Everything we know about how to buy a OnePlus One


oneplus invite system

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 one hands on

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.

oneplus one hands on

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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.

oneplus one hands on

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.

Read Also:  List of smartphones from Xiaomi, OnePlus and iQOO to be released in the last week of October

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.

[ OnePlus Invite System ]
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22 Comments

  1. Freeje
    May 13, 2014

    It will still turn off people who would rather buy a phone that is readily available.

    • May 13, 2014

      Agreed. Hope there is a better long term solution

      • Porscheproletos
        May 13, 2014

        There is a better long term solution 🙂 It has even sd-card slot…changeable battery and “awesome” it is available.!!!!..but wait wait wait…its much more better! It looks nearly like the ONE+… it comes from same factory…and guess what!!!! its written OPPO on it…not just OPO! So even one letter more instead of 3! Isnt it great? Ok…its a tiny bit more expensive. But it comes unfortunately without 1 dollar actions or invitation system.:-( but its hope! Its a totally new distribution system!..its called…OPAG! Order, pay and get! 🙂

        U r welcome -> http://en.oppo.com/

  2. ramdroid
    May 13, 2014

    i was very excited about this phone, now find 7a looks more attractive just cuz its much easier to buy

    • eliHd
      May 14, 2014

      yes i totally agree with you. I just bought Oppo 7a the other day, 399 euros. I dont mind paying the extras + with oppo you get fast charging, removable battery & expandable memory. Yes, 64gb is a lot of memory and i wont be able to fill up 64gb, however if the phone become faulty you will loose up to 64gb of data with one+1 but with oppo 7a you can simply just removed the micro sd card = not all data is lost.

  3. desponent
    May 13, 2014

    Dumb dumb reason, why not preorder or lead time method instead of this silly system? Just tell the world that it’s what your OPPO overlord told you to do.

    “Only have online store” excuse is also very funny since they limit the country in which the phone is available.

  4. Guest
    May 13, 2014

    It will still turn off people who would rather buy a phone that is readily available.

    • Andi Sykes
      May 13, 2014

      Agreed. Hope there is a better long term solution

    • Porscheproletos
      May 13, 2014

      There is a better long term solution 🙂 It has even sd-card slot…changeable battery and “awesome” it is available.!!!!..but wait wait wait…its much more better! It looks nearly like the ONE+… it comes from same factory…and guess what!!!! its written OPPO on it…not just OPO! So even one letter more instead of 3! Isnt it great? Ok…its a tiny bit more expensive. But it comes unfortunately without 1 dollar actions or invitation system.:-( but its hope! Its a totally new distribution system!..its called…OPAG! Order, pay and get! 🙂

      U r welcome -> http://en.oppo.com/

  5. ramdroid
    May 13, 2014

    i was very excited about this phone, now find 7a looks more attractive just cuz its much easier to buy

    • eliHd
      May 14, 2014

      yes i totally agree with you. I just bought Oppo 7a the other day, 399 euros. I dont mind paying the extras + with oppo you get fast charging, removable battery & expandable memory. Yes, 64gb is a lot of memory and i wont be able to fill up 64gb, however if the phone become faulty you will loose up to 64gb of data with one+1 but with oppo 7a you can simply just removed the micro sd card = not all data is lost.

  6. desponent
    May 13, 2014

    Dumb dumb reason, why not preorder or lead time method instead of this silly system? Just tell the world that it’s what your OPPO overlord told you to do.

    “Only have online store” excuse is also very funny since they limit the country in which the phone is available.

  7. inez blafla
    May 13, 2014

    Andi, you should get paid for this, so much clearer than their long post 🙂

  8. inez blafla
    May 13, 2014

    Andi, you should get paid for this, so much clearer than their long post 🙂

    • Andi Sykes
      May 14, 2014

      haha thanks 😀

  9. wah
    May 14, 2014

    Andi , what do think about OPO product availability in next few months ? (lets say in 3-5 months) ? because trying to buy one this / next month seems to be improbable

  10. wah
    May 15, 2014

    Andi , what do think about OPO product availability in next few months ? (lets say in 3-5 months) ? because trying to buy one this / next month seems to be improbable

  11. dracule
    May 16, 2014

    can we buy one+1 from china market directly andi?

  12. Guest
    May 17, 2014

    can we buy one+1 from china market directly andi?

  13. May 17, 2014

    Plainly, people want to buy what they want. Inviting is a different story… and might not be a nice story.. I’d rather settle for something nice rather than follow much of this 1 ‘less’ 1 🙁

  14. Honesto Morales
    May 17, 2014

    Plainly, people want to buy what they want. Inviting is a different story… and might not be a nice story.. I’d rather settle for something nice rather than follow much of this 1 ‘less’ 1 🙁