2 min read
After TikTok’s removal from U.S. app stores, sellers on platforms such as eBay and Facebook Marketplace have begun listing used iPhones with TikTok pre-installed at exorbitant prices. These devices, some priced well above retail, have sparked significant attention and bidding activity online.
A review of eBay on Friday revealed hundreds of listings for iPhones advertising TikTok as pre-installed. Keywords such as “iPhone TikTok installed” and “unlocked” featured prominently in these listings. One search term, “iPhone TikTok,” returned over 45,000 results on eBay alone.
Several sellers have mounted multiple models between iPhone 7 and iPhone 16 on their platforms which display significant price discrepancies. A black iPhone 15 Pro model containing TikTok and CapCut from ByteDance cost $4.9 million. However this price contrasted with the $3,000 value of an iPhone 7 variant. A Facebook Marketplace seller offered an iPhone 14 combined with TikTok and CapCut for $20,000.
Some vendors added screen recordings and screenshots showing device displays that ran TikTok and CapCut together. The rare availability of TikTok Instagram is forcing people to buy iPhones at exorbitant prices after Apple and Google removed the app from their platforms in the United States.
TikTok’s removal from the market occurred because of the regulatory issues it faced in the U.S. An executive order from newly installed President Donald Trump blocked the Supreme Court deadline granting TikTok 75 more days to demonstrate compliance.
The restored access for current users has not stopped device makers from capitalizing on the vacuum left by app stores by including TikTok pre-installed on their products. Multiple preloaded TikTok device offerings were already securing buyers at the time of this article’s publication. The iPhone 15 Pro Max listed at $461 managed to gain 61 bids through eBay.
The viral trend demonstrates both TikTok’s strong user base and users’ dedicated efforts to maintain access while facing regulatory uncertainties in the United States. Representatives at eBay and Facebook Marketplace have not issued any statements about this development.
The executives at TikTok and ByteDance have not responded when approached for comment about these new developments. Preloaded devices demonstrate TikTok’s broad popularity and confirm the platform’s digital marketplace impact even as regulatory uncertainty continues.
