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CUPERTINO, CA - SEPTEMBER 12: Apple CEO Tim Cook announces the new iPhone X during an Apple special event at the Steve Jobs Theatre on the Apple Park campus on September 12, 2017 in Cupertino, California. Apple is holding their first special event at the new Apple Park campus where they are expected to unveil a new iPhone. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
With a price tag starting at $999, the iPhone X will be one of the most expensive phones of all-time. Even repairs are going to be exorbitant with out-of-warranty repairs costing as much as $549. But if you purchase your new iPhone X from Best Buy it will be even costlier. The electronics retail giant is selling the highly coveted iPhone X for $100 more than any other retailer. And the reason for the bloated price has customers incensed.
The iPhone X was officially released online on Friday at 3 a.m. and Apple was mostly sold out of the device in a mere 17 minutes, and they were totally gone in 38 minutes. You can still order the iPhone X from Apple but it has a shipping date of five to six weeks. The demand for the totally redesigned 10th anniversary iPhone has already gotten to ridiculous levels on the secondary markets where the average price of an iPhone X pre-order is $1,500. It seems that Best Buy expected the frantic craving for the upcoming iPhone X and adjusted their prices accordingly.
Best Buy is offering the 64 GB model for $1,099 (normally $999) and they are charging $1,249 (normally $1,149) for the 256 GB model. Best Buy has a perfectly good reason for the higher price. A Best Buy spokesperson explained the reason for the lofty price tag to Bloomberg.
“Our prices reflect the fact that no matter a customer’s desired plan or carrier, or whether a customer is on a business or personal plan, they are able to get a phone the way they want at Best Buy. Our customers have told us they want this flexibility and sometimes that has a cost.”
There you have it. If you thought the higher prices were because of price gouging you are wrong because the higher prices are because “flexibility.” Some customers were not buying their reasoning or buying the phone from Best Buy.
Never buying from you again. Charging $100 premium due to demand is treating your customer like dirt.
— John Kiefte (@JohnStrikwerda) October 27, 2017
https://twitter.com/tomas_villegas/status/923905016108216321
No thanks @BestBuy I’m not paying $100 above the list price to buy an iPhone X from you!! This is blatant price gouging!! Shame on you!! 😡😡 https://t.co/4Ynq999cnS
— David Lindsley (@RetProf77) October 27, 2017
— Last Man Standing ¯_(ツ)_/¯ (@SakathHotMagaa) October 28, 2017
https://twitter.com/ahilevoy/status/924072755552768002
Please rethink your $100 up-charge, or I will no longer be shopping with you after picking up my preorder. #PriceGouging
— cynicprime (@cynicprime) October 28, 2017
You guys are crazy charging $100 extra for an already expensive ass phone
— AZ (@RoboticalKid) October 28, 2017
https://twitter.com/BryanLaurel/status/924029558558310400
https://twitter.com/David__Quirk/status/924325051591163905
https://twitter.com/tuffigirl/status/924319601198030849
— Last Man Standing ¯_(ツ)_/¯ (@SakathHotMagaa) October 28, 2017
It should be noted that the higher prices only apply if you are buying the phone up front, whereas payment plans through wireless carriers will be the same as other retailers. But it certainly appears that some consumers will be using their own flexibility to buy the iPhone X from a retailer not selling it for $100 extra. God bless the free market.