NY Attorney General investigating claims of profiling in iPad sales

Chaps I'm read a number of these comments with interest. What is interesting is that a number of comments talk about foreigners and tourists. I'm writing this from the UK and know of a number of people, friends and work colleagues who have made a trip over to the US specifically to pick up new and not yet available in the UK pieces of kit. I have a friend who flys over every November for a pre Christmas shopping.

Taking that a step further I know people who have made that special trip to see films in the cinema that are yet to be released in the UK and I also know a chap who regularly flys over for see concerts because he doesn't want to wait until his favorite band eventually tours in Europe.

So whilst I can empathies with the issues and challenges around grey importing, I do get a little bit uncomfortable about comments about 'foreign people' and 'tourists' and the implication that they are a bad thing.

As one chap quite clearly states it is not just Asian people doing he bulk buying....

One a slide note it is nice to see that the new iphone will be a more global release which may prevent these kind of grey import tactics...

Good look tomorrow in the footie :-)

I'd have to give Apple a pat on the back for profiling, just in this one case, rather than punishing everybody for the actions of scores of tourists / foreign shoppers. You need smart policies to deal with smart cheaters. Forget about being politically correct and / or instituting (not so smart) blanket buying restrictions for everyone that walks in.

I live in Thailand, and I can vouch for the fact that the black market here is huge, and many, if not most, iPhones are brought in from the USA. Some have even admitted committing fraud concerning the contracts between the customers and the carrier. The iPhone is now in plentiful supply, so it's not a problem anymore, but obviously the iPad is now in the iPhone's old shoes.

Foreign buyers do pose a problem when the product is in such high demand, and such short supply, and I feel that US residents should have the first pick. Of course, ebay resellers are an annoyance, but they probably exist in far fewer numbers than the hoarding tourists.

When the iPad supply increases to abundant levels, then Apple should back off of the profiling.

So why exactly shouldn't people from outside the US be allowed to buy iPads? This seems to go against the spirit of free trade and be discrmination on the basis of nationality. How is this OK? It's a slippery slope with incidents like Abhu Grab and concentration camps at the end.

Yes I am Asian and I was denied.

My first iPad sighting in Japan was at a station where a man from China ( I introduced myself and we have become friends) was using one. He had bought it in China after it had been bought in the US and sent "home" for re-sale.

I agreed with Apple on the "no cash" policy. This deters terrorists or other illegal purchases. As far as Apple questioning someone when purchasing multiple units, what's wrong with that? They are just trying to make sure their product isn't going to a gray market! I'm so sick of people from other countries demanding (and getting) more rights than American Citizens!

I wouldn't sell them one either.

Apple has a duty, and a right to maintain the reputation of the company and its brands. Unauthorized reselling a companies products do impact the reputation of the brand and Apple is free to deiced how they would like to address the issue. If you want to sell Apple products become an Authorized reseller. If Apple says no you can't, oh well.

Here's an idea!!! It's a free market if you don't like the decisions Apple is making, don't buy there products.....

Geez people, it's just for a freaking iPad. Come on, bitching about discrimination just because you want a lot of iPads to sell them? Our forefathers are shaking their heads. Just go another day, ask friends to buy them, etc. There are plenty of very simple ways to go around this. There are more serious discrimination issue around, and considering this as "discrimination" only dilute the definition.

When I was at an Apple store (the only store in our state at the time that had iPads in stock) buying my iPad, there's a gal wanting to buy 2 iPads. Since there are already at least 3 people lining up in the store to buy iPads (including me), the Apple guy said no. Sounds fair to me.

This is silly. It is illegal for businesses to discriminate but really, how many businesses are morally good? I can give you a life example of a friend of mine going to a benz dealership to purchase an e-class, only to be refused service when they saw her come out of a really-beat-up 90s minivan. She makes over 150k, owns several homes, and is asian, but never cared too much for the superficial. Anyway, case in point is businesses are businesses. It's silly to think every business out there is completely angelic.