iPhone 5 reached a price of up to 115,000 rubles ($3,700) on the gray market in Russia, before the official launch in this country. The new smartphone delivery would take place immediately after it goes on sale in the U.S. next weekend, according to Bloomberg.
“Small firms active on the gray market are trying to make a quick buck. Higher-income youth in Russia are ready to pay this amount to get the hottest stuff first,” said Vladislav Zavialov, marketing director of re:Store, official retailer of Apple products. re:Store has 94 stores in Russia and Europe.
Online stores offer delivery to Russia shortly after the smartphone goes on sale in the U.S. next week. Official sales in Russia could start by mid-December and will probably start at the same price as iPhone 4S, from 39,990 rubles ($1,275) for the 64GB model, Eldar Murtazin, an analyst at Mobile Research Group in Moscow said.
iPhone 4S reached a price of 80,000 rubles ($2,550) on the gray market before the official launch in Russia, according to research firm Telecom Daily. Gray market companies send people abroad to buy the iPhone 5 in the first days after launch and bring it to Russia as personal property, thus avoiding import duties.
In Russia there are about 2 million iPhones, but only 1.1 million of them were sold on the local market through legal channels, according to a presentation in April by Euroest, the largest Russian mobile retailer.
iPhone 5 can be pre-ordered from Friday, September 14, and by the end of the year it will be available in 100 countries, at 240 telecom operators.
Deliveries start from September 21 in the U.S., Canada, UK, Germany, France, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore. iPhone 5 starting price in the U.S. at $199 for the version with 16 GB storage, $299 for 32GB model, and $399 for the 64GB version, prices are for a two-year contract with the mobile operator.
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