This Week's Sponsor:

FastMinder

A Simple, Lightweight, and Clutter-Free Intermittent Fasting Tracking Experience


Beware The 200 Scalpers Outside New York’s 5th Ave. Store

If you’re still trying to get your hands on an iPad 2, you might want to avoid the 5th Avenue Apple Store in New York for now. The New York Post has a piece today on the issues with “scalpers” waiting outside the Apple Store for iPad 2 stock to become available again, and buy a large amount of units to sell later at a higher price in Asian grey markets and the United States as well. Apparently almost 200 of these Asian scalpers have been spotted around the 5th Ave. location, and they’re well organized with “leaders” telling them how many iPads to buy, which models, at which rate. These “leaders” were seen handing out $100 bills to the scalpers as if it was normal to get hundreds of iPads and put them in large bags to ship to China right away.

Prices for these iPad 2s range from $1700 to a whopping $2000 – you could get 4 iPads WiFi 16 GB for that price.

An Apple worker inside the store said he didn’t like what was going on – but he couldn’t do much about 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.

The problems with scalpers and grey market isn’t new to Apple product launches. When the iPhone 4 went on sale last summer in the US and, later, in Europe, we saw the same thing happen with hundreds of people waiting in line outside the Apple Store just to buy devices to sell right away at a higher price, or export all the way back to mainland China.

The situation looks very bad this week as iPad 2s are nowhere to be seen, not even online, and these people are preventing regular, non-scalper customers from legitimately purchasing an iPad 2. Until Apple solves its problems with stock and availability, or releases the device in more countries as promised, we’re going to hear more and more stories like this.

Unlock More with Club MacStories

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.

In that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.

The Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.

Choose the Club plan that’s right for you:

  • Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with app collections, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, a Club-only podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;
  • Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus exclusive content like Federico’s Automation Academy and John’s Macintosh Desktop Experience, a powerful web app for searching and exploring over 6 years of content and creating custom RSS feeds of Club content, an active Discord community, and a rotating collection of discounts, and more;
  • Club Premier: Everything in from our other plans and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.