[Thinkers]

Where is the Best way to Buy large amounts of 3G iphones?
I want to buy around 5-10 iphones with no contract so I can unlock them. I went to the apple store however the apple employee said he could only sell me one phone per plan and that I couldn't leave the store without an activated phone.

There must be some way around this.
Should I become an apple authorized dealer?
Or should I buy one iphone, then go back the next day and say I lost the iphone and go to apple store and buy a new phone? (I would have to pretend I lost my phone about 5 times!) Any other ideas are helpful! Looking for US places only.

[analogika]

Originally Posted by Thinkers 

Looking for US places only.

No chance. Unless you buy imports from Europe, or wish to buy stolen goods.

End of story.

[Maflynn]

Originally Posted by Thinkers 

I want to buy around 5-10 iphones with no contract so I can unlock them.

This is why apple and AT&T is limiting the sales of the iPhone to prevent this very act.

[richwig83]

You have to activate them at the point of sale!!

[BRussell]

ebay.

[zombie punk]

This is rally lame. Why don't people in the US do something about how screwed this is?

[analogika]

Originally Posted by zombie punk 

This is rally lame. Why don't people in the US do something about how screwed this is?

Huh?

Welcome to 2007, when the fact that the iPhone has exclusive carrier contracts in most places it's sold (except in countries where prohibited by law - Italy, Belgium, France, among them) was discussed to death.

[imitchellg5]

Originally Posted by zombie punk 

This is rally lame. Why don't people in the US do something about how screwed this is?

I am not sure what rally lame means (rallies are most definitely not lame), but this is 2008. It isn't really that screwed, you can still get around it by getting an old iPhone or paying for one without contract. Anyway, it's a small price to pay for living in the greatest country on the planet.

[analogika]

Originally Posted by imitchellg5 

Anyway, it's a small price to pay for living in the greatest country on the planet.

Agreed. It's not much more than an hour's drive from *anywhere* in the Netherlands to a country where the iPhone can be bought without a contract.

Very small price, indeed.

[imitchellg5]

Congratulations.

[zombie punk]

Originally Posted by imitchellg5 

I am not sure what rally lame means (rallies are most definitely not lame), but this is 2008. It isn't really that screwed, you can still get around it by getting an old iPhone or paying for one without contract. Anyway, it's a small price to pay for living in the greatest country on the planet.

It was not a comment about geopolitics, so I don't know what the defensiveness is about - it seems pretty clear to me that this is a very lame way to run cellphone systems. I don't know why you put up with it. Enough with the whole 'love it or leave it' bullshit.

[Rumor]

You can buy iPhones from an AT&T store without having to activate them. However, the price you will end up paying per phone will not really allow you to make a profit.

[imitchellg5]

Well, what are we going to do about it? Have anti-AT&T demonstrations? There are more important issues that need to be solved.

[Randman]

People are upset because Apple and AT&T have made steps so people don't sell jailbroken iPhones on Craigslist for ungodly sums. Oh, the inhumanity.

[BRussell]

Originally Posted by zombie punk 

It was not a comment about geopolitics, so I don't know what the defensiveness is about - it seems pretty clear to me that this is a very lame way to run cellphone systems. I don't know why you put up with it. Enough with the whole 'love it or leave it' bullshit.

Well I don't see why you singled out the US. Yes, American (ha) carriers suck mightily. And from what I've read, Canadian carriers suck at least as mightily.

[zombie punk]

Maybe - I don't know. If so then my comments apply equally - I don't see that that changes the amount the US carriers suck though.

[mduell]

Activate, cancel in a month... ~$400 contract-free iPhone.

[BoingoBongo]

Why do you need large quantities of iPhones?

(just curious)

[Mastrap]

He tells you in his first post.

[Ted L. Nancy]

Originally Posted by Thinkers 

the apple employee said he could only sell me one phone per plan and that I couldn't leave the store without an activated phone.

