Save $95 and bring your own Nexus 5 to the MVNO
Sprint MVNO Ting is now selling the Nexus 5 on its own website, but you'll be paying $445 (a $95 premium) to buy it from Ting instead of Google Play. And the carrier isn't making any illusions about the fact — it is telling customers to just buy the phone for cheaper from Google and put a Ting SIM card into it. As it explains on its official blog, even with selling the Nexus 5 at below cost, Ting just can't match the $349 unlocked price that Google is charging.
We've seen this price discrepancy from other third-party retailers that have offered the phone, but few have been so open about the situation. Given the circumstances, it's in the best interest of both you and Ting if you simply pay $10 for a SIM card from the carrier and pop it into your Nexus 5 ordered from Google Play. Ting will still sell a Nexus 5 to those who simply prefer to buy it from the carrier they'll be using it on, but we love to see the transparency regardless.
Source: Ting
