If you’re unable to get your paws on a new iPad 2 even at an Apple flagship store, you may be fighting organized grey-market forces. The New York Post reports today on a group of scammers who use strength in numbers to buy iPads from the Fifth Avenue Apple store in New York:
“The illicit, highly orchestrated scheme was in full gear yesterday, with a ringleader doling out massive wads of $100 bills to about five cohorts. The sidekicks then went up and down a line of about 200 Asians outside the store and around the corner, handing out the money.
“The scammers in line then went inside and bought iPad 2’s — wiping out the store within minutes.”
The slabs of scarcity are then sold on the street for up to $2000, or immediately sent to Asia for resale.
According to the Post, Apple staffers are aware of the operation but can do little to stop it.
“Listen, we all know what’s going on here. I find it sad and disgusting,” the worker said. “These people are preventing ordinary folks from getting their hands on an iPad.”
“A legitimate would-be customer said she’s been to the store three times since Friday — only to be thwarted by the creeps.”
Another blunt reminder of the laws (or lack thereof) of supply and demand. I think I’ll just wait.
[Full Story: NY Post – iPad cads scalping buyers]
Adam Rosen is an Apple certified IT consultant specializing in Macintosh systems new and old. He lives in Boston with two cats and too many possessions. In addition to membership in the Cult of Mac, Adam has written for Low End Mac and is curator of the Vintage Mac Museum. He also enjoys a good libation.
112 responses to “Another Reason the iPad 2 is Hard to Find”
retarded article
Adam is a racist! So you can tell someone’s nationality by the color of their skin? If you had proof that Asians were handing out money in an iPad line, where is the video/picture? Sounds like you copied your story off of SF Chronicle.
Racist? I’m just quoting the New York Post article as to nationality and specifics, you can see this in the original piece (as linked in the article):
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/l…
And you can’t tell someone’s nationality by the color of their skin? You have issues.
A simple solution would be to limit each customer to one for at least the first 4 weeks or so. I talked to quite a few disgusted Apple customers who stood in line several different times, and knowing that many of the extra pads were just going right to Ebay or Craigslist. I cannot imagine Apple wanting their image tarnished, but it is. Simple solution.
That’s capitalism for ya. Live by the sword, die by the sword. You have been warned.
Disgusting…
Asian isn’t a nationality, “asian” is a race.
And yes, you can tell someone’s race by the color of their skin. I’m from the Bible Belt, you learn how to do that here.
I totally agree with u.
This is the most irresponsible article
Hi there. Two words: Shut up. If you should feel the need to sign up for another service with an idiotic username intended to provoke and spout off baseless accusations of racism, take a dose of this: http://goo.gl/YXyY
Don’t call me in the morning – in fact, just stay in bed. Thank you.
Asians. Be more specific. It is a wide umbrella
I like the black iPad’s. And you know what they say about the black ones.
Yes, but as a “journalist,” you have the fiduciary responsibility to understand the implications of passing along third-party quotations. Ask yourself: what are the implications of quoting “Asians?” I’ll tell you if you don’t know: now, some people will look at all Asians standing in line at an Apple Store in an unfair light, or think that they have carte blanche to do or say things to or about them that they normally wouldn’t. You might say, those people are idiots, but you have facilitated their idiocy to the detriment of Asians. That’s the problem.
Kinda sucks, but hey Apple should make more available to online buyers
Sorry for any unintended offense folks – you’re right, Asian is a race, not a nationality. And it was hard not to use the term when quoting from the Post article – read the original, it’s used much more frequently.
Another article on this same topic list on Google News right now is titled “Asian Gang Allegedly Buying Up iPad 2’s For Overseas Sales”
http://gothamist.com/2011/03/1…
The point here is how questionable means are being used to obtain iPads. I’m not trying to point the finger at any one group, and I apologize if that’s the impression the post is giving.
…and we’ve gotten hypersensitive to the point where you cannot even *mention* a person’s apparent nationality or ethnicity without being branded a racist. Pathetic.
Great little world you live in where you would jump on a guy for quoting a fact and then smear his name like that. I am sure (being that I was there) that a lot of different people were trying to scam the system but from what I saw the reports are correct. Maybe you sound look before you shot.. Thats how innocent people get hurt. Or perhaps If he had said they were white people you wouldn’t have said a word… There is no racism left in America only stupidity and hatred and its sounds to me like you are suffering from both.. Open your eyes and stop pointing fingers…!!!!
Why are they creeps. They are paying money to buy the Ipad 2 like everyone else they are queuing from your own account. Stop airing your Racist and Xenophobic tendencies.
Chinese, probably from the Guangzhou providence. How’s that for specificity.
