Smartphone sellers fly to Singapore to buy iPhone 15 for early birds

Nguyen Hieu, owner of a non-authorized Apple store in Hanoi, said he would be in a group of seven going to Singapore to queue up for the phone.

They will return to Vietnam immediately after the purchase to sell the phones to Vietnamese customers who want to own them early.

Other sellers have also made plans to go to Thailand, though most prefer Singapore since supply there is large and the travel is easy.

"In previous years we could sell the iPhones for two or three weeks before they were officially sold in Vietnam, but this year we might be able to sell for only a few days as official sales begin next Friday," Nguyen Vu, the owner of an electronics store in Ho Chi Minh City, said.

After Apple launched its official online store in Vietnam this year, iPhone fans only have to wait for two weeks after the U.S. tech giant introduced the iPhone 15 to get their hands on it. In previous years they had to wait four weeks or even more.

Sellers in Vietnam are now selling the iPhone 15 early starting at VND48 million (US$1,974), and they promise delivery on Friday.

The price is 37% higher than Apple’s official price.

Nguyen Van Cong, a long-time seller of Apple products, said those who buy the iPhone early often use it to gift and so are willing to pay a big premium for it.

Vietnamese people’s interest in the iPhone has not reduced this year despite the economic challenges, a survey by retail chain ShopDunk found.

"Most customers prefer the titanium gray iPhone 15 Pro Max."

The iPhone 15 is made of titanium and not aluminum and steel unlike until now. It also has a USB-C connection instead of the traditional Lightning port.