You Won’t Believe How Much iPhones With TikTok Installed Are Selling For Right Now

How much would you spend to keep using TikTok on your smartphone? Four or five figures? Maybe even six figures?

Currently on eBay or Facebook Marketplace, you’ll likely be able to find an iPhone selling for less than $1,000. But if it has the TikTok app — which you can’t currently download from U.S. app stores — prepare for sticker shock.

As first reported by Wired, people are shelling out thousands to secondhand resellers of smartphones that have TikTok preinstalled. For example, an iPhone 14 Pro model just sold on eBay this Friday for $539.99, but a similar iPhone 14 Plus model with TikTok is priced at $10,000, with bids already clearing $4,000.

You can buy most used iPhone models for less than a thousand dollars on resale sites.

If you happen to have the TikTok app installed, your iPhone just got a lot more valuable.

After a brief ban for U.S. users, TikTok returned, but the user experience is still not completely what it once was. Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday that delayed any potential ban of TikTok for 75 days, but you still cannot download it from the Apple and Google Play app stores as of Friday. Android users who search for TikTok, for example, receive a message stating: “Downloads for this app are paused due to current U.S. legal requirements.”

In other words, if you’ve deleted the app or want to download it for the first time, you will be unable to access mobile TikTok in the U.S. HuffPost contacted Apple and Google about this policy change and has not received a response.

You can still use the app in a desktop web browser, but clearly, for many of the TikTok faithful, this user experience is not the same.

What To Do If You Actually Need TikTok On Your Smartphone Right Now

If being without TikTok access is giving you heart palpitations, it also might be time to consider if you are addicted to the app.

Skipping work tasks, ignoring family or friends, daily endless scrolling ― or in this case, bidding your rent money on a used smartphone ― are signs that your usage might be becoming unhealthy. (Of course, many people rely on the app for their income or job, which might add another layer of stress to this predicament.)

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You are not alone in wanting to watch just one more video loop. TikTok is designed to give you the dopamine rush of hitting a casino slot win every time you refresh your “For You Page.” But unlike a TikTok loop, it is possible to break out of this cycle and try something new.

If TikTok is interfering with your life or your budget, it might be time to ― as users on the app say ― “touch grass,” and put that time and energy towards hobbies and community that do not require being on an app. Go for a walk outside or meet up with a friend and leave your smartphone at home.

These activities might not have the same immediate thrill of watching a funny TikTok ― but the good news? They also don’t cost $12,000.