TikTok Users Who Deleted the App Might Be Able To Get It Back for a Hefty Price

It's the Flappy Bird saga of 2014 all over again. After TikTok was removed from app stores across the United States, people began looking for other ways to get their virtual hands on the app. And now people are buying phones with TikTok on eBay. That's right — some U.S.-based users are so determined to get back the app they deleted during the temporary ban on Jan. 18 that they've decided to buy phones with the app already installed.

But how legitimate is this, and can people actually sign in to TikTok accounts on phones they buy on eBay? It's not uncommon for people to list their electronic devices for sale if those devices have pre-installed apps that are hard to come by. Some people even sell their Fortnite accounts after years of accumulating rare skins and other digital merch. Now, apparently, people are monetizing on those poor souls who deleted TikTok in a fit of despair when it suddenly went dark in the U.S.

It's unclear how many people have actually gone through with buying phones with TikTok. The listings on eBay are pretty pricey to start off with, and even the lower end of them are going to cost buyers around $150 or 'best offer.' some of the more outlandish listings for phones that contain the TikTok app dot at upwards of $3,000. But for what it's worth, these same listings on eBay have plenty of watchers waiting to see how the bids pan out closer to when the listing expires.

Then there are the eBay listings for phones that are priced so high that you have to wonder how legitimate those are. Like one for an "unlocked phone" with "TikTok included" that's priced at $10,000 or best offer. Active TikTok users have shared their thoughts about people buying phones with TikTok installed on them on the actual app.

When one user shared a video about people trying to to sell their phones for thousands of dollars, other users commented to either ask how to sell their phones or to say that it's simply not worth it to buy these wildly priced phones just because they have TikTok installed on them already.

"PEOPLE... TikTok works in your browser," one user commented. "Just use the web."

Another commented, "It's like you have to choose TikTok or the $$$ honey. I's tempting if this is legit."

When TikTok went dark suddenly on Jan. 18, U.S. users were in a panic. They thought the app was gone for good, as was threatened when government officials had spoken out against the app amid concerns about national security and information spread to other countries through the app. As a result, some American users deleted the app and called it a day. Then, the app began working again the next morning, and for some users, it was business as usual.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order to allow 75 more days for ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, to sell the app to an American company or individual. If that happens, then chances are, the app will be available in app stores again for U.S.-based TikTok users. Until then, apparently they'll have to shell out several thousand dollars for a TikTok phone on eBay.