Police were called into the Apple Shinsaibashi store due to a mini-riot

http://sankei.jp.msn.com/west/west_life/news/140919/wlf14091918490017-n1.htm

When Apple employees there announced that all 6 Pluses were sold out, some of the Chinese resellers caused a commotion (described as a mini riot) there.  It took police one hour to get the situation under control at the store.  In the mean time, police secured Midosuji Avenue (the main road that runs north-south through the Shinsaibashi area) to ensure the smooth flow of pedestrian and automobile traffic.

Further thoughts: Again, the entire issue this year was compounded by the fact that Apple cannot yet sale the device in mainland China until it gets all the government approvals.

The other issue is the depreciation of the Japanese yen.  That increases the entire arbitrage where someone in China, can purchase the iPhone a lot cheaper in Japan than purchasing it in China (and if smuggled back to China, avoid paying import tariffs which add to the costs).

Resellers straight up purchase the SIM free model since it does not require any form of activation (as is the case with the 2 year contract models where standard operating procedures require activation before it leaves the store).  Apple likely will need to toughen up the procedures for contract-free models in the future to discourage purchasing of devices in this manner where it can be quickly flipped in this manner.

The main issue is the mini-riot/commotions which becomes a safety issue for both customers and store employees.

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