Really folks, it’s nobody’s business what anybody does with their iPad after purchase. After purchase, it’s THEIR property. If they want to smash it with a hammer, that’s their right. If they want to sell if on eBay for more money, that’s their right too. Apple got what it was asking for their product. They didn’t lose anything. If people who can’t delay gratification want to pay through the nose to get an iPad on eBay right now, well OK. Go for it. If they want to re-sell them in Asia, then fine. I’m sure there are Asians who will appreciate that.
I can’t believe anyone would stand in line for hours for anything that wasn’t necessary for life itself. Sheesh….
Capitalism created the iPad.
Made in m@&^%$#@#$%’in China B&*&tch. Consider that..haha
Actually no it’s not nobody’s business. It’s is, quite literally, Apple’s Business.
Apple explicitly reserves all resale rights when you buy an iPad. The Apple Store employees could, if they knew, get involved and deny sales to the Ebay people on the suspicion that they were there to resell them on the internet.
Apple does not reserve any resale rights. Have you ever heard of first sale doctrine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F… It is specifically for copyrighted works, but it works in cases of hardware as well. Why would/should Apple have control over their products after they’ve been sold?
Especially because you do not agree to any terms of service when buying an iPad with cash. If there was a license agreed upon, then there might be a case for not being able to resell the item, but with no license, there is an absolute right to do whatever you want with it after you buy it.
You remind me of the newscasters who report a crime on TV and ask for help but won’t give a full description of the criminal because he’s black. I’m sorry but those newscasters are being irresponsible by not giving a proper description of the criminal.
People like you who think they are being politically correct: that’s the problem…
Hey Adam, I appreciate the apology…I am an asian and proud of it… but just like what other people said in the comments, let’s not generalize that this is isolated to asians only… I bought mine online and willing to wait for it…so it’s not fair to other asians like me… just a a thought.
Hey, that’s just the way the cookie crumbles, eh? iPad 2 will be plentiful in about a month. It’s always this way with a hot new item . . . I had the same idea when Yoplait introduced the low fat yogurt. Remember that? I wiped out three local stores of their entire stock and tried to resell on the street for double the price. I sold about three to my mom, and the rest went bad. These folks are smarter.
“I can’t believe anyone would stand in line for hours for anything that wasn’t necessary for life itself. Sheesh….”
With all the crazy things people do in this world and you can’t believe that people will spend hours and even days in line waiting for a product? It’s an understatement when I say you are extremely naive!
You are accusing him of something without having anything to back it up. How is he racist? Where did he say he could tell someone’s nationality by the color of their skin?
That reminds me of the other day when I was in the subway. An old Asian man who didn’t speak English was confused and needed directions so he looked around until he saw another Asian person to ask for help. WOW! What a racist!
All the more ironic was that she did not speak his language. Fortunately a girl was able to help him out . Yes, you got it… an Asian! Imagine that!
Apple certainly has the right to refuse to sell you an iPad because they think you are going to resell it on eBay (and they can refuse to sell it to you for most other reasons, too) but having sold it to you, it is then yours to do what you want with including selling it to someone else for a profit. I rather object to the use of the word “scam” in this post. These people are buying something from Apple at an agreed price and then are selling it to someone else at a (different) agreed price. There is nothing dishonest about this whatsoever and good luck to them, frankly.
And yes, I have made money doing this myself.
See the comment above for the answer.
Are you saying Asian customers are not legitimate?
iPad 2’s will not be easily available in one month. This situation in Japan is going to have a bigger impact than you realize.
While I don’t admire what they’re doing, I have to say if there’s nothing illegal about it they have every right to do it. Consumers who are so rabid about getting something as soon as it comes out are to blame. If no one was willing to pay the premium then there would be no market, and therefore, no profit, so they would move elsewhere. Seriously… waiting in line for an iPad? How shallow is your life?
…and so, the specific illegality here is….there isn’t one. If there are people with more money than brains who will pay a premium for a product they really don’t need but can’t wait for, there will always be people to fill that need.
If they know that it is going on then they need to have staff and security watching the line. Kick the assistants out, refuse to sell the partners etc. They can legally refuse service to anyone they want since they are not a public office.
The only way they could possibly do that is to require the presentation of a valid photo id and record the number into a system that would check if you have already bought one and the privacy nuts would sue within a half second if they tried it. Even if they just did it to those paying cash it would be 100 lawsuits in the first hour
Capitalism = whoever is the richest and first in line wins..
Asians, armed with lots of cash and had gotten in the line like everyone else ended up buying it all..
Technically that’s the Asians beating the capitalist system with Capitalism..
once you go black…you never go back!!
very simple soluiton: next time apple launch iProducts in Asia first.
Apple did something with hashed credit card numbers with original iPhone. Nothing to stop Apple from doing it now.
