黄牛亏惨了？iPhone XS黄牛价暴跌 卖得比官网还便宜 – Tencent Tech
What happened: The prices of iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max dropped below official prices as the US smartphone maker start to ship its largest product in mainland China this week. Price drop not only happened on the grey market but also in Apple’s reseller networks.
Why it’s important: Unlike previous iPhone manias, China’s once lucrative grey market for the latest iPhone models has cooled down over the past few years. It’s a combined effect of Apple’s shipping policies as well as a changing Chinese smartphone market landscape. On the one hand, Apple has been trying to solve the problem by getting better prepared with abundant stock and tightened sales policies for Hong Kong, the source market for most scalpers to purchase the phones. At the same time, iPhone is no longer considered a luxury product that shows one’s social status, or even the coolest gadget, when a raft of Chinese smartphone makers like Huawei, Xiaomi, Vivo, and Oppo are elbowing into the premium smartphone market.