4 ms·

Not allowing the resale of used devices should be illegal. Not only because of the environmental impact but also because this is a way for Apple to control the

by pier25 6y ago

Not allowing the resale of used devices should be illegal. Not only because of the environmental impact but also because this is a way for Apple to control the market.

ascot_attn_atol 6y ago
Reselling devices is good. Taking devices that were sent to you to be recycled and then reselling them is bad.
- black_puppydog 6y ago
  That's, like, your opinion, man. In my opinion (and I see many sharing the sentiment here) if apple are gonna send perfectly usable devices for recycling instead of reselling them, then that is bad. Hence I would argue that their right to have a contract upheld weighs lower here than literally everyone else's right on the planet to not waste resources. We have many things you simply are not allowed into contracts. High interest loans, organ sales, you name it. Forcing someone to destroy a usable device, polluting the environment and using up resources as a result just might become one of those. I'd be in favor actually. I don't value apple's stock more than the planet. But then I also don't own any of it, so there's that...
- R0b0t1 6y ago
  Reselling is basically recycling. Did the contract specify they had to be munched or stripped?
entropicdrifter 6y ago
In many markets it is illegal. Heck, in Europe, Valve got in trouble for not allowing the resale of used software on Steam ( https://www.polygon.com/2019/9/19/20874384/french-court-steam-valve-used-games-eu-law https://www.polygon.com/2019/9/19/20874384/french-court-stea... )
qppo 6y ago
That would kneecap first party recycling and trade-in discounts. Apple's incentive to provide those services is to reduce the size of the secondary market.
- arrosenberg 6y ago
  What makes that a problem? Both of those programs increase Apple's control and power in the market.
  - ygjb 6y ago
    It's a problem since a large part of Apple's value proposition is positioning it's devices as luxury, high-end devices. Having obsolete and used devices generally available on the market at a large scale dilutes this brand. It's a pretty awful perspective considering the harm that this kind of consumerism does to the environment. I have also seen this sort of behavior fist hand when a team I worked with insisted I destroy the t-shirts for an event instead of donating them to a charity since it would negatively impact the brand :/
    - brmgb 6y ago
      > Having obsolete and used devices generally available on the market at a large scale dilutes this brand. I don't think it applies in this case. Despite its marketing, Apple very much is a mass market company and you can't really both be mass market and luxury. Also, there are already plenty of second hand iPhones on the market. So much that I seriously doubt it is supply constrained. If I had to guess, it's probably more about avoiding competition in the SE segment than protecting the brand.
  - robjan 6y ago
    They don't want to either cannibalise their sales or make their brand suffer from "prole drift" [0] [0]: https://archive.is/Kyyf1 https://archive.is/Kyyf1
    - black_puppydog 6y ago

by pier25 6y ago

Not allowing the resale of used devices should be illegal. Not only because of the environmental impact but also because this is a way for Apple to control the market.

ascot_attn_atol 6y ago

Reselling devices is good. Taking devices that were sent to you to be recycled and then reselling them is bad.

black_puppydog 6y ago
That's, like, your opinion, man. In my opinion (and I see many sharing the sentiment here) if apple are gonna send perfectly usable devices for recycling instead of reselling them, then that is bad. Hence I would argue that their right to have a contract upheld weighs lower here than literally everyone else's right on the planet to not waste resources. We have many things you simply are not allowed into contracts. High interest loans, organ sales, you name it. Forcing someone to destroy a usable device, polluting the environment and using up resources as a result just might become one of those. I'd be in favor actually. I don't value apple's stock more than the planet. But then I also don't own any of it, so there's that...
R0b0t1 6y ago
Reselling is basically recycling. Did the contract specify they had to be munched or stripped?

entropicdrifter 6y ago

In many markets it is illegal. Heck, in Europe, Valve got in trouble for not allowing the resale of used software on Steam ( https://www.polygon.com/2019/9/19/20874384/french-court-steam-valve-used-games-eu-law https://www.polygon.com/2019/9/19/20874384/french-court-stea... )

qppo 6y ago

That would kneecap first party recycling and trade-in discounts. Apple's incentive to provide those services is to reduce the size of the secondary market.

arrosenberg 6y ago
What makes that a problem? Both of those programs increase Apple's control and power in the market.
- ygjb 6y ago
  It's a problem since a large part of Apple's value proposition is positioning it's devices as luxury, high-end devices. Having obsolete and used devices generally available on the market at a large scale dilutes this brand. It's a pretty awful perspective considering the harm that this kind of consumerism does to the environment. I have also seen this sort of behavior fist hand when a team I worked with insisted I destroy the t-shirts for an event instead of donating them to a charity since it would negatively impact the brand :/
  - brmgb 6y ago
    > Having obsolete and used devices generally available on the market at a large scale dilutes this brand. I don't think it applies in this case. Despite its marketing, Apple very much is a mass market company and you can't really both be mass market and luxury. Also, there are already plenty of second hand iPhones on the market. So much that I seriously doubt it is supply constrained. If I had to guess, it's probably more about avoiding competition in the SE segment than protecting the brand.
- robjan 6y ago
  They don't want to either cannibalise their sales or make their brand suffer from "prole drift" [0] [0]: https://archive.is/Kyyf1 https://archive.is/Kyyf1
  - black_puppydog 6y ago