Already, Apple Sells Refurbished iPhones
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 21 — Consumers looking for a deal on an iPhone may be able to knock $100 off the price of the smartphone by buying from an unexpected discount source: Apple Inc. — On Monday, the company began making refurbished iPhones available …
Context & Ripple Effects
The refurbished iPhone listings surfaced over the weekend — Engadget flagged them on August 20 and DailyTech followed on August 21 — and the New York Times is now confirming what those posts described: Apple itself is selling refurbished units at roughly $100 below list, per the company's own move documented here. The notable part is the seller, not the discount — the world's most tightly controlled product line is being discounted by its own maker rather than left to carriers or resellers.
That matters because the iPhone launched barely two months ago, in June 2007, and Apple has so far kept pricing rigid through exclusive channels. Opening a factory-refurbished tier gives buyers a sanctioned cheap entry point while letting Apple capture the resale value of returned units instead of ceding that market to third parties.
First-order effects
- Price-sensitive shoppers gain an official sub-$500 path to an iPhone — a $100-below-list refurb channel operated by Apple itself rather than a carrier promotion.
- Apple converts returned and repaired handsets from a disposal problem into revenue, competing directly against whatever informal used-iPhone supply exists around the launch.
Second-order effects
- Third-party resellers and individual flippers of used iPhones lose their pricing headroom, since few can match a factory-refurbished unit sold at a known $100-off floor set by the manufacturer.
- If refurb stock moves quickly, it signals where real demand sits below the full-price tier — data Apple can use to calibrate future pricing without an overt list-price cut.
Third-order effects
- Manufacturer-certified refurbished is emerging as a permanent pricing tier in consumer electronics — one the brand owner controls — blurring the line between 'new' and 'used' markets and shifting secondary-market power from resellers to OEMs.
- For smartphones specifically, the pattern points toward lifecycle pricing management by handset makers: discounts delivered through refurb inventory rather than headline price cuts, preserving premium positioning on new models.
The trend: Consumer-electronics makers are bringing the secondary market in-house, using manufacturer-certified refurb programs as a controlled discount tier that protects flagship pricing.