Vietnamese struggle to buy iPhones in Singapore, Thailand

As Thailand was selected to be among Apple’s tier-1 markets for the second year, many Vietnamese traders chose the country, believing that there would be less competition in line. But it turned out that too many people had the same idea. Dinh Cong, a tech connoisseur in Ho Chi Minh City, said that things were “chaos” as too many people showed up at Thailand’s Apple Stores.

Apple Stores at Bangkok’s Central World and Iconsiam gave the top queuers wrist bands on Thursday afternoon and then cleared the crowd. Trader Tuan Anh said that this was an organizational improvement from, last year, showing that early queuers and customers who pre-ordered would be prioritized.

But Thanh Tung in the northern province of Quang Ninh said that even though he was the 20th queuer, the store said there were no iPhone 15 Pro Max models available after the few first customers. Vietnamese traders most hunt the Pro Max option as they can sell them in Vietnam at up to VND70 million ($2,872), 49% higher than Apple’s official prices.

“Many had to leave empty-handed due to the limited stock,” Tung said.

In Singapore, many people showed up from 5 a.m. at the Apple Store on Orchard Road.

“Most were from Vietnam,” said trader Minh Khoi, who was among the queuers. By opening time, hundreds were seen at the store. Khoi said that supply could not meet demand, and the Pro Max option ran out after the first 50 customers.

“Traders were willing to pay a VND10 million ($410.3) difference whenever someone came out of the store with a Pro Max.”

Tuan Thanh, an iPhone seller in HCMC, said that his group was divided into three to gather enough iPhone 15s for customers who have pre-ordered.

Although the earliest iPhone 15 Pro Max models in Vietnam were sold at VND60-70 million, their prices quickly dropped,.