It turns out that Apple is taking it seriously when they say each customer can only buy two ALDITCS (A Leading Device In The Tablet Computing Space). When I had mine sent from the US, my friend who forwarded it bought one via me. And now I tried to do the same for a friend in Italy. I'd forgotten all about the embargo, and for a few days it seemed that Apple had also. But then suddenly today, Apple sent me an email which said that because of the two-per-customer limit, the order had been canceled.
It is really hard to get one in Europe, it could take months. Is there somebody in US who would buy one and ship it by UPS to my friend? I owe him money for some artwork, so I will pay for everything up front via Paypal.
(He's gonna try to go via AccessUSA, it may work, depending on how many restrictions Apple has up on this one (like does the credit card need to be US, etc).)
You can buy them from eBay.
ReplyDeleteAnd Craigslist.
ReplyDeleteI haven't looked myself, but my Italian friend says they are way overpriced on eBay.
ReplyDeleteCould be. I don't know about that.
ReplyDeleteAnd are the US iPads compatible with EU standards eg mains systems?
ReplyDeleteJust wondering, sorry I can´t be of more help....
Monsieur Beep, Yes they are compatible. You just need to change the plug adapter but it's a snap. Besides, I already have several US appliances in the house.
ReplyDeleteOn ebay, I have seen them go up to 650 and up to 1000 dollars plus shipping.
I just realized that one of my best friend is in LA right now and he's an Apple guy... so it's just a matter to get in touch with him. THanks for the help guys.
News item here (Canada) said recently sales of iPad in Canada are being deferred by a month because of demand in the USA. So - are the people in USA shipping to friends in Europe just aggravating supply because of an artificial demand in the USA?
ReplyDeleteIf I were Apple, I would ration supply to one per customer until the rush is over
Ganesha - thank you kindly for the info.
ReplyDelete(:-))
They say it's being delayed in Europe too.
ReplyDeleteAnd if friends ship to Europe, I'm sure they ship to Canada too.
Sounds like it's time for me to visit my nearby US Apple store, pick two up, and get them listed on eBay for the iPad-starved Canadians and Europeans to start bidding on!
ReplyDeleteI think you're not alone in thinking so. Which is just one more reason for a simultaneous WW release.
ReplyDeleteMashable reports: Norway Uses iPad to Run the Government During Icelandic Volcano.
ReplyDeleteWhere did the Norwegian prime minister get his?
it turns out my friend is working in LA now and he lives minutes from an Apple store. He has actually tried an ipad a few days ago, so they must be available in stores. People on Italian ebay are selling the right to preorder ... I have no idea how you can do that. If the iphone phenomenon is any indication, I think Italian customers won't have any in their hands before end of June or the like.
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ReplyDeleteHmm TTC [Girl], what an Anglo-centric view of the world. Why should the three initial countries be all English speaking countries? Maybe they could decide by market potential.
ReplyDeleteAs if it wasn't bad enough to feel like a second rate country (which we probably are, as we won't even be getting ibooks according to the rumors)
A (from Italy)
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ReplyDeleteTC, Please don't take it as a personal reprimand; I am an anglophile/americanophile myself. I'm just sick of being considered a second-class customer by Apple, Amazon, and pretty much everyone else (higher prices, late shipping, incomplete stores, incomplete shopping experience as some products are not available in my country, etc etc...) In many cases, it is not fault of Apple or Amazon, for example the Kindle was delayed because the company couldn't sign a deal with the publishers.
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ReplyDeleteTC, I guess they know their numbers. Even the current shortage of pads is, IMHO, a "shortage by design". They pretty much knew how many they would sell; and they kept the stores undersupplied on purpose.
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