They're not "creating scarcity." Scalping couldn't even work unless the products are actually scarce, or people would just run into the store and buy their own, or wait a day and buy one. Why are there scalped Apple Pencils and not iPad Air 2s currently?
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iPad Pro How do you feel about people reselling things you can't find in store?
- Thread starter Ghost31
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And for the people who aren't buying from them, they're forcing them to wait a bit longer. Those are people who could have had the product and been putting it to good, productive use for days or weeks, who must then wait because some individual(s) bought a number of them purely with the intent of selling them to people who really wanted the product.
I know it's popular on the forum to assume that everyone buying Apple devices is doing so to watch movies on their couch, but some of us use these devices for work. It's not exactly a life-or-death situation, but there is a loss involved. What's upsetting about it isn't that Apple is misjudging the demand, but that people are inserting themselves between Apple and customers who are truly going to use the device... and if those parasites misjudged the demand, themselves, then they return the product to Apple, at Apple's cost. I don't see how anyone could possibly condone that. It isn't fair or right in any sense.
It isn't about "nobility." If I buy a quantity of a product that may be relatively scarce in quantity, only to turn around and sell it at a higher price, what value am I adding? If I hadn't bought ten copies of a device and ten individuals who were perfectly capable of purchasing that device from Apple are now turned away from the store because they're out of stock, did I somehow save them from anything? I did them a favor by somehow "getting copies for them"? That's similar to the mafia coming around for "protection money" to protect you from... themselves.
If you want to call it a business venture I might be able to believe it, were it not for the fact that these scalpers return unsold product to Apple. So not only are they not adding any value to the raised price, but they're making Apple eat the cost of their "investment." It's a parasitic practice.
I agree, one person engaging in those practices won't make a huge difference. It doesn't make the practice any less despicable, but one person won't be a problem. But did you see what happened to Apple when they first started selling the iPhones in China? It wasn't just one person. And I can guarantee you that it happens here, and that it isn't just one person, either. The number of scalpers here in the USA isn't anywhere near as bad as it was in China, but this is a practice that should not be encouraged.
I'm also curious to know what "service" you think these people are providing. Are they purchasing the devices to resell to people who can't travel to stores and/or can't order online? If so, then they are indeed providing a service, and adding on to the cost of the device is justifiable. But if they buy up a bunch of devices and then turn around to sell them on Craigslist and eBay, what service was provided? They're selling to an audience that was just as capable of buying from Apple as from them.
Of course they're contributing to scarcity. Have a theoretical scenario: Apple's supply chain has determined that there will be enough demand for the Pencil to justify stocking a local store with 20 Pencils. And they're not too far off, because there are roughly 18 people in your area who want to buy the Pencil. So your local Apple store gets 20 Pencils in stock... and I buy 15 of them. Five people made it to the store ahead of you, and you're number six. There are no Pencils for you. Would the Apple Pencil have been scarce if it weren't for me? It would not. By buying up an unusually large quantity, I have made the Pencil scarce in my region. Get enough like-minded people in play, and it's no longer just a local issue.
But let's continue with this theoretical example: you're not going to pay more than Apple's selling price for the Pencil, so you don't respond to my Craigslist or eBay ads. You're not alone: of the 15 Pencils that I bought, only three people have purchased them. A few weeks pass and now there's no backlog for Apple Pencils from the online store, and the local store has plenty in stock again. Nobody is going to buy the Pencils from me at my asking price. Rather than eat the loss, I go to the Apple Store and make a return on 12 Apple Pencils. Now Apple gets to eat the loss of having to restock, re-transport, and possibly re-inspect all of those Pencils. And when they release a new product, I repeat my cycle all over again.
If you're not bothered by that, you're either not thinking big enough (remember that if there's money to be made, there won't just be a single person trying to do it) or you're focusing too much on Apple ("they're rich enough, they can take it"). Imagine this happening to a struggling business instead; if that bothers you, then like me, you have a problem with this practice.
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I don't think I would like it very much.
Personally I don't buy something unless I can get all the accessories I want or need for it. Which is the reason I don't have a new MacBook right now. They didn't have the USB C adapters in stock (I could have just got one on Amazon probably) so I held off. Glad I did because now I'm not that interested in buying the MacBook at all. Thanks Apple, saved me grand.... Lol
Personally I don't buy something unless I can get all the accessories I want or need for it. Which is the reason I don't have a new MacBook right now. They didn't have the USB C adapters in stock (I could have just got one on Amazon probably) so I held off. Glad I did because now I'm not that interested in buying the MacBook at all. Thanks Apple, saved me grand.... Lol
I HATE scalpers. Middlemen, who contribute nothing but take profits anyway, are emblematic of all that is wrong with society today.
Heck most any time we buy anything being it an Apple product or what not, we pay the going asking price. Unless we hold out and run into a great sale deal. As others have said...when something is new out and you just have to have it, some will pay what ever to get it. To each their own.
That really doesn't bother me. I'm really not worked up over scalpers. Sorry, its just one of those things I choose not to get emotionally involved in. Life is too short to worry about that stuff, at least in my book.
