Not sure how that adds to the value to the watch. No extended warrantees, no additional straps. I would say getting it from Ebay devalues it. You will never be able to get, what 1/8 of what you paid for it, if you sell it a few years down the line.
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Apple Watch Pre-Orders Hit eBay With Asking Prices Up to $2,000
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Not sure how that adds to the value to the watch. No extended warrantees, no additional straps. I would say getting it from Ebay devalues it. You will never be able to get, what 1/8 of what you paid for it, if you sell it a few years down the line.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
You said...
and I offered another idea of buyer value besides "higher prices". Much of this particular value is the concept of getting one sooner because these scalpers managed to be lucky vs. the guy desperately wanting one ASAP but would otherwise be in the 4-6 week or longer que. Getting to be "first" or sooner is a big chunk of why Apple fans will camp out in the rain all night to buy some new goodie.
When I pay a scalper premium, I'm usually doing it to get the better seats to the show when I want to go. There's enough value in just that to motivate me to pay those higher (ripoff or not) prices. They don't need to guarantee a better show or add other benefits to what those who managed to get similar seats without having to go through a scalper- just better seats than I can get direct when I want to go.
All these guys have to be able to offer is the Watch sooner than someone can get it by buying from Apple. That's what adds "anything of value" to their proposition.
and I offered another idea of buyer value besides "higher prices". Much of this particular value is the concept of getting one sooner because these scalpers managed to be lucky vs. the guy desperately wanting one ASAP but would otherwise be in the 4-6 week or longer que. Getting to be "first" or sooner is a big chunk of why Apple fans will camp out in the rain all night to buy some new goodie.
When I pay a scalper premium, I'm usually doing it to get the better seats to the show when I want to go. There's enough value in just that to motivate me to pay those higher (ripoff or not) prices. They don't need to guarantee a better show or add other benefits to what those who managed to get similar seats without having to go through a scalper- just better seats than I can get direct when I want to go.
All these guys have to be able to offer is the Watch sooner than someone can get it by buying from Apple. That's what adds "anything of value" to their proposition.
Scalpers are ruining new product launches
When I went to the Apple store on launch day for the 5S, there was a reasonable line of clearly Apple enthusiasts queued at 6am (including me).
When I went to the Apple store on launch day for the 6, the line was swamped with 10x as many people, almost all buying the phone to resell at profit (mostly in China).
I am sure this launch is more of the same, many people buying early with re-sell profits in mind. It makes me a bit sad, since the enthusiast early-adopters who buy Apple's new products early and then evangelize for them are left in the cold.
I'll never buy on launch day again.
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And the fact that people are able to buy up blocks of concert tickets is what prevents the camp-out fans from even getting the seats. Buying from a scalper reinforces and encourages this unfair practice.
When I went to the Apple store on launch day for the 5S, there was a reasonable line of clearly Apple enthusiasts queued at 6am (including me).
When I went to the Apple store on launch day for the 6, the line was swamped with 10x as many people, almost all buying the phone to resell at profit (mostly in China).
I am sure this launch is more of the same, many people buying early with re-sell profits in mind. It makes me a bit sad, since the enthusiast early-adopters who buy Apple's new products early and then evangelize for them are left in the cold.
I'll never buy on launch day again.
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And the fact that people are able to buy up blocks of concert tickets is what prevents the camp-out fans from even getting the seats. Buying from a scalper reinforces and encourages this unfair practice.
Hmm, buy one on eBay so I can get it now, or wait and buy 2 with the same money and wear one on each hand?
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
So let's tell everybody not to do it anymore and the problem will be solved.
And don't do drugs.
And stop all wars.
Etc.
Of course, scalping is wrong and of course it's a relative rip off and so on... but it won't get solved at the buyer end. If Apple could make supply roughly meet demand (as demanded by anyone that wants anything from Apple), there's no market for the scalpers. I suspect there's a better chance of beating the scalpers that way than motivating all buyers to not feed the scalpers.
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Hmm, buy one on eBay so I can get it now, or wait and buy 2 with the same money and wear one on each hand?
Some people can't wait. Being first or early is worth the premium. Scalpers thrive on individual weaknesses like impatience. Scalping fails if everyone can move themselves to wait.
It's a bit Del Boy to do that.
Like when people order 6 pairs of Jordans on release day just to eBay them at double the price.
Like when people order 6 pairs of Jordans on release day just to eBay them at double the price.
It's Black Link Band only for the 42mm Watch. No, watch. They make a note that Apple doesn't sell the Black Link separately but just the Silver.
I see no problem with what the Ebay sellers are doing, so long as they deliver the watches. There is nothing legally or morally wrong with what they are doing, in my opinion. If you don't want to pay the inflated price, don't bid on the auction. And yet, several here are complaining about Capitalism at work.
In the UK, you have quite strong rights against the seller of a product, if things go wrong after the one year warranty runs out. Good luck with that if the seller is a one-man band with no cash.
I'll be dead honest with you. I purchased two watches: one to wear and one to sell. I then thought about it more. My wife has claimed she didn't want one, but I know her. She's getting an "I love you" present.
So I was ALMOST one of those people, but I done changed my ways.
I can imagine what happens if there was a glitch in the system for the pre-order and the seller not able to deliver the watch after the auction is over.
It reminds me in China scalpers were booking & selling Apple Store genius bar appointments to get their devices fixed. Then charging for a free service. I guess if you want to call that capitalism, but I call that theft.
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I'm guessing if someones prepared to pay 17 THOUSAND United States Dollars for one, they'll pay a couple of grand for a stop gap until they ship the Edition variant.
Indeed! I was about to post a link to tulipomania when I noticed your post.
Timing is everything. Scalpers especially the copy-cats take the risk of it flip-flopping and getting stuck with the merchandise. Like all Ponzi schemes, those coming in late get bit.
I have both the 38mm and 42mm on pre-order and I'm not sure which I will keep. The try-on appointments didn't really help me decide.
If I were to sell one, it wouldn't be for $2,000. I'd want about $550 so that I can buy the SS version.
If I were to sell one, it wouldn't be for $2,000. I'd want about $550 so that I can buy the SS version.
And then trust that person will immediately put it in the mail to make it worth the extra money. Do these people already have winner's money before the watch arrives, and therefore there's no big reason for them to put it in the mail immediately? Someone has to be pretty desperate to buy a watch this way. And some haters call ME a superfan
Thanks for being honest . Though giving the circumstances, I cannot blame people trying to make a few $$$$$. The spare watch I have is going to a friend at work so they do not have to wait 2 extra months.
You can only charge what people are willing to pay. Bear in mind that your life will not come to a halt if you dont get your iDevice on release day, why not wait till there are more in the stores?
The 5S was in very short supply when I got mine, in fact I had to wait a good number of weeks. I didnt turn to eBay - nobody forces you to buy.
And then trust that person will immediately put it in the mail to make it worth the extra money. Do these people already have winner's money before the watch arrives, and therefore there's no big reason for them to put it in the mail immediately? Someone has to be pretty desperate to buy a watch this way. And some haters call ME a superfan
This is not at all uncommon when buying things, especially... I can't think of anything that you are charged for only after it ships. The only thing unusual here is you're charged weeks before it ships instead of hours or days before it ships. You're still paying them trusting that they will ship it as soon as they can.
If they violate that trust, you leave a negative review. If they have a less than 100% score, they get fewer sales. So it's in their interest to not violate that trust, because they would like to continue doing business in the future (this is, of course, specific to ebay. How dependable a business is is not always as readily known outside of ebay.)