It took somewhere around 15 minutes for the iPhone X to begin selling out this morning after pre-orders went live at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time, and for some models, that timeline was much shorter.
Delivery estimates started slipping to one to two weeks within minutes, and by the time 1:00 a.m. rolled around, Apple was listing 5 to 6 week estimates for all models across all carriers in the United States. Orders placed now will not arrive until December.
Unsurprisingly, hundreds of iPhone X models that were purchased via pre-order this morning are flooding Craigslist and eBay at huge markups.
On Craigslist, in the San Francisco Bay Area, for example, people are charging $2000 for a 256GB iPhone X on average, a markup of almost $1,000. Similar high prices are listed for all models and capacities. It's the same story on eBay.
Thousands of iPhone X models are listed, many that already have tons of bids. An auction ending in an hour for a 256GB iPhone X has a current bid of $1,675, for example, a premium of $500.
With supplies so constrained, it's no surprise to see hundreds of people who are hoping to make a few bucks from Apple customers who don't want to wait months to get their hands on a new device, but it's frustrating. Apple limits iPhone X purchases to two per customer, but with some people willing to pay hundreds extra, that limit doesn't put a stop to the scalping practice.
Customers who have not already pre-ordered are looking at weeks of waiting, but Apple does plan to have iPhone X models available for purchase in store on launch day, so for those who don't mind going early and waiting in line, there's still a chance to get a device on November 3 without paying extra to a scalper.
Apple said in a statement this morning that demand for the iPhone X is "off the charts." "We're working hard to get this revolutionary new product into the hands of every customer who wants one, as quickly as possible," the company added.
