Check Out This $86,001 USB-C iPhone

Very recently, a man named Ken Pillonel managed to sell a modified iPhone X for $86,001. For context, a standard iPhone X comes with a $999 price tag, meaning that this modified iPhone X managed to sell for more than 86 times the price of its unmodified counterparts. This was possible because Pillonel had installed USB-C on the phone, which is something that a lot of iPhone enthusiasts have been asking for. Having said that, interested individuals shouldn’t expect Pillonel to sell more of these modified iPhone Xes for a number of reasons. One, he doesn’t want to become liable in case one of these phones breaks down. Two, he doesn’t want to go through the complicated and time-consuming process of securing the certifications needed to sell electronics. Three, he believes that he would be hit by a lawsuit, which is something that he wants to avoid for very understandable reasons. For that matter, it should be mentioned that Pillonel didn’t exactly have the best experience selling the modified iPhone X.

Apparently, he got targeted by troll bidders, who had a discouraging effect on their legitimate counterparts. Something that his platform of choice eBay wasn’t very helpful with. If anything, eBay was unhelpful, as shown by how it blocked further bids before deleting his listing towards the end. Pillonel did have a different plan for selling the modified iPhone X, but Pillonel went with eBay anyways because that different plan would have taken up too much of his time. In any case, Pillonel did manage to recoup his costs. His modification took a fair amount of effort, so it should come as no surprise to learn that its success was made possible by some rather expensive trial and error. As for the buyer, well, suffice to say that they have received what is essentially a very limited prototype. The modified iPhone X can’t be used as an everyday phone. Furthermore, their agreement means that they won’t be allowed to either restore, update, or erase the modified iPhone X. Still, the buyer did get what is pretty much the first iPhone with USB-C, which is a rather interesting bit of

There Seem to Be a Fair Amount of Demand for iPhones with USB-C

For starters, there seems to be a fair amount of demand for iPhones with USB-C. Yes, a lot of people have been saying that for quite some time now. However, the willingness to say something doesn’t necessarily translate into the willingness to show something. Granted, it wouldn’t be accurate to say that the $86,001 is representative of the actual demand for iPhones with USB-C. After all, the way that demand works is that different people are willing to pay different prices for the same thing. As a result, businesses want to set a price that will enable them to make the most money. Generally speaking, this isn’t the highest price possible. This is because a higher price for most products will make for fewer buyers, meaning that there will come a point when it starts becoming counter-productive. However, while a lot of businesses set a single price for their products, that isn’t true for every single business out there. There are some businesses that can set different prices for the same product for different customers. Something that is great for those businesses but not so great for those businesses’ customers. In any case, the very nature of a sale conducted through an auction means that the $86,001 is closest to what the most die-hard iPhone enthusiasts with the most disposable income would be willing to pay for an iPhone with USB-C. A segment that describes a very small number of the potential customers for iPhones to say the least. On top of that, it should be mentioned that the $86,001 is higher that what those theoretical customers would be willing to pay. This is because it isn’t a good representation of a “normal” iPhone with USB-C. Instead, it is the first iPhone with USB-C, meaning that it possesses extra rarity value in spite of its unofficial nature. People are willing to pay a lot for collectability under certain circumstances. It seems safe to say that this was one of them.

USB-C Is Cool

Moving on, the interest in USB-C is an understandable one. It does the same thing as its predecessors. However, the extent of the improvements offered by the new connector standard is significant. For example, it offers much improved charging capabilities. Similarly, it offers much faster data transfers. On top of this, USB-C is even more convenient than its predecessors. Something that can be seen in how these connectors are reversible, meaning that interested individuals will no longer have to flip them around looking for the right orientation. In any case, the interest in USB-C is also presumably rising because it is no longer new technology. Instead, it has been seeing use for some time now, meaning that interested individuals can find it in more and more places. In fact, even Apple uses USB-C for its iPads, which makes it that much more curious why it won’t use USB-C for even its latest iPhones.

Some People Have a Lot of Disposable Income

On a final note, $86,001 for a modified iPhone X makes it clear that some people have a lot of disposable income on their hands. After all, there are a lot of much more useful things that can be purchased for that much money, meaning that the buyer is definitely not hurting for money. For that matter, conspicuous consumption can be its own purpose. Something that becomes very clear when one learns that sales of luxury goods can actually go down in response to reduced prices because that destroys the point of luxury goods being luxury goods in the first place. Still, value is very much in the eye of the beholder, meaning that so long as someone believes that it was worth it, then a very good argument can be made that it was indeed worth it.