Naina Khedekar

Looks like, it's not just Apple who is benefiting from the high Apple prices. Recently, there were reports about the iPhone 6s available in the Indian grey market for over Rs 1 lakh prior to the launch.

Although the new iPhones witnessed a sluggish start across official retailer channels, they seem to be the most sought after device in the grey market, even selling like hot cakes! The reasons is simple, the official prices are too high, and the grey market is selling the devices at cheaper prices. According to a report by The Economic Times, Mumbai's Heera Panna, New Delhi's Gaffar Market, Kolkata's Fancy Market has witnessed a huge sale in grey IPhone 6s units.

We tried finding out and a source in the Mumbai grey market tells us that 16GB iPhone 6s model is selling at Rs 53,000 and 64GB unit at Rs 62,000. These prices are without warranty, those looking for warranty will have to pay Rs 60,000 and Rs 70,000, respectively. The prices with warranty are still lower than those on official sites. In case of iPhone 6s Plus, 16GB model is priced at Rs 64,000. Those looking for warranty can take the device at Rs 70,000. The 64GB model is priced at Rs 64,000, which is about Rs 2,000 more than official 16GB iPhone 6s pricing.

The devices are selling at much lower prices overseas from where most of these grey models are sourced, giving grey market vendors enough margin when selling these phones at lower than official prices.

While grey markets are buzzing with the sale, sites like eBay also shows several iPhone 6s model listed for much lower prices. On eBay, a 16GB iPhone 6s is priced at Rs 53,153, which is a price difference of roughly Rs 9,000. Similarly, 64GB iPhone 6s is priced as low as Rs 60,351 and 64GB iPhone 6s Plus at Rs 72,072. The high price difference is what's compelling users to opt for grey and other channels over the official ones.

The iPhone 6s starts at Rs 62,000 for 16GB model and further increases to Rs 72,000 for the 64GB variant and Rs 82,000 for the 128GB model. On the other hand, the iPhone 6s Plus is priced at Rs 72,000 for the 16GB model, Rs 82,000 for the 64GB model and a whopping Rs 92,000 for the 128GB model. The high prices are blamed on the government's decision to increase the duty on imported smartphones to 11.5 percent in order to boost its 'Make in India' initiative. While it's too early to say if it will really help boost the initiative, the grey market vendors are surely laughing their way to the banks.

Besides, there are several other reasons for the sluggish iPhone 6s sale, click here to find out more.