iPhone 13 resold for profit soon after Vietnam release

"Genuine iPhone 13 Pro Max, 256-GB version, code VN/A, various colors, limited volumes, at VND38 million and up," the owner of an Apple unauthorized shop on Hanoi’s Nguyen Luong Bang Street has advertised on its Facebook page.

On a mobile device classified advertising website, yellow 256-GB iPhone 13 Pro Max phones are listed at around VND39 million, VND3-6 million higher than the original selling price at some Apple authorized resellers in Vietnam.

While the pink 128-GB iPhone 13 is out of stock at all Apple authorized resellers in Vietnam, they are available in the resale marketplace with unauthorized resellers for VND25 million each, higher than its original price of VND22 million.

The number of reselling posts for iPhone 13 VN/A surged Oct. 22 afternoon, soon after most of the authorized sellers began delivering the first batch of smartphones to customers who had pre-ordered the device.

Ngoc Thanh, a Hanoian, said he bought a blue 128-GB iPhone 13 Pro Max at a reselling price nearly VND4 million higher than the original one. "The authorized reseller I ordered said they would not deliver the phone until early November. I could not wait because I have to give it as a gift now," he said.

Models with the higher reselling prices include pink 128-GB or 256-GB iPhone 13, blue or yellow 128-GB iPhone 13 Pro, and 128-GB or 256-GB iPhone 13 Pro Max.

In recent years, taking advantage of an iPhone shortage and sales promotion of Apple authorized resellers in Vietnam in the opening day, many people have bought large numbers of best-selling models to resell them later.

To cope with the situation, many authorized resellers, including CellphoneS, ShopDunk, Hoang Ha Mobile and Minh Tuan Mobile, had recently said they would ask buyers to activate their devices at the shop.

Many iPhone traders said the number of iPhone 13 VN/A on resale is not big, and the price inflation will stop when authorized resellers have abundant supply in the first half of November.

The first iPhone 13 VN/A reached Vietnamese consumers on Oct. 22 morning, one month after its global launch. According to resellers, total demand for the iPhone 13 is not higher than that for iPhone 12 last year, but supply has been thinner this year.