For some reason, Best Buy wants to milk more money out of those craving for Apple's new bezel-less iPhone X flagship. Already pretty expensive at $999 for the cheapest model, Best Buy is taking things further by charging users an extra $100 to get the phone — for flexibility, it claims.
It's obvious the iPhone X, love it or hate it — and there are plenty of reasons why one would hate it — is this season's hottest phone, possibly hotter than the Pixel 2 XL, the LG V30, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, and the Essential Phone. Easy to see why, though: it's got a brand-new design, a behemoth screen, wireless charging, dual cameras, and Face ID.
If You Buy An iPhone X From Best Buy, Prepare To Pay A Lot More
But why is Best Buy charging an extra $100 on top of its retail price? Danielle Schumann, a spokesperson for the company, explains. In a statement to Bloomberg, Schumann said overcharging for the iPhone X is actually about flexibility.
"Our prices reflect the fact that no matter a customer's desired plan or carrier...they are able to get a phone the way they want at Best Buy," said Schumann. "Our customers have told us they want this flexibility and sometimes that has a cost."
As The Verge notes, Best Buy apparently thinks it can mark up prices because customers are just dying to buy phones from its stores, but the fact is customers can just easily hightail to other stores where the iPhone X is offered in its original price.
The Added $100 Is For Customers Who Want To Pay The iPhone X In Full
To be fair, the $100 added fee only applies to customers who'd like to buy the iPhone X from Best Buy in full — users who opt for installments instead will end up paying the original price. It's $999 for the standard iPhone X, $1,149 for the one with more storage. It looks like this is Best Buy's strategy to convince users to go for an installment plan instead of buying a device at its full price.
Best Buy's strategy to sell the Pixel 2 is slightly similar, but it's giving customers a $100 discount if they opt for an installment plan. The company apparently decided to not bother with discounts at all and just make the iPhone X more expensive when bought upfront, which will definitely push users toward an installment plan instead.
Do you think what Best Buy is doing seems fair? Will you buy an iPhone X from it? As always, feel free to sound off in the comments section below!
