"I spent way, way too long" sounds like a lot more than "a couple minutes" to me.

My point is that there is no research cost for buying outright. You just buy the phone and then you pick whatever service and plan you want. If I have to spend significant amounts of time penny pinching on "deals" and contracts that probably means I'm trying to buy something I can't afford. Moreover, this tendency definitely leads to _more_ spending in the long, not less.