Phones With TikTok Still Installed Are Becoming The Latest Marked-up Items On eBay

Some have bought the coveted phones for tens of thousands, but purchasers should note that getting them could still result in no TikTok.

While TikTok remains banned on app stores despite its resurgence online, eBay sellers have capitalized on the legal dispute by selling phones with the app still installed.

The mark-ups come amid President Trump signing an executive order for an 75-day extension for TikTok to sell to an American-based company. Ahead of this presidential intervention, the app went dark for over 10 hours for its American users. It left 140 million U.S. users impacted by the shutdown.

However, while account-holders are able to scroll through videos again, those who deleted or never downloaded the app are stuck without it for the time being. Moreover, Apple’s App Store and the Google Play store have yet to determine when TikTok will become available again. The only alternative lies in buying a phone with the app already installed.

Currently, “TikTok phones” have more than 27,000 listings on the online marketplace, according to CNN. However, the now-coveted devices will not come cheap, especially given the times.

Some phones have sticker prices as high as $50,000 to over $1 million. However, purchasers should note that getting the phone could still result in no TikTok. The phone owners signed out of iCloud or Google instead of the usual factory reset to keep the app. Despite this, plugging one’s existing cloud backup could take TikTok off the phone anyway.

Therefore, beyond paying an exorbitant price for a typical Android or iPhone, one must take extra measures to ensure they can keep the app they spent the extra cash for. However, the news outlet only saw sold items that went for $21,000, leaving the higher-priced gadgets still up for purchase. Those still vying for the items can always utilize eBay’s offer option to put their own price.

It remains unclear how long the craze will continue as TikTok’s future in the U.S. unfolds. In the meantime, ByteDance, the corporation that owns TikTok, has begun negotiations with U.S.-based company Oracle to strike a deal ahead of the deadline, per NPR.