Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Scalpers are now "scalping" INSIDE the apple store (NYC)

B

bugelrex

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 21, 2014
151
23
Just got back from an Apple store in NYC, 3 different eldery folks (will not mention race, will not mention race) asked me if I wanted to buy a 6 plus for $80 over cost. The store is packed so they are not so obvious to the employees

I'm guessing they will just return the phone for cash after 14 days if no bites...

Looks like overseas demand is waning, or the risk/reward to ship overseas is not justified.
 
Overseas demand is indeed dying down, which explains why grandma was a little too late on the hype train.
 
You gotta admit, they had balls to actually upsell a phone inside the Apple store. That's just utter balls.
 
erzhik said:
You gotta admit, they had balls to actually upsell a phone inside the Apple store. That's just utter balls.
Click to expand...

I thought so too, but they were not just approaching anyone. Just folks who look to speak the same language
 
I would never buy an iPhone from a scalper. The way to shut these people down is to not play their game. Either wait a few weeks for the launch craze to subside, buy online for store pickup, or buy online for delivery!!!
 
I have nothing but respect for what those elderly Chinese folks were doing.

Not only does it take balls, it demostrates the true spirit of freedom and capitalism, something I hold very near and dear in my heart.

BRAVO OLD CHINESE "SCALPERS"!

(As an aside, as 1/24 Cherokee I am more insulted by the word "scalper"... KIDDING :p)
 
itjw said:
I have nothing but respect for what those elderly Chinese folks were doing.

Not only does it take balls, it demostrates the true spirit of freedom and capitalism, something I hold very near and dear in my heart.

BRAVO OLD CHINESE "SCALPERS"!

(As an aside, as 1/24 Cherokee I am more insulted by the word "scalper"... KIDDING :p)
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure what they are doing "in store" is illegal.. solicitation laws etc.. not to mention tax evasion
 
I'm Chinese and I'm embarrassed when I see that. Old women holding their baby waiting in line over night.
 
This is Apples fault for not putting stricter limits on the amount of purchases per customer. I've seen a few pics on eBay in which the seller is showing more than 10 new iPhone 6's lined up for sale on a table.
 
erzhik said:
You gotta admit, they had balls to actually upsell a phone inside the Apple store. That's just utter balls.
Click to expand...

Really? Unless the scalper digs in and picks up an argument or worse, gets into fisticuffs - what's the worst the store employees or manager could do - ask you to leave? There are a lot of pranks on YouTube that require more balls than that...
 
bugelrex said:
Just got back from an Apple store in NYC, 3 different eldery folks (will not mention race, will not mention race) asked me if I wanted to buy a 6 plus for $80 over cost. The store is packed so they are not so obvious to the employees

I'm guessing they will just return the phone for cash after 14 days if no bites...

Looks like overseas demand is waning, or the risk/reward to ship overseas is not justified.
Click to expand...

I would have said something to an employee about them.
 
Eileen89 said:
This is Apples fault for not putting stricter limits on the amount of purchases per customer. I've seen a few pics on eBay in which the seller is showing more than 10 new iPhone 6's lined up for sale on a table.
Click to expand...

They did limit 2 per person. They did not limit how many times you could buy 2.
 
bugelrex said:
I'm pretty sure what they are doing "in store" is illegal.. solicitation laws etc.. not to mention tax evasion
Click to expand...


This debate has been rehashed many times on Macrumors, and it comes down to this: some people (most, I would wager), support an orderly society where people follow the law. Others (not necessarily the person you are replying to) value an anarchic free-market economics at the cost of nearly everything else. They don't care about the filth and trash that the camping scalpers in NYC left behind, or the cost of police overtime to the taxpayers. Rules are for other people.

And yes, I am a crank shouting at the self-entitled kids to get off my lawn! :)
 
Retired Cat said:
I would never buy an iPhone from a scalper. The way to shut these people down is to not play their game. Either wait a few weeks for the launch craze to subside, buy online for store pickup, or buy online for delivery!!!
Click to expand...

Just curious...

Do you think there will ever be an end to scalping? There is always to going to be a supply & demand situation going on, whether it be concert tickets, Super Bowl tickets, the latest tech device or you name it. Capitalism in it's most basic form. They get something that's popular at price X. Based on limited availability, the find many willing buyers at price X + profit.

Even if you take scalpers out of this equation, do you think Apple could possibly produce enough to keep up with the demand? Put another way, in your scenario, if there were no scalpers, do you think the shelves would be lined with every model, capacity and carrier for instant sales to walk-in customers?

I don't know what percentage were bought by scalpers (whether it be to sell domestically or ship overseas), but I don't think that is entirely the problem with the shortage. Apple simply made a product that is highly desirable and they can't keep them in stock.
 
AbeFrohman said:
Even if you take scalpers out of this equation, do you think Apple could possibly produce enough to keep up with the demand? Put another way, in your scenario, if there were no scalpers, do you think the shelves would be lined with every model, capacity and carrier for instant sales to walk-in customers?
Click to expand...


Taking scalpers out of the equation means that more people who actually will use the device in the intended market will get their hands on them faster.

It's no secret that iPhone 6 and 6 plus units were being bought for shipment back to China. That created an abnormal shortage of U.S. carrier phones in the U.S., resulting in unhappy customers.

Not everyone would get what they wanted even if scalping was eliminated, but fewer people would be left out on launch day. Fewer unhappy customers is a good thing.
 
Some of you are entirely too uptight. Apple is cranking out more iPhones by the millions so eventually everyone who wants one and has the money will get one if you are just patient.

I don't understand why some get so upset they can't get a new toy exactly when they want it. It's like a small child who wants dessert before dinner.
 
This is just the way Apple Wants it. Low supply and high demand. Now you have interest in the product and people willing to do anything to get it. Just like OnePlus One did the invite system to get people talking about that phone and then people would pay scalper prices to get the phone.

As long as Apple is around you are going to have scalpers and on every release date you are going to have lines.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back