Mumbai: 

NO TAKERS: A shopkeeper says that the old iPhone users are willing to sell their handsets for as little as Rs 10,000

Those who had rushed to procure the iPhone through the grey market are now in a quandary. With the 3GiPhone launching in India on Friday, they are unable to find takers for the old handsets, even at throwaway prices.

Dealers said they had been swamped by people desperate get rid of their older handsets. "We get 30 to 40 people a day wanting to sell their old iPhones, but as we don't see any demand for the handset any more, we are not buying them," said A Jabbar, a sales executive at Faith, a secondhand mobile shop.

"The phones were unlocked here and could be used with any of the service providers. It was an instant hit, but now people want to get rid of it as they are waiting for the new handset," said Bhavin Savla, owner of a shop at Heera Panna in Haji Ali.

Other cities

The situation is the same in Pune too. A shopkeeper on Junglee Maharaj Road, said, "People are willing to sell handsets that cost them Rs 25,000 (including the cost of downloading applications) for as little as Rs 10,000. But we are not buying any, as we will find no takers for them after the 3GiPhone is launched."

Dealers also said there were no fresh stocks of the old version in the market now. According to them, the upcoming launch has created such a furore that the demand for the old version has practically come down to nil.