China's iPhone 6 Black Market Is Falling Apart

After numerous spottings of iPhone 6 resales last week, the Chinese market seems to have peaked, reports the South China Morning Post.

The Post reports that an influx of iPhones 6 handsets from Hong Kong Apple stores is driving down the price of phones on the Chinese (mainland) black market.

The market appears to be changing daily. Resellers complained that their iPhones were losing value during the trip from Hong Kong to China.

The post says a 16GB iPhone 6 that was going for 8,000 Chinese yuan ($1,300) on Monday was worth around 6,000 yuan ($978) on Wednesday. That's an incredibly unstable market.

An unsubsidized 16GB iPhone 6 retails for $649 without a contract in the US.

The Chinese black market for iPhones is being held up by uncertainty over when the smartphone will be sold there.

In fact, some reports suggest Chinese consumers may have to wait until 2015.

Resellers will still be able to cash in on the iPhone's popularity in China - particularly the iPhone 6 Plus - but their margins will continue getting obliterated until the iPhone's market value approaches $649.