Who on earth is paying £1800 minimum for a bloody mobile phone??? That’s insane!
Comment on UK phone retailers lock shop doors while trading to tackle rising thefts
Jrockwar@feddit.uk 7 months ago
When the iPhone X was released (2017), the £1000 pricing was considered ridiculous. Most flagships at the time cost about £600 (this is what the 2016 iPhone 7 cost at launch, with the iPhone 7 Plus having a starting price of £720).
Obviously this didn’t stop Apple from selling them like hotcakes and establishing an immediate +30% increase of the flagship smartphone prices.
Today, a Galaxy Z Fold starts at £1800. This is a +146% increase over the 2017 release price of the Galaxy Note 7.
According to the bank of England, we’ve seen a total inflation of 34% in the 2017-2025, while phones have increased their prices by >100%.
So yeah, no surprise there. As phones keep rising in value, they are going to continue becoming an increasingly desirable target for thefts. A gym bag full of smartphone boxes can easily have over £20k at retail prices, and easily fetch £10k when sold at a hefty discount, but a smartphone store doesn’t have the security measures of a jewelry store. I can see how it’s attractive to thieves.
rayquetzalcoatl@lemmy.world 7 months ago
Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 7 months ago
People that think £83 a month is something they can afford to pay so they are easily pushed to spend more and more. Meanwhile I am paying £4 a month.
rayquetzalcoatl@lemmy.world 7 months ago
Oooh how did you get down to £4? I’m on £6, only 5GB data and I hit the limit every month.
£83 a month on a phone is fucking mental. That’s a council tax payment in some places. That’s more than my gas + electricity.
Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 7 months ago
Really? B and paying like £176 a month on council tax, feels like a waste of money. Like we have bin collections unnecessarily frequently, wish I could have a reduced bill and fewer collections.
As for the phone, Asda calls/SMS only.
andrewta@lemmy.world 7 months ago
I don’t even pay you that much for a gaming tower computer. Yeah I agree it insane. There’s no way I pay that for a simple phone.
Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 7 months ago
Well, the most expensive possible phone has increased in price. You can still buy cheap phones. If anything electronics are one of the more inflation resistant products. You can buy a new laptop today for less than a couple decades ago, and it will be a lot faster.