Overall Cost of OOMA

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sfhub
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Re: Overall Cost of OOMA

Post by sfhub » Sun May 02, 2010 11:14 am

Groundhound wrote:Your premise is, to be charitable, somewhat distorted. You pick the cheapest Vonage plan and compare it to the most expensive Ooma plan, using call forwarding on network outage as the single justification for the Ooma plan
I think it is distorted also, but to me that is more because Ooma has chosen to include network failure call forward in Premiere rather than OP cherry picking a bad comparison. Many considering VOIP would be concerned about reliability of the connection but don't need the extra Premiere features. Unfortunately Premiere is the only way to currently get call forwarding on network outage.

I know there is always the possibility of a slippery slope of features moving from Premiere to Basic, but I think network failure call forward is not really a "Premium" feature, but rather a reliability feature, and as such, that should be included in the basic service. In the past, Ooma has said they planned to move network failure call forward to basic, but it hasn't happened so who knows whether they changed their minds or it is just low in priority.

Certainly a big concern for folks converting from landline to VOIP is the reliability they are used to from landline and the same could be true for Vonage converts who already have network failure call forward on every plan.

To the OP, you might be better off looking for Ooma Core, which has no additional fees. Also instead of call forward on network outage, I just let it go to voicemail and depend on the SMS/email notification of voicemail to let me know someone was trying to reach me. I know it isn't the same, but in my experience, if it is an important call, people leave a message.

I also think this kind of comparison is going to come up more and more for Ooma with their recent decision to charge monthly. To their credit, they have honored their pricing they promised with earlier packaging. However, marketing-wise, it is a big shift in consumer mind-set. It used to be with Ooma, you paid up front but saved a lot in the future and you didn't have to deal with monthly fees. For that value proposition people were willing to put up with less features and even became Ooma champions because they felt Ooma was doing good for the world. With the recent change to monthly with the suggestion that state and local taxes might be coming (with no grandfather like the $11.75 and $0 for previous users) you are paying up front but still have monthly fees, just "less" monthly fees than somebody else. In that case folks naturally start comparing what they are losing (or getting) for the less (or more) fees.

To me, that is a change from "if I sacrifice a little, I can get big savings" to I'm trading one evil (high monthly fees) for a different kind of evil, up front costs with lower monthly fees and less features.

I still think Ooma is a good deal, but can understand that it is more difficult for people to come to that conclusion with the new monthly fees with suggestions that those fees could creep higher with state and local taxes not currently included. That just sounds too similar to why many people wanted to switch to Ooma in the first place, namely telcos jacking up the fees to crazy levels.

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coldsteel
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Re: Overall Cost of OOMA

Post by coldsteel » Sun May 02, 2010 11:46 am

Not sure why the comparison is to Vonage necessarily (and BTW my Vonage bill with taxes etc was closer to $35.00 a month a couple of years ago as your 500 minute plan would have covered maybe a week of usage in my house, not a month). Even using your own figures the OOMA would have broken even with your Vonage service by 11 months (you would be saving $22.00 per month NOT the $3.00 you indicate because you would DROP Vonage no?).

My OOMA hub and scout with the Premier package cost me about $290.00. My AT&T regional phone bill was (minimum with taxes) $70.00 per month. My math indicates that OOMA paid for itself in 4.5 months. I'm now in the "I've got an OOMA and free phone service period" as long as the hardware (and service) stay up. Even with paying for Premier every year my phone service is essentially free based on the savings that will have already been made by the time I renew.
Own: 1 Hub, 1 Scout ... "Common Sense Information Technology" is the focus of http://winstonlawrence.com/notebook/

RobinWyman75
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Re: Overall Cost of OOMA

Post by RobinWyman75 » Sun May 02, 2010 11:56 am

I already own OOMA.

My issue is the following.

