OnePlus has certainly chosen to take the road less traveled with regards to promoting and selling one of the most intriguing smartphones of the year, the OnePlus One.
The company launched its Smash the Past promotion shortly after unveiling the One in which interested parties were asked to smash their current handset for the opportunity to buy a new device. This promotion was wrapped into OnePlus' overall strategy of selling phones indirectly through a referral program. In other words, you can't buy a phone unless you are invited to do so.
OnePlus opened a pre-order window for just one hour last month which, unsurprisingly, didn't go over too well as their servers faltered under load. As such, they're planning to hold a similar event on November 17 and with any luck, the servers will hold up a bit better than last time.
The question on a lot of peoples' minds, however, is whether or not this exclusivity strategy is actually working. Judging by the numbers, the company seems to be doing just fine.
In a recent chat with Forbes, co-founder and director Carl Pei said they've sold half a million handsets to date with a push to reach one million units sold by year's end. It won't be easy, Pei admitted, but he thinks it's possible.
The One's success is even more impressive when you consider the fact they've spent just $300 on marketing.