There is a wave of excitement among resellers and buyers in the UAE after the launch of the iPhones, hoping to earn money with each new Apple release every year. After the launch of the iPhone 16 in UAE, a group of lucky resellers amassed profits, although many wrestled with intense fiscal losses that could have amounted to Dh200,000 or more.
Each year, the arrival of a fresh iPhone model allows many UAE residents to make easy cash by reselling the devices at a higher price. At the September 20 launch of the iPhone 16, those who pre-booked online for the stores to get their phones. Launch day saw thrilled resellers buy the first lucky recipients’ phones, bumping up the price by Dh2,500.
To turn a profit from the chance, the resellers raised the prices of the phones even more than before. They believed they could market the device at an additional Dh3,000, which would result in around Dh500 in profit for each sale.
Things took an unforeseen development during this year. A lot of resellers who bought iPhones from residents who booked the devices, confident about significant demand, found themselves in a difficult position when the market experienced a flood of supply and prices fell significantly in just a few days.
Reseller’s struggle: Dh200,000 loss
JA, an electronics dealer in Dubai, explained how he and his associates planned to cultivate a windfall from the iPhone 16 launch. ‘We secured nearly 80 phones on the first day from those who had already booked their devices.’ We dispatched employees to shopping centers in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, paying a premium of Dh2,000 for each Pro Max model.
The approach looked like it was working at first. “We had some profit come from several devices on the first day. We already had bookings, and our clients had handed over an advance of Dh100 to Dh500 even before we launched. But as expected, they didn’t turn up on the first day, said JA.
“Since our clients weren’t collecting their devices, we attempted to sell them with a decreased profit margin of Dh100 to Dh300 on the first day, because the demand had suddenly dropped and we only sold 20 units.” Hoping that demand would surge, we chose to stock the phones and sell them on the days afterward,” added JA.
Phones from elsewhere flood the market
The iPhone 16 in UAE resellers endured their heaviest blow on the third day of the launch. Said Altaf (name changed), one of the electronics dealers in Dubai, “Thousands of devices from Hong Kong, Singapore, the US, Japan, and other countries flooded the UAE market, and suddenly, the demand was gone.” “Model variants of the iPhone 16 Pro Max from abroad were in stock at prices considerably lower than retail, without any extra charges,” said the dealer.
Now that he’s up against a surplus of unwanted iPhones and a saturated market, JA unveiled that his business is experiencing nearly Dh200,000 in losses. “We couldn’t make any profit. “These phones are still our issue, and they’re making it nearly impossible to sell them in a way that’s profitable,” pointed out JA.
‘I paid around Dh100,000 for the phones at a premium, waiting to sell them at a profit later,’ said MP, a fellow reseller. “But, in the end, the market drowned in phones from other countries, and the demand had ended.”
Similar to numerous others, MP founded his investment on past achievements. “I profited Dh70,000 on the iPhone 15 models in just 10 days last year. According to MP, ‘Many resellers have earned profits over the years, and previous years saw demand continuing well past November.’ “We counted on a similar pattern this year and filled up on the iPhone 16 Pro Max.”
Unfortunately, the onslaught of global stock resulted in an oversupply in the market, destroying any opportunity to turn a profit. “It’s tough this year. MP explained, “The market didn’t react in the way it has before with previous launches.”
