eBay chokes on iPhones Some were boasting from their camps outside Apple stores before the iPhone rush began, of how much money they would make on eBay auctions; and apparently, at least one optimist let it be known that $2,000 would be needed to buy a $600 iPhone. According to Katie Hafner, stringer for the New York Times, "Thousands of listings …
I laugh at the fools who camped out to buy the iPhone and the idiots who spent hundreds of dollars to be first in line to discover they can only buy ONE phone at a time.
People are greedy stupid fools... I remember when everyone wanted to be the first to own bloody Windows 95!!! Where are the fools now? Did they camp out for 98? ME? XP and VISTA?
Technology changes constantly and it is stupid to rush out and buy the beta versions... but thanks anyway for the laughs.
Is it just me, or are people going crazy over something they already own? My lowly old phone plays music and videos, takes pictures, connects to the internet........ oh yeah, and makes telephone calls and can send texts.
I am truly a gadget person, who likes to be the first to get new toys whilst they are still novel, but that's the point, this is not new, it's the same as we already have, with a different brand name on it.
Seriously.
I know its big news for Apple, and its a tech story alright, but it means precisely squat to UK readers.
And the vast majority who don't give a shit about Apple, or the overhyped gadget itself will never buy one and be happy with the phones we have already, which play music just fine without iTunes thank you.
Oh, and have a useable camera. And are cheaper. 3G.
You get the idea.
The people who camped out aren't all "greedy, stupid fools." Some people are just trying to turn a quick profit so they can get a leg up for once in their lives. If that means blowing $600 on the lottery-style chance you can triple that money by selling to some rich f--k who has the cash to blow $2k on an iPhone, or PS3, or Xbox360, or whatever... what do you think they're going to do? One iPhone or PS3 at $2k means a nice Christmas for the kids, a security deposit on a better place, or the downs on a "new" used car.
people who speculate on low/mid-level goods aren't the greedy ones (try currency speculators for that crowd). Often, they're the working poor who are trying to hit up as many times as they can before they hit down. They're students (I know a few), single moms, blue collars who take a day off on that off chance, etc.
I'll grant you that there are jerks in the mix, people who are making ends and just want more of it. But the situation is a little more complex than what I'm seeing here in the posts, and you all should think about that before you gleefully banter on about how the campers got bit this time.
(btw, I *did* camp for a PS3 and a wii, but both for personal use. I don't camp for other things, as I really don't have the time or need for the money.. but I have plenty of friends who do and I cast no aspersions on what they do.)
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So they wait how many hours ? say 30 hours in total ?
how much does Mc Donalds pay ? I have honestly no idea but take 8$
so instead of working for 30 hours and getting 240$ for sure they take the chance of losing money instead ?
Well I am sorry but that way you will never make it. If you invest you should have a decent chance to have your investment back with a decent profit.
just my thoughts.
"so instead of working for 30 hours and getting 240$ for sure they take the chance of losing money instead ?"
$8/hour? try minimum wage for most fast food employees (currently less than $6/hr.) But, for argument sake let's grant an $8/hr rate.
30 hours of shift work at McD's = 3.5 days of actual time assuming standard 8 shifts and no back-to-back double shifts. This nets $240 US *pre-tax* income... subtract ~ $30-50 in income tax and FICA tax depending on your filing status and you're left with $190-210. We'll split the difference and call it an even $200 for 3 days of work. Greasy, smelly, rude-customers-who-you-have-to-smile-at type of work.
Compare that to a waiting for 30 *consecutive* hours in a line for a chance to make 10 times the money in 1/3rd the the amount of time? Tell me what you'd do in that situation?
For items like the Xbox 360, PS3, the PSP, Nintendo Wii, and the Nintendo DS this tactic paid off. I have friends who made upwards of $2500 on Playstation 3's last November.
Look, there's always risk in speculation, people lose money in real estate, and stock markets crash. yada-yada-yada...right? Companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Sony generate huge hype and publicity for product launches, scare up the media about product shortage, and in this case led a bunch of people down along knowing full well that there was no scarcity of product. It's a finely tuned and practiced form of pump and dump, and I don't think it's something to laugh about or criticize consumers for.
I just get pissed that some people characterize these consumers who are scrapping for a living as greedy, yet themselves probably greatly sympathize with the S&L and/or Enron victims who fell for similar insta-rich style tactics (albeit at much higher stakes.)
phew...rant over :)
"I have friends who made upwards of $2500 on Playstation 3's last November"... NO U havent. PS3 has been a sales disaster. People may have qued for it but it, didnt come close to selling out. Now remember the Pink razor v3. Wish I'd bought half a dozen of thoes before Christmas 2005 I could have made a killing. U dont need innovation, just a coat of pink paint :)
ha :)
thanks, but i didn't wait in line for one, and I'm not really into the i-phenom that is Apple. I personally prefer PC's, Creative's Zen line of media players, and Samsung's Blade phone. That covers most of what Apple has to offer by way of hardware.
I'm not that into paying extra money for smugness ("oooh, my computer looks like an art-deco lamp! That's so progressive.")
sorry apple lovers ;)
' "I have friends who made upwards of $2500 on Playstation 3's last November"... NO U havent. PS3 has been a sales disaster. '
Brian, I'm sorry but you're just plain wrong on that first part.
The PS3 *did* sell out on release, at least in major US cities, so, people who put up their consoles in mid-Nov. or did pre-sale auctions on eBay made a nice sum of money. Here in Boston, we had lines of 300 or more people stretching around and through the Prudential center, Fenway, the Cambridgeside Galleria, etc. just to get one unit out of something like 40-60 per store. Down the way in Philly people were getting shot and trampled for them.
Once the hype died down and it became clear that Sony wasn't really having "shipping delays" (aka pumping and dumping) so that there was plenty of product, and once people tried the Wii... then the PS3 tanked. But those first few weeks were unbelievable in terms of shopper hysteria.
Like i said before, I *did* wait for both the Wii and the PS3 but not for resaIe, and I have to say as an aside, that the difference in crowds was also unbelievable. The Wii folk were a great bunch of people, some dressed as Mario and Link and all very friendly. My kids and I went very early on launch day to wait in line (about 3 AM for myself and 6 AM for the kiddies), and I had the pleasure of treating my 'line mates' to a box-o-joe from Dunkin donuts, laughing with fellow gamers about geeky stuff, and playing DS Mario Kart tourneys.
The PS3 crowd was a mix of nice people and very twitchy, very quirky people. No one was shooting up the joint :) but definitely a different vibe, and less buy-the-world-a-coke attitude.
"I laugh at the fools who camped out to buy the iPhone and the idiots who spent hundreds of dollars to be first in line to discover they can only buy ONE phone at a time."
For your viewing pleasure:
http://www.myfoxdfw.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=3641729&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1
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