Ladies and gentlemen, we officially have the most ridiculous response to the iPhone price cut that Steve Jobs announced last month: A woman in Queens, New York, Dongmei Li, is suing Apple for $1 million because she can’t make as much money on eBay by selling the two iPhones she owns. No, seriously.
Li’s lawyer, Jean Wang, said her client bought two 4-gigabite (sic*) models for $499 each with the idea of selling them later on eBay.
“Since they’re selling the 8-gigabite phone for $399, there’s really no market for her,” Wang said.
That makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? She should totally get $1 million! Ms. Li bought two 4-gig iPhones for $1,000, hoping to sell them on eBay for, let’s say, given market rate, at most $1,500. Now, 4-gig iPhones are worth $300 or less each, or $600 combined. And as we all know, $1,500 – $600 = $1 million in lost revenue. For shame, Apple! For shame!
I will now launch my own lawsuit. I almost bought an iPhone, but I decided not to, because they’re expensive. Now the price has changed, and I haven’t been able to work ever since because of the trauma. I would like Apple to pay me $8 million for my lost salary owing to disability for the last three weeks.
*Yes, the New York Post spelled gigabyte as “gigabite.” That makes the article even more entertaining.
Image via Massachusetts government
Thanks, Raymond!
Pete Mortensen is a design strategist for consulting firm Jump Associates and the co-author of Wired to Care: How Companies Prosper When They Create Widespread Empathy, a book and blog that are significantly more interesting than you might initially think. Pete’s particular Apple avocations are both around design–interface and industrial. Follow him on Twitter!
