Samsung Electronics' twice-folding smartphone "Galaxy Z Trifold," priced at nearly 3.6 million won, sold out again both online and offline. The Galaxy Z Trifold was released on the 12th, and all prepared stock sold out as soon as sales began. This sellout is for the second shipment. The Z Trifold is expected to go on sale again in January.
According to the industry on the 17th, reservations for the restocked Trifold on Samsung.com at 10 a.m. closed two minutes after opening. Immediately after closing, Samsung.com posted a notice saying, "Thank you for your support," and "The prepared stock has sold out. If you sign up for a restock alert, we will notify you when it is available."
Some restocked units also arrived at offline stores that day. However, these were advance shipment reservation products for customers who visited stores on the 12th, the release day, but could not make a purchase.
Samsung Electronics said it would assign reservation order numbers to customers who visited stores that day and grant purchase priority when additional stock arrives next month. In effect, it sold out again as soon as it was restocked.
Earlier, the Trifold sold out at major stores such as Samsung Gangnam and Hongdae right after opening on release day. In particular, on Samsung.com, all prepared stock sold out five minutes after sales began.
The industry estimates initial sales volume of the Galaxy Z Trifold at around 3,000 units. Samsung Electronics sold the product only as an unlocked model, without carrier bundles. The buzz from Samsung Electronics' first twice-folding form factor and the scarcity from limited quantities combined to create a frenzy of sellouts. The Z Trifold is a product with high cost of goods and repair expense burdens, but with the company setting the price in the mid-3 million won range, some say its margin rate is low.
Given the situation, the Galaxy Z Trifold has even been listed on the secondhand market at prices around 10 million won.