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All iPads Fellow scalper what ipad are you buying :)
- Thread starter silverf1re
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Capital offense, that's too funny.
Time is money. If there is a market for it then more power to them. I know a few folks that would gladly pay the premium to avoid the fuss.
Ironic, seeing as how scalpers are a major reason there is a "fuss" to begin with. One guy buying 30 iPads? Really?
Which is why Apple did the double update on the iPad this year so they could push the update back to next fall. If they would have sat on the iPad 3 update until fall 2012 there would have been an uproar of angry people. So they pulled the double upgrade and made more money while there was an uproar. The consumer would have complained either way, so go with more profitable route.
There won't be a spring update, even Anne Frank could see that. (It's a joke)
Experienced scalper advice
I scalped 53 of the original ipad and 44 ipad 2's with an average profit of $200 each after eBay/Paypal fees plus shipping. I did not scalp the iPad 3 due to low margins and higher risk.
The premium deteriorates very fast after the first 2 days when all of the suckers line up to be taken to the cleaners. Frankly, it is my opinion that Apple has tuned the supply so that it will be very hard to play the game again. Forget the iPad mini since it is designed for poor people who cannot afford to pay a premium. When the WiFi ipad goes on sale in the morning check the markup for completed sales on eBay. If you cannot make $200 each net of expense then I personally do not think it is worth the risk or your time. On the other hand if a reasonable markup continues for a few days for the iPad 4 WiFi then it may make sense to bring your wife or girlfriend with you to the Apple store when the iPad 4 WiFi/4G is introduced later this month and purchase 2 top of the line 64GB ipads each (black brings a higher price) and immediately flip them on eBay before the premium deteriorates. Of course you will have to pay sales tax at the Apple store which is too bad since you could easily purchase the iPad 1 and 2 with free shipping and no sales tax online and flip them at a profit for 3 to 4 months after the initial release. That game is now dead. On the other hand if you can make a fast $800 you can order a 64GB wifi/4G for yourself @$829 from the usual online retailers for a net cost of only $29.00 with free shipping and zero sales tax. You always want to scalp the top of the line 64GB wifi/data model since it is a more upscale product and sells to higher income individuals that are not put off paying a premium so as to obtain immediate gratification since their time is worth more than the average individual. Normally you would always purchase the AT&T model since it is GSM and can be used on many networks world wide however you could if you wish purchase the Verizon model since it will accept a micro sim and work on AT&T in America as well as GSM networks in other parts of the world. The lower you go down the model line up the more you are selling to poorer people that are very sensitive to price.
Once nice thing about purchasing form the Apple sore on the WiFi/4G release day is that you have a built in put option, in that you can put the iPads back to Apple at zero cost during the first 14 days should the premium deteriorate
Ignore the economic illiterates, they are simply right brained artistic types that do not understand capitalism and free markets. Money always accrues to the smartest and most sophisticated individuals in any society, it might as well be you!
Good luck.
I scalped 53 of the original ipad and 44 ipad 2's with an average profit of $200 each after eBay/Paypal fees plus shipping. I did not scalp the iPad 3 due to low margins and higher risk.
The premium deteriorates very fast after the first 2 days when all of the suckers line up to be taken to the cleaners. Frankly, it is my opinion that Apple has tuned the supply so that it will be very hard to play the game again. Forget the iPad mini since it is designed for poor people who cannot afford to pay a premium. When the WiFi ipad goes on sale in the morning check the markup for completed sales on eBay. If you cannot make $200 each net of expense then I personally do not think it is worth the risk or your time. On the other hand if a reasonable markup continues for a few days for the iPad 4 WiFi then it may make sense to bring your wife or girlfriend with you to the Apple store when the iPad 4 WiFi/4G is introduced later this month and purchase 2 top of the line 64GB ipads each (black brings a higher price) and immediately flip them on eBay before the premium deteriorates. Of course you will have to pay sales tax at the Apple store which is too bad since you could easily purchase the iPad 1 and 2 with free shipping and no sales tax online and flip them at a profit for 3 to 4 months after the initial release. That game is now dead. On the other hand if you can make a fast $800 you can order a 64GB wifi/4G for yourself @$829 from the usual online retailers for a net cost of only $29.00 with free shipping and zero sales tax. You always want to scalp the top of the line 64GB wifi/data model since it is a more upscale product and sells to higher income individuals that are not put off paying a premium so as to obtain immediate gratification since their time is worth more than the average individual. Normally you would always purchase the AT&T model since it is GSM and can be used on many networks world wide however you could if you wish purchase the Verizon model since it will accept a micro sim and work on AT&T in America as well as GSM networks in other parts of the world. The lower you go down the model line up the more you are selling to poorer people that are very sensitive to price.
Once nice thing about purchasing form the Apple sore on the WiFi/4G release day is that you have a built in put option, in that you can put the iPads back to Apple at zero cost during the first 14 days should the premium deteriorate
Ignore the economic illiterates, they are simply right brained artistic types that do not understand capitalism and free markets. Money always accrues to the smartest and most sophisticated individuals in any society, it might as well be you!
Good luck.
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Apple should limit purchases of items like the iPad and iPhone to one per customer during the first week of release, and charge a MAJOR restocking fee for any items purchased within the first two weeks of release. They should also work to ensure enough quantities to meet demand. It does them no good to sell out their stock to scalpers when customers willing to pay more would've just spent that extra cash on more Apple accessories.
That's a very narrow view.
It matters because anyone who's making REAL money at this is playing the curve. The reason for and timing of the shortage (and its expected duration) determines the size and duration of the supply curve which, given demand, determines the price equilibrium. Literally, Economics 101.
Anyone who understands this can adjust their purchasing habits (timing, location), and price their scalped phones at precisely the maximum amount that a customer will pay on a given day, which gives them the shortest sell-through time at maximum return. In English: they will make more money than you because they're paying attention.
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Me too. If you kill them, they learn nothing.
In English, they make money by arbitraging and make the life difficult for the us buyers who actually want to use the tablet by worsening the shortage.
In the Econ 101 kind of way, the most obvious way for Apple to reduce this phenomenom would be to charge a premium for their products at launch and gradually lower the premium as the stocks increase. However that most likely will not happen so we're stuck with all the people who are "paying attention" to make life more difficult for others.
I completely agree. But the original question was why the reason for the shortage matters. To someone who's scalping, it should matter a lot, was the only point I was making.
Scalpers really suck, IMO.
+1
HATE would be the mildest word I could use, as well.
P.S. - I feel so strongly about this that posting this was the reason I finally joined this forum. I think middlemen, in gereral, ail our society greatly.
+1
HATE would be the mildest word I could use, as well.
P.S. - I feel so strongly about this that posting this was the reason I finally joined this forum. I think middlemen, in gereral, ail our society greatly.
Simple question what new ipad do you think will bring the best return on investment? Mini or ipad 4? I'm leaning 4 because the most attractive piece of the mini is price point so if you blow that up high I don't think people will buy, on the other hand I'm not sure if the general public is aware of the ipad 4 because it seems to be over shadowed by the mini. Anyways speculation welcome here
What a big "dealer/scalper" you just be, buying one unit. Shame on you.
I speak openly against them during campouts too. They're easily spotted in lines since they will seem not interested in anyone else around them.