When will the resellers get burned?

[Photomax]

There is a natural arc to these market conditions.

Right now sellers are making good profits buying as many iPads as they can.

But some say eBay and Craigslist prices are starting to come down. At some point it will not be worth the hassle of camping out to get iPads if your plan is to sell them.

But there will come a moment when some buyers will be stuck with unsold product. Would you buy a new ipad for $600 from an Apple store or from some dude on the web if there was decent availability? What happens then? Sellers begin marketing their iPads for below retail value?

Won't that be fun!

 

[barkomatic]

There is a natural arc to these market conditions.

Right now sellers are making good profits buying as many iPads as they can.

But some say eBay and Craigslist prices are starting to come down. At some point it will not be worth the hassle of camping out to get iPads if your plan is to sell them.

But there will come a moment when some buyers will be stuck with unsold product. Would you buy a new ipad for $600 from an Apple store or from some dude on the web if there was decent availability? What happens then? Sellers begin marketing their iPads for below retail value?

Won't that be fun!

As the price goes down they will buy fewer of them. That way, they will stay within the 14 day return window.

 

[Photomax]

I forgot about that generous return policy.

But maybe there will be a group panic and resellers will be rushing to return their stock for dollars before the reseller market crashes?

 

[DougFNJ]

In short, they won't get burned.

I could be wrong, but China does not appear to be on that International list of 25 getting them this week, I'm sure you realize these Asian resellers arent buying them here and selling them here. They are buying them here, shipping them off to China and selling them in China at a remarkable profit. As long as there is a large market over there they will continue to purchase as many as they can.

 

[bwrairen]

In short, they won't get burned.

I could be wrong, but China does not appear to be on that International list of 25 getting them this week, I'm sure you realize these Asian resellers arent buying them here and selling them here. They are buying them here, shipping them off to China and selling them in China at a remarkable profit. As long as there is a large market over there they will continue to purchase as many as they can.

Exactly. Until they are available worldwide, they will be worth more than the US prices. It will be quite awhile.

 

[baummer]

There is a natural arc to these market conditions.

Right now sellers are making good profits buying as many iPads as they can.

But some say eBay and Craigslist prices are starting to come down. At some point it will not be worth the hassle of camping out to get iPads if your plan is to sell them.

But there will come a moment when some buyers will be stuck with unsold product. Would you buy a new ipad for $600 from an Apple store or from some dude on the web if there was decent availability? What happens then? Sellers begin marketing their iPads for below retail value?

Won't that be fun!

I suspect after Friday, the international release date, things will start to equalize. Resellers from abroad won't need to come here anymore, therefore allowing more inventory to flow into stores and actually be attainable. Once there are more attainable, there won't be as much of a feeding frenzy. Of course all of this assumes Apple can continue production past a couple of weeks, when reports last week suggested only a few weeks of supplies remained for production (unless Apple has alternative suppliers) due to the Japan crisis.

 

[ivandr]

I suspect after Friday, the international release date, things will start to equalize. Resellers from abroad won't need to come here anymore, therefore allowing more inventory to flow into stores and actually be attainable. Once there are more attainable, there won't be as much of a feeding frenzy. Of course all of this assumes Apple can continue production past a couple of weeks, when reports last week suggested only a few weeks of supplies remained for production (unless Apple has alternative suppliers) due to the Japan crisis.

Again as mentioned above, there is no mentioned release date for China, Russia or much of the middle east. And based on the reports this is where a lot of the purchased-for-resale ipads end up...

 

[baummer]

Again as mentioned above, there is no mentioned release date for China, Russia or much of the middle east. And based on the reports this is where a lot of the purchased-for-resale ipads end up...

I never stated that it was for all countries. Various media outlets have referred to it as the International Release Date, so I am just re-using their parlance. I believe that there will still be foreign resellers here, but not nearly as many since these resellers can go to other countries (presumably closer to where they live) to secure inventory.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

But there will come a moment when some buyers will be stuck with unsold product. Would you buy a new ipad for $600 from an Apple store or from some dude on the web if there was decent availability? What happens then? Sellers begin marketing their iPads for below retail value?

Won't that be fun!

