There's a $5000 iPhone for sale on eBay - see what makes it so special

Reading Time: 1 minute, 52 seconds
There's a $5000 iPhone for sale on eBay - see what makes it so special
There's a $5000 iPhone for sale on eBay - see what makes it so special
08-19-2020 06:10 pm
(CNET August 2020) So I'm not a kid, nor do I have children. But if I did, I might have realized that Apple had banned Fortnite battle royal from it's App Store. This was apparently the result of a money dispute between Apple, Google, and Epic (the gaming company). Whenever purchases were made within the game, Apple would take up to a 30% cut from Epic's sale price as a standard commission it charges app developers. On Aug 13th, Epic lowered the V-buck prices 20 percent across the board, except for mobile phones and tablets. Meaning, if people wanted to buy on mobile, they had to pay more. Epic also inserted code into Fortnite allowing users to pay the company directly, so Apple couldn't get their cut.

Because of this, both Apple and Google kicked Epic games from their app stores, saying the company violated its agreements. But this squabble has a larger effect on people than we realize.


Since the ban of the app, Apple users (which is the vast majority of cell phone users) cannot play Fortnite on their phones. That's not gonna stop the hardcore people from playing the game though. Older iPhones with an older version of the game are being sold on eBay...for $5000.

"Please help me get rid of Fortnite!!!" Lorena Nacari wrote with a joking wink on her eBay listing for her son's phone which has a copy of Fortnite installed. There were no bids so far, but the beginning bid started at $5000.

Most of the 166 eBay listings on Wednesday admitted that their phones were scuffed or scratched, and many were for older phones like iPhone 7 or older. Some bids were starting at $500, but the "Buy it Now" options were often $1000 or more. Not surprising considering that iPhones cost about that much before depreciation, not to mention when there's a banned game that comes with it.

Most older iPhones go for about $400 today, but one seller is offering their mint condition iPhone X with Fortnite installed for $10,000. While parents may never understand the fad of Fortnite and the joy it brought to their children, maybe they can cash in on it.

Source: https://www.cnet.com/news/this-5000-iphone-claims-to-still-have-fortnite-installed/

Posted In: