Everyone, from people in the US to people in China, know of the popularity of any and all Apple products especially its iPhone. The new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have made their debut in full force all across the world. However, the price of the new iPhone is what all the buzz has been about, especially in China. The iPhone 6 is now selling for approximately 6 times the price it’s sold for in the United States.
For the base model iPhone 6, the price is selling for $1,430 (with a carrier contract). This is a steep price. In order to purchase the upgraded model, the iPhone 6 Plus, you need to be prepared to shell out even more, approximately more than $2,400!
Who in their right mind would want to pay these prices for a phone? Street smugglers in China selling these phones are confident that they will have buyers. This is evident in the long lines outside of the Chinese mall, Taikoo Li, of people clamoring for this latest upgrade in technology. Long lines outside of Apple stores in Hong Kong are also proof that people are willing to do whatever it takes to get the latest Apple technology available no matter the price.
These long lines outside of the Apples stores in Hong Kong did not come from the stores themselves, but from the smugglers who brought the phones across the border days before they the new phones made their official appearance in Hong Kong Apple stores. This is because there are no restrictions on these products in Hong Kong like there are in China.
These same smugglers have also said that people are even willing to pay top dollar, higher than the already high prices, just to have the iPhone 6 Plus delivered right to their door. Since its debut, weekend reports of the iPhone’s popularity in sales have come from sources in Japan, where overseas Chinese are trying to make iPhone purchases. There are also Chinese in the United States that are trying to make iPhone purchases and have them shipped back to their homes in China for big profits.
A filmmaker in New York, attempted to capture the buying frenzy of Chinese buying iPhones by bringing a Mandarin interpreter along to ask the Chinese in line who they were buying the phone for. This Chinese buying frenzy is a problem for some and a shining opportunity for other, like Chinese smugglers. This is in part because Apple has only allowed two out of three required regulatory steps to be passed, but not the most important one that provides licenses for network access from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Passing this will provide regulatory permission for China to provide phones to everyone when they want them at a much lower price than what the smugglers charge.
Until this happens, smugglers are enjoying their thriving business of purchasing and selling iPhones on the black market. They are making thousands and thousands of money. An example of this was seen in the flashy businessman who was seen purchasing nine iPhone 6 phones in cash!
