Talk:United States/@comment-50.201.229.10-20160405203728/@comment-24682153-20160405235746

Yes, they are. Sometimes it's enough to be friendly. Actually, they have promotions from time to time when they give away the starter for $0.99. But you can never bet on it. And $20 for a chip is a bit overblown even for the "uncarrier".

Generally, eBay is a good source for cheap starters. Some vendors bag the promotions and sell them for $1-3, sometimes with worldwide shipping. So unlike many other countries (well, it's the US after all and not like any other country) for the US prepurchase of starter packs is a good option. That's why many US-americans want to purchase SIMs for Europe already in advance where it's not.