The Reality of the iPhone Line Is a Black Market Nightmare


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The Reality of the iPhone Line Is a Black Market Nightmare

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This week, people camped outside Apple stores for days anticipating the iPhone 6. But those line-waiters weren't all frenzied Apple fans high on the joy of a new smartphone: As filmmaker Casey Neistat portrays it, many of the line-sitters were buying the new iPhone to immediately resell it on the black market.

 



It's hard to definitively verify what Neistat presents with this short movie, and he definitely made this video to chase down a very specific conclusion. It's also not the first video Neistat has made decrying the spectacle of Apple line-waiters.
But his claim, that many of the first iPhones sold in the U.S. were immediately shunted into the Chinese black market, isn't far-fetched: The iPhone 6 won't officially launch in China for another several months, meaning black market resellers can sell internationally-sourced new iPhones for upwards of $3,000 on the street right now.
 
Camping outside the Apple store for days before the new phone's release has always been a foolish proposition. If you're in that much of a hurry to get the new phone, just order it online! But if Casey Neistat's portrayal is to be believed, the line is no longer the gathering place for Apple zealots?it's the gritty front line of the international black market, the joyless, hardscrabble first link in a chain most U.S. consumers are happy to ignore.

 

Source: Gizmodo

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Sounds like a good business model.

It's not even unique - look at the international automobile marketplace AND the direct impact on all forms of crime related to it, from pilferage of entire vehicles to the global "chopshop" market.  There is ALWAYS a market for constrained items, and those that are willing to supply it - using any means necessary - fair or not.  (Why do YOU think there has been a resurgence of sea-lane piracy?)

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Black market purchasers aside, I just don't understand why people can't stand to wait a couple of weeks anymore. Pre-order it online, no hassle, no line waiting, your phone will come in a few weeks. Time flies, the wait really won't be all that long. 

 

I just never understood the appeal of spending days or hours in line for a phone that is effectively obsoleted a year later, anyway. It just seems like there are more interesting things one could do with their time.

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Black market purchasers aside, I just don't understand why people can't stand to wait a couple of weeks anymore. Pre-order it online, no hassle, no line waiting, your phone will come in a few weeks. Time flies, the wait really won't be all that long. 

 

I just never understood the appeal of spending days or hours in line for a phone that is effectively obsoleted a year later, anyway. It just seems like there are more interesting things one could do with their time.

 

because people are jobless, have too much time, black market (like the article refers, some countries have to wait for several months for the phone; as an example, just a couple of weeks ago the PS4 and Xbox 1 started to sell in my country, a year later then everyone else) or just want suffer from iphoneless anxiety.

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It's hard to definitively verify what Neistat presents with this short movie, and he definitely made this video to chase down a very specific conclusion. It's also not the first video Neistat has made decrying the spectacle of Apple line-waiters.

But his claim, that many of the first iPhones sold in the U.S. were immediately shunted into the Chinese black market, isn't far-fetched: The iPhone 6 won't officially launch in China for another several months, meaning black market resellers can sell internationally-sourced new iPhones for upwards of $3,000 on the street right now.

If people are stupid enough to pay extra for a device instead of waiting for a couple of days / weeks then more power to the people selling those devices. They aren't doing anything illegal so who gives a flying ######.
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I was surprised when I saw this.  My first reaction was that "real" owners aren't buying into the hype and standing in line etc. (the picture of the Apple employee trying to get the crowd excited when the doors opened was extra sad) but then I realized that there wouldn't be a black market if the product wasn't coveted enough to demand it.

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Who pays 3000$ for a stupid phone? I am a total geek who loves technology but even if you happen to defecate money I still think it's a silly idea.

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This behavior would have made more sense for earlier iterations of the iPhone when it was still new and exciting. The new iPhone is bigger, sure. Is that something worth creating a black market for? I honestly don't know.

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I like iPhone. Will not sleep and wait in line for days for it. It's just stupid.

The thing is that most of these in line are not purchasing the phone for themselves... They are trying to resell it and make a lot money.
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