The Fujifilm X100VI is on back-order everywhere, but the first cameras have been delivered to those who preordered – which means that scalpers vultures are listing them on eBay for as much as double the retail price.
I jumped on the auction site today and the lowest Buy It Now price on a Fujifilm X100VI is currently AU$4,000 (there's only one regular auction, starting at US$3,850).
There are a whole bunch of cameras in the AU$4,300 - AU$4,700 range, located in the UK and USA, but one seller based in Denmark is listing an X100VI for AU$5,620 (plus shipping) – double the AU$2,899 retail price.
Out of interest, three of the listed X100VIs (all in the United Kingdom) have pictures of the actual cameras rather than stock images. Two of them have shipping notes, one from John Lewis and the other from Jessops, with the other looking like it came from Wex – so if you preordered in the UK from one of those retailers, you might be lucky enough to get one of the first batches.
I understand that scalpers exist, and that it's part of the reality of modern commerce, but sheesh – sticking almost three grand on top of the asking price is just disgusting. And I'm sure someone out there will be desperate enough to click the Buy It Now button.
This is just the latest in the X100VI frenzy. Earlier this week I wrote about the 650,000 people who entered a lottery in China to win the chance to preorder the camera, noting in the same story that the head of Park Cameras said, "It's great that they have doubled manufacturing capacity, however, this is not going to be enough and I hope they can increase supply."
If the short supply of the Fujifilm X100V over the past couple of years has taught us anything, it's that we're probably going to see more of this sort of thing as Fujuifilm struggles to meet the unprecedented demand. If you want to make yourself laugh / cry (delete as appropriate), check out the current X100VI listings on eBay.
Take a look at the best Fujifilm cameras and the best Fujifilm lenses, as well as the best Fujifilm X100VI alternatives.
