Russian iPhone X buyers rush to resell brand-new devices on internet at sky-high prices

Business & Economy November 03, 2017, 13:24

Apple unveiled its new iPhone X, as well as the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, on September 12

MOSCOW, November 3. /TASS/. Russians who snapped up the new iPhone X devices following Friday’s launch have already started reselling them on the internet.

"Since eight in the morning, those who got the brand new iPhone X devices from the Apple Store and official retailers, have already presented around 50 of them on the Yula free ads website," a source in Yula’s press service told TASS.

"The average price for the 125GB model is 144,000 rubles ($2,470), which is almost 57% higher than the price set by the manufacturer. The highest price is 210,000 rubles ($3,600), which is 2.3 higher that the in-store price," the Yula source stressed.

Besides, many individual resellers have several of the latest models and confirm it by attaching photos of the smartphones to their advertisements.

Such ads have already appeared on other online marketplaces as well. For instance, more than 1,000 ads were placed on the Avito website by 11:30 am Moscow time, most of them advertising iPhone X 256GB models with prices ranging from 100,000 to 140,000 rubles ($1,716 to $2,400).

According to Avito’s press service, the new iPhone X smartphones are being resold mostly in Moscow, St. Petersburg and the southern region of Krasnodar.

"Today, the number of ads for the iPhone X resales has significantly increased in various regions," the Avito sources pointed out.

In Moscow, the maximum price for a 256GB device hit 300,000 rubles ($5,137), while in the city of Yekaterinburg (which is fourth, tailing the Krasnodar Region) the price tag is 110,000 ($1,885), the Avito press service added.

iPhone X more popular with Russians than iPhone 8

Apple unveiled its new iPhone X, as well as the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, on September 12. On September 22, the iPhone 8 devices became available for pre-order in Russia. Retailers said then that customer demand had been split down the line between the new iPhone 8 and iPhone X.

However, during the pre-order campaign, Russians proved to be more interested in the iPhone X than in the iPhone 8.

According to re:Store, Apple’s premium reseller in the country, within the first six minutes the number of iPhone X devices that were pre-ordered equaled the amount of iPhone 8 gadgets ordered in the first 24 hours. The industry sources told TASS that Russian stores might face a dearth of iPhone X devices by the end of the year.

The Apple Store has set the price for the 64GB iPhone X model at 79,999 rubles ($1,368), while the 256GB model costs 91,999 rubles ($1,573).

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