khovland92
macrumors member
It's wrong for people to buy out the supply so that others cant purchase through legitimate means, and have to pay outrageous amounts to get the product near it's release. You're ignorant.
Reselling Apple Products on Launch Day: "This whole game is over"
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It's wrong for people to buy out the supply so that others cant purchase through legitimate means, and have to pay outrageous amounts to get the product near it's release. You're ignorant.
Rafterman
macrumors 604
Nope, still a crime.
Oh no, people are taking advantage of the free market to make a profit off of expensive electronics!
Please. If they were doing this with food, that would be one thing, but an iPad is ultimately a very expensive toy, and this is really just supply and demand. If people are willing to pay even more for their shiny gadgets, let them, and let the resellers make their profit. Save your outrage for the products that people actually need.
UK-MacAddict
macrumors 65816
There is nothing wrong with buying hot products and selling them for profit. Every retail company in the world sell their products at marked up prices. Apple make these iPads very cheaply in Asia and then sells them with a huge profit margin. How do you think they amassed $100 billion in cash.
These resellers if anything have good business sense. If they can find willing buyers and make a huge profit then good for them. I remember when Xbox 360 green controllers were released in the UK which had improved d-pads and they were only available in Europe. I bought 6 for £35 each and then sold them to people in the US and Australia for £90 each plus £10 for shipping fees. Situation is a win-win. People got a product they couldn't get in their region and I made a profit.
In terms of Apple if you want a product on release day and don't want to miss out then make sure you get yourself up early to queue or pre order online the instant the pre order window opens. The only people who can't get their hands on Apple products on release day are those who don't follow Apple news so they don't know the release date or they pre order like 24hrs after the pre order window opens by which time the initial supply has gone. I've never not been able to get my hands on a new iPhone or iPad on release day, so these resellers or scalpers whatever you want to call them have never affected me.
These resellers if anything have good business sense. If they can find willing buyers and make a huge profit then good for them. I remember when Xbox 360 green controllers were released in the UK which had improved d-pads and they were only available in Europe. I bought 6 for £35 each and then sold them to people in the US and Australia for £90 each plus £10 for shipping fees. Situation is a win-win. People got a product they couldn't get in their region and I made a profit.
In terms of Apple if you want a product on release day and don't want to miss out then make sure you get yourself up early to queue or pre order online the instant the pre order window opens. The only people who can't get their hands on Apple products on release day are those who don't follow Apple news so they don't know the release date or they pre order like 24hrs after the pre order window opens by which time the initial supply has gone. I've never not been able to get my hands on a new iPhone or iPad on release day, so these resellers or scalpers whatever you want to call them have never affected me.
fertilized-egg
macrumors 68020
isnt this what companies do? buy things and then resale them? who do yu work for?
They don't use retail channels and take the inventory away from you though.
Let me give you this scenario.
It's hot and Maschil is thirsty but there's no store in the sight. Luckily he finds a small corner store and goes in to buy a bottle of drink.
Suddenly another man cuts in front of you and he buys all the drinks in the corner store. Then the man tells you, "you pay me double the price and I'll sell you the drink. It's just business"
Would you still feel the same?
(Yes I know this analogy is ludicrous but I'm sure that's how many of us felt)
Rafterman
macrumors 604
isnt this what companies do? buy things and then resale them? who do yu work for?
No. Official resellers, like Best Buy, sign agreements with Apple that involve various other services and Apple gets a cut of that sale beyond the inventory purchase. Apple loses money out of the retail chain due to scalpers.
Wirelessly posted
Jobs was always pushing agresssive launch dates, even as far back as the original Mac in 84 (he originally proclaimed it would be out in 82 iirc).
That's the also reason for the previous arbitrage opportunities with iOS devices.
And also the reason it no longer exists.
Jobs was always pushing agresssive launch dates, even as far back as the original Mac in 84 (he originally proclaimed it would be out in 82 iirc).
That's the also reason for the previous arbitrage opportunities with iOS devices.
And also the reason it no longer exists.
So it's wrong for Apple to buy up all the supplies of LCDs and force other manufacturers to pay outrageous prices to make their own products? Note that this is exactly what has been happening for a while now.
This is fun stuff people. Not to shabby on the reselling game this time around. Only about 50+ units sold so far but demand is definitely still there. If your having to return units then you don't know the first thing about the reselling game. Stick with your day jobs peeps! I will continue dominating this game.
But if the retailer prices the product correctly or distributes it efficiently, there should be no way for scalpers to constrain supply. Case in point: The New iPad. Besides, the supply is only constrained for those that feel like they must have the item on launch day. For others who are willing to wait, scalpers don't constrain supply
Apple gets exactly as much money from a "scalper" as they do from an end user. If the reseller is buying from an Apple Store, Apple actually gets *more* money than they do through selling to someplace like Best Buy, who will keep some amount of margin.
