In my opinion, stay away from AT&T ‘Authorized Retailers’. These authorized retailers are not owned or managed by AT&T in any manner. Authorized retailers are like car dealers. They make up their own rules and contracts and will sell you anything they can get away with. The employees in an authorized retailer do not work for AT&T. Many of the authorized retailers want their customers to think they are walking into an AT&T owned store by having a large AT&T logo on the front of the store. Some authorized retailers design the stores to look like AT&T corporate stores. It’s very deceptive.
I had a problem with a phone I purchased at an authorized retailer. I went to another AT&T store that happened to be an AT&T corporate store. The corporate store would not help me at all because I bought from an authorized retailer. The AT&T corporate store had no records of me purchasing the phone and they did not have the authority to touch the phone. I was told I am stuck dealing with the specific authorized retailer that sold me the phone.
Authorized retailers usually do not have the technical skills or equipment that a corporate store has. If you have a problem with the phone, hardware or software related, a corporate store is in a better position to handle your request. Authorized retailers are not interested in follow up service; they are interested in sales.
There are other retailers that also offer AT&T services, like Best Buy, but at least the people walking into a Best Buy know that the AT&T services are a side business. How many people walk into an AT&T authorized retailer and think they are walking into a store that is owned and managed by AT&T?
Stick with the corporate stores if you have a choice. They are well organized, professionally managed, will provide follow up service, and you are dealing directly with AT&T corporate. Not some third party.
Is there a difference in what they offer and do they have their own rules of what they sell? I just went today to ATT store (Authorized Dealer Store) and wanted to upgrade my data plan, add a new line and purchase Iphone 6 out right, no contract, no AT&T Next plan. I was told I can not do that, that I can only get Iphone on instalments and then in a month I can come to the store or call AT&T and pay the phone off. I was also told that it would not be on contract and that if I wanted to I could upgrade my phone in a month once I pay it off. I almost went with it but then I wanted to know why I can not pay for my phone right then and why I would have to come back to pay it off, as it seemed odd, that extra step. I was told by the rep that it is like that and when I was reluctant to go with the deal another person came in (manager or another rep) and said: " AT&T doesn't sell phones like that, nobody sells phones like that." That was it for me, as I know I could purchase the phone from AT&T online and pay in full, so I decided just to leave the store. I went to another store and purchased my phone, no problems, no gimmicks. That was AT&T Corporate Store.
So, is there a difference? If there shouldn't be then somebody from AT&T should know about it.