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Resellers are scumbags
- Thread starter CrAkD
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This.
It is no-ones fault except for the seemingly unending supply of people willing to spend well over retail for immediate gratification. And us Americans wonder why the world thinks we are all self absorbed and greedy.
As to the relatively small number going to the grey market - that happens with all products and it flows both ways. You can get Japanese products here in the US that were never meant for the US market for the same reason.
Zero Sum Game
But there's a fixed supply of first-day iPad 2's. So the iPad 2 that you gallantly save for the person way behind you in line is the same iPad 2 that you essentially snatched out of the hands of whomever the reseller would have sold it to.
I don't see how you're reducing the overall level of frustration - you're just moving the frustration from one person to another.
But there's a fixed supply of first-day iPad 2's. So the iPad 2 that you gallantly save for the person way behind you in line is the same iPad 2 that you essentially snatched out of the hands of whomever the reseller would have sold it to.
I don't see how you're reducing the overall level of frustration - you're just moving the frustration from one person to another.
Accurate analysis
As an American, I don't wonder why the rest of the world hates us. They hate us because we're currently on top and they're not. In the future, when Brazil or Iceland or Zwaziland or whomever is the globe-straddling dominant hegemonic world power, everyone will hate them.
As an American, I don't wonder why the rest of the world hates us. They hate us because we're currently on top and they're not. In the future, when Brazil or Iceland or Zwaziland or whomever is the globe-straddling dominant hegemonic world power, everyone will hate them.
You forget one thing though - that person the reseller is likely selling to is in Asia or Europe. These iPads were meant for US customers. European and Asian iPad customers are getting their own launches and shouldn't be raiding ours.
IMHO, that is something Apple has to take the blame then. To prevent such things from happening, Apple should do a worldwide launch (something similar to the 2011 MBP launch) instead of a US only (& first country to get the iPad 2) launch.
are you serious?...
So those people that would hate us for such a retarded reason...they were all perfectly fine that hordes of us ran out, stood in line for hours or days to blow excess income on a toy that is cool but we don't really need..as LOOONG as it's retail price. The minute you pay more than that to get one...WHAT, YOU GREEDY AMIERCAN!
LOL, worst reasoning I've ever heard... Many of those same people in other countries do the same thing, especially for goods from HERE. They know it's not easy for them to just walk to the store and get the product, or they don't want to wait for it to be released there, so they pay more for it (and i'm sure they recognize the reason why). Same is true for us as someone pointed out, people here are willing to pay a premium for certain Japanese consumer electronics.
it's amazing that some people think they have a RIGHT to get an iPad at launch and that people who buy them and do with them whatever they want (in that case selling them abroad) are taking away their RIGHT to get an iPad (or at least have a certain chance to get one)
How can you think you have a right to buy something that you did not reserve and that you did not pay for?
(essential goods like medication are of course a different case!)
How can you think you have a right to buy something that you did not reserve and that you did not pay for?
(essential goods like medication are of course a different case!)
Also with the 'hate'. Are people just reading what they expect to see on this board?
Ok- I paraphrased you incorrectly, sorry. I just got mixed up from reading the other coments. Still...that pretty much doesn't change anything in the point I was making, and I think you get what I meant. Greedy and self absorbed...only when you pay more than retail? You think the kind of people that would think that about us don't look at the iPad launch in general and think the same things? i mean...come on.
You're missing the whole point of the post - that the 'blame' here for the 'resellers' is the large number of people with more money than sense who are willing to pay well over retail just to have a convenience device 'right now'. And it is a device that a month or two from now will likely be just sitting on shelves waiting. It is also a device that has multiple ways to buy hassle free (Apple online, Best Buy reserve, B&H reserve, etc).
I should have just left that next sentence off - it wasn't really meaningful to the content.
No, I understood your point just fine. MY point was that it's funny reasoning since the launch itself is hardly any different. Large numbers of people (even some other AMERICANs have said 'with more money than sense) waiting hours in line to blow large amounts of cash on a consumer electronics toy that they don't really need just to be the first to get it. If people are going to think we're greedy, and want immediate gradification- they would be thinking that about /everyone/ who's a part of this- not just the resellers, so that's not a very good argument for the reseller mentality being why people think that about Americans, or even just a basis for blame... we all have a little bit of the instant gratification, time to spend/money to burn mentality here it's not just resellers. They are just getting the brunt of it because some people are mad they didn't get what they wanted.
Here's the bottom line: Apparently apple is selling these things for less than than they are 'worth' on the market, as value is only determined by what a buyer is willing to pay right NOW. The resellers are just a natural result of this. For some people it's worth not only retail price, but retail price plus sitting for hours or days in line. For others it's worth more purely monetarily. The resellers are just a function by which stock is being redirected toward the people who place higher value on it...exactly as you'd expect.
Just like someone else pointed out- when you buy an iPad you are also taking it out of the hands of someone else, does that make you a dick too? Or is it ok to stop one guy from getting one, but not any more than that? What if you buy an ipad, use it for a day and then just let it sit in your room even though there's another kid out there who really wants one but was too far behind you in line? Does that make you a bad person? Is it the people who want them the most that have a right to them, not the people who got there first or were willing to pay more?
I agree!!!!!! I broke down on the 11th and bought a 64gb 3G iPad 2. Glad I did. Apple should release on the same day!
at least somebody who understands economics here.
The alternative to this kind of product launch would be what other electronics companies do.
Sony for example released cameras at a very high price and then lowerd the price within a year by 30%. The had almost no problems with availability at launch but a lot of customers complaining that they paid 1500 bucks and a year later you got the same camera for $999 (keep in mind that the product cycle here was three years or so).
