Updated: The Best Buy Premium: Charging $100 Extra for the Apple iPhone X
Call it the Best Buy Premium. Like it did with the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus last month, the U.S. retailer is charging $100 extra for both the 64GB and 256GB models when they are paid in full.
See update below.
Apple charges $999 and $1,149 for the two new iPhone X models, respectively. Best Buy charges $1,099 and $1,249. The extra $100 is not added to the price when the phone is purchased through a monthly installment plan.
Best Buy has not said why it feels the need to charge $100 extra for Apple’s new flagship device.
To a would-be iPhone 8 buyer in September, a Best Buy representative would only say:
I would not be able to say why our price for the unactivated iPhone 8/8 Plus are $100 more than Apple is charging, but I can say we work to remain competitive, and we do have our price match guarantee where we would match lower prices found at a competitor in most cases. With that said contract phones like the iPhone 8/8 Plus do not qualify for our price match guarantee.
Regarding the iPhone X price hike, a Best Buy customer noted:
I called my store regarding the $100 price discrepancy back when the iPhone 8 was releasing. They stated the prices are set that way by higher-ups and cannot comment on why it is this why for the iPhone listings. They said I can price match to the Apple Store that is nearby and they will refund the difference. Of course, I am paying in full as well, so not sure if this also applies to monthly payments.
I’m actually surprised Best Buy can get away with doing this. It will be interesting to see just how long the premium charge remains.
Do you have any thoughts on this? Let us know below.
Update:
Since this report, Best Buy has responded to Bloomberg defending the decision “by saying the higher cost is due to the multiple iPhone X purchasing options available on its website.”
As Danielle Schumann, a Best Buy spokeswoman explained via email:
Our prices reflect the fact that no matter a customer’s desired plan or carrier, or whether a customer is on a business or personal plan, they are able to get a phone the way they want at Best Buy. Our customers have told us they want this flexibility and sometimes that has a cost.
Yes, that clears this up, right? I don’t think so.