iPhones and Android phones with TikTok preloaded are selling for $10,000 or more on eBay, the internet marketplace.
The listings are an attempt to make a significant number of money from users in the United States who are desperate to return to the banned network. Here’s what you should know.
Why are phones with TikTok preloaded for sale on eBay?
iPhones and Android phones with TikTok pre-installed are being offered on eBay after TikTok and other ByteDance apps, including CapCut, were banned in the United States on January 19. Last year, Congress approved legislation banning China-based ByteDance apps due to supposed national security concerns, which the Supreme Court affirmed last week.
READ MORE: U.S. TikTokers Come To Xiaohongshu, Confusing And Uniting With Chinese Users
However, just after the ban went into force, President Trump declared that he would grant a 75-day stay. Even still, legal analysts question whether Trump’s suspension of the order is legitimate.
Apple and Google are closely monitoring the issue of its legality. If Trump’s ban is not upheld, the two app store behemoths may face fines in the hundreds of billions of dollars for hosting TikTok and other ByteDance apps on their platforms.
That means TikTok and other ByteDance apps are still not available for download from the Google and Apple app stores, so if you don’t already have them on your phone, you can’t install them.
However, if you already have the apps on your phone, you can use them while in the United States. As a result, enterprising individuals are selling phones that already have TikTok installed.
READ MORE: TikTok May Allow Creators To Build AI Bots In Their Likeness
Is a smartphone with TikTok loaded worth $10,000?
That is completely dependent on how much you want to use TikTok again. While there are ads for Android and iPhones with TikTok preinstalled for $10,000 or more, eBay also has a large number of listings for phones with TikTok preinstalled for the low thousands.
Fast Company reviewed eBay listings for an iPhone 13 Pro priced at $10,000 with TikTok loaded. However, a listing for an iPhone 14 Pro Max with the app lists the phone at $3,500. Android phones with TikTok preloaded come in a variety of price tiers. A Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 with TikTok is priced at $12,000, while a OnePlus 8 5G with TikTok is $2,500.
If you’re a TikTok super-user who removed the app from your phone after the ban was imposed and now desperately wants to go back on the platform, buying $10,000 for a used phone preinstalled with TikTok may be worthwhile. Many other people might object at such exorbitant pricing.
READ MORE: TikTok Vows To Fight Canada’s Shutdown Order In Court—Here’s Their Just-Released Statement
One thing to consider when purchasing a phone with TikTok preloaded.
Those prepared to pay hundreds of dollars for a phone with TikTok preloaded should be aware of one thing: while phones with TikTok already installed can continue to use the app, TikTok may stop working on those phones in less than 75 days.
This is because courts may determine that Trump’s interim suspension of the TikTok ban is legally unenforceable. If this is the case, TikTok may become inoperable on phones in the United States again soon. Even if Trump’s halt lasts the full 75 days, TikTok may be compelled to close its site in the United States again in early April.
If either of these things happens, consumers who spent $10,000 on a phone with TikTok installed will find the program inoperable once again. And if that’s the case, they’ll have spent thousands of dollars on a phone that can no longer operate the app they want to use the most.
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