At that point it would be cheaper to order one from overseas and pay shipping, I'd think?

Wow, I'm very curious as to why! Is it because they're imported, or because the asia-side emphasis is on export?

This also makes me wonder what the price dropoff across models is compared to the worldwide average. Is every model "oh wow" more expensive, or is there a gradient upward trend that tapers off the closer you get toward the iPhone 13 end?

Not sure why, but iphones simply has higher resale value compared to android phones with the same MSRP here. It's already that way from long ago even before the government ban import of used phones via IMEI whitelisting (Indonesia). If I had to guess, maybe because they're seen as luxury items, not just a simple smartphone.

its just trust in the brand. A 3 year old iphone has a high probability of still being a decent phone, fast enough, receiving updates, running latest apps... Also, most of all, you can expect another 2 years out of it if you're not too critical.

A random Android phone? Could be slow after 2 years, could be without software updates, could be filled with bloatware of a network provider that isn't actually yours. Could be you buy it and you'll need a different phone 6 months later. And even within the same model, there are huge differences. E.g. Samsung galaxy phones can have different processors inside, and varying amounts of bloatware installed.

iPhones are just a safer choice. Therefore higher worth

Import Taxed?