We get it. The iPad is the latest and greatest from Apple, and for the time being, it’s only available in the US. But come on, folks, the international iPad rollout is just a few weeks away. So why in the world are some people paying as much as $5,000 to have an iPad shipped to their corner of the world? One customer from the U.K reportedly spent $5,500 for a spankin’ new iPad.
I suppose you can divide up early adopters into two distinct categories. Apple fans who make sure to pre-order a new Apple product or make sure to get in line early on launch day. And Apple fans living abroad who will go to any length, and will pay any dollar amount, to get a new Apple product before it even goes on sale in their own country.
Ebay has said that in the days leading up to launch day, the average selling price for an iPad on the popular auction site was $777 – a reasonable markup for interested international consumers. But 5 large?! Now that’s utterly absurd.
Interestingly, Ebay has some rules in place to limit an iPad free-for-all. Top-rated sellers who typically sell a lot of computer equipment are only allowed to list 8 iPads a week while everyone else can only list 4 iPads a week.
Tue, Apr 6, 2010
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