Play.com touts Nexus One with added price

Turning grey into gold

Customers who want a Nexus One but don't want to buy from Google can now pay an additional hundred and fifty quid to have one shipped through Play.com.

The listing was spotted by Macworld, and prices the Nexus One at £599 when supplied by "mobilesNmore" though Play.com's marketplace. Anyone buying direct from Google can expect to pay $535 plus thirty dollars shipping and twenty dollars for a UK plug, which totals (including VAT) around £439 - or £150 less than Play.com is asking.

It's quite normal for grey importers to charge over the odds for kit that can't be obtained direct from the manufacturer, or justify higher prices in exchange for a high-street presence and the ability to fondle the goods before purchase - but Play.com and its supplier are doing neither of these things - just selling at a higher price in the hope no-one will notice.

Given that customers for the Nexus One tend towards the more technically literate, we can't imagine that many people are going be taken in, but with a margin of a hundred and fifty quid a time, it won't take many to justify the listing from mobilesNmore.

Google is still saying the Nexus One will be available from Vodafone come the Spring, and while we don't know at what price just yet we can be pretty confident it will be less than the £599 being asked on Play.com. ®