Ahead of India launch, iPhone 6 selling for over Rs 1 lakh.

KOLKATA: A day after Tim Cook took the wrappings off iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, the Indian grey market went a little crazy. On eBay India, a sealed and factory unlocked 16GB iPhone 6 was going for Rs 1 lakh while a 16 GB iPhone 6 Plus was being offered at Rs 1.1 lakh. The devices will be shipped to India from September 21.

Another seller on eBay India listed a network-locked 16GB iPhone 6, which will be unlocked before sale, at Rs 75,000. The phone will be launched in the US and elsewhere on September 19 and in India on October 17.

One of the sellers on eBay, who plans to source the handsets from Australia and Singapore, said he has already received more than 20 bookings with the full amount paid by Wednesday evening. His listing had got more than 600 hits, he said. Australia and Singapore are part of the global launch.

Apple has enlarged the screen, made the edges more rounded and slimmed down the iPhone as it seeks to fight for higher end of the smartphone market with Samsung, with which it has tangled in court over alleged patent infringements. At the same time, in markets such as India, buyers are moving toward cheaper phones.

These include the Motorola Moto E and the Xiaomi Mi3. But iPhone mania was unstoppable on the day after the launch with Apple fanboys determined to get their hands on the new devices. In the grey markets of New Delhi and Kolkata, the 16GB version of the iPhone 6 was being quoted at Rs 55,000-60,000 with a premium of Rs 5,000-10,000 on the larger screen variant.

In Mumbai's Crawford Market and the Heera Panna shopping complex, the 16GB iPhone 6 was being quoted at around Rs 80,000-85,000 with dealers promising delivery in September itself. The new iPhones will start selling on the global launch day in 10 markets — including the US, Australia, Japan, the UK, Hong Kong and Singapore — with bookings kicking off on September 12.

The Apple India website said the phones will be officially launched in the country on October 17. While official India prices haven't been made public, it's estimated that the iPhone 6 16GB model will be priced at Rs 48,000- Rs 50,000 and the iPhone 6 Plus 16GB model at Rs 58,000-60,000 by three of Apple's top trade partners.

The 64 GB and 128 GB models will cost appropriately more. A grey market dealer in Kolkata's AC market said customers were ready to pay the amount in full to book the model.

"This kind of frenzy is happening after a long time, actually since the launch of the first iPhone, which was then launched in India after several months," he said, requesting anonymity. The owner of a mobile phone shop in New Delhi's grey market haunt Gaffar Market said the new iPhone models will be available in next 10-15 days.

"We will also have some accessories for the phone," he said. Apple is planning to build on the excitement ahead of its official India launch and will, for the first time, go big on online sales and digital marketing, with the festive season in full swing by October, said Apple's top trade partners.