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Want to purchase a white iPhone 4 from one of the Apple stores in China? Well, you MUST approach the scalpers who are wandering outside the Apple stores and pawning off their white iPhone 4 stash to users, with a 200-500 yuan ($30-77) per-device markup. If you still insist to wait in line to get one, well, here’s something you have to know. Among the 100 people who were lining up outside the store, maybe only two or three of them are real customers, but all the others are scalpers, according to a scalper who refused to be named.
Sounds crazy right? We all know how amazing the Chinese scalpers are, ever since they forced the Beijing Apple Store to close and triples security. Well, the white iPhone 4 debuts now in China, and these evil scalpers are back again. Interestingly, they work in two teams this time. First, there’s a group of ‘immature’ scalpers who have been hired by ‘professional’ scalpers to start lining up Wednesday night, 36 hours before the launch day. These immature scalpers usually got 50-100 yuan ($7.70-15) gratuity for buying up two white iPhones. Apple has previously set a special policy to stop scalpers, in which an ID is required on all iPhone 4 purchases at all four Apple Store locations in China, with a strict limit of two per customer. The phone will be activated at the time of purchase by an Apple employee. Well, this policy still exist and here’s what scalper Wang told us about his ‘mission’,
“I always got 100 yuan reward by helping them to wait in line to buy a white iPhone. Since Apple only allows a customer to purchase two iPhones with an ID everyday, so I am hired by scalpers to use three different IDs to line up continuously in front of the Apple store. There are ten people like me doing this.”
Out of curiosity, we asked 15 people who were waiting in line outside the store, whether if they are buying the iPhones for self-use, well, they are all scalpers… They are helping someone else to purchase… Actually, the ’someone’ refers to the scalpers who are holding stacks of credit cards and cash outside the Apple store. So, every ‘immature’ scalper will bring two white iPhones out from the store and give them to their boss, then head back to the store, cut the queue, and purchase two more iPhones with different ID. Evil.
So what’s the mission for the second team? The second team includes professional scalpers who usually carry Apple shopping bags and wandering outside the Apple store. Of course, the Apple bags are filled with boxes of white iPhones. We often see these scalpers hawking the white iPhones to desperate customers outside the store for easy profits. And guess what, they do some modifications on the white iPhones before reselling to customers. Here’s what Beijing-based Legal Mirror told us,
“Scalpers also profited by replacing the iPhone battery with a substandard battery and sticking the authentic iPhone batter into a fake iPhone body.”
OMG. We are shocked to hear this. And Legal Mirror further added,
“Selling the resulting half-fake phones for slightly lower prices stood to earn a scalper 10,000 yuan ($1540) a month in Sanlitun,”
So what’s the price of the white iPhone if I’m getting one from these scalpers? You need to pay an extra 300-500 yuan (about $46-77) for it, and remember, it’s not an original iPhone 4, slightly modified by the scalpers.
We spent some time observing these scalpers outside the Apple store in Beijing at Xidan’s Joy City, and we found something interesting. After the doors opened at 7am for 2 hours, these scalpers have gathered many Apple shopping bags and start selling the white iPhones to real customers. Here’s what customer Lin in the line told the Global Times,
“I saw a lot of people buy phones from scalpers, but I’ll wait my turn,”
And a 26-year-old Apple fanboy Chen told us,
“Right after I saw the news of white iPhone 4 launch in China, I packed my stuff and waited in line outside the store to buy one. Since I could get it from the store, why do I need to get one from the scalpers?”
Well, there are some smart customers too. Here’s what Yang told us,
“Scalpers are everywhere! They need white iPhone 4. I’ve got two, one for myself and I decided to sell one to these scalpers, and I earned 150 yuan ($23) for that! Easy!”
Reports claim each Apple store in China has 3000 white iPhones in stock for the first day launch, and about 500 people were lining up outside each store. Photos below.
Almost a hundred of people gathered at Shanghai’s Apple store, 9am.
Most scalpers head to Beijing’s Apple Store in Sanlitun.
Just look at the line!!!
The Apple Store located at Xidan’s Joy City drew huge crowds too!
Don’t ask me why I’m so sure that these people are scalpers, just live in China for a year and you will know how to differentiate a scalper and a real customer.
Just in case of any troubles from the scalpers, securities are called in to keep everything under control.
Long way to go!
You can find any kind of people here waiting in line…
Just imagine you are helping the scalpers to line up continuously… It’s terrible.
Seems easy to cut queue! (^O^)
I don’t think these guys are real Apple users.
That user should just buy it from scalpers…
Those people circled in red are scalpers, holding white iPhones on their hands, ready to sell to anyone who approaches them.
iAgent?
Here comes the security!
iPolice!!! Don’t mess with him!
A scalper gets mad…
Caption contest!
I sniff iPhones, scalpers…
8 white iPhones in one Apple shopping bag. There are 4 bags, 32 white iPhones here. She’s awesome.
More!!!
The bag is just like a garbage lying on the floor… What a shame.
What the hell is he doing??
Woah!!! Dealing time!
Counting money.
Nothing could stop the scalpers!
I will be mad if these kids are scalpers too.
Amazing huh? I believe you’ve got a question, why don’t these scalpers visit the Apple online store to purchase? Well, the white iPhone 4 is not yet available for sale on both Hong Kong and China Apple online stores. Since the scalpers will only purchase contract-free iPhones to resell, the Apple retail store is the only choice left.
Last year, Apple sells its contract-free iPhone 4 on Hong Kong Apple online store, and the locals buy in bulk quantity and sell it to the local grey market for easy profits. And then, the grey market dealers, including Mr Lo, will sell the iPhones to mainland China for more profits. We reported how the whole thing runs, and everyone, including Apple (we’re guessing), knows how the scalping thing works in Hong Kong and China. Apple needs to figure out a way to stop this ridiculous scalping activity.
So, for the white iPhone 4 sales in Hong Kong, a customer could only get it from local carrier by signing a 2-year contract. Reseller stores and the Apple online store will not provide it temporarily, since scalpers will target these two locations to buy the white iPhones in bulk quantity. This forces the Hong Kong scalpers to sign a 2-year contract with carrier if they want to buy and resell the phones to the grey market.
As for China, Apple launched it in all four retails stores in the country, allowing the Chinese iPhone users and scalpers to purchase the phone directly from the Apple store, not from the grey market or Mr Lo. And Apple reserved most of its stock for the China Apple stores, not providing much to Hong Kong. This clearly explains why you could only get the white iPhone from local carrier in Hong Kong, for the time being. It seems like Apple does not wish the Hong Kong grey market to earn easy profits by reselling the iPhones to mainland China, so Apple has a nice solution — hold the sales of white iPhones in Hong Kong, and launch the white iPhone in China, with 3000 white iPhones in stock for each retail store everyday. Perfect. Smart.
Source: Global Times, cnBeta
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