Purchasing iPhone 4s in bulk? Not 50, but 500+?

[shinypenny]

I'm working for someone with a lot of cash in China who's shipping these phones over there where they happen to already have an unlock for 4.1 and are selling them to the people there.

I'm planning to go into the Apple store and ask them whether they can sell phones in bulk, but I realize there are several problems with that. Still, all other issues else aside, how much of a discount can they offer me?

Other threads, particularly one concerning the purchase of 42 iPod Shuffles, seem to indicate that the discounts they give are 4-6%. If I make a large purchase, are they likely to offer a greater discount? If so, how much more?

Lastly, what are some other problems you can see with this? Supposedly, my buyer is willing to buy up to a 1000 or more, but I'm not sure how he can handle such a transaction (that'd be over a half-million dollars... then again, some Chinese people are just rolling in money..). If you know anything about dealing with Apple and how much they're willing to negotiate for purchases on that scale, please post what you've heard/experienced here!

 

[Goldinboy17]

First off, how exactly will that get through customs? The fees would be... the profits made?

 

[ohaithar]

I'm planning to go into the Apple store and ask them whether they can sell phones in bulk

I want to see the look on the Apple employees face when you say to them that you wanna buy 500 iPhones.

 

[Goldinboy17]

I want to see the look on the Apple employees face when you say to them that you wanna buy 500 iPhones.

Which makes me think, can they even do that in store? I'm pretty sure you'd have to call Apple to do this. I can't imagine they'd be trained to handle such transactions with all the works and such.

 

[saving107]

Before going to a forum, try contacting Apple directly and get your information straight from the source to see if this is even possible.

Apple
1 Infinite Loop
Cupertino, CA 95014
408.996.1010

North American Corporate Contacts

United States
Apple Enterprise Sales
(877) 412-7753
Apple Financial Services
(800) APPLE-LN (800-277-5356)
Apple Government Sales
(877) 412-7753
Apple Promotions/Rebates
(877) 4-APL-PROMO (877-427-5776)
Apple Public Relations
(408) 974-2042
Apple Software Upgrade Center
(888) 840-8433
Apple Store (Consumer and Education Individuals)
(800) MY-APPLE (800-692-7753)
Apple Store (Education Institutions)
(800) 800-2775
Apple Store (Small Business)
(800) 854-3680
Reseller Referral (Resellers, Trainers, Consultants)
(800) 538-9696

more contacts:
http://www.apple.com/contact/

 

[sammich]

So Apple sold out of iPhones in China, apparently because of scalpers.

Next step, hire an 'agent' and buy heaps of phones in another country to ship back.

 

[trekkie604]

At the Apple retail stores? lol...

Sales to End Users Only

The Apple Store sells and ships products to end user customers only. You may not purchase for resale. Apple reserves the right to refuse or cancel your order if Apple suspects you are purchasing for resale.

iPhone Sales Policies

The purchase and use of an iPhone is subject to terms and conditions found at: http://www.apple.com/legal/sla/ and http://www.apple.com/legal/warranty/. In addition, by making this purchase, you expressly acknowledge that:

• A minimum new two-year wireless service plan with AT&T is required to activate all iPhone features, including iPod features. Wireless service for iPhone is solely provided by and is the responsibility of AT&T.
  [*] The Apple Online and Retail Stores sell iPhone for end-user customers only. iPhone may not be purchased for resale.
• Apple reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to refuse or cancel any order and to limit order quantity. Apple may require additional qualifying information prior to accepting or processing any order.
  [*] iPhone may not be purchased for export outside of the United States, either directly or indirectly.
• Making unauthorized modifications to the software on an iPhone violates the iPhone software license agreement, and the inability to use iPhone due to unauthorized software modifications is not covered under warranty.
  [*] iPhone purchases are limited to two iPhones per transaction.
  [*] Lifetime purchases limited to ten per iPhone release.
• iPhone Return Policy: If you are not fully satisfied with your iPhone purchase, you can return your undamaged iPhone within 30 days of purchase for a full refund and you will not be charged a restocking or early termination fee. The iPhone must be returned with your original receipt in its original packaging, including any accessories, manuals, and documentation.

Source: http://www.apple.com/legal/sales_policies/retail_us.html

Good luck with that.

 

[Showtime3]

youre getting scammed.

 

[Surrix]

Apple will obviously not support your endeavor to export US iPhones to China.

 

[MacDawg]

youre getting scammed.

As P.T. Barnum said, "There's a sucker born every minute"

 

[uiop.]

I'm sure you can buy that many iPhones as businesses and corporations do it for their employee phones. But ehhhh...

 

[Tomple]

as p.t. Barnum said, "there's a sucker born every minute"

+1 :d :d :d

 

[Demosthenes X]

Isn't there a limit of two per customer if you just walk into an Apple store?

You'd have to go to Apple directly, and if you say you want to buy 500 or more I except they'll want to see some kind of business documents that indicate you're a buyer for a big corporation planning to equip its employees...

