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Phones4U iPhone and iPad Inventory Being Liquidated at Low Prices by UK Auction House

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MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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30,866



UK retailer Phones4U shut down its online store and closed its retail operations earlier this year when the struggling company entered administration, the UK equivalent of bankruptcy. Now in the middle of the administration process, Phones4U is ready to liquidate its existing stock of products, including its entire inventory of iPhones, iPads and Beats headphones.

phones4u-iphone5c.jpeg
UK auction house John Pye Auctions is handling the liquidation of Phones4U stock, which includes more than 600,000 items worth £10.8m in what is the UK's biggest auction of the year. Among the auction items are Beats headphones, iPhone 5/5c units, iPad Air and iPad mini models.

phones4u-ipad-air.jpeg
The items are being sold in individual lots for public purchasing and not wholesale trade job orders. Online bidding is active now with many auctions listed with zero bids. For auctions that do have bids, prices are currently very low. Some entry-level iPad mini and iPad Air models are available for as little as £2 ($3USD).

It appears that the auction site will accept bids from both within the UK and from international buyers, but the auction house will not be shipping items. Buyers must pick up items in person or make their own arrangements for shipment.

Bidding on the auction ends Tuesday, January 6, 2015 with a public showing available on Monday, January 5, 2015 from 10am to 2pm at John Pye & Sons warehouse in Staffordshire.

Article Link: Phones4U iPhone and iPad Inventory Being Liquidated at Low Prices by UK Auction House
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/12/31/phones4u-iphone-ipad-auction/
C

Chris5488

macrumors regular
Feb 26, 2011
223
37
Belgium
The golden question on every non-UK citizen's mind here:

How can I get one of those at my doorstep without having any relative living in the UK?

(yes i came to harvest the answers) :p
 
the8thark

the8thark

macrumors 601
Apr 18, 2011
4,628
1,735
People will just use bid bots and other things to snipe all the decently priced auctions at the last second. And anything gotten this way for cheap will be flipped and re-sold in ebay for a profit. Sad but that's how things are these days.
 
R

r3loaded

macrumors newbie
Jul 4, 2008
18
2
Ugh, I'd have to go all the way down to west London to pick it up even if I won. I'd honestly rather just pay full whack for a shiny new gadget.
 
sk8mash

sk8mash

macrumors 6502a
Dec 1, 2007
953
110
England
the8thark said:
People will just use bid bots and other things to snipe all the decently priced auctions at the last second. And anything gotten this way for cheap will be flipped and re-sold in ebay for a profit. Sad but that's how things are these days.
Click to expand...

They extend the auction by 3 minutes every time a bid is made in the last 3 minutes, so sniping won't work like it does on eBay.
 
Phil A.

Phil A.

Moderator emeritus
Apr 2, 2006
5,799
3,094
Shropshire, UK
Anyone bidding on these, be aware that you have to add Buyer's premium (20%) and VAT (20%) onto any winning price
So, if you win with a bid of £100, you'll pay
(100+20%)+20% making a total of £144
 
B

Brian Y

macrumors 68040
Oct 21, 2012
3,776
1,064
This is one of the worst parts of UK law in my opinion.

Many of these phones/items will be the property of people who shelled out cash to Phones4U, but never received them after the company went into administration. I really don't see how it's legal to say "we're going to close the business, not provide what people have paid for, but still sell of the stock we have already sold (again) to pay for the administration costs".

It's about time we held company directors liable for their company's debts.
 
neptunerx

neptunerx

macrumors newbie
Dec 5, 2014
6
0
Brian Y said:
This is one of the worst parts of UK law in my opinion.

Many of these phones/items will be the property of people who shelled out cash to Phones4U, but never received them after the company went into administration. I really don't see how it's legal to say "we're going to close the business, not provide what people have paid for, but still sell of the stock we have already sold (again) to pay for the administration costs".

It's about time we held company directors liable for their company's debts.
Click to expand...

Presuming you purchased the item with a credit card, you could just cancel the purchase with your credit card company. It'll probably put you out 50 dollars.
 
AaronM5670

AaronM5670

macrumors 6502a
Apr 19, 2012
603
163
Norwich, UK
If you look at the John Pye website it says that:

WE DO NOT DELIVER, lots must be collected from the salerooms by bidders themself or their own courier (eg. Parcelforce, DHL).
Click to expand...

The cheapest iPad they have currently is at £155, if you add 20% premium + VAT that is £217, + the cost of a courier. If you can find one from the Apple refurb site then that's £269.

Not sure it's really worth it especially seeing as there is no warranty with these iPads.
 
johnnyturbouk

johnnyturbouk

macrumors 68000
Feb 9, 2011
1,774
211
on the yellow [oled] brick road to tech nirvana.
AaronM5670 said:
If you look at the John Pye website it says that:



The cheapest iPad they have currently is at £155, if you add 20% premium + VAT that is £217, + the cost of a courier. If you can find one from the Apple refurb site then that's £269.

Not sure it's really worth it especially seeing as there is no warranty with these iPads.
Click to expand...

If they are factory sealed would they not have an apple warranty?
 
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