Why reselling iPhone X in mainland China won’t guarantee huge profits for Hong Kong traders
Most expensive iPhone available for pre-order in city from October 27
Apple has barely unveiled its newest and most expensive iPhone model, boasting of an arsenal of features such as facial recognition, and many Hongkongers are already planning to cash in by scalping them across the border to mainland buyers.
Hong Kong, mainland China and Taiwan are among the first of 55 countries and jurisdictions where Apple fans can pre-order “the future of the smartphone”, the iPhone X (with X being the Roman numeral for 10), from October 27 at a minimum price of HK$8,588 in the city and 8,388 yuan (HK$10,025) on the mainland.
But the returns from reselling the devices might not be as big as they used to be, as Apple products were now rolled out on the mainland at the same time as in Hong Kong, traders said.
The launch of the first iPhone, 10 years ago, created a thriving “grey market” in Hong Kong.
The same devices are usually more than 10 per cent cheaper in the city than on the mainland, thanks to Hong Kong’s free-port status which means zero duty on most electronic products.
That has allowed many local dealers to make a living by exploiting the price difference for iPhone products between the two sides. The first few days of an Apple product launch have regularly seen grey-market prices double the retail price, due to the limited supply through mainstream channels on the mainland.