I hope someone takes a key to each of their cars while they're in the Apple store. I mean it's just capitalism right, so now they get to pay someone else to paint the car. It's a win-win.
Unless there are some mass shipments that the average consumer doesn't have access to but the 'scalpers' do, I don't get why people get so worked up over the practice.
If the pencil is something you really need or just really want, you'll have to be persistent in checking online retailers, showing up at brick and mortar stores for first shot, or else paying a premium over retail,price to,obtain one.
The pencil is obviously in short supply and hard to find on any given day. So how do the scalpers seem to find them? By sitting on their butts and not working to get them?
It took me two weeks to finally get the chance to order on Best Buy.com through, and I had the pencil 2 days later.
My advice if you really want the Pencil is to not spend time worrying and complaining about who is the phantom reason you can't get one, and work on finding one. It does take a little work.
If the pencil is something you really need or just really want, you'll have to be persistent in checking online retailers, showing up at brick and mortar stores for first shot, or else paying a premium over retail,price to,obtain one.
The pencil is obviously in short supply and hard to find on any given day. So how do the scalpers seem to find them? By sitting on their butts and not working to get them?
It took me two weeks to finally get the chance to order on Best Buy.com through, and I had the pencil 2 days later.
My advice if you really want the Pencil is to not spend time worrying and complaining about who is the phantom reason you can't get one, and work on finding one. It does take a little work.
I'm not a big fan. I've paid over price for some concert/sporting event tickets. I didn't mind because it was convenience and pretty good seats. I think where I live it's illegal if its more than twice the value. If I had the extra cash I would probably try it with some new releases. The one that gets me are the people who complain that best buy has apple pencils in stock but apple website says shipping is a month out. You placed your order knowing the delivery window. If you wanted it sooner you shouldn't have ordered it.
You have the reasoning skills of a 5 year old. Vandalizing (or suggesting that someone else vandalize) someone's car because the car owner is buying/selling inanimate objects is pure stupidity and shows a legitimate deficiency in education, morals, and common decency.
Uhhhh...I don't think they were serious. But it's interesting how serious you took it
One never knows these days... for all we know, the one suggesting the vandalism was dead-serious.
As mentioned, the ad posted is in Canada. Victoria, British Columbia. And those are the retail prices in Canada so the person isn't inflating the price. I don't quite get why they just don't return it in store if it's brand new. Easier to return than deal with Craigslist people. Ha ha. Unless they purchased online and will need to pay return shipping back; might be why they are trying Craigslist first.
Not going to lie, it's annoying as heck. Sometimes.
For most things it's no big deal in that planning and some patience means you'll get whatever you want soon enough. For rare, limited edition things that are more of a lottery than anything else, I hate it. Like when Sony released the 20th Anniversary PS4, a good portion of them went on eBay for thousands. I still wish evil things on the one douchebag I saw selling 3 of them at once.
For most things it's no big deal in that planning and some patience means you'll get whatever you want soon enough. For rare, limited edition things that are more of a lottery than anything else, I hate it. Like when Sony released the 20th Anniversary PS4, a good portion of them went on eBay for thousands. I still wish evil things on the one douchebag I saw selling 3 of them at once.
Yeah, because it's all about "luck".
The dislike for flipping or scalping is rooted in nothing more than an inflated sense of entitlement.
And you're probably one of the people I hate that buy tickets to concerts for $60 and push them off on people for $600..
And what happens to the guy who comes in five minutes later to be told, sorry, someone just bought five and now we're sold out?
Until your 8 year old daughter is crying because she isn't able to go to a concert she really wants to go to because some scalper bought up all the tickets and you can't afford the 10x mark up.
How does that differ from being told, "sorry, we just had five guys in here buying the pencils, and now we're sold out"? Besides, Apple limits "bulk sales", especially during the launch period or in times of extreme supply shortages.
They learned a lesson we should all know from 3rd grade. You snooze, you lose.
How many people didn't stay up til 3am to preorder the new iPhone? Many. And guess what.. Many of them didn't get one on launch day.
You've got to be aggressive or very dedicated to get low supply or preordered Apple products.
And btw, the average Apple Pencil on eBay seems to hover around the $150 range, with free shipping.
Considering the lead time from Apple is 4-5 weeks for delivery with standard shipping, I think paying $50 or a bit more over retail to have the pencil in a few days is pretty reasonable as it works out to paying for a speed pass at cedar point that bumps you up to the front of the line for a fee.
That won't change my tune. First 8 year olds are too young to go to a concert - at least that's my take as a parent. My kids will have to be decidedly older. Secondly they need to learn that they don't always get what they want. Life sux at times and so not going to a concert isn't really something I want my daughters to be crying like spoiled brats over. There's more important things in life to get upset about instead of going to a concert.
Oh but it does. It gives me the right to do anything I want with it, like selling it to a person for whom the value of time exceeds the premium over the MSRP. Economics 101, pal.
When you unemployed and can't find a job you do any thing to bring food to the table.