Simple really... they have a "Magical & Revolutionary" procurement method... ha..ha...ha...
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Fake Apple Store Employee: We Just Want To Do A Good Job
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Simple really... they have a "Magical & Revolutionary" procurement method... ha..ha...ha...
But there's no way of knowing that. If the products are indeed authentic, they themselves were most likely purchased from an authorized reseller in Hong Kong or other parts of Asia, where it is still cheaper than mainland China. Since these stores are unofficial, they are not tapped into the serial number database and any sale that they make would not be reported back to Apple. It's like a glorified version of eBay, no sellers are reporting their serial numbers. If a product found its way to an authorized Apple repair center or Genius Bar, the serial number would show that it was sold at an authorized reseller on whatever date and the trail would end there. Even if the product went through several unauthorized resellers, it would still say sold to authorized retailer XYZ.
The only way to account for this would be if those specific serial numbers were reported as unauthorized or stolen, which would be very unlikely. There's no way that tens of thousands of products would mysteriously vanish from the inventory system without anyone knowing about it (that's basically what it would take).
What happens if you buy a Mac in the marketplace on this website, and the computer is within warranty?
Do Apple turn you away, or deal with the computer that is in warranty...?
I suspect this is the way it is being done. It would explain Apple not bothering to crack down on these stores and also that the devices have good ID numbers and valid warranties. Apple would still not like this and is probably making less money than if the item was bought in a real Apple store. But as long as the service is decent at the store and it isn't hurting Apple's brand name too much, then the economic cost is not worth the battle. And yes getting IP rights enforced in China is very much a battle.
Are we sure they're not an authorized Apple reseller? There also exist fake Apple stores all over Mexico. In the case of Mexico, they're run by Compudabo (http://www.compudabo.com.mx/) as Apple-only versions of their regular chain stores.
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)
Bit harsh... Maybe you should visit China, might broaden your mind
Exponent said:
Bit harsh... Maybe you should visit China, might broaden your mind
Costco Canada is an unauthorized dealer of Macbook Pros too... So even large American corporations are getting into the unauthorized dealer game.
http://www.costco.ca/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=10352082&lang=en-CA
http://www.costco.ca/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=10352069&lang=en-CA
Yes.
This really is a non-story that has been overblown. People are complaining about an unauthorized reseller in China selling genuine Apple products. Where were these people when T.J. Maxx in the United States, an unauthorized reseller, sold genuine Apple products? And at a significant discount, too.
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)
Instead of a genius looking at your Mac they provide idiots. (Sarcasm)
Instead of a genius looking at your Mac they provide idiots. (Sarcasm)
TJ Maxx
>>> This really is a non-story that has been overblown. People are complaining about an unauthorized reseller in China selling genuine Apple products. Where were these people when T.J. Maxx in the United States, an unauthorized reseller, sold genuine Apple products? And at a significant discount, too.
But TJ Maxx didn't call themselves "Apple Store" when they did it. You can't call yourself an Apple Store unless you're an Apple Store. The issue isn't with them reselling the Apple products, it's about them posing as an Apple Store. I can buy a bunch of new GM vehicles, open up a lot and resell them. But I can't call myself a GM dealer if I'm not. GM wouldn't go for that, and Apple shouldn't go for this.
It does seem like all they'd have to do is remove the Apple Store name (as well as Genius Bar and a bit of the Apple branding) and they'd pretty much be able to do what they're doing with out any problems (this assumes that the products are all legit and obtained legitimately, that does look like it could be the case). It's the fact that they call themselves an official Apple Store (to the point of deceiving employees that they are) that is the issue.
>>> This really is a non-story that has been overblown. People are complaining about an unauthorized reseller in China selling genuine Apple products. Where were these people when T.J. Maxx in the United States, an unauthorized reseller, sold genuine Apple products? And at a significant discount, too.
But TJ Maxx didn't call themselves "Apple Store" when they did it. You can't call yourself an Apple Store unless you're an Apple Store. The issue isn't with them reselling the Apple products, it's about them posing as an Apple Store. I can buy a bunch of new GM vehicles, open up a lot and resell them. But I can't call myself a GM dealer if I'm not. GM wouldn't go for that, and Apple shouldn't go for this.