Apple could do the same however that would give bad press and would also make people not want the iPad and consider alternatives because for a few weeks or month at least the iPad would be more expensive than a Xoom.
Also the product cycle for tablets is a year or longer so the price drop would occur very quickly and make early customers feel cheated.
I have to admit, after spending time in an iPad line today in NYC, the (obvious) resellers really bummed me out. Not because what I think they're doing is wrong neccessarily, but because it's just plain nauseating to think that thousands of iPads are leaving this country every day (headed right back where they came from by the looks of it) as soon as they get here, in the hands of people who probably don't even know what they are or care, when so many people who truly want one here can't seem to get one.
Standing for a few hours on an Apple line used to be fun. You got to meet old time Mac geeks and new ones too. People held their line-neighbor's place if they needed a bathroom break or food/water. There was a transient sense of community.
Today, the guy behind me, clearly a reseller, coughed all over me for 45 minutes while reading a Chinese newspaper. The people in front of me, 3 Asians, speaking what sounded like Chinese, and zero English, yammered with loud voices to each other, and on their Blackberries (no iPhones), for the entire time, coordinating their efforts with the the head of the gang who could be seen walking up and down the line like a shift boss. At one point, another group of 3 Asians (including a toothless old lady wearing slippers) tried to join them by cutting, but were shown the end of the line by an Apple employee.
Needless to say, there was no sense of community in my part of the line this time. If I had tried to get someone to hold my place, I'm sure it would have been gone when I got back. I suspect it will be this way from now on, at least in NYC.
On the other hand, part of me feels sorry for these people. Clearly they're out to make a fast buck any way they can. Their job opportunities are likely very limited, especially if they're illegal, which many in Chinatown are. When the iPad fever wanes, it will be months before a new product and the line standers will probably have to go back to shelling seafood in a dimly lit basement on Chrystie Street.
Standing for a few hours on an Apple line used to be fun. You got to meet old time Mac geeks and new ones too. People held their line-neighbor's place if they needed a bathroom break or food/water. There was a transient sense of community.
Today, the guy behind me, clearly a reseller, coughed all over me for 45 minutes while reading a Chinese newspaper. The people in front of me, 3 Asians, speaking what sounded like Chinese, and zero English, yammered with loud voices to each other, and on their Blackberries (no iPhones), for the entire time, coordinating their efforts with the the head of the gang who could be seen walking up and down the line like a shift boss. At one point, another group of 3 Asians (including a toothless old lady wearing slippers) tried to join them by cutting, but were shown the end of the line by an Apple employee.
Needless to say, there was no sense of community in my part of the line this time. If I had tried to get someone to hold my place, I'm sure it would have been gone when I got back. I suspect it will be this way from now on, at least in NYC.
On the other hand, part of me feels sorry for these people. Clearly they're out to make a fast buck any way they can. Their job opportunities are likely very limited, especially if they're illegal, which many in Chinatown are. When the iPad fever wanes, it will be months before a new product and the line standers will probably have to go back to shelling seafood in a dimly lit basement on Chrystie Street.
This was my experience too at the 5th Av store. Except I did not bother to wait in line. But out of pure curiosity I stood on the side for a while observing how they worked. What was especially bad at the 5th Av store was that there were no Apple employees at the line (at least till 9.15am), just 2-3 security folks. Asians were clearly the majority and were cutting into the line as they pleased.
I have not had much experience with major Apple launches. My only time waiting in line was for the iP4 and it was nothing like this. Everything was so coordinated even though the line was much longer. I was chatting with folks in line and Apple staff were handing out waters, ice creams and umbrellas for the sun.
I have no sympathy for these resellers and the people they recruit. Simply because they don't care for the frustration they are causing to "normal" customers. I'm sure they don't see it this way but even if someone presented them with this perspective they still would not care. They come in such massive numbers that I don't see this situation becoming any better until the iPad 2 is released in China.
I hate to admit it but I'm sending 4 over to China via a friend. They sell for double so I'll make up the cost of my ipad and some change (assuming my friend doesnt use it on liquor and hores lol)
Could end this problem real quick if apple had a brain:
One per customer, buy with credit/debit card only, and that card is blacklisted from buying another ipad when you buy one.
So no coming back tomorrow and getting another.
Furthermore, you should have to show a valid form of US ID (driver's license, passport) to prove that you are a US citizen or at least a legitimate foreign resident.
Reseller problem solved.
One per customer, buy with credit/debit card only, and that card is blacklisted from buying another ipad when you buy one.
So no coming back tomorrow and getting another.
Furthermore, you should have to show a valid form of US ID (driver's license, passport) to prove that you are a US citizen or at least a legitimate foreign resident.
Reseller problem solved.
You're missing the fact that the reseller market is good for Apple, especially since it corrects itself down the road and will never eat into Apple's own sales (like used video games do to video game manufacturers, for example).
More sales = more sales, regardless of what the purchaser uses it for.
Those who are mad at resellers, it almost always comes down to either 1) someone found the iPad before you did and that makes you mad/jealous or 2) someone did that to you at one point and now you always dislike resellers.
I think the real scumbags are you people who call others scumbags because they don't use their $500+ electronics device how you want them to.
Apple did do CC only for the first few weeks of the ipad launch last year. I guess they got way too many backlash and allow cash. They have the same problem with resellers last year but apple made you reserve your ipad and pick it up when it stock. They should've done the same thing this year.
It is bad for Apple, the price of an iPad in the US is not the same as the price of an iPad in other countries. People are buying the cheaper US iPad to sell it overseas where Apple is selling a more expensive iPad.
Apple loses that profit.
Apple wants everyone buying from them. Period. When I say them, I mean Apple or affiliates they have signed agreements with
This idea that Apple is helped by people re-selling is a bit laughable with nothing whatsoever behind it.