 

[saving107]

Isn't there a limit of two per customer if you just walk into an Apple store?

You'd have to go to Apple directly, and if you say you want to buy 500 or more I except they'll want to see some kind of business documents that indicate you're a buyer for a big corporation planning to equip its employees...

Read post #7.

 

[Showtime3]

rofl

why are you people entertaining this, its a scam!

 

[Applejuiced]

Yeah right dude
Pick me up 1000 32GB iPhones please.

 

[shinypenny]

Although it's not a scam, the whole business is a bit sketchy. His profit comes from not declaring it to customs.

I was thinking of going to the source, i.e. Apple but I've realized that's probably not possible as their own policies don't allow it. It'd be super awesome if they'd do it though because I get $3-5 per phone.

At the moment, he's just buying iPhones from a bunch of random people on Craigslist. It works - but it just takes forever to meet up with these people and make sure that they're legit. Time is money after all...

I've also called a few resellers and it seems they might not have them either. A lot of them told me to go to an AT&T or Apple store. I forgot these are phones.

Interestingly, there are people who happen to have pallets of iPhones around here. Today, he bought 50 iPhones from some woman who is going to supply him 50 every day from now on. It's crazy. Thanks for your help!

Before going to a forum, try contacting Apple directly and get your information straight from the source to see if this is even possible.

Apple
1 Infinite Loop
Cupertino, CA 95014
408.996.1010

North American Corporate Contacts

United States
Apple Enterprise Sales
(877) 412-7753
Apple Financial Services
(800) APPLE-LN (800-277-5356)
Apple Government Sales
(877) 412-7753
Apple Promotions/Rebates
(877) 4-APL-PROMO (877-427-5776)
Apple Public Relations
(408) 974-2042
Apple Software Upgrade Center
(888) 840-8433
Apple Store (Consumer and Education Individuals)
(800) MY-APPLE (800-692-7753)
Apple Store (Education Institutions)
(800) 800-2775
Apple Store (Small Business)
(800) 854-3680
Reseller Referral (Resellers, Trainers, Consultants)
(800) 538-9696

more contacts:
http://www.apple.com/contact/

-- You're awesome.

 

[labman]

you do realize all US phones are locked to AT&T best you can hope for is a Unlock after JB most of the customers in China will not understand this creating problems. no unlocks after 4.0.1

I also want to watch you sneak 500 iphones through Customs!(hey look I think that guy has a bomb.) Then run fast! I mean you think your going to get better info here then calling Apple direct! I would have done that 1st. fun thread though! Apple contact info is posted right on www.Apple.com (Contact Us)

 

[sdsvtdriver]

OMG $5 per phone?! You'll be rich!

Comedic.

 

[MrChurchyard]

I know of some high-ranking officials from the Nigerian government who would love to share some of their profits from over-paid contracts with you.

Seriously, stop for a second and ask yourself what the hell you are doing. Please.

This is criminal activity one way or the other.

 

[shinypenny]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

It's not illegal to buy phones and bring them back to the United States. Buying them direct from Apple may include strings and terms that we would have to adhere to. Otherwise, free market, baby!

 

[shinypenny]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

OMG $5 per phone?! You'll be rich!

Comedic.

Well it depends on how many phones are sold and at what price. $5 per phone is the minimum. I get paid the difference between my buying price and $590, what the buyer is paying per phone.

I understand your skepticism, I'm a pessimist about this whole thing, but since I'm just a college freshman majoring in international business, this kind of interests me. The money is just a bonus and who turns down bonuses?

 

[shinypenny]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

I know of some high-ranking officials from the Nigerian government who would love to share some of their profits from over-paid contracts with you.

Seriously, stop for a second and ask yourself what the hell you are doing. Please.

This is criminal activity one way or the other.

MrChurchyard, I have asked myself that question too but after drawing a very cost benefit analysis I found the potential benefits outweighed any costs.

I have no liabilities, no money involved and all I have invested is my time and my name. In exchange, I get an excuse to learn more wholesaling, how business with Apple works, dealing with buyers and suppliers and on top of it, how to make some easy money for college.

I think a few users were correct in telling me that contacting Apple would be the best course of action. I think I've already figured their stance by now so I won't bother. At the end, this forum has been very useful. Thanks to everyone who has contributed!

 

[sirslaysalot]

apple's never gonna sell you that many phones at once unless you're buying for an entire company or something. which would somehow have to go through at&t's corporate department.

 

[Harrelson]

Im kinda glad Apple operates the way it does.

Try to imagine every Tom, Dick and Harry trying to get in on some $$ by flogging iPhones over the black market? Terrible experience for the customer

Your customers aren't very smart and as you're dodging customs they don't have receipts for their purchase. Not good when anything goes wrong with the phone or is stolen.

They best way to own an iPhone is to walk into an Apple store and get one there, everything is set up for you and you leave with a working phone. Thats how Apple have designed

Takes one unhappy customer to feel scammed for you and your accomplices to be nailed