The iPhone 17 Pro Max, along with the rest of the iPhone 17 series, officially goes on sale in India tomorrow, September 19. But if you missed the pre-orders and still want one on launch day, be prepared to pay a hefty premium. Offline retailers are charging up to ₹40,000 over the MRP for the top-end iPhone 17 Pro Max in the new Cosmic Orange finish.
We found multiple such listings and spoke to several retailers to get a clearer picture. The consensus is simple: either wait until mid-October for regular deliveries (at MRP) or pay the premium if you want to get your hands on Apple’s latest flagship on day one.
iPhone 17 Pro Max: Here’s What You May Need To Pay At Launch
A retailer in New Delhi’s Rohini area posted a public listing for various iPhone 17 Pro models available for delivery on the 19 September launch day. The quoted prices were as follows:
- iPhone 17 Pro 256GB Cosmic Orange: ₹1,34,900 + ₹20,000 markup
- iPhone 17 Pro 256GB Deep Blue: ₹1,34,900 + ₹15,000 markup
- iPhone 17 Pro 1TB: ₹1,74,900 + ₹40,000 markup
- iPhone 17 Pro Max 1TB Cosmic Orange: ₹1,89,900 + ₹40,000 markup
- iPhone 17 Pro Max 2TB Deep Blue: ₹2,29,900 + ₹40,000 markup (that is ₹2.69 lakh)
- iPhone 17 Pro Max 512GB Silver: ₹1,69,900 + ₹32,000 markup
These figures clearly show a difference in markup prices across various models and colours. The Cosmic Orange finish appears to be the most popular this year, commanding the highest premiums, followed by Deep Blue and Silver. This has been seen in previous years as well, wherein the hero colour was sold at the maximum premium.
The Situation in Tier-2 Cities
This trend is not limited to metropolitan areas. We spoke with retailers in tier-2 cities such as Jaipur. One retailer based in Ganpati Plaza, a local hub for mobile phones, confirmed they are expecting huge demand for the iPhone 17 Pro models, with pre-bookings higher than for the iPhone 16 last year. They told us that deliveries will begin tomorrow, 19 September, at 10 am, but launch day stock is reserved for customers who pre-ordered. The retailer anticipates that any available units will carry a markup starting from around ₹10,000 – 15,000, echoing the sentiment seen in larger cities.
We asked: “Price upar jaega kya launch day pe?
Retailer: “Jaega. Andazan ₹10,000 to 15,000”
Can You Not Just Buy It Online?
Buying online is not a straightforward alternative. Currently, both Amazon and Flipkart show the new iPhones as out of stock. On Apple’s official India website, estimated delivery dates are already pushed back to between 9 and 15 October for the Pro Max model. For the Pro model in Cosmic Orange, the wait is until between 3 and 9 October. This suggests that demand for the Pro Max is higher than for the regular Pro.
So, the crux is: If you want to purchase the phone at its MRP, you will likely have to wait until October; securing one on launch day will almost certainly require paying the extra offline markup.
Notably, this is not a new phenomenon. Launch day premiums have become a common occurrence in recent years. The situation was identical (check our reporting here) for the iPhone 14, 15, and 16 series, where high demand and limited initial supply led to similar markups in the offline market.
