Nothing fancy here, just difference of prices/taxes in markets.
Same as any YouTube video showing "I flew to Korea and got iPhone 17 Pro Max for cheaper".
So there are individuals who do that and it makes sense (if you enjoy the flying / traveling) and it's not considered "time is money"
There are also common parallel importing in many countries who find a dealer at some country that has the same product in lower local currency, buy bulk and get some discount, then resell it in the country where the official distribution is expensive.
That's why it is possible to find no eSIM/NFC iPhones in some stores (imported from China) or eSIM only ones in regions where you'd expect them to have also physical sim tray.
lysace•47m ago
In the 80s it was a thing to fly from Europe to the US to buy PC hardware and software. The price differences paid for the (expensive) flight costs and then some.
NitpickLawyer•40m ago
~2012 was the same thing. The usd was very low compared to eur, but the apple store sold things in ~same value in eur + tax. So you could legit buy an airplane ticket (not even a low cost, regular line was ok), visit NY for a weekend and buy a macbook, come back, and end up paying the same amount.
nathancahill•41m ago
The secret ingredient is.. crime.
arccy•34m ago
not really, they paid import duty
direwolf20•26m ago
Flying to the USA is a bit risky right now. It would be better for someone already in the USA to mail them to you, right?
rock_artist•50m ago
So there are individuals who do that and it makes sense (if you enjoy the flying / traveling) and it's not considered "time is money"
There are also common parallel importing in many countries who find a dealer at some country that has the same product in lower local currency, buy bulk and get some discount, then resell it in the country where the official distribution is expensive.
That's why it is possible to find no eSIM/NFC iPhones in some stores (imported from China) or eSIM only ones in regions where you'd expect them to have also physical sim tray.