Preorders for Apple’s first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, sold out within minutes of opening, with some resellers reportedly asking as much as $10,000. The $1,999 device sold out, pushing delivery for new orders from the official U.S. online store to late January next year.
Key points:
Preorders for the iPhone Duo sold out within minutes of opening on October 16, and the official delivery date for new U.S. orders is listed as January 25, 2027.
Completed sales on eBay reached as high as $4,999.99, while some listings were priced at up to $10,000.
Mark Gurman says Apple rushed to launch its first foldable despite being unable to secure enough supply to meet demand.
iPhone Duo Resale Price Gouging Kicks Into High Gear
Apple opened preorders for the iPhone Duo on October 16, and the initial stock available for delivery on launch day, October 23, disappeared within minutes. About 30 minutes later, delivery estimates for all new orders on Apple’s U.S. online store had slipped to January 25, 2027—more than three months after the official launch date.
According to eBay’s completed listings, a 2TB model reportedly sold for $4,999.99—about $1,800 above Apple’s list price of $3,199. Multiple 256GB models, originally priced at $1,999, sold for between $2,699 and $3,800, and one 1TB model, priced at $2,599, was reported to have sold for $4,400. All of these listings are marked “Sold,” but it is not possible to confirm whether payment and delivery actually took place.
Some sellers have reportedly listed the iPhone Duo on eBay and X (formerly Twitter) for as much as $10,000—around five times its retail price.
Related article: Why the Apple iPhone Duo Sold Out Within 30 Minutes of Preorders Opening
Mark Gurman’s Take
Apple described preorder demand as “truly extraordinary” and says it will continue accepting online orders. However, pressure is mounting for the company to identify and cancel orders placed by resellers and scalpers.
Apple reporter **Mark Gurman** wrote that the company had “clearly rushed the iPhone Duo to market to get ahead of the competition.” He argues that Apple must have known it would be difficult to reach reasonable supply levels before November at the earliest. Apple has not disclosed how many units will be supplied to each of its retail stores.
In Hong Kong, distributors are also anticipating a boom in the resale market. **Simon**, head of Trinity Electronic, expects to make at least HK$3,000 per unit and predicts that resale prices will remain high for one to two months. **Steve**, who runs the telecom retailer **Happy Telecom**, said display yield issues could limit initial global production to around one million units. He expects the highest margins to come from the 256GB and 512GB models.
Apple Supply Shortage Warning
Gurman had been warning of supply shortages for weeks. In September, he wrote in a column that the iPhone Duo would become a hot item on overseas resale markets, and predicted that the supply crunch could be worse than the Mac supply disruptions triggered by the AI boom.
On October 11, he reported that Apple had at one point considered delaying sales until after late November because of production constraints.
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