Apple cracking down on unlocked iPhone sales - limits iPhone purchases to 2 per credit card, no cash
Posted by Will on Saturday, October 27th, 2007 at 2:17 pm under Cingular/AT&T, iPhone, Apple, Announcements
Last time we checked we were still in America. But, apparently, once you step inside an Apple Store, you’re on Steve Jobs’ turf - and subject to his rules. In an effort to curb the seemingly rampant sales of unlocked iPhones through, say, eBay, Stevie has limited iPhone sales to 2 per person!
Just how does Apple intend to enforce this ruling? Well, in his infinite wisdom, Stevie has decreed that iPhones will henceforth only be sold to plastic customers - if you want an iPhone, you’d better warm up your credit or debit card, no cash will be accepted. Don’t have any plastic? You might be SOL.
You see, Apple has estimated that fully 250,000 of the 1.4 million iPhones sold thus far were summarily unlocked and sold for use outside of AT&T’s network. And, with Apple speculated to be making a couple hundred dollars per iPhone per year from their revenue sharing deal with AT&T, 250,000 unlocked iPhones represents millions in lost revenue. Apple only gets the kickback from iPhones using AT&T’s network - unlocked iPhones on other networks are outside the scope of that deal and essentially take money put of Apple’s healthy coffers.
So, if you’re planning on buying all your friends and loved ones an iPhone this holiday shopping season, you’d better distribute your iPhone allotment across multiple cards. Pre-paid debit cards anyone?
[Via: NYT]
October 27th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
Will,
For every action there’s always an opposite reaction..
Easy way…on the way to Apple store, just buy a prepaid AmEx card at your local 7-Eleven, preload it with the required amount and go on a shopping spree…those things are anonymous but still treated as “debit” cards. After you buy two, go to 7-Eleven again, buy another card and go on a shopping spree again 
Flip the finger to apple the same way they are flipping their finger to the customers.
Maciek
www.symbiosis60.com
October 27th, 2007 at 4:58 pm
2 articles down
October 27th, 2007 at 6:12 pm
I just bought 5 of them at apple.com. I don’t know what they are talking about.
October 27th, 2007 at 7:43 pm
You know, I finally love the iPhone: it is doing so much harm to the image of Apple, that people are finally starting to see that Apple is just a company like all the others. Nothing more, nothing less. Great products, usability and design at a premium price. Out there to make money, not to save the world. Not holier than thou, possibly a little less holy than some others even.
October 27th, 2007 at 11:44 pm
What do you expect? This is a company who has built it’s market on the idea that the end user is ignorant of what to do with technology and therefore has to be controlled. You fork out the money but they still own the experience. No thanks, like millions of others, I won’t buy a company’s products if I can’t say that I own what I’m shelling out my hard earned cash for.
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