I would have done the same thing. You bought it for yourself and noticed that it made more sense to make some money. Your not one of these scum bag resellers buying up everything, screwing regular people wanting one and then jacking up the cost. You may have jacked up the price but your intention was normal.
Exactly. I think a lot of people are just whining because they can't bear the idea of delayed gratification, or that someone else might be willing to spend more than them to not delay it. Clearly none of them have ever had a long-distance relationship. ;-)
neutrino23
macrumors 68000
Kudos to Apple. Last year the supply for the iPad 2 was very constrained. This year, releasing the iPad 3 in nine countries simultaneously and having lots of supply resulted in a very smooth introduction.
Blacklabel34
macrumors 6502
personally I think scalpers lined up to sell back to Apple at cost Hilarious
whether they are buying up all the good seats to an event or buying available product so the general public cannot get said items ... scalpers are greedy jerks
What he said..
The problem with this analogy is that the Apple store is not the only authorized place to buy the iPad. Customers have other official resellers that they can buy from. Secondly, water is a need whereas an iPad is a want (an one on launch day is even more of a want). Scalpers don't have a monopoly on supply. In the short term, possibly. But long term, supply will be replenished and people will be able to buy at that time. People who buy from scalpers are exchanging that time (or convenience) for money. This doesn't work on your scenario because the person can't just wait for water since its a need.
crazy dave
macrumors 68000
That's still not considered an acceptable practice and indeed as Rafterman pointed why scalping is illegal in certain US states and jurisdictions. Scalpers can constrain supply on anything - there just has to be enough of them and they just have to buy enough to do so. If every scalper bought say 1000 new iPADs and there were 1000s of scalpers then even Apple's launch wouldn't have been able to distribute them efficiently enough. Scalping is considered to be the disruption of normal supply. Yes the larger the supply, the larger the disruption must be to affect it, but that doesn't make the attempt any less legal in those areas sane enough to outlaw its practice.
Further for those arguing that this is like say Apple cornering the market on the supply of components - it is not. That analogy only works if all Apple did was to then never use those components to build anything and then simply resold the individual components at higher prices to other people - that would be scalping and in fact would probably result in a host of international trade violations.
gotluck
macrumors 603
Nope, I'm not in favor of resellers, but in the US this is not a crime
i don't want to exactly echo the taunts above...but i think everyone needs to realize that reselling whatever the hot item is out there will never go away...in fact, i predict that these resellers will find a way to circumscribe the limitations by customs / apple / etc...it may not be this time around...but it will happen again...
heck if they could, they would figure out a way to get in a boat full of ipads and ride it across the ocean if they knew this could provide a hefty return
i admit that i have been a reseller of these items in the past and actually have come out ahead this time around...and just from my observations of the resellers i know...they will never stop...the fact is there is TOO much money in it.
the big time resellers are not the young good looking asian girls standing in the return lines...those are likely the lackeys and low ranking folks who have no idea the economies of scale that go into running these operations...
the committed professional resellers all have procedures in place for returning these items...essentially its a riskless business...the ones that get screwed are the ones that don't plan ahead for these situations...
also one main fact that remains...apple's return policy is quite lax (which will only increase incentive next time around to buy and resell)...and to see them lining up on friday at stores returning pallets of ipads is just plain idiocy...most of these were likely online orders and could have been returned way past the 14 day limit due to the fact any online order return does not have to be initiated until 03.30.12...with return shipping deadlines in the middle of april
anyways i thought i'd just share my thoughts...in a business like this where you can generate $400 to $1000 per day...its hard not to join in the party so to speak...no matter how short it is
crazy dave
macrumors 68000
Hardly, I'm in a long distance relationship and I don't own an iPad and I waited 6 months to get my iPhone. Scalping is scummy everywhere and illegal in many areas (hint because it's scummy and not considered to be a normal part of capitalism).
I was surprised to see so many scalpers at the apple store in the upper west side. I was there the day after the launch buying an apple tv 3 and saw an asian lady buy 2 ipads with cash and walk out. I then saw her back in line 20 minutes later and she bought another 2 ipads with cash again.
The outrage against resellers in this forum is laughable. I wonder if these people get as upset over child or animal abuse.
I like to compare it to a stock IPO. Are the people that get in early "scalpers" when they sell the stock for a profit?
Everyone knows when and where iPads will be sold. If someone is there before you, then they have the right to do whatever they want with the product that they're buying. If you're wanting one solely for the purpose of using it yourself, then get to the store and buy it before that guy. It's an equal opportunity situation.
I like to compare it to a stock IPO. Are the people that get in early "scalpers" when they sell the stock for a profit?
Everyone knows when and where iPads will be sold. If someone is there before you, then they have the right to do whatever they want with the product that they're buying. If you're wanting one solely for the purpose of using it yourself, then get to the store and buy it before that guy. It's an equal opportunity situation.