The recent legal rollercoaster surrounding TikTok in the US has created a truly bizarre marketplace on eBay: used iPhones with the app pre-installed are being listed for prices ranging from $2,000 to a staggering $50,000. It seems some sellers think they've struck gold – or at least TikTok gold – believing they've cornered the market on pre-ban digital relics. This comes after a period of legal uncertainty that could rival a soap opera plot, including a Supreme Court ruling, a brief digital blackout, and a subsequent executive order that basically said, "Oops, never mind." To recap the legal tango: The US Supreme Court upheld a TikTok ban, leading to its removal from app stores and a brief period where the app went dark, leaving millions of teens in a state of existential dread. A subsequent executive order then suspended enforcement of the ban, essentially saying, "Just kidding! You can have your dance videos back." However, legal experts have disputed the validity of this order, suggesting that companies disregarding the original ban could still face substantial fines. This legal limbo created a window of opportunity for opportunistic sellers on eBay – who apparently thought they could sell digital air for a premium. Well after the ban (however brief it was), prices on ebay skyrocketed, with some "Buy It Now" listings reaching as high as $50,000 for an unlocked iPhone 12 Pro Max with TikTok. That's enough to buy a brand new car, a down payment on a house, or perhaps, several thousand hours of therapy to cope with the loss of TikTok (and the realization you just spent $50,000 on a used phone). Many other listings fell within the $2,000 to $5,000 range, significantly above the typical market value for these devices. You could practically buy a brand new phone and hire a professional TikTok dancer to teach you all the trends for that price. Settle down people, you can still download the app. It might just be a bit more tricky. Ep293 Image created by AI
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