Sorry. No schadenfreude for you. All of these iPads sold by scalpers were bought from legit stores have 14+ day money back return policies. It's not like they are buying them in a back alley somewhere. Come the 13th day and still no worthwhile sale all they have to do is return it. Nothing lost but there time.

 

[Bheleu]

90 days for me

Sorry. No schadenfreude for you. All of these iPads sold by scalpers were bought from legit stores have 14+ day money back return policies. It's not like they are buying them in a back alley somewhere. Come the 13th day and still no worthwhile sale all they have to do is return it. Nothing lost but there time.

Where I purchased the bulk of mine, I have 90 days to return for full money back (SAMs).

 

[CrAkD]

unfortunately not for a long time. apple is way behind on stock and the international launch and japans part issues arent going to change that anytime soon.

 

[KittyKatta]

Maybe Apple can release the iPad 3 next week and then those iPad 2s will be worthless.

 

[OMGitworks]

I suspect after Friday, the international release date, things will start to equalize. Resellers from abroad won't need to come here anymore, therefore allowing more inventory to flow into stores and actually be attainable. Once there are more attainable, there won't be as much of a feeding frenzy. Of course all of this assumes Apple can continue production past a couple of weeks, when reports last week suggested only a few weeks of supplies remained for production (unless Apple has alternative suppliers) due to the Japan crisis.

Given the backlog in the US and possible part issues as a result of Japan's misfortune, don't you think there will be thousands of disappointed international customers who will wait for release day, see they have long wait times and then test the grey/black market just like the rest of us impatient Americans and foreigners to date?

 

[ma1234]

I never stated that it was for all countries. Various media outlets have referred to it as the International Release Date, so I am just re-using their parlance. I believe that there will still be foreign resellers here, but not nearly as many since these resellers can go to other countries (presumably closer to where they live) to secure inventory.

They won't. America is the land of cheap consumer goods and low taxes. Even factoring in shipping costs, it's cheaper to buy it America than a neighboring country. Not to mention wider availability and distribution in the U.S.

Even Mercedes cars are significantly cheaper in America than Germany.

 

[Blorzoga]

I forgot about that generous return policy.

But maybe there will be a group panic and resellers will be rushing to return their stock for dollars before the reseller market crashes?

I bought two 64gig AT&Ts from Target and they have a 90 day return policy.

 

[Blorzoga]

I never stated that it was for all countries. Various media outlets have referred to it as the International Release Date, so I am just re-using their parlance. I believe that there will still be foreign resellers here, but not nearly as many since these resellers can go to other countries (presumably closer to where they live) to secure inventory.

You must not realize how weak the dollar is right now. That's a big incentive to buy from the US instead of Europe or elsewhere.

 

[TypeMRT]

The bottom fell out of the resell market yesterday afternoon. I talked to a reseller who was offering $200 over purchase price (including sales tax) for all AT&T models. Within hours of Apple's international announcement his buyer stopped buying completely and the reseller was only offering $50 over purchase price.
Global economic trends are crazy when they shift this quickly!

 

[Sodner]

A friend of mine just stopped into a BestBuy here in the North Hills of Pittsburgh and they had several in stock in different configurations.

They may becoming more readily available VERY soon.

 

[Rooskibar03]

I'd say the shift is coming quick. Seems like there were a lot of iPads sent to retailers yesterday. Friday will be a turning point one way or another.

If the international launch goes well and inventory is available the bottom is going to fall out. But if there isn't enough supply and levels drop we could see another, all be it shortlived, spike in prices.

I would say if you're going to gamble make sure you have a return policy in place so and don't open it. That way you will at least get your cash back.

 

[Apple Expert]

Placing these on ebay is a great way to sell. However after all the ebay fees and paypal fees, what are you acutally making? Like $40-60? To me it's not worth the risk of getting scammed.

 

[Steviejobz]

They will be in business for a while. US shortages likely to worsen according to a Barclays report. Certain components are tough to get and ship times may extend to 6-8 weeks soon.

 

[auero]

Prices are going down. Stores are getting a lot of stock now. You can practically show up a few minutes before the store opens and get one over here in NJ.

As far as prices, people aren't paying as well as last week. It'll be soon over.