Well, you’re gotta admit: this is an admirable level of pre-order scalping.
Per Computerworld, profiteers hoping to turn a quick buck on the shortage of Apple’s new 5.5-in. iPhone 6 Plus handsets have listed their pre-ordered phones on eBay for as much as US$6,000.
While that was the highest asking price for a new iPhone 6 Plus as of Friday afternoon, there were almost 30 listed on the auction site with “Buy It Now” prices between US$2,000 and US$2,999; over 280 between US$1,000 and US$1,999; and even 5 under US$1,000.
Buy It Now is eBay’s non-auction price that sidesteps bidding. Not all eBay entries for the iPhone 6 Plus included a Buy It Now price.
An “unlocked” iPhone 6 Plus starts at US$749 for the 16GB model and climbs to US$949 for one with 128GB of storage.
This means that an unlocked 16GB iPhone 6 Plus sold for US$1,500 was marked up by 100%; a 64GB model, the most common at the US$1,500 price point, gave the seller a profit margin of 77%.
Sellers were motivated to push up prices because Apple quickly ran out of inventory Friday when it started taking pre-orders for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Within hours, the delay between a new order and a shipping date for the 6 Plus had stretched to three to four weeks, or well into October.
Although one seller asked an outrageous US$5,999 for an iPhone 6 Plus, the largest number of listings were in the US$1,000-US$1,999 range.
Sellers of the iPhone 6 Plus acknowledged that they did not have the device, but promised buyers that they would re-ship the purchase as soon as they received it from Apple. Friday, September 19th, is the on-sale date for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in Apple’s brick-and-mortar stores, and in the first-come-first-served scramble online early Friday, those who quickly made it through the ordering process were promised a September 19th delivery.
Some of the sellers included images of their receipts to prove that they had successfully ordered an iPhone 6 Plus and were to get it next week.
Consumers who are eager to get their hands on a new iPhone 6 Plus on or shortly after next Friday have the option of heading to an Apple or carrier store on Sept. 19, braving the likely lines, and hoping for the best. Apple will open its stores at 8 a.m. local time, one or two hours earlier than normal.
If you’ve seen these kinds of pre-order auctions on eBay, please let us know in the comments. And if you’re bidding on one, please remember that your pets need to eat…