How much would you pay for a an iPhone 6? Probably not as much as the people in China.
The iPhone 6, which has yet to go on sale in China due to governmental red rape, has hit the county's black market, and is selling for as much as 10 times the U.S. price.
The Washington Post reports that smugglers outside Apple's flagship store in Beijing's Taikoo Li mall ask, "You want an iPhone 6?" The smugglers offer $1,430 for the cheapest base model (which is seven times the U.S. price of $199 with a carrier contract). The iPhone 6 Plus costs a whopping $2,400.
One smuggler told reporters that he had folks line up at Apple Stores in Hong Kong days before the phone's release. Hong Kong is not bound by the same restrictions as China, and the smugglers were able to sneak the first iPhones across the border.
While the prices seem outrageously high, the smugglers told reporters that the price has dropped over the weekend. "The first day, I was selling iPhone 6 Plus on the street for almost $3,100. Some paid $3,200 to have it delivered to their door."
Short of turning to the smugglers, people in China have gone to great lengths to get their hands on the new phone. Some have opted to go to neighboring countries and pick one up while on a "vacation." Others have turned to family in countries like United States to purchase one for them.
China's state-run Xinhua News Agency maintains that Apple passed only two of three required regulatory steps for the new phone to be sold within the country.
