Everything we know about how to buy a OnePlus One

The OnePlus One invite system, the method people will be able to buy the OnePlus One, explained.

When OnePlus announced that fans of the anticipated OnePlus One would only be able to buy the phone via invitation there was a lot of concern about why this method was chosen and how the system would work.

Why an invite system?

One of the major reasons why rivals such as Xiaomi, Huawei etc, are able to sell their products at such an attractive price is because they choose to manufacturer their product either in small batches, gradually building up to the point they can offer their phones on sale to anyone at anytime. This saves money as it means that stock doesn’t sit around not being sold, but more importantly component costs can come down allowing the company to make money.

Oneplus say this isn’t the reason why they can sell at a low price, and say their pricing is low as their marketing is al handled online and they have no physical retails stores to deal with thus saving money. OnePlus say that the invite system was chosen as the best method to supply phones to their customers as the company is still learning and don’t want to have issues with too much or too little stock.

Grey market invites?

OnePlus hope the invite system will avoid these issues as only fans of the company/phone will be initially invited to buy the phone. In this way those with invites are sure to get the phone, and scalpers will have a real problem getting a hold of an invite.

But surely their will be a grey market for invites? This would have been the case if the invites were open-ended however they will only be valid for 1-2 days, if the invite is not used then it will be returned. In special cases (give-aways and raffles) invites might have a longer expiry date.

How to get an invite to buy a OnePlus One

So now we know a few of the reasons why, I am sure you are going to want to know how you can get an invite to buy the OnePlus One.

According to the latest update on the OnePlus forums, the first real batch of invitations will sent out to fans in May, these will be for the 64GB Sandstone version of the OPO. OnePlus say that both forum and non-forum fans will be chosen for invitations so you don’t need to worry about hanging around on the forums just in case.

If you aren’t fortunate enough to get one of the first invites, then don’t worry competitions and raffles will be held allowing you the chance to get one, and you can even be invited by a friend who has bought the OnePlus One phone already.

Once you have bought your OnePlus One you will be then be able to invite people to buy the phone too. The number of invitations you can send out will vary depending on the time you get and production schedule, but is sounds as though once you have become a OPO owner you will have the option to invite people for as long as the system is in place. Keep in mind though you won’t automatically receive the invites with the phone but they will be available to you as and when stock is ready.

OnePlus One Invite System

Well I hope that helps clear a few details of the OnePlus One invite system up for you. OnePlus also have a thread on their forums about the invite system which is being updated on a regular basis too, so I suggest you also keep an yet on that too incase things change.