iPhone Duo, once selling at a premium, sees used prices plunge by up to 38% in just 15 days

[Financial News] Apple’s first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, which initially commanded a premium amid launch shortages, is rapidly losing value on the secondhand market. A little over two weeks after its launch, buyback offers for some models in the U.S. were up to 38% below their retail prices, while listings below retail have also appeared in Korea. With concerns over screen durability compounded by high repair costs, attention is turning to the phone’s future resale value.

According to industry sources on the 10th, the highest buyback offer for the iPhone Duo 2TB (terabyte) model, based on figures compiled by U.S. used-smartphone price-comparison platform SellCell, was $1,971. That figure, for a device in top condition, is $1,228 (38.4%) below its U.S. retail price of $3,199.
The base 256GB (gigabyte) model also showed a substantial gap between its retail price and buyback offers. The highest buyback offer for the model, which retails for $1,999 in the U.S., was $1,560 for a device in top condition, 22% lower. A device in good condition with signs of use was priced at $1,315, or 34.2% lower, while a used device in poor condition was priced at $1,107, or 44.6% lower.
The markdown was even steeper for devices with functional problems, such as a cracked screen. The highest buyback offer for a damaged or defective 256GB model was $600, just about 30% of its retail price.
However, these figures compare the highest offer made by a used-device buyer with the retail price. They differ from actual prices in private sales and from the rate at which buyback prices themselves have fallen since launch.
The mood in Korea’s secondhand market has also shifted since launch. The iPhone Duo 256GB model retails for 3.29 million won in Korea, but immediately after launch, when supply was short, asking prices on secondhand trading platforms sometimes reached 3.8 million to 4 million won.
However, one listing’s asking price fell by 400,000 won, from 3.82 million to 3.42 million won, in just four days. More recently, listings have appeared offering unopened, SIM-free devices for 3.1 million to 3.2 million won.
Ritems, a used-phone buyback company, reported that as of the 5th, its direct buyback offers for unopened, SIM-free 256GB devices ranged from 2,388,000 to 2,437,000 won. That is about 26% to 27% below the retail price. 

The screen-durability concerns that emerged soon after launch and the high repair costs are among the factors that could affect the iPhone Duo’s resale value.
Since the iPhone Duo launched on the 23rd of last month, cases have been reported in which cracks developed in the center of the inner display on some devices or parts of the screen failed to work properly. Apple also acknowledged on the 27th of last month that an issue affecting the inner display could occur on a small number of devices and provided guidance on replacing the affected units. However, it did not disclose the exact cause or the rate of defects relative to total sales.
Repair costs are also substantial. Apple lists the out-of-warranty cost to repair the iPhone Duo’s inner display at $999 in the U.S. and 1,649,000 won in Korea. The Korean price is half the retail price of the base model.
The cost is high even compared with competing foldable phones. According to international tech outlet Android Authority, repairing the inner display of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 in the U.S. costs $419 to $579, less than for the iPhone Duo.
High repair costs could also burden used-phone buyback companies. If a display defect is found after they purchase a device, they may have to pay additional repair and resale costs.
The iPhone Duo is Apple’s first foldable smartphone, and it saw strong initial demand, with preorder allocations selling out early in Korea.
[email protected] Yoon Hong-jip Reporter