Apple Axes 'No Cash' Policy for iPad Sales

[schlibs]

Her easiest solution would be to go down to Wal-mart or somewhere and buy a Visa gift card with the cash, then buy the iPad with her 'credit card'.

Apple has been requiring the credit/debit card to have the customer's name embossed on the card. So this wouldn't have worked.

 

[aughsum]

1. It's 2010, cash needs to go away in general..

2. At least our taxes took care of the rest of her living expenses so she could save up for an iPad.

3. I don't have one yet.. this really wouldn't suffice for a first computer? She's going to have a difficult enough time with email - she might even venture into the google, but i dont think there is anything she would need to hook it up to a computer for... software updates but she wont know the difference if she doesnt have them.. I think the iPad is a great solution for the elderly (and the like).

 

[2992]

So she wants to have technology... why not use a debit card?

Because she likes CASH better, and she is not alone!
You can say thanks to the (US) crediting system for mucking up the whole world since last year...

 

[monsterofNone]

why didn't she just go to best buy?

 

[ARF900]

Well now she can spend the $500 on a cheap computer to sync the iPad with.

 

[schlibs]

You have to connect iPad to a computer to activate it. When you do this you must enter your apple account in iTunes. You can do this at home on your computer or the apple employees will do this for you at the store.

No. You can activate an iPad without entering in any itunes account information. You just won't be able to download any apps or tunes.

 

[zgh1999]

Welcome to the New World Order -- in which a company is so powerful that it does not accept cash.

Cash is no longer king. The Emperor is Jobs.

Bow Down!

 

[calsci]

well this is cool but i hope they can control supply like they did with the credit card.

 

[Theclamshell]

that was a nice thing to do (Give her the iPad)

 

[Azmordean]

**Or maybe she is isn't the brightest bulb in the box...** she thought an IPAD would be a great choice for her first computer. ITs like saying i want a computer that i can edit movies...excuse me sir, can u show me where the netbooks are? lol

It may not be such a bad idea. For someone who has never really used a computer and only wants very basic stuff - eg, web surfing and email - the iPad may actually not be a bad choice.

In my mind it is a fairly useless device for me - but we may get one for my grandmother at some point. She doesn't use computers, has tons of trouble just using a mouse, etc. I am betting she will find the touch interface of the iPad much more usable and it will probably do all she cares to do (web stuff mainly).

 

[thatguysmells]

I do question how one can even function in a society without a mere checking account? I mean, I can not think of a single employer who pays cash instead of checks....and if you get paid via check then you must have a checking account.

Even if she did not have one, she could have gotten one for free with a debit card and been able to circumvent this

Or maybe she is isn't the brightest bulb in the box...




Help me think of a way to illustrate an Apple policy as bad so I can get a free product!

Most people that don't have a checking account either are an illegal alien or have BAD CREDIT. When you have a bankruptcy or other types of bad credit banks can refuse to give you a checking account. Your employer pays you with a check, you pick it up, and you take it to a check cashing place. THE END. God, what planet are you from to not have known this?

 

[eXan]

Apple's policy of "2 iPads per 1 person" is ridiculous!

I haven't studied US law, but in our country its downright illegal. One should be able to buy 10 iPads if he wants it - and Apple should be grateful if he does - it means more profit for them.

They are offering a certain product to the public (offerta) and can't refuse selling or restrict the number of units it to any one who comes to buy it (accept).

I'm at a loss why such policy even exists in the first place

 

[HLdan]

Wow, so many clueless people on this forum... I don't have a checking account thanks to the great American banking system fraud. Let me explain how this works (and more people than you realize have this issue in America.)

I had a bank that lost $1000 from my account which made me $3 overdrawn. As I was fighting with them to show how it was their mistake, they were racking up overdraft charges until my account became $503 overdrawn ( the 3 plus 500 in overdraft fees.) Finally someone saw the mistake and they reveresed all charges... but it was too late, by that time they had already reported me to ChexSystems, a completely unregulated private company that all banks go through before you can open a checking account (checking accounts do not depend on your credit thought they say they run your credit, but they ALL go through ChexSystems.) Once you are un ChexSystems, even if you have proof that it was the banks error and you have a letter from them as I did, you are still stuck on ChexSystems for 10 years and NO bank will open an account for you at all. I've tried them all.

So this lady is most likely on ChexSystems which is why she can't get a checking account. to the poster who said "and if you get paid via check then you must have a checking account" have you not heard of check cashing stores? This was my only solution. You can cash your payroll check at a check cashing store (for a very high fee) and some of them also provide prepaid Debit Cards. That's want she could have done.

Many, many people are in this situation regardless of income, status, race, etc. In my case I make $95,000 per year with my own business and I can't have a checking account and have to cash my checks (that are written in my company's name) at a stupid check cashing store thanks to the stupid way the banking industry conducts business...