Wait. Wait wait. So I want two iPhones. One for me and one for my wife. I need to sign up for two separate plans in order to do this????!!!!!!!

Is it so unreasonable that I want ONE plan for my household and TWO iPhones on that single plan, both sold to me at the discounted price for signing a 2-year contract, or am I misinformed?

Can someone please verify or clarify?

[Randman]

Originally Posted by Ted L. Nancy 

Wait. Wait wait. So I want two iPhones. One for me and one for my wife. I need to sign up for two separate plans in order to do this????!!!!!!!

Is it so unreasonable that I want ONE plan for my household and TWO iPhones on that single plan, both sold to me at the discounted price for signing a 2-year contract, or am I misinformed?

Can someone please verify or clarify?

You can sign up for a family plan but that's not what the OP wanted. He wanted to ebay/craigslist jailbroken phones.

[Ted L. Nancy]

Originally Posted by Randman 

You can sign up for a family plan but that's not what the OP wanted. He wanted to ebay/craigslist jailbroken phones.

Phew. That's what I figured. Thanks for clarifying.

[Simon]

So I've come a cross a guy in Europe (but not in France, Belgium or Italy) who's supposedly offering totally unlocked iPhone 3Gs. His claims are
- he gets the devices from Apple before they apply country-specific SIM locks
- therefore they are not unlocked, but instead have never been SIM locked in the first place
- hence they are not jailbroken, the device will always remain unlocked, and you can install all updates w/o any issues
- his iPhones are covered by Apple's regular warranty worldwide

He's offering them at a really low price ($334 for the 8GB, $429 for the 16 GB). I'm pretty sure this is a scam. But he is advertising this more or less openly, gives a correct and existing address, etc. So how is he doing it? What is he delivering? And why hasn't Apple legal shut him down yet?

[urbanskater]

Originally Posted by Simon 

So I've come a cross a guy in Europe (but not in France, Belgium or Italy) who's supposedly offering totally unlocked iPhone 3Gs. His claims are
- he gets the devices from Apple before they apply country-specific SIM locks
- therefore they are not unlocked, but instead have never been SIM locked in the first place
- hence they are not jailbroken, the device will always remain unlocked, and you can install all updates w/o any issues
- his iPhones are covered by Apple's regular warranty worldwide

He's offering them at a really low price ($334 for the 8GB, $429 for the 16 GB). I'm pretty sure this is a scam. But he is advertising this more or less openly, gives a correct and existing address, etc. So how is he doing it? What is he delivering? And why hasn't Apple legal shut him down yet?

OK, is this what that guy tells you, or have you verified these claims somehow? Because anyone can tell you their product warranty is covered by [insert high-profile tech company of choice], but the real test comes when you call the warranty hotline of said high-profile tech company and ask for a repair/replacement. I would bet real money on that in such a case the call center agent will tell you your phone has never been registered or was stolen and is therefore uneligible for warranty.

As for how he gets those Phones, I'd speculate either via very dark back channels, possibly with bribes involved, or they are simply stolen somewhere in the supply chain.

But without any more info on this guy and on where he's based it's very hard to say. Can you give us a link to his site or one of his ads?

[Simon]

Originally Posted by urbanskater 

OK, is this what that guy tells you, or have you verified these claims somehow? Because anyone can tell you their product warranty is covered by [insert high-profile tech company of choice], but the real test comes when you call the warranty hotline of said high-profile tech company and ask for a repair/replacement. I would bet real money on that in such a case the call center agent will tell you your phone has never been registered or was stolen and is therefore uneligible for warranty.

As I already wrote I'm pretty sure it's a scam. So I wouldn't be surprised to find out his warranty claims are false. I'm just curious to find out if anybody has any clues as to how much of his story could be true.

As for how he gets those Phones, I'd speculate either via very dark back channels, possibly with bribes involved, or they are simply stolen somewhere in the supply chain.

