I like how all of the 5C are apparently pink. As some of them are around the £81 I considered picking one up for myself; but if I cant tell the colour of the unit Im bidding, they can do one.
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Phones4U iPhone and iPad Inventory Being Liquidated at Low Prices by UK Auction House
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johnnyturbouk
macrumors 68000
yes just saw this - really does not seem worth it! However, if they sell you a DOA ipad - luckily i would certainly be asking AMEX for a charge back
It looks like they've just used the same picture for everything in each type of product, or in some cases the wrong one - there's an iPhone 5 with a picture of a 4, for example.
With no comeback I'm giving this one a miss, despite being in the market for a refurb/used iPad Air.
You have to pay in cash, by bank transfer or debit card. You have to make a cash deposit up to £500 before bidding, you are deemed to have inspected the lot in person before bidding and the purchase isn't protected by any consumer laws. Don't play unless you can afford it.
There aren't any iPads on there for less than £200 anymore (excluding fees). Considering there are 5 days still to go they're all going to end up costing more than a refurb.
you basicly need someone like FedEX to pick it up... its fairly common here
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their onyl 8gb btw
How did they even end up with so much unsold stock to begin with?
They had several hundred stores. Doesn't seem like that much stock.
But how else can they get money back? Most of Phones4u property was rented so it wasn't legal to sell off the land as they never owned it.
Most of these phones were stock in stores.
Also the whole point of a company is limited liability. IE someone is only liable up to the amount they put into the company. It is its own legal entity. To remove that would mean that all UK companies would become foreign companies operating in the UK within a month.
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The other thing is, Phones 4 U IIRC was a profitable company when it went into administration, it sensibly decided that as they had lost/were losing the business of networks, they would not be profitable in the future, and therefore the only option was to cease trading.
Those are unlimited companies and partnerships. The whole point about limited companies is that liabilities of the owners (directors can be employees) is limited to the share capital invested. In return, financial records of the company are made public and subject to scrutiny (audit) depending upon the size of the company. Anyone investing in or buying from a limited company is deemed to have sufficient information about the health of the company. That is the theory.
If you made all companies private, where the owners are entirely liable for the debts of the company then far, far fewer would exist. Good luck trying to buy/make/sell anything with that barrier to commerce.
Unfortunately these auctions rarely work out as a good deal. As some have surely mentioned by now you have the buyer premium (20%) and then VAT (20% of the sale amount + buyer premium) combined with the idiocy of people in general.
I went to one auction in London where many iPads & iPhones were being sold and people would often bid up to the RRP or even over the RRP (keep in mind there was also a 20% BP to pay on top of that) so I don't have much hope for this one.
Normally, Apple sells to the store, gets money from the store, the store sells to you, and gets money from you. Apple pays for the warranty out of the money they get from the store.
In this case it is quite possible that Apple hasn't actually received any money from the store and therefore doesn't have any obligation to you. Even if they have received some money, they probably haven't received all money. Apple might love to take these devices back but they don't have the right, but nobody can force Apple to spend more money.
Your statutory rights are obviously worth nothing because the seller is going out of business and isn't going to fix any problems that you might have.
Unfortunately these auctions rarely work out as a good deal. As some have surely mentioned by now you have the buyer premium (20%) and then VAT (20% of the sale amount + buyer premium) combined with the idiocy of people in general.
I went to one auction in London where many iPads & iPhones were being sold and people would often bid up to the RRP or even over the RRP (keep in mind there was also a 20% BP to pay on top of that) so I don't have much hope for this one.
That's starting already. I looked at an iPad Air, RRP £319. £221 + 20% fee + 20% VAT = £318.24. There are already bids for £229, £240, and £260. The clueless person bidding £260 will pay £374.40 and get an iPad in unknown condition, with no manufacturer's warranty (probably) and no statutory rights, and no delivery included. For £55 less they could get the same device from an Apple Store.
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Let's say you have a company that is in danger of going under because it's directors are rubbish. If nothing is done, they _will_ go under. If they hire a really excellent director, there's a 50% chance they go under and 50% they survive. If you were that excellent director, would you take the job if there's a 50% chance you will be liable? No, so they will go under.
Oh that is bad. At the auction I went to the only one that I can remember is an iPad Air 16GB WiFi going for £430~ before the 20% fee D:
A refurbished Air for £269 is starting to look like an absolute bargain compared to the prices these misinformed people merrily bidding away on these iPads are going to have to pay!
Won't even cost you that. Under UK law the Credit Card companies must refund the entire cost of the purchase in circumstances such as these, as long as it cost more than £100
These types of sell offs always attract idiots thinking they will get a bargain but end up getting carries away and pay way over the odds.
I just wouldn't bother.
I just wouldn't bother.
It's not a good idea.
I was on an online auction buying liquidated machinery and every time a bid was made 10 minutes was added.
It meant you are tied to the computer for an indefinite time.
At least with eBay you know that at 10am or whatever it's over and you can go do something else.
TBF Apple and the other mobile manufacturers could blacklist the IMEIs if they weren't paid for.
Yet another risk...
I think you will find that the Credit Card company will not refund anything, as long as the auction delivers exactly what it promises: A device in unknown condition, which you had a chance to review, with no warranty. That's what you paid for, that's what you got, no refund.
Even if the credit card refunds your money, you still owe the money to the auction house, and I don't think they'll let go so easily.
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Don't know if they could do that. Warranty is one thing: Apple has delivered say 85% of the product value with the physical device, didn't get paid, and therefore has no obligation to deliver the other 15% (warranty). But blocking an IMEI would be like destroying property that belongs to the creditors.
I know the difference, I'm just saying that I don't believe it's fair.
Either remove the limitation of liabilities, or forbid directorship of another company until all liabilities from all liquidated previous companies were settled. It'd stop companies which run up debts, or operate unprofitably, knowing they can just escape at any time leaving their debt behind. A good example of this is a double glazing company here in East London which I won't name. The same group of people have been running the operation for about 15 years now, yet they've been through several companies, every few years ditching their debts, both private and tax.
And it's not a barrier to commerce, it's paying what you owe.
Unlike the sensationalist headline,which I admit suckered me enough to look at the auction website, they arent being sold at "low prices" at all, far from it, especially once you factor in the 44% mark up and the need to travel to collect you are not saving any money at all. I wonder how many bidders actually miss that mark up and end up paying more than retail, let alone refurbished?
Indeed when you look at the word "sold" and the fact is they arent being sold they are being auctioned, and they arent low priced, most of the headline is false.
This is a complete non story.
Indeed when you look at the word "sold" and the fact is they arent being sold they are being auctioned, and they arent low priced, most of the headline is false.
This is a complete non story.