Last updated April 12, 2019
I guess some Chinese citizens just cannot wait. The iPad 2, which has just been launched here in the USA, is already being sold on the Hong Kong grey market at double the price.
According to an article on TNW – Asia, the ‘master’ of Hong Kong’s infamous gray market, Kurt Lo, received around 200 orders for the iPad 2 from Chinese customers. Arranging couriers from some of our major cities, like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and New York, he purchased the gadgets and had them shipped by Sunday 13th March.
The catch of course, is that the price is nearly double that which it cost in the USA. For instance, the low-end iPad 2, which has 16 GB and Wi-Fi (no 3G), costs $499 here. To buy it on the HK gray market, it is more like $1,025. To get the 64 GB iPad 2 with Wi-Fi and 3G costs about $11,800.
Of course, the people buying off the Hong Kong gray market are those who value time over money. They cannot (or will not) wait for the official release date in Hong Kong, which tends to be around nine months after the US release. For those who value money over time, the wait will be worth it; Apple gadgets, like the iPhone 4, have historically sold for less in Hong Kong than in any other country. Therefore, there is no reason to think that, once it gets there officially, the iPad 2 will not do the same.