BEIJING -- For those complaining about the price of a new iPhone, try buying one in China. Delayed by governmental red tape, the iPhone 6 is selling for as much as 10 times the U.S. price in a thriving black market thats popped up in a matter of days. You want an iPhone 6? asked smugglers on Monday just outside Apples flagship store in Beijings fashionable Taikoo Li mall. Sidling up to everyone entering or exiting the store, they made their pitch: $1,430 gets you the cheapest base model (seven times the U.S. price of $199 with a carrier contract). The iPhone 6 Plus was even costlier -- at more than $2,400 (versus $299 at U.S. stores). But thats a steal, argued one smuggler, considering the fact that the smartphones cant be had at any price in Chinas official stores. The smuggler, dressed all in black with a boxed iPhone tucked under one arm, said his crew had laid out their elaborate operation weeks in advance of the phones Sept. 19 debut. Like most of the roughly 15 hawkers who swarmed around all three exits of the Beijing Apple Store, he declined to give his name. But in an interview between his hard-selling pitches to passersby, he said his group had folks in line days ahead outside Apple Stores in Hong Kong, which is not bound by the same restrictions as China. Within hours, they sneaked their first iPhones across the border. Within the first day or so, they already had scores on the street. youtube/watch?v=Ef_BznBwktw
Posted on: Tue, 23 Sep 2014 11:16:31 +0000
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