"Unopened Olympic Phone for Sale"... 'Podium Selfie' Z Flip Already Appears on Secondhand Market

Samsung Electronics, an official partner of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), gifted the 'Galaxy Z Flip6 Olympic Edition' to the athletes participating in the 2024 Paris Olympics, and these devices have appeared for sale on second-hand marketplaces.

According to foreign media including France's Le Parisien on the 6th (local time), the Galaxy Z Flip6 Olympic Edition has recently been listed one after another on second-hand sales sites such as eBay.

On the 5th (local time), at the 2024 Paris Olympic badminton women's singles final held at the Porte de la Chapelle Arena in Paris, France, Korea's An Se-young, who won the championship, is taking a commemorative photo with a Galaxy Z Flip6 on the podium. From the left, silver medalist China's He Bingjiao, An Se-young, and Indonesia's Gregoria Mariska Tunjung.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

원본보기 아이콘

The edition provided by Samsung to about 17,000 Olympic athletes is a 512GB model, featuring a yellow color with the Olympic and Paralympic emblems and the Samsung logo engraved. It also includes a 100GB eSIM provided by Orange, the official mobile partner of the Paris Olympics, an 'in-app pass' that allows free use of Coca-Cola vending machines installed in the athletes' village, and a transportation card that offers unlimited access to public transport around Paris.

On eBay, this edition is being sold for $1,275 to $2,500 (approximately 1.75 million to 3.44 million KRW). On France's second-hand trading site Le Bon Coin, it is sold at around 1,500 to 2,000 euros (2.25 million to 3 million KRW). Considering that the US retail price of the regular Galaxy Z Flip6 512GB model is $1,219.99 (about 1.69 million KRW), these are being sold at higher prices.

Sellers have written product descriptions such as "brand new unopened product" and "comes in box."

'Galaxy Z Flip6 Olympic Edition' listed on eBay.
[Image source: eBay homepage]

원본보기 아이콘

According to Le Parisien, Samsung has acknowledged this situation and reported it to the IOC, agreeing to leave the disposal of the gifts to the discretion of the athletes. An internal source told Le Parisien, "For athletes from financially struggling countries, this phone could serve as a small source of income."

The media also evaluated that Samsung has achieved considerable success from a marketing perspective. Until now, all personal belongings including mobile phones were prohibited from being brought into Olympic award ceremonies. However, at this Olympics, the IOC and Samsung Electronics collaborated to allow athletes to take ‘podium selfies’ wearing their medals for the first time. As a result, scenes of athletes taking group selfies with Galaxy smartphones were frequently seen.

In particular, at the mixed doubles table tennis award ceremony on the 30th of last month, a special moment was created where athletes from South Korea, North Korea, and China took commemorative photos together. This attracted significant attention not only from various media but also on social networking services (SNS). Le Parisien praised it as "a marketing strategy far more effective than any advertisement."

© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.