Japanese iPhone buyers have reportedly turned to the used market, ditching new iPhone 14 models in favor of saving some money.
Apple might have a brand-new range of models available for customers to pick up, but it’s said that iPhone price hikes have left buyers keen to save money and that they are choosing to buy used models.
Money matters
Japan has historically been a country willing to spend money on the latest models of just about anything, but Reuters reports that things have changed. The country’s yen currency recently fell to a 32-year low against the dollar, with Apple pricing its products accordingly.
July saw Apple increase the price of the iPhone 13 by almost a fifth, with the iPhone 14 now selling for 20% more than the older model despite customers in the United States now paying the same $799. It’s been a similar story in other international markets, but the yen has been hit so hard that Japanese buyers are balking at the price of new handsets.
A new iPhone 14 starts at 119,800 yen ($814), with Reuters saying that the 100,000-yen barrier is putting people off. So instead, some are choosing models like the iPhone SE. And a used one at that.
“At more than 100,000 yen the iPhone 14 is too expensive and I just can’t afford it. It would be fine if the battery lasted for 10 years,” the person said.
As if to drive the point home, Reuters says that the average sales on Belong’s Nicosuma e-commerce site have trebled since Apple started hiking its prices.
Apple isn’t alone in hiking prices in the current global economic climate, but the increasing price rate means many prefer to leave Apple’s best iPhones on store shelves, buying used instead. And while Apple might not have made as much money if it hadn’t increased those prices, it makes nothing from those sold as used units by third-party sellers. Services revenue notwithstanding, of course.