I purchased OOMA with the understanding that it was 11.95/year (roughly), at least that is what I had read a few weeks before purchasing. After purchasing, cancelling Vonage, and signing up for OOMA, I then see that the charge is more. After entering my zip code I find that it is 3.47$ per month roughly 45$ per year. Ok, I've accepted that. Then, later I find out, after asking many question, that the sales tax is not included and that it will be added at some point in the future, but nobody knows how much this will be.

Call me crazy, but from a marketing perspective, not being able to give an acurrate cost upfront, clear enough for the average consumer to understand seems to me to be either disceiving or poor decision making.

To have 3 tier price for the exact same service seems to me to be crazy, I would imagine, going forward that any new OOMA customer will think the same.

Yes, I think call forwarding in instances of power outage is important and should be included in the basic plan.

RobinWyman75
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Re: Overall Cost of OOMA

Post by RobinWyman75 » Sun May 02, 2010 12:03 pm

Groundhound wrote:Your premise is, to be charitable, somewhat distorted. You pick the cheapest Vonage plan and compare it to the most expensive Ooma plan, using call forwarding on network outage as the single justification for the Ooma plan and ignoring the fact that the Ooma plan is a two-line, two-number plan and one that includes 10 times more per month minute limit that the Vonage plan you cite. You use the highest full retail price for Ooma's upfront cost and apparently did not include any startup cost for Vonage. Furthermore you simply make up numbers for Ooma's state & local taxes that are not currently charged. Really, if you want to stay with Vonage, just do it - no reason to waste everyone's time with "fuzzy logic".
But that is the plan that I had with Vonage. I had the 500 minutes plan. I do not use the phone all that much. So I am comparing apples to apples. I don't need more minutes, and I would like the same options that Vonage gave me. Call forwarding in case of power outage is important and should be included in the basic service. Your right I didn't use the Vonage up front cost. As those charges are long gone. From this point on is where I'm basing this on. I'm just presenting this as a case for me personally. I'm sure there are many Vonage customers in the same situation. OOMA is good for many customers, but for the user that uses the phone minimally, already have a vonage line, to switch to OOMA seems to be more expensive. JMHO.

RobinWyman75
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Re: Overall Cost of OOMA

Post by RobinWyman75 » Sun May 02, 2010 12:15 pm

coldsteel wrote:Even using your own figures the OOMA would have broken even with your Vonage service by 11 months (you would be saving $22.00 per month NOT the $3.00 you indicate because you would DROP Vonage no?).
No,

Monthly Cost:

Vonage 22$ (if If I kept Vonage and didn't go with OOMA).

OOMA 19$ (if I dropped Vonage and stayed with OOMA).
-----------------
3$ savings per month.

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coldsteel
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Re: Overall Cost of OOMA

Post by coldsteel » Sun May 02, 2010 12:25 pm

RobinWyman75 wrote:.. So I am comparing apples to apples. I don't need more minutes, and I would like the same options that Vonage gave me.
Actually RobinWyman75, you weren't comparing apples to apples as your math was incorrect. The savings accrued would be your Vonage monthly bill at $22.00 per month which you would no longer be paying not the $3.00 per month that you used in your calculation. If you put $22.00 into your calculation instead of $3.00 then I think you will see a huge difference in the result.
Own: 1 Hub, 1 Scout ... "Common Sense Information Technology" is the focus of http://winstonlawrence.com/notebook/

RobinWyman75
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Re: Overall Cost of OOMA

Post by RobinWyman75 » Sun May 02, 2010 12:34 pm

coldsteel wrote:
RobinWyman75 wrote:.. So I am comparing apples to apples. I don't need more minutes, and I would like the same options that Vonage gave me.
Actually RobinWyman75, you weren't comparing apples to apples as your math was incorrect. The savings accrued would be your Vonage monthly bill at $22.00 per month which you would no longer be paying not the $3.00 per month that you used in your calculation. If you put $22.00 into your calculation instead of $3.00 then I think you will see a huge difference in the result.
:D
No,

Vonage 22$
OOMA 19$

I need phone service so I need to pick one. So I'm either picking Vonage at 22$ a month or I'm picking OOMA at 19$ a month. By switching from Vonage (dropping Vonage) to OOMA instead of paying 22$ a month I would be paying 19$ per month. So overall I would be saving 3$ per month. I would still need to have a phone line!

