AppleInsider Staff
An illicit shipment of electronics — Â including hundreds of iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks — Â worth nearly $800,000 has reportedly been confiscated by Argentinian tax authorities as smugglers continue to take advantage of arbitrage opportunities for Apple's high-priced devices.
Approximately 260 iPhones, 10 iPads, and 60 MacBooks were among the more than 500 Apple products seized by officers from Argentina's Federal Administration of Public Revenue, according to AFP. It's unclear which products constituted the remainder.
The relatively high cost of Apple's devices combined with the company's limited worldwide distribution network — Â Apple retail stores operate in just 16 countries — provides lucrative arbitrage opportunities for smugglers. Devices purchased legally in a more affordable jurisdiction can be resold, often for a huge profit, in places with higher import duties or limited points of purchase.
Hong Kong is the canonical example of such activity, given its low-tax regime and proximity to the booming mainland China market. Smugglers line up to purchase new Apple products in Hong Kong and sneak them over the border to avoid China's hefty import and luxury taxes.
Earlier this year, a man was arrested at the Hong Kong border while attempting to smuggle 94 iPhones into mainland China by taping them to his body. Border guards were alerted after the man exhibited a "weird walking posture" while approaching the checkpoint.
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20 Comments
Brings a whole new meaning to wearables!
The headline should read "Hundreds of Argentinian officers get new iPhones". I'll bet many of those officers decided to keep some of that stash to themselves. As long as countries and their lopsided protectionism tax laws stay in place, there will always be enterprising smugglers doing whatever it takes to get products into the hands of enthusiastic buyers. The demand is there Argentina. Maybe this is the canary in the tunnel?
I think AI is lending an air of legitimacy to this by calling it an "arbitrage opportunity". Arbitrage is legal. Tax evasion is illegal. The ease of the opportunity does not convert illegal into legal. Reaching through an open window to steal an iPhone from someone's home is illegal, regardless of the lack of security and the ease of the acquisition. That does not change the "stolen" phone into a "found" phone. Nor does successful smuggling convert tax evasion into arbitrage.
The photograph in this story is certainly compelling. But the legend to the photo says it's a "separate case", which is an enormous understatement. The photo illustrates not just a separate case, but an unrelated incident, involving different countries, on the other side of the Earth.
The relatively high cost of Apple's devices combined with the company's limited worldwide distribution network --?Apple retail stores operate in just 16 countries -- provides lucrative arbitrage opportunities for smugglers.
“Limited worldwide distribution network?” What a crock of bull dung. Does Samsung have stores over there? Does HTC? Does Google? NO. They sell world wide through online stores and so does Apple. Smugglers want Apple products because they are popular and they can make good money on them. They don’t smuggle Galaxy S6s because nobody wants them and if they do they can get them for next to nothing.