Reselling Apple Products on Launch Day: "This whole game is over"

[tunerX]

A scalper is not a parasite, he is just allowing the market to reach equilibrium by bringing a good's price up to its true market value. If rich people think an iPad is worth 2x as much on the first day, than shame on Apple for not pricing it higher. [EDIT: I just remembered they actually did this with the first iPhone] "Scalping" is actually a well-established economic concept called arbitrage that is an actual value-added service, it helps match producers and consumers between markets with price disparities.

As other posters have noted, this is basic to capitalism, Western companies buy cheap goods from China and then resell them at a higher price, making a profit. Are you saying that international trade of that sort should not exist and that people are being scammed by not buying stuff cheaply from the manufacturer in China? Or the oil well in Kuwait?

Scalpers are not bringing the price of an item up to its true price. They are creating an artificial demand bubble from buying up available items with the intent of creating a shortage.

While I really don't care one way or the other, we have to call it how we see it. Scalpers or speculators will never dictate a true price, because true price is averaged over the life of the product.

 

[gagaliya]

I live in China and my family sent me a Kindle through the mail. I had to pay RMB300 (around US$50) to Customs. It's supposed to be 10% of the value of the device. Then I look at the customs receipt and it lists my Kindle as worth RMB3000. Now I know why...friggin resellers.

your family sent you a KINDLE instead of the new IPAD?! disown them...now.

 

[AdonisSMU]

I agree but will also use this by replacing scalpers with Wall Street in another post elsewhere!

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There is no true communism on this planet

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Nice obscure reference. 99% of the people here will not have a clue who you are referencing

I do have a clue who he's referencing and that persons economic model is a big fat fail in every country that's tried it. In order for the market to be free it has to not be free. Tying ones economy to gold makes no sense. Gold doesn't produce anything.

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Scalpers are not bringing the price of an item up to its true price. They are creating an artificial demand bubble from buying up available items with the intent of creating a shortage.

While I really don't care one way or the other, we have to call it how we see it. Scalpers or speculators will never dictate a true price, because true price is averaged over the life of the product.

Exactly. They are manipulating or inflating the actual demand for iPads....just like people were doing in the housing market. Eventually it all came crashing down and these dumb scalpers now want a bailout from Apple.

 

[tunerX]

Exactly. They are manipulating or inflating the actual demand for iPads....just like people were doing in the housing market. Eventually it all came crashing down and these dumb scalpers now want a bailout from Apple.

It would have been better if Apple had releases a statement about multiple returns before they opened the iPad3 floodgates. Then we would see MSRP with no shortage. Given time we will all be paying apples MSRP during an entire lifecycle.

 

[Rennir]

Scalpers are not bringing the price of an item up to its true price. They are creating an artificial demand bubble from buying up available items with the intent of creating a shortage.

While I really don't care one way or the other, we have to call it how we see it. Scalpers or speculators will never dictate a true price, because true price is averaged over the life of the product.

Artificial demand bubble? I wouldn't agree. I see it this way, if we analyze past Apple product launches, whether or not scalpers were present, there would be a shortage. This one was an exception be abuse they managed to match supply with demand an distribute products correctly. Thus, demand was higher than supply for past apple products. This indicates the fact that, according to economic theory, Apple's products aren't priced at their equilibrium price, at which point quantity supplied would equal quantity demanded.

 

[spacepower7]

It's amazing how ignorant some people are. The resellers are simply taking part in capitalism. It's what the U.S economy is based on. All companies do it. Buy things at one price, sell them at a higher price, make a profit. The resellers do nothing wrong. They wait in line, they use real money, they find workers to wait in line, they (presumably) pay them to do so. They find buyers, they pay expenses, they make a profit. Sound familiar? Is it just because many of them may be of Asian descent that we view them with such disgust? Or is it jealousy, because we didn't make a buck ourselves. Stop being such hypocrites. Don't you think Apple uses its muscle to buy up parts and get cheap prices for labor and other things to raise their profit margin? What's the difference?

Please just go back to school bc you have no idea how the real world works.
Econ 101 is where you need to go.

 

[deftdrummer]

Morals...if everyone had them nobody would have any.

 

[coolfactor]

It's amazing how ignorant some people are. The resellers are simply taking part in capitalism. It's what the U.S economy is based on. All companies do it. Buy things at one price, sell them at a higher price, make a profit. The resellers do nothing wrong. They wait in line, they use real money, they find workers to wait in line, they (presumably) pay them to do so. They find buyers, they pay expenses, they make a profit. Sound familiar? Is it just because many of them may be of Asian descent that we view them with such disgust? Or is it jealousy, because we didn't make a buck ourselves. Stop being such hypocrites. Don't you think Apple uses its muscle to buy up parts and get cheap prices for labor and other things to raise their profit margin? What's the difference?

So, question for you - how many of these "buyers" adhere to the same laws and regulations that a registered business in the US is required to? How many charge taxes and then pay those taxes to the government?

The question here is - are they running a legitimate, accountable business? If so, great! If not, they deserve what they get.

 

[locust76]

The other major factor seems to be an abundance of supply and a simultaneous launch in 10 countries including Hong Kong.

This just in: Hong Kong is apparently it's own country!

 

[RobertMartens]

Wirelessly posted

They don't exacerbate the shortage each iPad winds up in a customers hands

They don't eat the iPads they are just middle men

 

[RobertMartens]

Wirelessly posted

Hong is clearly being shown special status in that sentence

 

[kskill]

I wonder what true opening day sales were, if you were to subtract all the returns.

Seems substantial if they're making special lines devoted specifically to iPad returns.