In other words the moment he sells the first phone and somebody takes it in to Apple they will notice it's a stolen device. That would pretty much put this guy out of business, right? I'm wondering if there are actually any such unlocked phones. Also, why would Apple sell them to anybody but the carriers? It was my understanding that not even regular Apple dealerships got any iPhones.

My initial guess was that if he's selling anything at all it's stolen devices. But then I found he gave an actual address. I checked it out and indeed it's an actually registered company at a real address. The company has existed for a while and they have paid their taxes. So at least that part sounds legit. But to me it sounds like a really stupid idea to sell stolen goods as a company. That's why I'm curious about how much of his "offer" could actually be true. Are their iPhones that have never been locked? Does Apple release such devices into sales channels? Could a dealer legally acquire such iPhones?

I'm just curious. I already bought a 'regular' iPhone. But I must admit I'm curious about this offer.

[urbanskater]

Originally Posted by Simon 

As I already wrote I'm pretty sure it's a scam. So I wouldn't be surprised to find out his warranty claims are false. I'm just curious to find out if anybody has any clues as to how much of his story could be true.

Dunno, hard to say without the actual ad. Could you give us a link?

Originally Posted by Simon 

In other words the moment he sells the first phone and somebody takes it in to Apple they will notice it's a stolen device. That would pretty much put this guy out of business, right?

I suppose so. Maybe he's speculating that before any of his iPhones are taken to Apple for a repair, he has already sold his stock, or at least a substantial portion, and has made a small fortune in the process. The remaining iPhones may still go on the black market.

Originally Posted by Simon 

I'm wondering if there are actually any such unlocked phones. Also, why would Apple sell them to anybody but the carriers? It was my understanding that not even regular Apple dealerships got any iPhones.

We've got a few Apple dealerships and some large TV/Computer/Tech dealers here in Germany that have struck a deal with T-Mobile and carry it. Once Apple coughs up enough units to satisfy demand, that is...

Originally Posted by Simon 

My initial guess was that if he's selling anything at all it's stolen devices. But then I found he gave an actual address. I checked it out and indeed it's an actually registered company at a real address. The company has existed for a while and they have paid their taxes. So at least that part sounds legit. But to me it sounds like a really stupid idea to sell stolen goods as a company. That's why I'm curious about how much of his "offer" could actually be true. Are their iPhones that have never been locked? Does Apple release such devices into sales channels? Could a dealer legally acquire such iPhones?

I'm curious too. Makes no sense to me, really.

Where is this company registered? In the US or somewhere in Europe? Can you give us a link to that guy's site? A google search for "iPhone 334$ 429$" didn't turn up anything, and that's all the info you gave us.

[64stang06]

Originally Posted by Thinkers 

Where is the Best way to Buy large amounts of 3G iphones?
I want to buy around 5-10 iphones with no contract so I can unlock them. I went to the apple store however the apple employee said he could only sell me one phone per plan and that I couldn't leave the store without an activated phone.

There must be some way around this.
Should I become an apple authorized dealer?
Or should I buy one iphone, then go back the next day and say I lost the iphone and go to apple store and buy a new phone? (I would have to pretend I lost my phone about 5 times!) Any other ideas are helpful! Looking for US places only.

You would be taken to court in less time than it takes to fart if that were to happen. But hey, let us know how prison is if you decide to do that!

[Simon]

Originally Posted by urbanskater 

Where is this company registered? In the US or somewhere in Europe?

In Europe. But not in one of the countries where you can legally buy unlocked iPhones (Belgium, France, Italy).

Can you give us a link to that guy's site?

I would prefer not to. I received this as a tip from a good source of mine. Exposing this guy will likely expose my source. Unless I'm certain it's a fraud, I would rather not take that risk.

[Maflynn]

Originally Posted by zombie punk 

This is rally lame. Why don't people in the US do something about how screwed this is?

You mean not being able to buy tons of iPhones and sell them on ebay - yeah I guess its screwed up.

[Randman]

The OP posted once in this thread and no others. I doubt he'll be back.