Blackmarket iPhones in China 黑市iPhones 在中国
The blackmarket for iPhone in China continues to thrive. Here are a few good articles on topic
China’s New “Love Craze” – Blackmarket in iPhones
~ Adventurina King
Excerpt: The iPhone is readily available in computer superstores in most large Chinese cities. In Beijing’s Zhong Guancun, a 15-story mall filled with technology vendors, almost all the stalls are stocked. Two weeks ago, the blogger of Too Many Resources for the iPhone asked several of these vendors whether they could sell him 100 iPhones. They all answered “No problem.”
China’s iPhone Fans Find a Way
by Bruce Einhorn and Chi-Chu Tschang
EXCERPT: Want to buy an iPhone in Beijing? Talk to Liu Yong. Apple’s (AAPL) wonder isn’t legally available in China, but Liu, who operates an electronics shop in the Zhongguancun neighborhood close to the capital’s premier universities, has plenty of inventory and is more than happy to sell you one for about $680.
~ David Feng
Excerpt: At the start, prices of the iPhone were no less than astronomical: CNY 12,000 (USD $1,625, GBP 794, EUR 1,106). The average Chinese in the city earns around CNY 5,000 on a good salary — that’s USD $677, GBP 331, EUR 461). Prices have since dropped down to as low as CNY 4,300 (USD $583, GBP 285, EUR 396); however, they’re back up to CNY 5,500 (USD $745, GBP 364, EUR 507). What’s even more amazing than the ever-changing price is the interest: no matter how expensive Apple’s phone may be, there will always be someone interested in the gadget.
Shades of Grey in China’s “black” hanset market
Excerpt: Accounting for the various shades of gray, BDA estimates the illegitimate-handset market in China at 20 million units, or roughly 15 percent of the handsets sold in the country in 2006. At iSuppli, the estimates are higher: Teng puts the 2007 gray market at 60 million units.