 

[dksram]

Yeah. I wish we could do this to places like Stubhub and Ticketmasters
Apple should charge a restocking FEE...say 16 GB 50.00, 32 GB 75.00 and 64 GB 100.00 FOR WIFI

 

[thundersteele]

You can't really believe anywhere near the majority of sales was to scalpers, right? Hehe

No, I don't believe it.
But a large number of people in this thread seem to be convinced that in the past resellers were buying up the majority of iPads and iPhones, thus shutting off ordinary people from getting theirs.

 

[Pigumon]

One dealer even said "This whole game is over", due to the overabundance of supply, describing the market as "flooded".

Couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch of guys...

Dealers are some of the most worthless and pointless people.

Go away dealers, you are unnecessary and we hate you.

 

[macingman]

Wirelessly posted

Scalpers are not bringing the price of an item up to its true price. They are creating an artificial demand bubble from buying up available items with the intent of creating a shortage.

While I really don't care one way or the other, we have to call it how we see it. Scalpers or speculators will never dictate a true price, because true price is averaged over the life of the product.

Artificial demand bubble? I wouldn't agree. I see it this way, if we analyze past Apple product launches, whether or not scalpers were present, there would be a shortage. This one was an exception be abuse they managed to match supply with demand an distribute products correctly. Thus, demand was higher than supply for past apple products. This indicates the fact that, according to economic theory, Apple's products aren't priced at their equilibrium price, at which point quantity supplied would equal quantity demanded.

Theory is often different to real life.

 

[Jibbajabba]

Not sure what's worse, people selling new iPads on eBay for a stupid price on launch day or people actually buying them and supporting those seller. There will always be a market for overpriced 'launch day devices' as long as there is a demand for it.

 

[bungiefan89]

How is that a service? Did anybody ask for it? I suggest that everybody stuck in a queue with a scalper should offer them the service of not getting punched in the face for a payment of $100, or as an alternative to piss off.

You don't have the right to decide if something is a service or not. It does not matter if someone asks for the service or not, all that matters is whether someone is willing to pay for it.

The scalpers are just taking advantage of the fact that previously, Apple was failing to meet the demand for their product with adequate supply. High demand + low supply = higher price. That's just basic economics.

Now more recently with their 3rd iPad, Apple has clearly stepped up their game and boosted supply to keep up with the high demand, so the scalpers are no longer relevant.

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Yeah. I wish we could do this to places like Stubhub and Ticketmasters
Apple should charge a restocking FEE...say 16 GB 50.00, 32 GB 75.00 and 64 GB 100.00 FOR WIFI

So if I buy a friend an iPad for christmas, not knowing they already have one, I have to suddenly pay punitive damages for a crime I never committed? Screw that!

 

[theSeb]

Explain how they are "scammers". Who are they scamming?

Perhaps not "scammers", but they are nothing but scalpers. I hate scalpers.

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The scalpers are just taking advantage of the fact that previously, Apple was failing to meet the demand for their product with adequate supply. High demand + low supply = higher price. That's just basic economics.

Perhaps if scalpers weren't buying 30 devices at a time, then normal people would have been able to buy them at normal prices? Maybe that's just my crazy logic.

Then again, I would never buy a device like this for more just because I want it as it is released. I can wait a week, or a couple if necessary.

 

[polee]

These scalpers should be punished. Such opportunists!

 

[MH01]

Considering the fact that you can't spell Capitalism, forgive me if I ignore your definition of it.

Got me there!!!. Maybe I have become too dependent on the iPad's spell checker. Though you may find I gave no definition of Capitalism, just stated that buying and reselling something that is in demand is very much something that happens under capitalism. While your playing spelling police, look up "definition" it does not mean what you think it does.

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This just in: Hong Kong is apparently it's own country!

hey..... careful, your treading of dangerous ground here, educational material on MR instead of knee jerk reactions!!!! WTF??. Most people on here will post even without reading the original story!

 

[flameproof]

Secondary market price in Hong Kong is just about $10 over the official price.

http://www.iphone4hongkong.com

In Hong Kong the iPad3 is not sold to walk in customers, you need to register each day and get informed by email if you have 'won' - to buy one the next day in the Apple store. I got mine after the 2nd try.

https://reserve-hk.apple.com/reserve/html/HK/EN/reserve_ipad.html

 

[Soulweaponry]

It's amazing how ignorant some people are. The resellers are simply taking part in capitalism. It's what the U.S economy is based on. All companies do it. Buy things at one price, sell them at a higher price, make a profit. The resellers do nothing wrong. They wait in line, they use real money, they find workers to wait in line, they (presumably) pay them to do so. They find buyers, they pay expenses, they make a profit. Sound familiar? Is it just because many of them may be of Asian descent that we view them with such disgust? Or is it jealousy, because we didn't make a buck ourselves. Stop being such hypocrites. Don't you think Apple uses its muscle to buy up parts and get cheap prices for labor and other things to raise their profit margin? What's the difference?

You do know what ignorant means right? We know exactly why people do it and some of us don't like it. Theres no ignorance about it. In my eyes, these people buying up iPads and reselling at a higher cost are making people unnecessarily people more for something they would've gotten for a fair price otherwise. The iPad so and so customer could've bought, is instead in someone else's hands, waiting to sell it to the same person for a higher price. What's there to respect about that? There's no talent or skill in the way they're making their money. They aren't really earning it. They're just getting there first and saying "oh, you want this? Well i'll give it to you if you pay me more". Can you imagine asking the seller why they should have to pay more? "I got there before you could and i want your money". To which the buyer replies..."Or you could've just left the iPad in the store so i could've bought it at apple's price. You're not doing me any favors".

Its stupid and i'm glad they didn't get to make much money this time around off people that just wanted an iPad on launch day

 

[ouankou]

Feel a little shamed... Hope it won't happen next year.

 

[MacBookPro13"]

I would love if Apple refused to take these back, how funny would that be