TikTok’s absence from app stores in the US has sparked an unusual trend: phones with the app pre-installed are being sold on eBay for exorbitant amounts. Some listings are priced as high as $50,000, reported The Independent,

(CNN) – Sellers on eBay have a hot, new commodity: phones with TikTok still installed. TikTok was removed from app stores on Saturday ahead of a federal ban. While the app is available again for people who already had it downloaded, it remains missing from app stores.

At the time of publication, a search for "TikTok phone" produces over 24,000 results, with the lowest "Buy it Now" listing selling for $400 and the highest asking for (checks notes) $4,970,400 million with CapCut, a video editing app also owned by ByteDance pre-installed in addition to TikTok.

People are listing phones preloaded with TikTok for tens of thousands of dollars on eBay, Facebook marketplace and other online storefronts.

Following TikTok's removal from US app stores, smartphones with the app pre-installed are being sold for exorbitant prices on platforms like eBay and

During the outage, even users who had previously downloaded TikTok were unable to access the app. While service has since been restored, the app remains unavailable for download in U.S.-based app stores, leaving new users unable to access it.

Trump issued an executive order on Jan. 20 to extend the ban on TikTok, implemented by former President Joe Biden last year. The order granted a 75-day extension, which Trump said will allow him to consult with his advisors and heads of "relevant" departments and agencies to address national security concerns posed by TikTok.

The impending TikTok ban has resulted in opportunistic behaviors where people on eBay are selling smartphones with the app preinstalled.

There are reports that the United States government is looking to bring in software firm Oracle and US investors to take over TikTok’s operations in America. Oracle would take over the app’s algorithm,

Did you delete the TikTok app after it was briefly banned? Your only option may be to purchase a phone with the app already installed on eBay — but the priciest option is reportedly over $5 million. After the viral video-sharing platform went dark last weekend,

Some of TikTok's 170 million U.S.-based users are selling phones with the social media app preloaded on them for thousands of dollars online.