Apple fans in Vietnam might have to shell out dozens of million of dong to get their hands on a brand-new iPhone X.
Although many tech critics have dubbed Apple's latest creation "the most breakable and most expensive to repair" smartphone, it's apparently selling like hot cakes all over the world, and Vietnam is not an exception.
As Zing reports, Saigon's first-ever iPhone X (256GB) was sold on the launch day for a record price of VND68 million (US$2,994). The suggested price for the 64GB version was VND58 million, but stores were out of stock.
On November 3, tech giant Apple launched the much-anticipated iPhone X at US$999 each (VND22.7 million). However, Apple enthusiasts in Vietnam might have to fork out much more if they want to own one before the year is over, reports VietnamNet.
The price of the phone on the local market is driven up due to its unavailability in Vietnam through official channels. The Gioi Di Dong, the leading mobile phone retailer in the country, has returned deposits to its customers due to uncertainties in securing supplies of the iPhone X within the year.
Because of the instability in both supply and demand, many iPhone retailers have shared that selling iPhone X is like dealing stocks or cryptocurrencies. At the time of writing, the price of the elusive iPhone X is around VND31 million, reports Zing.
Video via YouTube channel Thế Giới Di Động.
Given this situation, Vietnamese dealers have resorted to procuring their supplies from Apple Authorized Resellers (AARs) overseas, most commonly in Singapore, where the company's only Southeast Asian flagship store is located.
The 64GB version is priced at SG$1,648, or VND27.5 million, and the 256GB version is priced at SG$1,888, or VND31.5 million. Currently, local private retailers have set price levels of VND30-40 and VND35-50 million, respectively, for the two versions.
One of the reasons why the phone's price has ballooned so much in Vietnam is because dealers have to pay people to queue at AARs overseas, as each customer is allowed to purchase only two iPhones at a time. An iPhone dealer told Tuoi Tre that he had hired people to queue for around SG$200, or US$147, each.
Vietnamese buyers were spotted among thousands queuing outside the Apple Store on Singapore’s Orchard Road the night before the launch, the newspaper reports. Some had even been there since the week before.
According to Tuoi Tre, a 2016 study by the World Bank revealed that the money spent on an iPhone X would be equivalent to five months’ worth of household expenditure in Vietnam, where the monthly minimum wage is merely VND3.75 million.
[Photo via Nghe Nhin Vietnam]
