Violence common in unregulated industry
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A gang of knife-wielding thugs rushed into the first floor of a Shanghai shopping center on Nanjing Lu and stabbed an alleged rival scalper to death on May 3.
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Scalpers wait for iPad 2 buyers outside the Apple store in Sanlitun, Beijing on Saturday. |
A fight broke out on Saturday between a foreign Apple employee and four presumed scalpers waiting in line for the debut of iPad 2 in Beijing.
Such violence is not uncommon. Despite its prevalence, the sizeable sums of money involved and the dangers, scalping remains more or less entirely unregulated and untouched on the Chinese mainland.
One Apple-connected man who requested anonymity said he had been offered a 200 yuan (US$31) cut for each iPhone he could obtain from the Apple flagship store through his connections.
"The scalpers said they need about 200 phones a day," he said.
"I did the math and I worked out if I cooperated with them, I would stand to earn 40,000 yuan a day: enough to afford an apartment in downtown Shanghai for two months."
Scalpers have a code. Most are relatives or villagers from the same hometown who work a fixed patch.
"This circle is quite small, we know each other well, and have our own professional ethics," said a 29-year-old Shanghai scalper who requested anonymity.
Most scalpers understand they are forbidden from interfering or stealing business from others, he said. He could make 100,000 yuan a year on concert tickets alone.
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