Phones that still have TikTok installed on them are fetching high prices on eBay, days after the social media platform's short-lived ban in the United States. The TikTok app is currently unavailable in the Apple App Store — making it available only to those who previously installed the app before its recent ban.
People are listing phones preloaded with TikTok for tens of thousands of dollars on eBay, Facebook marketplace and other online storefronts.
The iPhone 15 and 16 models generally sell for between $1,200 and $1,500 on eBay. When the app was first banned iPhones with TikTok installed were listed for as much as $1 million during the app's 14 hour blackout, Ukrainian technology news outlet ITC reported.
Business Insider's scan of platforms like eBay and Facebook Marketplace showed hundreds of listings touting phones with TikTok and CapCut installed.
At the time of publication, a search for "TikTok phone" produces over 24,000 results, with the lowest "Buy it Now" listing selling for $400 and the highest asking for (checks notes) $4,970,400 million with CapCut, a video editing app also owned by ByteDance pre-installed in addition to TikTok.
Bobrov, the company stated: “At eBay, we’re leveraging the latest advances in AI to redefine the future of ecommerce for enthusiasts. The evolution from LLMs to agentic systems is happening faster than most of us would have predicted just a year ago,
(CNN) – Sellers on eBay have a hot, new commodity: phones with TikTok still installed. TikTok was removed from app stores on Saturday ahead of a federal ban. While the app is available again for people who already had it downloaded, it remains missing from app stores.
There's a warning to eBay, Vinted and other sellers from HMRC to submit their self-assessment, or face a fine.
TikTok’s absence from app stores in the US has sparked an unusual trend: phones with the app pre-installed are being sold on eBay for exorbitant amounts. Some listings are priced as high as $50,000, reported The Independent,
There are also TikTok-loaded devices that are listed for sale for just hundreds of dollars. Some sellers advertise phones with active TikTok accounts, while others say the app is installed, but not linked to an account. Ebay did not immediately respond to CBS MoneyWatch's request for comment on the listings.
Technically, anything over 20 years old can be coined "vintage." But when you truly think of items worth this title, your brain doesn't go to Beanie Babies. Instead, it conjures up images of