People are listing cellphones preloaded with the TikTok app for tens of thousands of US dollars on eBay, Facebook Marketplace and other online storefronts — although it is not clear if there are many buyers at those prices.
TikTok was briefly unavailable to US users on Saturday last week, but as of the following day anyone who had previously downloaded it has been able to use it. The app is still not available for download on Apple and Google’s app stores, so anyone who did not think to get TikTok before Sunday last week is out of luck.
As a result, some entrepreneurial spirits are selling phones and tablets that have TikTok — and other apps from its parent company ByteDance, such as Lemon8 and video editor CapCut. On eBay, listings could be found for as much as US$50,000 (or as little as US$340) on Friday. While it is not clear how many such phones have sold, the ones selling for hundreds have received the most bids.
Photo: Reuters
One seller, Nicholas Matthews, who lives in New York, said he decided to sell the phone when he saw that TikTok was in high demand. He listed an iPhone 14 Plus with TikTok for US$10,000. As of Friday, Matthews said his highest bid was for US$4,550.
“I’m just expecting to sell this one phone,” he said.
TikTok has about 170 million users in the US. The ban does not target individual users, who are technically free to use it as long as they could.
Ebay did not immediately respond to a message for comment on the listings on Friday.
Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump directed the US Department of Justice to pause enforcement of the ban until early April. However, a host of questions remain — including whether Trump has the authority to issue such an order and if TikTok’s China-based parent would be amenable to selling the popular social media platform.
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