iPhone 5 to sell at a premium in Indian grey market

In the past, people have been willing to pay double the price to get the phone within the first week of the US launch

Prepare to pay a premium if you want to buy the new iPhone ahead of its formal launch in India. Even as the Apple Inc is yet to announce the launch of the new iPhone 5 in the US, the parallel market in India is bullish about good business as the devices are expected to retail at a premium in India.

“The premium charge would depend on a lot many factors, like when the product would be officially launched in India; the official price and hype in the market. But from our previous experience, we have seen people willing to pay even double the official price to get the product within a week of its US launch,” a vendor from Karol Bagh said.

According to analysts, the official price of iPhone 5 could be around Rs 50,000. Prices of the iPhone 4 start at about Rs 29,000, while the iPhone 3GS costs about Rs 16,000 (as offered on e-commerce stores). Prices of the iPhone 4S start at about Rs 43,000.

The iPhone 5, is expected to be unveiled by Apple CEO Tim Cook today evening and will make it to the Indian markets months after its US release date.

India is a thriving market for smuggled Apple products. Realising that, the company have been trying to cut the time it takes to unveil its gadgets in India. Even a one month gap between the official release of the device in the US and India can persuade iPhone fans to pay as much as double the price for a phone smuggled from abroad.

According to sales executive at iWorld, a Delhi based firm which retails Apple Products said “it is likely to take two months for the product to be made available in India officially.” However, the person confirmed that they are getting huge number of enquires about the iPhone 5 from existing Apple users as well as new customers.

iPhone sales fell in the quarter ended June, as consumers expected a revision of the device. It is estimated India’s share of smartphone shipments rose from 2.2% in 2011 to 2.5% in 2012. In December, IDC had estimated Android had a 42% share in the smartphone market, against a share of just three% for Apple’s iOS.