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No Walk-in iPhone 6s Sales at Apple Stores in 4 U.S. States, China, Japan, and Hong Kong

k3ith said:
what does apple care? They sell a phone either way ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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They care because they have to listen to the people who wait in line for hours, only to find there are no devices available, complain and moan "why doesn't apple do something about it"

Then apple does something about it yet they still complain.

People will generally never be happy
 
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Scalpers don't have to wait in lines anymore, 3 separate pre-ordered iPhone 6S Plus's sold for $15,000 on eBay. I didn't realize there would be such demand for an S model or I would have attempted to buy and resale one. I barely made any money buying and selling two Apple watches.
 
peterdevries said:
No, they are trying to eliminate others profiting from their product through unjust methods. The buying up by brokers limits supply and thus prices go up on the gray market. There are very many people prepared to pay a bit more to get it a few weeks or months before they become more available. Look at the developed Apple TV's that have just started to surface. People pay thousands of dollars for them. Crazy.

In the end these prices are bad for Apple's brand image and that is what Apple wants to avoid. This is not about homeless people.
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I dunno where they got this homeless people thing from, people in Hong Kong are born to flip stuff for profits. It's in their blood, its a local joke that kids are born knowing how to negotiate and make a profit. I even know rich people who do it just to get in on the action. Most of the time when they can't be bothered lining up they just get their maid to go line up and pay them overtime.
 
k3ith said:
what does apple care? They sell a phone either way ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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It comes down to this - they will sell the phone either way - somewhere.

They'd rather it go to a consumer than feed profit to those who are often engaged in other illegal behavior.

(Phone sharks, especially in New York - the largest phone scalping market in the USA,are often tied to organized crime).

[I've got a feeling it has to do with wealth and the craving of status by those who wouldn't care if they're paying double for a phone.]
 
imola.zhp said:
Scalpers don't have to wait in lines anymore, 3 separate pre-ordered iPhone 6S Plus's sold for $15,000 on eBay. I didn't realize there would be such demand for an S model or I would have attempted to buy and resale one. I barely made any money buying and selling two Apple watches.
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Wait a minute, $15,000?? If somebody gives me that much they can have my phone and I'll wait!
 
mloffa said:
Just like saying ATM Machine :D
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Not really. US States is "United States" and States. It's two different things. United States is the name of the country. States refers to another entity, the four States in this article.

TWSS37 said:
Just awkward phrasing as it reads as "United States States" in this context.
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It's not awkward. It's correct. The United States is composed of fifty states, and four US States have been pointed out.
 
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btrach144 said:
Honestly, why don't people just preorder online?
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Some models sold out very quick. Also, you can walk into an apple store and buy a full price phone for any carrier without giving any account info, but apple's site requires account info even for an outright purchase (except t-mobile).
 
boshii said:
This is great and I wish this would be a nationwide policy.

Making it reservations only means nobody is turned away because their phone choice is sold out, among other things.
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Sometimes you just wanna stand in line...like at Disney World...just a bunch of people who wanna stand in line for vacation.
 
yaxomoxay said:
Not really. US States is "United States" and States. It's two different things. United States is the name of the country. States refers to another entity, the four States in this article.



It's not awkward. It's correct. The United States is composed of fifty states, and four US States have been pointed out.
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I think a better way of stating (pun intended) would be four of the United States, or four States of the United States of America (the full name of the USA).
 
I think Apple could solve this problem by requiring that all phones sold in person at the store during the first two months (or however long the supply is constrained):

1) Are paid for with a credit card or debit card associated with a US bank with a US address,
2) Are activated on a carrier (any carrier).
3) The phone would be locked to that carrier for two months (or however long supply is constrained).

This would greatly reduce scalping as it would make the process convoluted.
 
Those poor homeless people. Don't worry. Apple has your back. At least until election time.
 
thespazz said:
Why would this be sarcasm? I find it striking that people think it's okay to take advantage of the homeless in this manner. It's disgusting.
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How is it taking advantage of them? Don't most of the people that "exploit" them give them a few bucks to stand in line for them? Don't they just stand around anyhow (at least in Austin they sure as hell do), so what's the difference if it's against a wall or in a line..
 
tbayrgs said:
Back when the first few generations were released I understood some saying they like the camaraderie of the experience but that is long gone. The launch day line has simply turned into a business operation for scalpers and a headache for genuine customers.
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When I was waiting in line for the iPhone 6 at the Lincoln Road, Miami Beach store last year, the guy behind me in line saw me using my iPhone 5 and started telling me how ridiculous it was that I was upgrading my iPhone 5 and that it's still a good phone, and why was I wasting my money, and how people are sheep for always upgrading to the latest phone. When I pointed out he was also in the line he said he was buying the phone "for a friend".

Yeah, right. I think he wanted to convince me to leave to improve his chances. So, less camaraderie, more having to deal with idiots. I'm not going to wait in line again. It was vaguely amusing that one time but not worth it.
 
Gold Coast, Australia - last year there was about 120 almost cloned Asians (same chair and blanket) in front of me and another 50 or so turned up afterwards.. Ring leaders couldn't have been more than 25 years old - giving people $50 to line up for their organization.. The main organizer was eventually kicked out but was allowed back in line at about 7:30am. Fighting, security, police - it was horrible. Never again.

This side of Australia will be the first people in the world to get it.. Same this year. I can't wait to walk past them at 8:30am on launch day to pick up my reserved 6S Plus.
 
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k3ith said:
what does apple care? They sell a phone either way ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Of course Apple cares. If a customer buys an iPhone and pays X dollars to the Apple Store, they will feel a certain degree of happiness with their purchase. If a customer buys an iPhone from a scalper and pays X dollars plus some more, they will feel a certain, lower degree of happiness. Having spent more on the phone, they will tend to spend less for accessories, and less on software or content, which hurts the whole ecosystem. And being less happy with their purchase, they are less likely to come back for another purchase, less likely to recommend an iPhone to a friend and so on.

But instead of explaining all of this, there is a very simple mathematical reason (which applies to all kinds of scams, pyramid schemes, "penny auctions" and so on): There's a certain amount of money and goods going arounds. There is a group, the "scalpers", who don't add any value to the system but extract money. This means they hurt the rest of the players.
 
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