Fly to HK now... Tomorrow is the birth date for iPad 2 in this Oriental Pearl isle.
Its considered cheaper than i Pad 1 , 16GB model cost HK$3,888
Have a read on this article from micgadget.com (Made In China), it's a pre-launching (gray market-lah tu...) incredible market demand & fantastic price found over Hong Kong & the mainland China.
iPad 2 Selling At Crazy Prices in Hong Kong’s Gray Market (update: video!)
Steve Jobs did not announce an official release date for the iPad 2 in Hong Kong, but residents can buy them at retail – for a premium, just two days after the iPad 2 launches in the U.S. You will be shocked, a 16GB Wi-Fi model costs about $7,900 Hong Kong Dollars (around $1014) in the gray market, that’s about twice the U.S. price!!!
UPDATE: Video! And more information!
It is perfectly normal to see this in Hong Kong. Last year, the iPhone 4 and iPad were sold to local Apple fanboys at crazy prices in the gray market, since fanboys wanted to get the latest Apple gadget at the soonest. Just like always, vendors in the bustling gadget market in Hong Kong’s Sin Tat Plaza (先達廣場), known colloquially as the ‘Mobile Phone Mall’, are promising to bring the latest Apple product, iPad 2, to early adopters. Since the iPad 2 will be available for sale in the U.S first, the retailers will only have to import the iPads from America.
Amazingly, a retailer, Mr. Lo, who is the ‘master’ of the gray market in Hong Kong, who distributed hundreds to thousands of iPhone 4s and iPads to China’s gray market last year, has already received 200 orders before the launch, and he has prepared eight couriers in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles to hop on planes to Hong Kong after securing about 200 iPads and he will get the device to eager consumers by March 13, that’s today. And he did it.
Mr. Lo is preparing to distribute the iPad 2s to pre-ordered customers, early in the morning when luggages of iPad 2s arrived his store.
An employee opening up a luggage, which contains up to 40 boxes of iPad 2s.
What’s the selling price? Well, it’s insane. See below for the price tags.
iPad 2 with Wi-Fi (Black)
16GB: HKD$7,980 (about $1025)
32GB: HKD$8,980 (about $1153)
64GB: HKD$9,980 (about $1280)
iPad 2 with Wi-Fi + 3G (Black)
16GB: HKD$9,680 (about $1243)
32GB: HKD$10,680 (about $1371)
64GB: HKD$11,880 (about $1525)
If you want a white version, you need to add HKD$1500-2000 (about $192-256) for every models. We are more shocked when we see the prices for the smart cover and HDMI adapter. Prices below.
iPad Smart Cover – Polyurethane – Any colors: HKD$780 (about $100)
iPad Smart Cover – Leather – Any colors: HKD$1,280 (about $164)
HDMI Adapter: HKD$580 (about $74)
It is really difficult to understand why the Hong Kongers want to secure an early iPad 2 for hefty premiums. Mr. Lo, the famous guy who first sold hundreds of iPhone 4 and iPad in the gray market, said customers have put down HKD$1,000 (about $128) deposit for each iPad 2 before the launch, and if there are some customers who could not accept the price they are offering now, the deposit will be refunded and the device will be reserved for late-comers. He has three special customers, one paid HKD$130,000 (about $16,684) for 10 iPads, other two are from the mainland China, one purchased 20 iPads and another ordered 50 iPads. When he was asked why customers are willing to spend so much money for an iPad 2, he said:
“Apple fanboys are willing to pay our prices to have the iPad 2 earlier. That’s how we earn money.”
However, Mr. Lo has only managed to prepare 60 units of iPad 2 today, and most of them are Wi-Fi + 3G 64GB models, while there are only two ten white iPads. Since there is over a hundred orders to handle, Mr Lo is calling his couriers to try their best to get more stocks from U.S. This may be difficult since Apple’s online store is showing delays of up two to three weeks for the slate and everywhere is sold out.
Mr. Lo has prepared lots of 64GB models! Why? Local Apple fanboys do not care about the prices or the storage capacity, they just want to get whatever the retailer has in stock, and since selling the Wi-Fi + 3G 64GB models will let the retailers to earn more profits, so that’s why Mr. Lo chose to import the high-end models.
Customers are informed to pick up their iPad 2s early in the morning, around 7-8am. Mr. Lo is the only retailer distributing iPad 2 at that time, all other vendors were not yet awake.
The guy above, Chen, is an App Developer. Here’s what he said, “Since iPad 2 features HDMI output, we can project its image to an external display for demo purpose, and at the same time, I can enjoy using an iPad 2 sooner than anyone else.“
Mr. Lo and his employees were busy distributing the iPad 2s and counting money…
Of course, the iPad 2 is not only selling at crazy price in Hong Kong, we took a look at Chinese online shopping site, Taobao, and the stores have set six price points, ranging from RMB¥5,200 to RMB¥8,200 (about $790 – $1246). That’s cheaper than Hong Kong’s gray market!
However, we are not sure if Taobao sellers are really selling a real iPad 2 to customers…. What’s more, we checked out Zhongguanchun, the most popular electronics shopping market in Beijing, and the vendors are ready to offer the iPad 2 on March 13, starting at RMB¥7,000 (about $1065) for the base model. Chinese consumers are required to put down RMB¥500 (about $76) deposit to make a reserve. Lots of Chinese Apple fanboys will get one, however, some may not. A female customer, Fang, said:
“It’s too expensive, I didn’t expect the vendors to offer this price, it’s over my budget! They are earning big profits from this!”
And a local Apple fanboy, Yang, said:
“I’m used to this. When Apple releases a new product, the vendors here will surely mark up the price. Since there is no date set for China release, we should patiently wait for Apple’s announcement and not visiting the gray market to get the ‘unlicensed’ product. The sales of the iPhone 4 in China is a good example!”
It is weird to see Apple not offering the iPad 2 to Hong Kong and China on March 25, while other 26 countries are getting it. We are guessing the problem is due to the gray market and scalpers in Hong Kong and China, since many people were reselling iPhone 4 for profits, especially in Hong Kong and Beijing.
Meanwhile, people who got an iPad 2 could sell the device to the gray market, starting from HKD$6,000 (about $770). Anyone doing this? If you are in Hong Kong, feel free to visit Mr. Lo’s store, G-World Mobile, located at:
F56, 1/F, Sin Tat Plaza, 83 Argyle Street, Mong Kok, Hong Kong
