Best Buy is charging more for iPhone X buyers who don’t want installment debt. If you want to pre-order the iPhone X through Best Buy and pay for the whole device upfront then you have to pay $100 more than if you choose the Best Buy installment plan or if you buy the phone through the Apple Store. Weird.
Apple started taking pre-orders for the iPhone X early Friday, 3 AM EST/12AM PST—a week ahead of the official November 3 launch—but within minutes, eager buyers began receiving notices that their phones wouldn’t be shipping for another two to three weeks. At time of publication, the shipping date is about 5 to 6 weeks out. Best Buy is also offering a pre-order of the iPhone X with a pickup and delivery date of November 15. Of course, there’s no telling whether Best Buy will actually be able to ship by November 15. Sprint and T-Mobile currently claim the shipping dates are between November 2nd and 11. Best Buy and the carriers are probably all at the mercy of Apple’s supply.
But Best Buy is charging $100 more for people who decide to pay for the phone all at once. The iPhone X with 64GB is available on the Apple store for $999, but it’s available on Best Buy’s site for $1,099.99. Apple is selling the 265 GB version for $1,149; Best Buy’s selling it for $1,249.99. However, the installment plan puts Best Buy iPhone X buyers on track to pay the normal price. For example, the iPhone X 265GB costs $47.89 over 24 months, which is $1,149.36. The non-installment retail price is $1,249.99. Best Buy installment plan for the iPhone X 65GB is $41.63 over 24 months, which adds up to $999.12
The Best Buy pre-order page even states the full price as being what is available on the Apple store.
Best Buy did not respond to a request for a comment about why it is charging $100 more for the iPhone X. It appears no other major retailers that sell iPhones, like Target and Walmart, are currently offering an iPhone X pre-order.
Best Buy is also charing $100 more for the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. Customers have been complaining about the upcharge on Best Buy’s forum since September. As Apple Insider points out, when one customer asked about the price, a Best Buy senior social media specialist named Allan responded:
I would not be able to say why our price for the unactivated iPhone 8/8 Plus are $100 more than Apple is charging, but I can say we work to remain competitive, and we do have our price match guarantee where we would match lower prices found at a competitor in most cases. With that said contract phones like the iPhone 8/8 Plus do not qualify for our price match guarantee.
But then in a response to another question, the specialist, Allan, posted: “It is my understanding that only Apple has these phones for $100 less, and the carriers are priced the same as we are. Is that not correct?”
No, that is not correct, Allan.
Update 4:30PM EST: A Best Buy spokesperson sent Gizmodo the following comment:
Sometimes customers aren’t able to purchase phones at other locations because their desired plan or carrier makes them ineligible. That’s not the case at Best Buy, as our prices reflect the fact that no matter their desired plan or carrier, or whether a customer is on a business or personal plan, they are able to get a phone the way they want at Best Buy. Flexibility has a cost, but it’s something our customers have told us they want.