Supposed iPhone 6 prototype going for more than $100K on eBay
A purported Apple iPhone 6 prototype put up for auction on eBay last week is currently commanding a high bid of more than $100,000 with a little under three days left to go.
As noted in the auction's listing, the unassuming 64GB silver iPhone 6 is claimed to be a testing device as the smartphone holds no external markings and runs a developer app suite instead of Apple's new iOS 8. The online auction site played host to numerous Apple "engineering prototypes" over the years, but bidding on the alleged iPhone 6 development unit is unprecedented for a contemporary model.
According to Cult of Mac, the seller, whose name is Alex, said Verizon mistakenly sent out the supposed prototype device to his mother as a contract renewal. After unboxing, Alex discovered the iPhone was running what appears to be a version of Apple's SwitchBoard, an internal hardware and software testing platform.
With the auction's current price reaching an astronomical $100,100 at the time of this writing, the legitimacy of incoming bids becomes increasingly suspect. A few of the top bidders have good eBay auction histories, though it is unclear why the handset would fetch such a high price. By comparison, a purported engineering prototype of the first-generation iPhone sold for $1,500 on eBay last December.
In the past, Apple has shut down auctions for similar "prototype" devices, as well as other memorabilia like a shattered glass stair from the company's iconic 5th Avenue Apple Store in New York and a metal Genius Bar logo, as it dilutes the company's brand. Anticipating a takedown request and in light of potentially bogus bids, Alex said he is just as eager to speak with Apple as he is to sell the device.
If the auction is allowed to continue, and if the high bidder is a legitimate buyer, Alex has promised to donate a portion of the proceeds to CharityWater.org.
Apple's iPhone 6 debuted alongside the iPhone 6 Plus on Sept. 19 in nine countries, with opening weekend sales hitting a record 10 million units sold.
As noted in the auction's listing, the unassuming 64GB silver iPhone 6 is claimed to be a testing device as the smartphone holds no external markings and runs a developer app suite instead of Apple's new iOS 8. The online auction site played host to numerous Apple "engineering prototypes" over the years, but bidding on the alleged iPhone 6 development unit is unprecedented for a contemporary model.
According to Cult of Mac, the seller, whose name is Alex, said Verizon mistakenly sent out the supposed prototype device to his mother as a contract renewal. After unboxing, Alex discovered the iPhone was running what appears to be a version of Apple's SwitchBoard, an internal hardware and software testing platform.
With the auction's current price reaching an astronomical $100,100 at the time of this writing, the legitimacy of incoming bids becomes increasingly suspect. A few of the top bidders have good eBay auction histories, though it is unclear why the handset would fetch such a high price. By comparison, a purported engineering prototype of the first-generation iPhone sold for $1,500 on eBay last December.
In the past, Apple has shut down auctions for similar "prototype" devices, as well as other memorabilia like a shattered glass stair from the company's iconic 5th Avenue Apple Store in New York and a metal Genius Bar logo, as it dilutes the company's brand. Anticipating a takedown request and in light of potentially bogus bids, Alex said he is just as eager to speak with Apple as he is to sell the device.
If the auction is allowed to continue, and if the high bidder is a legitimate buyer, Alex has promised to donate a portion of the proceeds to CharityWater.org.
Apple's iPhone 6 debuted alongside the iPhone 6 Plus on Sept. 19 in nine countries, with opening weekend sales hitting a record 10 million units sold.
Comments
I don't think the auction will end successfully due to intervention from the Apple legal team.
If that is a prototype, it's stolen and it comes with handcuffs.
The dipshit auctioner should be thrown in jail.
Also, who the hell would pay 100K+ for this, prototype or not.
So even if this laughable story about "verizon" sending him the phone is true (it's not.) Then he still has no ownership over the item as it's clearly a test device that was never legally sold.
This is why similar ebay sales have all been taken down, it's illegal to sell (or be in the possession of) stolen property.
An uneven application of the law is not in anyone's interest.
....the auction never made it to the end.........! There's a surprise!
And now the phone auction has ended prematurely, "This listing was ended by the seller because the item is no longer available."
In most english speaking countries, including the USA, one can not simply claim ownership over an item which they have found (or "accidentally" come into possession of), when the legitimate owner can be established accurately and without an extraordinary investigative process.
I found a Mercedes Benz SLS AMG just sitting in front an Apple Store one day. Like someone had parked it there and walked inside the store. I found it, and I assume they didn't want it any more. It's mine now. /s
Samsung must really want it bad. Any source code? lol
Exactly. Samesung spends millions on attack ads. $100k is chump change to the Korean Xerox.
This is because it used to be a commercial scam to send people stuff and them bill them for not sending things back; so the law was changed to place the burden of responsibility on the sender to stop this fraudulent business practice.
slow news day on AI, eh?
Next up will be "breaking news stories" on poorly worded Craigslist ads....
The problem with this is that it implies that Xerox copies copies. They’re the Korean Microsoft.
What? Why would someone be put in jail because they paid for a phone that was a prototype? I think its just Verizons bad if they screwed up (If thats what REALLY happened).
I agree with this. When big corporations make mistakes (let's say, Monsanto, for example, or Union Carbide), what happens is they sue you for suffering the mistakes. Remember when Monsanto had some of their GMO pollute fields of farmers? They had the farmers' crops destroyed because it was now "their IP". Why would it be that when this mistake is in your interest, you shouldn't be able to profit from it?
Besides, anyway, the seller stated he was "as eager to talk to Apple", so probably Apple took contact with him and the whole affair was solved under the hood...
Edit: as RCFA said, depending on the law in his state, it might actually be that the phone is perfectly his to keep and sell, and Apple themselves might just as well have compensated him. Who knows ^^
The dipshit auctioner should be thrown in jail.
Also, who the hell would pay 100K+ for this, prototype or not.
No. Just no.
There needs to be really good reasons to take someone's freedoms away. This guy is obviously no danger to society. Apple itself is probably more dangerous to society through the high amount of pollution** a four-year-cycle of tech devices causes, and that's no grounds for putting the Apple board in jail, now, is it? Chill out.
This guy got his five minutes of "fame", he probably had a talk with Apple, he's a happy monkey. Let him be and enjoy your own iPhone.
Also,for the "prototype price" part of your comment, I guess there are some insanely rich people in this world. They probably deserve to be put in jail for having too much money. /s
** In case it's not clear enough, Apple is one of the most environmental friendly, if not the most environmental friendly, of all tech companies. The high obsolescence rate of tech itself is the problem.
It amazes me what some people are willing to pay for exclusive items. I was offered 6,000 EUR for my Nokia N950 and I saw one sold on eBay for almost 10,000 USD. The Nokia 950 was the development platform for the Nokia N9. I signed an NDA forbidding such transactions but in all honesty, I wouldn't have done it even if I was allowed too. Not only is It an extremely rare phone but it's also one of my favorite things of all time, what I would give to have a version using a Nvidia Denver K1, 4GB of RAM, 128GB storage, Micro HDMI, USB 3.0, running Linux ARCH and Android 5 in a dual boot.