At launch, the iPad will only be available in the US before expanding in late April to the UK and 7 other countries. That leaves out the rest of the world—a large untapped market where those who need the latest gadget now need to find a way to get it now. Enter the gray market, a method of buying expensive gadgets and shipping them, for a profit, around the world where they’re not available locally.

And perhaps in no place is the destination of a gray market product more ironic than to China, where the products are built, then shipped across the ocean to the US, then shipped back again. Welcome to the modern state of global economics.

It appears the process will be no different for the iPad, as according to the Chinese website People’s Daily Online, gray market entrepreneurs are already taking orders:

Jack Lee (not his real name) is a gray-market iPad seller in China – or at least he hopes to be.

For now, until Apple kicks off US sales of the much-hyped tablet PC in early April, all he has to sell is the future, promising delivery of the device by taking orders in advance.

The New York-based postgraduate student’s business model is simple: buy a 16G WIFI iPad in the US for $499 (3,407 yuan) and informally ship it directly to his online customers back in China, charging them 5,500 yuan for the privilege of having a gray-market one early. Subtract around $30 for shipping and another $45 to cover NY-sales tax, leaving Lee with a cool 1,890 yuan in his pocket.

To date, Apple hasn’t said when or even if it plans to release the iPad in China. Apple China spokesperson Tiffany Yang refused to comment on this story.


Business for the iPad hasn’t quite been equal to what it was for new models of the iPhone. But that’s not surprising considering only a few people have touched one.

So far, Lee’s business is not exactly booming.

To date he has had 10 inquiries from people asking for details on ordering an iPad but only one person has put down a deposit for the device.

“Faithful Apple fans in China want to take a bite out of the ‘new apple’ as early as possible, and the market is coming,” he said.

From the iPod, to the iPhone, to the iPad, Apple has a tradition of delaying the launch of its latest product in China compared with other countries, spurring complaints from potential domestic customers.

But that policy also benefited another group of consumers – overseas Chinese students, who make extra cash by purchasing products and selling them back to their counterparts at home.

“It’s still early, but the business should be profitable,” he said.