Mango Mobile

[Triband81]

Originally Posted by snaimon

Thanks for weighing in on this, TB!

What do you make of all the offers and high-priced Aldi starter sets for sale on Ebay.de? Just can't wait? I have seen some STUPID, STUPID buyers on Ebay (US). They bid up the prices on phones to the SKY (say $200) when there is a BUY IT NOW phone of the exact same brand and condition for $100. Huh?

And you are right about Lidl (or even Uncle Wallie) trying to play catch up. Unless they can meet or beat the Aldi offer on a better network, how can they expect to compete? Aldi has a nice head start it seems.

Read that O2 has experienced a nice growth spurt with Tchibo brand. That STARTED it all, but I can't see how that offer can really compete NOW against Aldi Talk.

AND the tarif is STILL TOO tentative -- so what happens AFTER June 30? AND it does ME absolutely no good at all right now as we are planning a trip for mid-July to mid-Aug. PLUS I'd have to pay 5 Euro to switch my existing XtraONE line(s) to the XtraClassic or purchase a new card or two.

Stan

I haven't joined the eBay revolution myself but I think it's a decent setup for a lot of things. If you deal with inflated prices on eBay and you go for the deal, then obviously you can't complain to someone in person should the deal go sour. I think anything having to do with direct retail is the best way to go since the retailer will normally try to ensure the price suits what the customer will pay.

The tactic you see being applied by ALDI isn't new. They're following the same route Lidl has gone the last few years. They join market segments which don't have to do with being a supermarket. Lidl was giving free Deutsche Bahn train tickets last year to draw people into the stores and many lined up way before opening hours. Anyway, I prefer to buy things directly at a store (especially when it comes to phones) since you can actually compare price and get a better deal for your money.

Tchibo is still going strong but the fact is that E-Plus must be offering some neat incentives to the MVNOs in order to get them attached to their network. T-Mobile and Vodafone haven't really gotten smart and made an effort to draw in new MVNO setups.

We'll wait and see how ALDI does.