How can anyone bash this…. I’m excited here in Asia to get my hands on one before the 25th…. anyone buying an iPad 2 and spending that kind of money has definitely done their research obviously.
You obviously haven’t been to an Apple store where queues of these people are blocking the door way? The same thing is happening over in London with the unlocked iphone 4 where tourists coming from far can’t get there hands on one because a bunch of people with no skills or passion are easily buying someone elses hardwork and ideas and selling them off for their own benefit. It has nothing to do with their right to sell. Plainly put, they are taking years and dollars of development and financially benefitting from it leaving true customers gadgetless.
Apple should halt store sales and go with the web sales for the first weeks. 1 debit/credit card – 1 iPad. Otherwise second hand market will be established and it will be always active during the product launches, which will hit ordinary buyers pretty hard.
man this is soo true. ive been to the apple store like 4 times, getting there at like 4 in the morning. all i see is a group of “individuals” constantly sketching out a plan (group of at least 100) to get an ipad. i see the same groups every time.. kinda obvious. i just want to get an ipad 2. seems like ill just have to wait until it ships from apple because clearly, these “resellers” are allowing no one else to get 1. 70% new customers? apple is pretty much supplying to brand new business that has developed!!!!!!
@ Adam Rosen. I guess you tried to be professional but any serious writer should first confirm the information and eventually pick up the data from respectful sources. I won’t go as far as saying New York Post displayed some random picture from their database (for example, for people reselling iPad 1 and not 2), but I will just say one has to be more careful with their sources.
@ All. This is simple. As I choose not to read CultOfMac.com or NYPost articles anymore because of their lack of quality, you can choose not to buy iPads 2 for resale or wait in the line. If there were no buyers there would be no reseller. This is called offer-and-demand. And you can’t complain about a thing that is legal. Inconvenient, yes, even not ethical, yes, but not illegal so why would someone sound so angry about that?
It’s a little bit frustrating that iPad 2 will be released in Asia on a later date. Given that Apple refreshes products every 12 months, I think they should speed up its release to other countries. I don’t mind falling in line for hours if that’s what it takes to get my iPad 2.
@itsmenyc – I would understand your point if a CRIME had been committed. I would definitely feel that in the case of a crime a thorough description of the offender should be given regardless of race. What they are supposedly doing is being done at all levels of U.S. society. Banks are buying up oil and reselling it for a profit with no intention of using it. There is a colloquialism that fits this situation, “Don’t hate the player, hate the game” …or at least get better at playing it.
Wy do they call it scammers?
I have experienced this first hand. Christiana Mall in Newark Delaware is plagued by this. I have been trying to get my hands on an ipad 2 only to be in line behind 100’s of asians. They bring their whole families and wads of cash. They even offered me 100 dollars for any ipad 2s or iphone 4s I could get. It sucks its a bunch of crap. When I asked why they buy so many they told me China has huge demand. Some of the asians are nice but alot of them are actually pretty smug and sly. As soon as the first asians got their ipads they immediately hid them and tried to join family in the lines again to buy more ipad 2’s. They sold out before I could even get one. The apple store employees tried as hard as they could to keep it fair but theirs only so much they can do. I know we cant do it in this world but every now and then it should be legal to discriminate. I know damn well an 80 year old chinese lady doesnt want sh#t to do with an ipad 2. Anyone Agree??
How are they scammers? I dont see a crime here besides these apple fanbois that are crying to get hands the iPad2. DONT hate the player hate the game. big pimmping.
okay people lets be honest here. it is pretty much a fact that most if not all of the people taking part in this are asian. whether it is right or wrong to offer an ipad for a higher price than what was originally paid is the point of this article. lol and kudos to the asian guy for referring to himself as an asian guy and then saying we should not make such generalizations. anyways you all can go back to your pointless bickering.
just bought an ipad2 for the missus for mothers day.the ipad is just a large iphone4 without the phone!!!!!!!!!!! what a load of twat. could have been so so much better you fools at apple.
everyone has valid content in there statements here….but…we all know what the criminals in russia/asia want to duplicate with the ipad2 dont we? create a tablet much more capable than an enlarged glorified iphone 4
really folks read my earlier comments! i ‘pre-paid’ for an ipad 2 in western australia,hoping to get it for my missus before mothers day.i rang innumerable shops to no avail.eventually rang a retailer who stated they got more allocation than others.the salesman assured me that his shop got more allocation than other shops. more than a week later i received a text saying” ready to pickup,dont reply to message”i left a very important business meeting and drove to the shop- a friggin long way away(2 hours)EVENTUALLY (if u know what i mean) out comes some young guy with what i asked for BUT IT WAS WHITE!!!!WTF who on earth wants a white tablet?SO SO Dated.Eventually spoke to the manager who sent me off to another shop…gott a black one…phew! sorta relieved….