iPhone X brought to Vietnam across border gates are being offered at record-high prices.
iPhone X officially hit the market on November 3 with the retail price of $999 for 64GB version. However, Vietnamese users cannot buy genuine iPhone X from Apple Authorized Resellers at this moment. They can only buy iPhone X from private shops which are carried to Vietnam via different ways.
The private shops began taking orders many days ago. Vietnamese dealers will fly to regional countries, especially Singapore, and buy iPhone X from authorized resellers there, and then carry products to Vietnam to sell for profit.
In Singapore, the 64GB version has the selling price of 1,648 SGD, or VND27.5 million, while the 256GB is sold at 1,888 SGD, or VND31.5 million.
In Hong Kong, the prices are higher. A 64GB iPhone X is priced at 17,700 HKD, or VND51 million, while a 256GB is 22,200 HKD, or VND64.6 million.
In Vietnam, private shops have different retail price levels. The 30-40 million price levels have been set for 64GB and VND35-50 million for 256GB versions in Vietnam. The same price has been set for Space Grey and Silver.
The owner of a mobile phone shop in Hanoi said the iPhone X price is influenced by many factors.
The first is the launch time. The first iPhone X to be available in Vietnam will be very expensive. He predicted that private shop owners will have to pay a lot to bring iPhone X to Vietnam, because they have to hire people to queue up at AAR to buy products and pay for tickets to fly to Singapore. Sources say individuals can buy only two products each.
The shops’ prestige and post-sale services will also affect iPhone X prices. Petty traders will refuse to provide post-sale services and deny responsibility if products have problems.
As the iPhone X supply has a shortage, the shop owner predicted that only dozens of products would be available in Hanoi on the first day, and the price would be up to VND70 million. Later, when the number of iPhone X brought to Vietnam from the US increases, the prices will go down.
The Gioi Di Dong, the largest mobile phone distribution chain in Vietnam, has decided to pay back deposits to clients because it is not sure if the iPhone X will be available in Vietnam in 2017.
Zing.vn estimates that in the US, some users spend money equal to one-week salary to own an iPhone, while some Vietnamese spend 6-month salary.
Source: Buu Dien