I bought online. With the 2 year plan you can pay anywhere from nothing to hundreds: but you're getting them way cheaper than without the plan. And verizon has been OK to me, with a few bumps. I never had coverage problems even when I drove a thousand miles to the middle of nowhere.
I went ahead and got the Droid 4. I need a slider keyboard, and I like my Droid 2 so I figured WTF?
And I got the wireless phone protection and roadside assistance (I think my AAA has lapsed....and I get it with car insurance too but hey, why not...whatever's easiest.)
So I can't wait to get my new toy.