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Apple has third party lightning adapters removed from ebay!

ppdix

ppdix

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 6, 2001
616
171
Miami Beach
I bought 3 lightning to 30-pin adapters on ebay...
I got this email from the seller today:

Thank you for your purchase of your Lightning Adapter

There has been some confusion with an email that eBay has sent to regarding this item. It was removed due to licensing but I assure you your sale and everyone else's sale is still active and you will be getting your adapter.

Please Disregard the eBay email as it does not apply to your transaction and disregard if I have already contacted you about this matter. Apple has reported every seller on eBay. Here is the email Apple sent me via eBay-


eBay sent this message to Vasilios Poulos (bp21golf).
Your registered name is included to show this message originated from eBay. Learn more.

MC999 eBay Listing Removed: Trademark Violation - Unauthorized Item (704489572)





Dear bp21golf (bp16golf@aol.com)

You recently listed the following listing:

200822120246 - 2 Apple iPhone 5 Lightning Adapter 30 pin i Phone iPod 7th Gen Plug iPhone5 USA


Your listing has been removed.

Your item was removed because of a request we received from Apple, Inc., a member of our Verified Rights Owner Program (VeRO), asking us to remove the item for:

- Item(s) is a counterfeit product which infringes the trademark owner's rights.

If you have additional questions or concerns on why your item was removed, please contact Apple, Inc. directly at:

apple_enforce@opsecsecurity.com

Please allow 7 days for Apple, Inc. to reply to you. :eek:


The email you have or will receive from eBay does not affect the standing of your order and your adapter (s) will be posted out as scheduled. This is Apples way of shutting everyone down to ensure they get the full price for these adapters

Cheers

bp21golf

Thanks for choosing us for your purchase!!! :eek:
 
soco

soco

macrumors 68030
Dec 14, 2009
2,840
119
Yardley, PA
I don't get it. Are you here to get reactions from others that a major U.S. electronics company is protecting it's properties?

Here's mine: :eek:
(baked at 350F with 100% pure sarcasm)
 
ppdix

ppdix

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 6, 2001
616
171
Miami Beach
soco said:
I don't get it. Are you here to get reactions from others that a major U.S. electronics company is protecting it's properties?

Here's mine: :eek:
(baked at 350F with 100% pure sarcasm)
Click to expand...

I am not trying to get a reaction... Just sharing something that will surely affect a lot of people that have ordered such adapters on ebay...
 
thewitt

thewitt

macrumors 68020
Sep 13, 2011
2,102
1,523
Good luck with that adapter. The real one has custom chips in it only available to Apple. No way anyone has duplicated these... You may fry your device the first time to try to use a counterfeit adaptor.
 
C

Cougarcat

macrumors 604
Sep 19, 2003
7,766
2,553
soco said:
I don't get it. Are you here to get reactions from others that a major U.S. electronics company is protecting it's properties?

Here's mine: :eek:
(baked at 350F with 100% pure sarcasm)
Click to expand...

I find it interesting because as far as I'm aware Apple has not done this before.
 
C

Cougarcat

macrumors 604
Sep 19, 2003
7,766
2,553
soco said:
Apple has never had third-party sellers remove listings and advertisements for counterfeit merchandise before?
Click to expand...

As far as I'm aware, not for things like cables and adapters. They are always freely available on Amazon and eBay.
 
Trek2100

Trek2100

macrumors 6502a
Oct 20, 2009
547
1
Sevierville, TN
NewYorkRanger

NewYorkRanger

macrumors 6502
Oct 27, 2010
396
288
Apple did you a favour - those knock off might work but not for long. And who knows what damage it could do.

This is a quick buck scam by Chinese counterfeiters.
 
E

EdwardSung

macrumors regular
Sep 13, 2012
121
0
All third party Lightning accessories are a scam. No one has actually produced a working knockoff yet, due to the proprietary chip.
 
jrbdmb

jrbdmb

macrumors 6502
May 19, 2008
454
49
USA
EdwardSung said:
All third party Lightning accessories are a scam. No one has actually produced a working knockoff yet, due to the proprietary chip.
Click to expand...

Well, we don't really know that yet ... will a non-chipped knock off at least allow charging? All we know for now is that Apple will fight to make customers pay $20 to $40 for what should be a $1 cable. :(
 
thewitt

thewitt

macrumors 68020
Sep 13, 2011
2,102
1,523
jrbdmb said:
Well, we don't really know that yet ... will a non-chipped knock off at least allow charging? All we know for now is that Apple will fight to make customers pay $20 to $40 for what should be a $1 cable. :(
Click to expand...

Though the cable may work to charge the device, I guarantee you no semiconductor company has reverse engineered the custom chip, and the company that makes it exclusively for Apple is not selling to counterfeiters....
 
GoCubsGo

GoCubsGo

macrumors Nehalem
Feb 19, 2005
35,741
153
I may not like Apple's pricing but in cases like this new cable, I would be weary to try a 3rd party outside of maybe Monoprice.
 
