be flagship devices, whether
processor, screen, size or price they are. The Moto X cannot deliver on any of
these fronts. Its larger than any existing flagship, and its out speced by all
of them. It was released nearly a quarter after this year’s top devices, there
is no reason it should be short of spectacular on paper and in reality. But I highly
doubt it will live up to the Hype
It actually doesn’t. How are a ridiculous number of cores going to matter? Motorola is trying to deliver things that consumers can get excited about such as customization. User experience and execution are what matters in the end. The x8 processor is more then capable of producing an awesome user experience. If a customer’s phone lags or an app crashes they don’t think, “Well I have the latest quad core processor so it’s all good.” Their pissed that their phone didn’t run well. Their not concerned with the processor, they’re disappointed in the poor app/software.
Out their damn mind.
Mmhmm
Best Buy can shove their retail phone prices up their you know what. They price them as such so that they can get consumers to commit to a 2 year deal at a lower price which is fine. But if they change their mind and return the phone, then they would charge them 10 percent of the retail price thus consumers pay a hefty return fee…It happened to me, never ever again will I buy a phone from them.
Not true. If the phone is returned during the normal return period for the carrier, best buy charges zero return fee and no restocking fee. That time frame is typically 14 days. If you were charged; you returned the phone after the carrier’s “buyers remorse” period.
It is true that their outright pricing is inflated for the reason stated in the post.
I bought an iPhone in the morning and return it in rhe afternoon and they charged me as such. I got it at best buy and return it at best buy mobile.
All I can say is that is contrary to their written policy.
I am not lying. I got the phone for $200 on contract at Best Buy but had to return it to Best Buy Mobile because it was closer to me. He charged the return as full price as $600 and charged me 10%. I was very angry but he said that is the way it is. I even called their customer service and was told the same thing.
You can buy xperia ultra for that much!
FYI best buy charges the tax on the full non-contrsct price of a phone they sell with a new contract still. so the higher the non contract price, the more they collect in tax. $200 upfront cost charged with tax of the full $800. it sucks.
The state determines the tax rules. BB charges tax only on the full price where required (like CA). In PA (for example) tax is only due on the amount paid.
Best Buy puts ridiculous pricing on items prior to launch… my wifi Xoom was listed @ $10,000 in the days just before launch as a way of preventing early sales. We know Best Buy overprices their off-contract phones — if this price is legit, expect the phone to be cheaper at other venues.
Considering $200 price on a 2 year contract with wireless carriers means Moto-x would cost somewhere $600+ range OFF contract when widely available from other retailers. Hard to justify paying that price.
Lmao, Moto and Best Buy should both go home, because their drunk. This “X” has $275 worth of hardware. Where do they get off thinking they can bend us over like Apple does to their customers?
This is what I can do with $700: Pay my gas bill, water bill, cellphone bill, gym membership, direct TV, car insurance, newspaper subscription, internet bill, house alarm and the pool guy…….and still have money to take the Wifey out to Applebee’s!
>.> is this really worth 2 Nexus 4’s ?
$700 is just outlandish for a mid-range phone.
But, taking into consideration, that this phone is Made in the USA, doesn’t that lend to it’s higher price?
Remember Apple and other handset mfg’s all offshore their manufacturing process to minimize cost. Since Moto isn’t doing this, wouldn’t it be “ok” to be patriotic and keep the greenbacks on our homeland? Just a thought. (still not paying $700 for this thing..maybe the Droid Maxx, but not this)
Yes. That’s why it’s hard for the USA to make things here. The good thing about being made in your home country is maintenance on it. But you don’t really keep a phone for more than 2 years on average so by that time you would have a different one.
A big part of why it’s so expensive is excessive regulation by the government. The higher wages would be offset by lower shipping if it weren’t for the government.
Damn that Obama again and all them darn regelashuns that he dun put out there that I done heard on the AM radio, dang, socialist, commie, mooslim, ‘Merica hatin’ mofo…..no wonder the stock market be almost at zero since he dun took office….
Google: MOTO X ITC
to see the other reasons why google made the phone in the USA. Good PR is nice but there are always ulterior motives.
Save $50 and get the Googlfied Galaxy S4
It won’t be $700. Best Buy always does this. They do price match, though. If your carrier sells it for a lower price (which they will), you just tell them to price match it and you can walk out of Best Buy with it.
Finally, rational thinking. How refreshing.
shibby
They don’t price match on mobile phones.
WTF!? $700!?
Leave my sight!!
(-_-)>
I gotta start using that line, Bravo.
LoL!! All my friends tease me. They know I say it all the time.
I still don’t understand their pricing. $199 for mid range phone. High end phones like HTC One and GS4 are going for 130-180 on Contract. And this one so called “software” focused phone Moto X is $199 on contract. I think they will learn the lesson. (I know its “made in USA”). It does not matter for the buyer.
More than likely, it’s partially due to the “Assembled in the US” bit. Much higher labor costs than abroad. Add in the variety of back plates and some of the economies of scale are also lost.
Agree. But again, for consumers price is the deal-breaker.
Actually, if you buy through Amazon, you can get the HTC One for $79.99. I just bought two of them on contract with AT&T for $79.99 each. Insanely awesome deal if you ask me.
This phone is just turning in a bowl of crap. Outside of being assembled in the US (still foreign components btw) and the optional wood I suppose, whats so significant about it?
I’m going to call it the Moto C.
Mid tier phone for premium handset price! Screw that Motorola!
Best Buy, the place that should have gone out of business long ago.
Uck. People are still trying to factor the “on contract” prices into determining the value of a phone… Idiotic.
You can buy a Ubuntu super phone or a Oppo Find 7 w/ a 8 mp FF cam and possibly a 4,000maH battery. smh
@Quentyn: I think you’re being overly optimistic. Even if carriers have it cheaper, it won’t be cheap enough to entice most people. The fact is; it is simply overpriced any way you look at it. And the phone doesn’t scream, “I’m worth it!” I’m guessing the carriers will have the Moto X off contract for $599.
Any price above $400 isn’t worth it. I’m guessing the normal price would be $100 less the best buy price. You can’t compare this phone to the htc one or gs4 in any way. Forget the software gimmicks. In the real world, most of the moto x features will be left unused. Enough said.
“Take the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 I bought from Verizon, for instance — they were selling it for $700, while Best Buy had it for $800.”
You could have purchased that at Best Buy with their price match guarantee, then bought a and and a shield for a bundled price. Best Buy isn’t as bad as it used to be.
You’re so far from wrong, Simon. The X will compete right along the side of the One and S4. One area it will kill them both is battery.
I can’t stop laughing at all the “mid-range” comments. 1.7 gig processor, 2 gig of ram and a 10MP camera are pretty nice guys. I don’t want to hear it isn’t 1080 either. 4.7 inch screen will be beautiful at 720. 1080 would just kill the battery. With the X8 computing having processors doing sole tasks will really show an improvement in the phone’s operation and battery life.