Planning on buying the iPhone 5? I suggest holding onto your wallet instead.

It has already sold $2 million in the first week of pre-sales. To me, this seems a little absurd.

The price, which cashes in at around $700 without a plan, is steep, but the consumers are only paying for the label. Take a look around you; are those Hunter boots, or Lululemon yoga pants really worth the money you paid for them?

Why is this mentality so addictive?

It seems that the companies are taking advantage of these fads and pricing their products accordingly.

Like with UGGs, it’s inevitable that in a short period of time, the hype for this product will have almost vanished and therefore the price will begin to drop.

Speaking as someone who has had the newest versions of the iPhone since its original release in 2008, I haven’t seen much of a change with each new model.

I decided to consult my father, the person I always bring my questions to. He has the original iPhone 3G from Apple. His phone, because of its age, has baffled tech services every time he has gone into the store. They claim the only reason it’s still running — lagging but surly — was the fact that he hadn’t updated it in the past five years that he had it.

The updates are specifically designed to be incompatible with older versions — a trap for consumers, forcing them to buy the latest version.

If we are pouring hundreds and hundreds of dollars into these companies, they should return the favour by putting backwards compatibility in their technology. Just be cautious when approaching this new iPhone; with no new pivotal new technology, you’ll find you’re paying for the hype.

Julia Vriend is the Assistant Blogs Editor at the Journal.