Decrepit Old Fool

WOW!  One bid for a 8gig iPhone for $750.  Tsk Tsk, that idiot could probably wait a week or two and get it with no probs.

BTW did you read this yet?

Most people have estimated that over the life of the two year contract (assuming you purchase the cheapest plan) you will spend roughly $2500.00 not counting a single post-purchase accessory. That’s a lot of money for 450 rollover minutes and 200 SMS messages a month (45 cents for each additional minute over) on a dog-slow EDGE network.

Not really hidden costs I would say, but costs many people may not think about.  The other cost not included here is the depreciation cost.  Which will dramatically increase as soon as the item is purchased, because in the long run the retail price of this item will quickly drop.  Which is why I think we should teach kids how to make an effective budget, and how to use such budget.