It does seem like all they'd have to do is remove the Apple Store name (as well as Genius Bar and a bit of the Apple branding) and they'd pretty much be able to do what they're doing with out any problems (this assumes that the products are all legit and obtained legitimately, that does look like it could be the case). It's the fact that they call themselves an official Apple Store (to the point of deceiving employees that they are) that is the issue.
This store is using apple trademark and selling apple product.
but its not affecting negatively to Apple as long as Apple gets its share of profit.
Also they have created jobs (not our steve jobs) for people working there.
Apple should show some generocity to them as this is not going to hurt them.
Someone else making money without hurting Apple, should not affect Apple.
If they would have being using Apple logo and provided fake or interfior quality stuff then that would been affecting Apples Brand name and thats serious offence.
I think , Apple china is at fault here. They did not identify potential market there. If there is any demand untapped by you, someone else will get benefited by it. As discussed by another member 17 $ was difference which he found purchasing at different places in China, definately this thing got skipped by Apple china and now someone else is making profit.
In India , Iphone 4 was launched almost year later and most the enthusiastic people in India who could love and affort it eventually went for jailbreak phones (I dont encourage this practice) because Apple India was not bringing it to them by authorized channel.
Lastly ,many americans think people from asian country want american MNC to fail which is not true. They want american companies to succeed more so that outsourcing will bring create more jobs for them.
but its not affecting negatively to Apple as long as Apple gets its share of profit.
Also they have created jobs (not our steve jobs
) for people working there.Apple should show some generocity to them as this is not going to hurt them.
Someone else making money without hurting Apple, should not affect Apple.
If they would have being using Apple logo and provided fake or interfior quality stuff then that would been affecting Apples Brand name and thats serious offence.
I think , Apple china is at fault here. They did not identify potential market there. If there is any demand untapped by you, someone else will get benefited by it. As discussed by another member 17 $ was difference which he found purchasing at different places in China, definately this thing got skipped by Apple china and now someone else is making profit.
In India , Iphone 4 was launched almost year later and most the enthusiastic people in India who could love and affort it eventually went for jailbreak phones (I dont encourage this practice) because Apple India was not bringing it to them by authorized channel.
Lastly ,many americans think people from asian country want american MNC to fail which is not true. They want american companies to succeed more so that outsourcing will bring create more jobs for them.
Only in China.
Steve, are you listening? Shut it down, now! .......... What is so sad, is that the employees at the store really believe that they are actually working for Apple. WOW!
Steve, are you listening? Shut it down, now! .......... What is so sad, is that the employees at the store really believe that they are actually working for Apple. WOW!Why do Americans think that anyone else in the world give a rat's ass about our lawsuits? China essentially makes most of Apple's products, making Apple completely powerless in China.
Right, because as we all know customers have absolutely no power over businesses. This is especially true if you're a customer that makes purchases in the billions of dollars like Apple does with Foxconn in China. I have no doubt Steve and Co. can and will shut this down if they want to and they won't need lawsuits to do it. That's the beauty of authoritarian governments. You get to make up the law as you go.
But we don't know that for a fact. All we can see is there is a sign that refers to itself as a store that sells Apple products. The business name itself could be "Zhang's Store", "Kunming Electronic Store", or something to that effect.
In the consumer electronics world, there are thousands of small retailers that have signs like "Nikon Store", "Nokia Store", "Sony Store" etc in big cities that may or may not be authorized. Look at third-party cell phone resellers. Can one be absolutely certain that every single store in existence that has a sign that says "AT&T/Orange/T-Mobile/CSL Dealer" is that?
The fact the the owners are falsifying the store to their employees is disgusting, but it is an entirely separate issue that does not concern Apple, or US Trade and Commerce Law for that matter.
As long as the Mercedes or any other major brand auto wasn't a stolen vehicle and was still under the terms of the warranty, it doesn't matter where you buy it. The warranty is valid.
I'd be impressed if Apple can do anything about this. Every company including Microsoft have been unable to stop unauthorized distribution of their products whether they're fake or genuine. I suspect this problem to get worse with illegal distribution of their software.