A recent report stated that within hours of going on sale, Apple's
iPhone 5 was smuggled into China across the Hong Kong border. The units were scarce in supply and were being sold at higher prices.
Now the Cupertino-based company has resorted to a lottery system for iPhone 5 sales in Hong Kong, in an attempt to curb scalpers from earning profits by reselling the units to China, reports
ZDNet.
Consumers are required to apply for the purchase of an iPhone 5 unit(s) online and send their application one day prior to the purchase date. The online
Apple Hong Kong retail store guides users with the application process, which mentions that a confirmation e-mail will be sent out to customers, post which they can purchase their iPhone 5. It also mentions that customers need to provide identification details at the time of purchase and that those users who do not receive the mail are requested to try again.
Apple's latest products are generally rolled out later in mainland China than in Hong Kong, allowing the underground "grey market" to flourish for enterprising traders.
ZDNet explains that the scalpers purchased the 16GB iPhone 5 for HK$8,000 (US$1,032) from those who got their hand on one through the lottery system. They will then resell the device anywhere between HK$8,500 (US$1,096) and HK$12,000 (US$1,548). The iPhone 5 officially costs HK$5,588 (US$721) in the Apple retail store.
The site also mentions that the Chinese smugglers plan to make the iPhone 5 available in Beijing come this Friday, but at an even higher cost. Officially, China is not a part of the
second list of countries to receive the iPhone 5 on September 28.
Sales figures of the iPhone 5 are no secret. The device got over
2 million pre-orders in a span of just 24 hours. Overwhelmed by such high demand, the company has pushed back its
pre-order delivery estimates by 3-4 weeks.
When Apple opened its doors on September 21 across various countries, the iPhone 5 was
sold out across most stores in the US. The shares of the company touched an all time high of
$700, nearly a 22 percent gain in the past 3-1/2 months in the build-up to the launch of the iPhone 5.
iPhone 5 unboxing