L

leenak

macrumors 68020
Mar 10, 2011
2,416
52
You may want to read the other thread talking about how third party adapters have been shorting out the lightning port. Not a good idea to use I'd say :)
 
D

drkash

macrumors regular
Jul 19, 2010
147
0
UK
I think it's very greedy on apple making this cable for the iPhone 5 instead of changing to a universal charger like micro USB or even continuing with the old charger. They've obviously made it so no third party companies can make them forcing us to buy their cables and adapters for an extortionate price. For me that would mean buying 2-3 apators for my cars etc.

Shameful behaviour by apple seen as though we spend so much money on the phone initially.
 
N

NoOneHitsHarder

macrumors member
Sep 25, 2012
59
0
Middle of nowhere
drkash said:
I think it's very greedy on apple making this cable for the iPhone 5 instead of changing to a universal charger like micro USB or even continuing with the old charger. They've obviously made it so no third party companies can make them forcing us to buy their cables and adapters for an extortionate price. For me that would mean buying 2-3 apators for my cars etc.

Shameful behaviour by apple seen as though we spend so much money on the phone initially.
Click to expand...

Blame capitalism: if your not continuously screwing other people for money and making maximum profits then you're sinking and dying.
 
bruinsrme

bruinsrme

macrumors 604
Oct 26, 2008
7,174
3,036
thewitt said:
Good luck with that adapter. The real one has custom chips in it only available to Apple. No way anyone has duplicated these... You may fry your device the first time to try to use a counterfeit adaptor.
Click to expand...

Does anyone know this for sure?
 
I

illutionz

macrumors 65816
Oct 2, 2007
1,339
49
Rhode Island
jessica. said:
I may not like Apple's pricing but in cases like this new cable, I would be weary to try a 3rd party outside of maybe Monoprice.
Click to expand...

I agree with this. I always buy all my cables from monoprice.com because I know they are safe and reliable.

If they don't have it then I'm not going to purchase these 3rd party counterfeit cables from ebay.
 
M

magbarn

macrumors 68030
Oct 25, 2008
2,956
2,253
NoOneHitsHarder said:
Blame capitalism: if your not continuously screwing other people for money and making maximum profits then you're sinking and dying.
Click to expand...

No this is arrogant greed. I'd understand if apple were in the same precarious financial situation like HP, but when you've got more money in the bank than many 1st world countries combined you're not exactly hurting.
 
N

NoOneHitsHarder

macrumors member
Sep 25, 2012
59
0
Middle of nowhere
magbarn said:
No this is arrogant greed. I'd understand if apple were in the same precarious financial situation like HP, but when you've got more money in the bank than many 1st world countries combined you're not exactly hurting.
Click to expand...

Not saying its not but that is the point of capitalism. If you're not making maximum profits off your customers today then eventually something will come up in the future where you're not making as much and you sink to the depths of HP and are fighting for your life.
 
I

illutionz

macrumors 65816
Oct 2, 2007
1,339
49
Rhode Island
magbarn said:
No this is arrogant greed. I'd understand if apple were in the same precarious financial situation like HP, but when you've got more money in the bank than many 1st world countries combined you're not exactly hurting.
Click to expand...

I think the point is you need to keep raking in profits to stay on top otherwise better, leaner, and more efficient companies will take over the top spot from Apple.

Now, do I think it's good for the consumer? Definitely not. Just look at how our financial institution has sprawl into a mess that we are in today.
Why the hell do we need our banks to chop and repackage our MBS into pieces? They did it because it was the most profitable thing to do and they need to keep their profits up.

Apple is a company and the reality is they need to keep making money to stay on top. Unfortunately.
 
M

Mosco

macrumors regular
May 26, 2002
242
39
Cougarcat said:
I find it interesting because as far as I'm aware Apple has not done this before.
Click to expand...

This happened to monoprice before. They used to have a lot more cables and stuff. Notice how their cables now specifically say they are made in a MFI factory? Thats because Apple shut them down before.
 
zhenya

zhenya

macrumors 604
Jan 6, 2005
6,929
3,677
drkash said:
I think it's very greedy on apple making this cable for the iPhone 5 instead of changing to a universal charger like micro USB or even continuing with the old charger. They've obviously made it so no third party companies can make them forcing us to buy their cables and adapters for an extortionate price. For me that would mean buying 2-3 apators for my cars etc.

Shameful behaviour by apple seen as though we spend so much money on the phone initially.
Click to expand...

Changing to micro-USB would be a MAJOR step backwards in functionality, plus it's a poor design that has a minimum level of durability.

Yes, its a bummer they are changing designs, but I understand why it was necessary for future improvements. The chip in the new cable is necessary to allow it to be plugged in in either orientation (one of the big complaints of the old design, and USB for that matter.) The benefits far outweigh the downsides.
 
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