China’s
iPhone scalpers and
Apple staff have not always seen eye to eye and conflicts between the 2 have often ended in violence, however the passing of
Steve Jobs has been enough for the two sides to make a short peace.
Scalping the latest products in
China is extrememly common. The problem is that
China gets most new iPhones or iPads a few months after the rest of the world. This extended wait and the thirst for
Apple devices has created a lucrative business for
scalpers who
buy more than one iOS device then resell it at an inflated
cost to those waiting to
buy theirs.
Scuffles and smashed
stores have ensued with bad feelings held on both sides of the fence.
Last week though the bitterness was put behind them when a scalper in
Beijing left a bouquet of flowers with the following note:
“Preceded by nobody and duplicated by none”
Signed “A Scalper”
The quote is from a seventh century Chinese poem.
Within in the next month or so we expect to see the cat and mouse game between
Apple stores and iPhone
scalpers to continue as the
iPhone 4S is sure to draw large crowds once ‘officially’ released in China.