Gold iPhone 5s Demand Becomes Reasonable While Supply Stays Mysterious

While demand for the gold-colored iPhone 5s seems to have been high the world over, the oddest cultural response continues to be in China, where the device is given the nickname "Tyrant King." It's there also that some of the highest prices have been demanded, with some 3rd party sellers taking the opportunity to follow the supply trends to maximize profit. This week, however, sources speaking with MyDrivers in China have reported the lowering of prices on this 3rd party merchant market for the gold iPhone 5s due not only to the idea that this model would be appearing in greater supply soon, but because "only wealthy people would buy this phone."

In other words – when you've got a phone whose price is increased due only to the color of its body, there's a limit to how many people will buy into the idea. It should be noted that these reports come from Zhongguancun, a technology district in the Haidian District in Beijing, China, and does not necessarily reflect the price changes in official retailers. At the moment it would appear that official retail prices for iPhones of all kinds in China remain the same as they were on opening day.

Meanwhile here in the United States you'll find shipping times set for "October" in general, with no in-store availability in sight at any retail store we've been in contact with in California, Minnesota, or North Dakota. You'll find a handy tool by the name of iPhone-Check out there in the wild today, created by developer Mordy Tikotsky – as seen on GitHub as well.

If you're living in the United States, you have the ability to check stores from Apple's online store as well. Once the user has clicked the phone they want in the Apple store online, they have only to see the Summary box to the right of the selection screen where they'll find a "Select Store" button and a "Continue" button after that. There they'll have only to add a ZIP code and a variety of store will appear with availability (or unavailability, as it were).

And of course if you're living in Japan, you'll find the always friendly "Contact retail stores" awaiting your demand for a gold iPhone 5s. If you've contacted a local store and have found different results than what we've found here, please feel free to let us know!

Be sure to have a peek at our full iPhone 5s review while you're at it!