The BlackBerry Z10 comes out in Canada on Tuesday, Feb. 5., but U.S. customers will have to wait at until mid-March before the smartphones appear in stores.
For some American BlackBerry fans, that’s not soon enough, and they’re bidding up the prices of unlocked Z10 models being sold on eBay.
One model sold on Saturday for $1,825 U.S., about $1,225 more than the expected $599 base price in the U.S. for the phone without a contract.
Another model is currently bidding at $1,350 U.S., and several other bids are around the $1,000 range.
It’s a sign that, despite the BlackBerry’s rapidly plummeting market share in recent years, the brand still has some strong loyalists willing to pay top dollar to be among the first to have a new phone.
BlackBerry (the new name for the company formerly known as RIM) launched its new generation of smartphones last week. The phones are already on sale in the U.K., while sales in Canada begin Feb. 5 and in the U.S. next month.
The phone will retail for $649 in Canada without a contract, and for around $150 on a three-year contract with one of Canada’s wireless carriers.
BlackBerry shares were up 0.7 per cent on the TSX Monday morning, to $13.01, after several weeks during which the stock has seen wild fluctuations in price.
