Retailers demand premium for iPhone 15 Pro Max

Hoang Tien of HCMC’s District 7 wanted to buy the former to gift a relative, but all major retailers he asked told him the color was out of stock.

They had some white phones, but the ones plentily available were blue and black, he was told.

They suggested he should pre-order with them and wait for a few weeks for new stocks to arrive.

But some smaller stores had the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max in all colors though they cost more due to their "limited quantity."

They wanted VND40-41 million for natural titanium and white colors with 256GB ROM, VND5-6 million higher than on Apple Store Online.

They quoted original prices for black and offered blue at just VND34-34.5 million. "The seller urged me to buy quickly saying stocks will run out," Tien said.

In the event, he did not want to pay such a premium and opted for another color.

Le Hieu, the manager of an electronics store on Huynh Thuc Khang Street, Hanoi, said: "Everyone is interested in the natural titanium color; that’s why the price is higher. And though white isn’t as popular, its supply too is limited, which has pushed up its price.

"Furthermore, we retailers have to import the phones at a higher price, so of course we have to sell it for higher," he said.

A retail chain store employee said: "In the first batch of shipments, most retailers received a large number of blue phones because Apple mostly shipped this color to the Vietnamese market."

On social media groups, people express frustration at the fact that retailers are not delivering on schedule.

A customer, Thanh Nguyen, said: "I was promised delivery on Sept. 29, but after many broken promises they now tell me I have to wait until the end of October.

"They said they are out of stock, but how can that be when I see the models being sold in other stores for a higher price?"

iPhones selling out soon after launch has been a fairly common occurrence in recent years. Retailers said they did not get what they ordered in the first batch, leading to a shortage of natural titanium and white phones and a surfeit of blue ones.