I would have a net savings of 3$ per month.

diddlydoo
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Re: Overall Cost of OOMA

Post by diddlydoo » Sun May 02, 2010 1:03 pm

I am new to OOMA and it took a good bit of thinking on it to finally decide to go with it. I use call forwarding a lot. I thought it would be crazy for me to pay 120.00 a year just for call forwarding and that's what held me back and why I didn't purchase OOMA sooner. I may see how it goes and do without it...hadn't decided yet.

I was using VOIPO. I paid 135.00 a year and it came with all the bells and whistles and all the features and unlimited nationwide calling. I thought it was a great deal and VOIPO had rave reviews. How could I go wrong I thought.

Well for me their service wasn't reliable. Many times I went to use the phone and I got dead air. Simultaneous ring worked for awhile and then quit, I'd get a dial tone and dial a number and the call wouldn't go through, etc. It was a pain and I spent a lot of time on the phone and via e-mails trying to get things fixed. That's when I decided to just go with OOMA. It cost me more upfront and I probably won't get my money out of it for a couple of years but hopefully it last awhile.

I only did it because of all the reviews and people didn't seem to have all the issues with the service as I had with my prior VOIP. It was worth a little more for me to pay a little more up front for reliability.

I do think it would be nice to have at least the call forwarding to another number if no power. That does seem like a basic feature. Of course most people need that.

For me it was reliable service vs. unreliable service. Hopefully I made the right decision.

I wasn't one of the many paying 40-80.oo per month for phone so it's not so much a money issue for me. I just basically use the phone while home to cut down on cell minutes. I don't use it that much.

I have the Core with hub and scout and I know if I had to start paying taxes or fees, I wouldn't have bought it.

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coldsteel
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Re: Overall Cost of OOMA

Post by coldsteel » Sun May 02, 2010 1:25 pm

RobinWyman75 wrote: Vonage 22$
OOMA 19$
I would have a net savings of 3$ per month.
Okay, I'm not going to belabor the point and I'm certainly not trying to convince you to go with OOMA since you seem to happy with Vonage (I didn't have any problems with Vonage either). Somehow in your world OOMA is charging you $19.00 per month for some reason that I don't quite understand.

In my world right now I am paying OOMA $0.00 per month and I am saving $70.00 per month that I am not paying AT&T if you do decide to go with OOMA then I would say "welcome to my world" :D .
Own: 1 Hub, 1 Scout ... "Common Sense Information Technology" is the focus of http://winstonlawrence.com/notebook/

RobinWyman75
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Re: Overall Cost of OOMA

Post by RobinWyman75 » Sun May 02, 2010 1:36 pm

coldsteel wrote:
RobinWyman75 wrote: Vonage 22$
OOMA 19$
I would have a net savings of 3$ per month.
Okay, I'm not going to belabor the point and I'm certainly not trying to convince you to go with OOMA since you seem to happy with Vonage (I didn't have any problems with Vonage either). Somehow in your world OOMA is charging you $19.00 per month for some reason that I don't quite understand.

In my world right now I am paying OOMA $0.00 per month and I am saving $70.00 per month that I am not paying AT&T if you do decide to go with OOMA then I would say "welcome to my world" :D .
Right, but that is because you purchased the Hub/Scout and pay no fees. Great. But for the sucker that purchased the Telo with the misinformation with the fees, somewhat my fault, but definately partially OOMA's fault, we are out of luck.

Just making the point.

The message the company is sending is ...

OOMA telo - bad!

OOMA hub/scout - good.

Either way, very confusing.....

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