The Russian government is investigating allegations that Russian resellers of the iPhone may be breaking price fixing laws by offering the iPhone for the same price, regardless of the vendor.
“The Anti-Monopoly Service sees signs of price fixing violations in the Russian Federation at Apple iPhone resellers, which resulted in the same prices for these smartphones,” the Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service said in a statement reported by Reuters, announcing an investigation.
The anti-monopoly body said it had opened its case after an appeal from a citizen with information that identical prices had been set for iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus models, which appeared in Russia in October 2015, at 16 major resellers.
Apple could wind up being part of the investigation, as the company is known to negotiate strict pricing terms on its new iPhones, which could force sellers to maintaining constant pricing. Discounts on devices don’t usually appear until late in a device’s life, usually offered to make room for new models.
While Apple does offer the iPhone for sale online, sales of the company’s devices in Russia rely mostly on third-party resellers, as the Cupertino firm has no official Apple Store locations in the country.
(Via AppleInsider)
