As Apple struggles to keep up with demand for its “HUGE” iPhone 6 Plus, those being sold on sites such as eBay continue to bring a premium.
Analyst Gene Munster and his team at Piper Jaffray have been tracking iPhone resale prices through eBay auctions and Taobao prices. Every week, they look at the last 50 phones sold of each model to determine a fair value.
Munster’s team found that at 42 days after its launch, the iPhone 6 Plus is still selling at 124% of its suggested retail price. The iPhone 5s sold at a 119% premium 42 days after launch.
Resale pricing for the iPhone 6 suggest Apple has largely caught up with demand for that device, with resale value dropping for 115% of retail price down to 94% of value in the same 42 day period.
Piper Jaffray’s data indicates Apple’s handsets hold their value better than competing devices from Samsung. Research shows the Galaxy S5 was worth just 81% of its retail price after 42 days, while the Galaxy Note III plunged to 67%.
Munster says iPhone resale values show consumers were little swayed by the “bendgate” hullaballoo following the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus releases.
He also noted that prices for used iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c handsets have declined faster following the debut of the 6 series than the iPhone 5 did last year following the introduction of the iPhone 5s/5c. Munster says this is likely due to a more substantial upgrade for this years models, as compared to last year’s “S” upgrade.
Piper Jaffray maintains its price target of $120 with an “overweight” rating on shares of AAPL.
