As iPhone fever gripped the UAE once again, some residents seized the opportunity for quick profits ahead of the official launch day of iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. Indian expats Raihan and Muhammed Shabeeb spent Dh550,000 pre-ordering 76 iPhones over two days from two Apple stores in Dubai.
The friends spent the night in their car outside Dubai Mall. “We live close by, but we were scared we would oversleep. So we spent the night in the car and came to the store at 6am,” Raihan said.
They picked up 14 devices from Dubai Mall on Friday morning before driving to Mall of the Emirates for another 22. By noon, almost all were sold. “Within the first hour of launch, people were ready to pay up to Dh2,000 above cost price,” said Shabeeb. “Most sold for around Dh500 to Dh1,000 premiums. People want the phone on launch day, and they’re willing to pay for it.”
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They said that they booked 40 more devices which will be ready for collection on Saturday, September 19. “We spent over Dh550,000 in total on all these devices, said Raihan. “We have a mix of iPhone18 Pro and Pro Max models of different storage.”
The duo said that they spent more than 30 minutes, logging in up to five devices to ensure that they got the number of gadgets they wanted. “It is not easy to ensure that you get the devices on the first day in the first slot,” said Shabeeb. “We got everyone else in our sharing accommodation to switch off their Wifi and each of us swung into action as soon as the pre-orders opened.”
Another reseller, Hamid Raza, was the second person in line to get the phone at the Dubai Mall outlet. He collected seven devices from there before heading to Mall of the Emirates to collect another 20 devices.
He said that he was hoping to resell. “I have a lot of demand, especially from Pakistan which does not yet have an iPhone store,” he said.
“Worth it”
Rustom Saidukov, who travelled to the UAE from Uzbekistan specifically to buy the newly launched iPhone 18 Pro Max, said strong demand back home made the trip worthwhile despite having to pay above the retail price.
“I came to Dubai specifically to buy the new iPhone Pro Max because there is very strong demand for it back home, especially immediately after the launch,” he said. “So far, I have bought around 20 phones. For most of them, I had to pay a premium of about Dh500 to Dh1,500 over the original price, depending on the model, storage and availability,” said Rustom.
Rustom is a mobile phone shop owner in Tashkent, so he will take these phones back with him. “Some will be sold immediately to customers who are already waiting for the new model, while I will keep the others as stock in the shop. People who want the latest iPhone in the first few days are often willing to pay more because availability is very limited.”
“For us, Dubai is one of the places where we can get the newest phones very quickly after launch. Even after paying a premium here, there can still be a market for them back home. The first few days are the most important because that is when demand is at its highest and customers do not want to wait for the official supply to reach them.”
Meanwhile, Ahmed Salah ended up paying a Dh1,200 premium to a reseller for a 256GB iPhone Pro Max after failing to secure one directly from Apple.
“I tried to book through Apple, but I was not lucky this time. I have been buying the new iPhone on the very first day for years, and I did not want to break that tradition. So when I found the Pro Max 256GB available with a reseller, I decided to pay the extra Dh1,200 and take it,” said Ahmed.
Demand for iPhone 18 Pro Max
According to a seller in Karama, customers have been streaming in looking for the new phones. “The demand is for the iPhone Pro Max, especially the 1TB and 2TB storage ones,” said Rafi from Extel Mobiles. “We’ve already sold about five pieces since morning. We expect demand to sustain through the weekend. I’ve sold each for about a Dh1,500 premium.”
He added that burgundy was the most in-demand colour. “Last year, the flagship colour was orange. This year, it’s burgundy,” he said.
One man from Kazakhstan, who did not wish to be named, hoped to take the devices home to sell at a premium. “I’m travelling for a holiday in two days,” he said. “These devices won’t be available in my country for a while, so I’m hoping to make a good profit. I’ve bought three.”
A few hours after sales began, several devices also appeared on Dubizzle. One seller listed an iPhone 18 Pro Max in burgundy with 2TB storage for Dh13,000. On Apple’s website, however, the same device retails for Dh10,599.
Source: Khaleej Times