Apple launched its iPhone 15 series at the Wonderlust event on September 12, and the devices went on sale on September 22. However, even before Apple started shipping these devices, the iPhone 15 series sold out for weeks, leaving prospective customers empty-handed. While this shortage is not limited to any one variant, the iPhone 15 Pro Max, which is the top-of-the-line device, is seeing the most demand, with the device being sold out until November in some places. Although initial reports attributed this to Apple struggling to make components required for its top-end iPhone, a new report has surfaced that has shed light on another reason behind this shortfall – scalpers.
Scalpers targeting iPhone 15
For the unaware, scalping is a malpractice, and involves the buying of products in bulk that are currently in high demand, and then reselling them for a considerably higher price than its retail price. They are notorious for scalping new tech devices such as smartphones, and gaming consoles, which see a high demand at launch. According to a report by 9to5Mac, even Apple’s new iPhone 15 series hasn’t been able to protect itself from scalpers as they used bots to purchase iPhones worth millions of dollars from the Apple website as soon as the devices went on sale.
This was reported by cybersecurity company Kasada, which revealed that scalpers used an All-In-One bot, that was initially used to purchase high-demand sneakers, to place bulk orders for the iPhone 15 series, especially the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. These devices offer almost a $300 profit margin for each device sold, the report suggests.
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As per the report, one of the AIO bots used for scalping ordered almost 2500 iPhone 15 in a single day, which means a staggering $750,000 profit by reselling them at a higher price.
Previous shortages
Apple is not new to dealing with the device shortages. Last year, Apple faced a significant shortage of the iPhone 14 Pro models due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions at the Foxconn facility in Zhengzhou, China. Apple then issued a statement saying, “COVID-19 restrictions have temporarily impacted the primary iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max assembly facility located in Zhengzhou, China. The facility is currently operating at a significantly reduced capacity. As we have done throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we are prioritizing the health and safety of the workers in our supply chain.”
During the holiday season, buyers were lining up to purchase Apple’s newest iPhones. However, they were left empty-handed as the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max were out of stock for weeks.
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