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Anyway, why doesn't the OP go to Best Buy or something to get the rest of the iPads? They probably don't have any, and that's important here. Unlike the EEE ex
by GHFigs 17y ago
Anyway, why doesn't the OP go to Best Buy or something to get the rest of the iPads?
They probably don't have any, and that's important here. Unlike the EEE example, the context here is that the iPad is in short supply. So short that even the Apple store he was buying from had ran out of stock--as have most. The story he tells is about picking up one he had reserved several days earlier, and reserving yet another while he was there.
Now, from the retailer's perspective, this guy is taking the limited supply away from their actual customers. Even though a sale is a sale and they are making the same amount of money from it, they have no incentive to sell to him over anybody else in line. It's going to get sold anyway--and if you have to pick between selling it to an end consumer vs. selling it to a middle-man who is going to raise the price to your end consumer, you're probably going to chose the end consumer. It sucks if said middle-man was really just trying to do a favor for international buyers that can't get one any other way, but his purchasing behavior is indistinguishable from someone who is just profiteering.
If supply were adequate (as it is for EEEs, presumably) then they probably wouldn't have taken notice.
- jrockway 17y agothis guy is taking the limited supply away from their actual customers What is an "actual customer"? Last time I checked, if someone is in your store, wants to buy something from you, and have handed you their credit card to pay for the thing of yours they want, they are a pretty fucking excellent customer. The best, you could go so far as to say. If you're worried about a secondary market, make more of your thing. Then the secondary market is fucked.
- GHFigs 17y agoI love how you ignore every single relevant detail here in favor of an interpretation that doesn't fit anything but your existing biases. I love consistency like that, it's amazing. What is an "actual customer"? Someone who is going to actually use the product they are buying from you, as opposed to someone whose sole intent is to capitalize on your product's scarcity. The end consumer, as opposed to the middle-man. they are a pretty fucking excellent customer. And what about the next guy in line? The "actual customer" as above, who doesn't get your product because you're too busy selling it to the guy who's only interested in making it even more scarce. Like I said before, you make the same amount of money from the sale, but if you can afford to be choosy about your customers (and in this situation, Apple can), the "actual customer" is the one you want to favor. The retailer has no incentive to favor the middle-man, who at best is going to raise the price to the end consumer without earning you a cent. If you're worried about a secondary market, make more of your thing. In what bizarro world does this happen instantaneously?