Apple halts iPhone 4S release in China stores after near-riot

[Kablooie]

A mob pelted a Beijing Apple store with eggs as the company said its five authorized outlets in China had sold out of the iPhone 4S and it was suspending sales for safety reasons. Many, including migrant workers hired by scalpers, had waited overnight for the popular device.
...
People started converging Thursday outside the Apple store in one of Beijing's most popular high-end malls. Some brought sleeping bags. Tension grew overnight and through the early morning as prospective buyers sought positions near the front door. Fights broke out between bands of migrant workers who had been hired by scalpers to purchase the phones for later sale on the gray market.
...
"Ninety percent of the people here are scalpers," said a man surnamed Jin, who said friends recruited him to stand in line.
...
One man wearing a puffy red jacket said he had organized 500 buyers to wait overnight for the release. That was more than a rival group, he said.

"They have a lot of people, but we have more," said the man, who also declined to give his name. "They will be overwhelmed."




http://www.latimes.com/news/la-fiw-apple-china-20120114,0,883925.story

[onehandle]

1. 90% of them were scalpers?

Jeez. It's usually the reverse here in the U.S. 10% are scalpers.

No wonder they slowed the release.

[AndyTiedye]

2. Funny That So Many People Brought Eggs With Them

Do people in China usually bring a couple of dozen eggs with them when they go to buy a new phone?

Methinks somebody (presumably on behalf of another phone maker) planned this to spoil the iPhone launch.