Now before you defend this lady left, right and sideways, your issue was unique. I worked for a bank for 5 years and we saw many people come in on weekly basis to open checking accounts and they were on ChexSystems. Most of them were due to the customer writing bad checks, plain and simple.

 

[2992]

How did they find where she lives? :tinfoilhat:

She lives in the US... BB is there watching allover...

 

[Xtremehkr]

Apple's policy of "2 iPads per 1 person" is ridiculous!

I haven't studied US law, but in our country its downright illegal. One should be able to buy 10 iPads if he wants it - and Apple should be grateful if he does - it means more profit for them.

They are offering a certain product to the public (offerta) and can't refuse selling or restrict the number of units it to any one who comes to buy it (accept).

I'm at a loss why such policy even exists in the first place

Think about that one more closely, there's a very good reason that Apple sets that limit, it protects Apple customers.

 

[dacoops3]

I tried buying an iPad at the 5th Avenue store this morning with cash and was told no.

 

[G58]

Just smile

Apple has had their bad news/good news moment. Diane Campbell has her Rosa Parks moment. As a result she's now the owner of a free iPad, and still has $500 towards the iMac she needs to plug it into!

But this is indeed a heartwarming story. Can we maybe give Diane and Steve a break? They did a deal. Diane changed a little bit of the world, and we all sat in front of our computers and smiled.

 

[acrafton]

I bought 3 on the same debit card with no issues

Not understanding this "2 only policy". I bought 3 over the course of a week or so on the same debit card from the same local store. No one asked me or seemed to check how many I had purchased. All the receipts were emailed to the same email address and registered under the same AppleId. Who checks and when?

 

[eXan]

Think about that one more closely, there's a very good reason that Apple sets that limit, it protects Apple customers.

And how is that protecting?

The guy who wants to buy 10 is also an Apple customer, isn't he?

 

[dacoops3]

Apple's policy of "2 iPads per 1 person" is ridiculous!

I haven't studied US law, but in our country its downright illegal. One should be able to buy 10 iPads if he wants it - and Apple should be grateful if he does - it means more profit for them.

They are offering a certain product to the public (offerta) and can't refuse selling or restrict the number of units it to any one who comes to buy it (accept).

I'm at a loss why such policy even exists in the first place

How is this any different than Ticketmaster limiting ticket sales to 2, 4, 6, or 8 for major concert and sporting even onsales?

 

[rdlink]

Indeed. Can you say 'fan for life'?

Seriously though, good PR for Apple. They certainly need it these days ...

Yeah, I could see how bad they were doing tonight when I was in the Apple store. No iPads available, (except for the reserved ones people were picking up) and I only had to wait about 10-15 minutes before a salesperson became available to sell me a Macbook Pro. Hope they can keep the lights on...

 

[infowarfare]

Now before you defend this lady left, right and sideways, your issue was unique. I worked for a bank for 5 years and we saw many people come in on weekly basis to open checking accounts and they were on ChexSystems. Most of them were due to the customer writing bad checks, plain and simple.

I agree with that, I'm just saying that for the banks to depend on this private organization that is completely unregulated and autonomous (and wields more power than most people realize) and to have a blanket policy that everyone is condemned for 10 years without regard of their particular situation, is just. not right. If you write a bad check, they should put you on the bank's own blacklist for a year until you can make up for it, not on ChexSystems for 10 years!

 

[Gen]

This sucks.

I've been e-mailing Steve Jobs for weeks now - at least six total emails over four weeks, telling him how badly I felt that I couldn't buy an iPad since I didn't have a credit/debit card.

And now this? A TV station picks it up and she gets a free iPad?
Screw you Diane, screw you.

 

[FinderUser213]

You know, when I first saw this video I had to double check to make sure it wans't TheOnion. This is almost too silly to be real. I mean, its great that she got a free iPad and all, and it was a great gesture on Apple's part, but what made me think this video was a satire was her/the reporter saying that she had been like carefully saving up her pennies for an iPad. Clearly, she doesn't have a lot of money. Not to be offensive, but what in the HELL does this woman need with an iPad? Am I missing something? This report makes it sound like she was denied the purchase of some essential house-hold product.. not an arguably luxury product.

 

[CFreymarc]

So she wants to have technology... why not use a debit card?

Anyone can get a credit card in the States. Years ago a friend of mine had an identity theft issue where his credit score was slammed low, showed no employment history and even some false warrants were out on his name.

In the middle of correcting it, he managed to get a pre-paid credit card (VISA switch) that he was able to use anywhere. This lady could easily go to a local check cashing place in Palo Alto, put that cash in a pre-paid credit card for a small fee and walk out with a credit card good to go to buy that iPad.

Or was this a planned publicity stunt?