iPhone 4 Sells Out in Apple's Chinese Online Store in Only 10 Hours, Scalpers Blamed

141044 iphone 4 china sold out
iPhone 4 in Apple's Chinese online store: "No Supply"

Earlier this week, Apple debuted its Chinese online store, offering consumers in that country the ability to order the full range of Apple products directly from the company. M.I.C gadget reports, however, that the store's supplies of the iPhone 4 completely sold out within 10 hours of the store going live, with Apple refusing to even offer shipping estimates or permitting customers to place future orders.

As with recent incidents in Apple's retail stores in China, scalpers are being blamed for rapid depletion of Apple's online store stocks. With Apple employing more stringent standards for in-store iPhone 4 sales, including reservations, purchase limits and ID requirements, the new online store appears to be scalpers' latest target.

Here's what a scalper tells us,

"You will not have a chance to buy one. We have an auto-refresh system to place order, and we are watching it for 24 hours, can you do this?"

Demand from legitimate customers appears to remain very high, but they continue to struggle to compete against scalpers working to soak up the entire country's supply as quickly as it can be released.

As far as we know, there's a high demand for iPhone 4 in China, especially Beijing and Shanghai. The people here do not mind about the price, they just wish to buy one and tell their friends that they have got an iPhone 4. So, consumers no longer need to buy an iPhone 4 through China Unicom, the only telecom operator offering Apple's iPhone in China, they just need to learn how to act faster than those irritating scalpers and place an order on China online Apple Store before a scalper does.

The iPhone 4's quick disappearance from the Chinese online store comes after all iPhone models became unavailable in Apple's Hong Kong online store. Hong Kong was a popular source for grey market iPhones before the iPhone launched in China and has continued to remain a profitable option for smugglers due to lower taxation and thus lower prices in Hong Kong coupled with continued tight supplies in China.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Expected Later This Year With These New Features

Saturday July 12, 2025 3:09 pm PDT by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Rumors Faster Wi-Fi Support The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports ...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

Apple Watch Ultra 3: What to Expect

Sunday July 13, 2025 10:30 am PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 is nearly over, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the Apple Watch Ultra 3:Satellite connectivity for sending and receiving text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable 5G support, up from LTE on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Likely a wide-angle OLED display that ...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 16 New Features

Friday July 11, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are only two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:A redesigned Dynamic Island: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might ...
iphone 16 pro ghost hand

5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro

Thursday July 10, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series in two months, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming...
top stories 2025 07 12

Top Stories: iPhone 17 Pro Rumors, iOS 26 Beta 3, and More

Saturday July 12, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
The iOS 26 public beta release is quickly approaching, while developers have recently gotten their hands on a third round of betas that has seen Apple continue to tweak features, design, and functionality. We're also continuing to hear rumors about the iPhone 17 lineup that is now just about right around the corner, while Apple's latest big-budget film appears to be taking off, so read on...
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 17 May See 'Significant' Dynamic Island Changes

Monday July 14, 2025 12:11 am PDT by
The iPhone's Dynamic Island experience is set to undergo "significant evolution" over the next few years, according to a new rumor. Earlier this month, a report suggested that the iPhone 17 lineup will feature a redesigned Dynamic Island user interface, but little else was explained about the software changes. Now, the leaker known as "Majin Bu" appears to have corroborated this, commenting ...