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A theft deterrent that doesn't actual deter theft and solely benefits the carrier. If I steal an $800 phone but can only sell it for $400 because it's locked t
by ezfe 2y ago
A theft deterrent that doesn't actual deter theft and solely benefits the carrier.
If I steal an $800 phone but can only sell it for $400 because it's locked to AT&T I've still sold it for a profit lol.
- forgot-im-old 2y agoPlus what thief is checking your carrier before running away with it?
- lazide 2y agoThey just can’t make enough money off it, so find some other crime to do. Assuming it’s common enough.
- night862 2y agoThe point is, it doesn't matter. They're selling a Locked iPhone instead of an Un-Locked iPhone. Is the Locked Phone devalued because it is locked to AT&T or is the Unlocked phone at a premium because it is not?
- lazide 2y agoIt does matter, by depressing market value - if widespread enough to cause overall market value to be depressed. Not sure what you’re getting hung up about. You clearly already know what’s going on or you wouldn’t be able to write the last sentence.
- ezfe 2y agoBecause carrier-locked phones to major carriers don't suffer a severely depressed price. AT&T has high market share it doesn't matter enough if a phone is locked to AT&T to prevent theft and depress resale prices.
- Forgeties79 2y agoIf that was how these things shook out you two wouldn’t have anything to debate.
- lazide 2y agoHonestly, I’m not even seeing the point of the debate. Even their argument implies they’re well away of it.
- night862 2y agoThe point is that the cost of stolen goods is zero or near zero in this case. The profit margin approaches infinity.
- lazide 2y agoOpportunity cost and cost of consequences are far from zero. Most criminals clear less than they would working minimum wage. It only appears to approach infinity if you ignore reality and consequences, which is often how criminals think. But it is not the actual truth, eh?
- night862 2y agoNot at all, no petty theft is deterred by the criminal thinking, “oh no, what if it’s locked!” They aren’t making a wage at all. They are doing something else.
- lazide 2y agoThey are spending time trying to get money by stealing and fencing things. If they can’t turn around and sell/fence it for much, that definitely deters the ‘business model’. If someone is doing this for 12 hours/day and clearing $100/day (or less) all said and done, that limits who and where that will happen. If they are clearing $2000/day, that expands the pool a lot eh? You can definitely see it in areas with predominantly iPhones as phone theft just isn’t a thing since Apple did their remote bricking thing.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- lazide 2y agoIf you can only sell it for $10 when it’s locked, it’s a deterrent.
- FollowingTheDao 2y ago$10 is a lot of money to some people. It was a lot for me at one point in my life.
- lazide 2y agoSure, and some places you’ll get mugged over $5 or worse. But it’s a lot more likely over $5000 right?
- kstrauser 2y agoDing ding ding, that's the key. There are some people who will mug you for any amount > $0.00. You can't make crime disappear by lowering the value. As that value drops, though, fewer and fewer people will bother as the risk/reward ratio shifts. You'll still have crimes from people desperately sick with drug addiction who need something, anything, to get more, and they're notoriously bad and risk/reward calculations anyway. You'll have fewer crimes from people who'd otherwise think, hey, let's go out and boost some phones for spending money.
- dghlsakjg 2y agoNo. An unlocked phone is indistinguishable from a locked phone until you attempt to sign it up for another network. That distinction isn’t made until the phone is already stolen. If I’m a thief, I steal the phone either way. Sometimes I get a carrier locked phone and only make $10 (realistically more. Carrier locked phones sell at a discount around 20-50%), or I get an unlocked phone and make $400. Your argument is the same that carrying less cash would make you less of a target for pickpockets. It won’t. They will steal a wallet with no cash as fast as a wallet stuffed with hundreds.
- stouset 2y ago