Between the Lines

Larry Dignan, Andrew Nusca and Rachel King

Apple turns away iPad buyer; points to No Cash policy [POLL]

By | May 18, 2010, 3:20am PDT

Summary: Your cash is no good inside an Apple store - if you’re planning to buy a new iPad or iPhone. The company’s policy requires a credit or debit card to purchase these items.

With the credits markets still rocky and the public still carrying a sour taste for big banks, you might think that cash would be king again. But there are some places where your hard cold cash is no good. For example, if you’re thinking about walking into an Apple store and dropping some Benjamins for a new iPad or iPhone, think again. For those two items, it’s credit or debit only.

Why?

Apple’s not saying - not in the company’s pricing policy and not to an “On Your Side” crew of a San Francisco news station that was asking on behalf of a local resident. KGO’s Michael Finney told viewers yesterday about a computer-less woman named Diane Campbell who decided that an iPad would meet her needs and spent months saving - $1 here, $5 there - until she had $600, enough to buy the $499 iPad.

But when she walked up to the counter at the Palo Alto retail store and pulled out a wad of bills to pay for her new iPad, she was turned away.

An employee reportedly told her that the reason Apple only takes plastic and puts a 2-per-customer on iPads limit was to “prevent con artists from buying lots of iPads selling them overseas” for an inflated price, according to the report. But Apple would not confirm that explanation, Finney reported. Instead, it simply pointed to its pricing policy.

Instead of me chiming in about this, I’d like to hear what you have to say about this no-cash policy for iPads. Cast your vote or sound off in the talkbacks - or both.

Poll

What do you think of Apple's No-Cash policy for iPad purchases?

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Sam has been a technology and business blogger for more than 18 years.

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Sam Diaz

Sam Diaz has nothing to disclose.

Biography

Sam Diaz

Sam has been a technology and business blogger, reporter and editor at ZDNet, the Washington Post, San Jose Mercury News and Fresno Bee for more than 18 years. He's a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and a graduate of California State University, Fresno.

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RE: Apple's turns away iPad buyer; points to No Cash policy [POLL]
jackson1984-24316069205748857739440257893812 11th Oct
I can't indicator up for kinds RSS feed. Make nflshop sure you assist?
0 Votes
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oh, oh
banned from zdnet 18th May 2010
so sam has become the new phony outrage master of all things apple here at zdnet. ever since jason has fallen in love with his ipad and ed came to his senses and sticks to his microsoft turf you are at it now. gets you more hits, doesn't it?

poor.
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Nope......
OhTheHumanity 18th May 2010
@banned from zdnet Just showing an obvious truth. Please tell us if he is lying, if you can't just keep the babble to yourself because you just look like your whining because someone went against your product of choice.
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Critics
becabill Updated - 18th May 2010
@banned from zdnet
Critics are more reliant on ratings than any other writer. Quit picking on every blogger you read.
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Cash
MoeFugger Updated - 18th May 2010
They have always been so picky about everything.
Controlling who can make aftermarket parts, who can write software and now how you can pay for it.
They stopped taking cash for IPhones back in 2007 I think.
They would not even accept their own gift cards for them.
Now the Ipad also.
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Cash Kills
tomogden Updated - 18th May 2010
I learned in my business that every time someone paid with cash, they were either crooked or abusive. If someone offers me cash, I turn them down flat.

Tradition and greed have to give way to the wisdom of experience. If Apple is reacting to their experience and trying to avoid issues, then I say let them.
@tomogden

Wow you are judgmental aren't you? My dad just paid cash for his new truck a couple years ago so would that make him crooked and abusive. I mean he is a retired police detective.
@tomogden
Really does it matter to the business what people do with their money and how they spend it. I personally never use cash, but know many that still do and I don't see them changing anytime soon. They avoid credit cards like the plague which is smart for them. Money is money and for a business to turn it down like that is just showing how much the control factor plays on Apple's business model.

Who cares if someone jailbreaks and iPhone, the majority will not be. I mean don't they send out updates to brick them, deal with it then and even then I still think its control freakiness at its best.
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No you didn't
rdupuy11 Updated - 18th May 2010
@tomogden

I don't have to take anything you said as true. I'm guessing you have no business.

A disabled lady in a wheelchair wants to pay cash for a computer, and you are going to have us believe, it's 'crooked' or 'abusive'.

Please.
@tomogden So, when I paid for my groceries today with cash I was crooked or abusive. Hmm... I thought I was just trying to be smart about managing my money.
@tomogden What ever happened to the fine print on American cash - you know - the part that reads "Legal tender for all debts, public and private."? do I need to bring a lawyer to your store just because I carry my spending $$ in greenbacks?
@tomogden What it says to me is that perhaps Apple can't trust their employees to handle cash - just maybe. But you'd rather imply that all people who use legal US tender to purchase product and/or service are crooked or abusive. Naw, I go back to my original thought - maybe Jobs is worried about his own employees being the crooks!
@tomogden
We all know the real reason that Apple is using this policy and it has nothing to do with security, crooks or abusive people. It has everything to do with control. They want to know who is buying their products and collect as much private information as they can!
Just one more reason that I will refuse to do business with them.
lrfocke
@tomogden
Please post the name of your business so normal people won't go and embarass themselves when trying to purchase something
@tomogden
Maybe so, but unless the cash is counterfeit what the buyer does with the iPad after they buy it is their business. Reselling it for a higher price is all-American, right up there with ticket scalping, selling high demand carsfor more than sticker price, selling "classic" items for more than they cost when new.

If the buyer is crooked, i.e. breaking some law, tell the law enforcement authorities and let them deal with it.
@tomogden Doesn't the bill say "for all debts public an private?
jhall
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All debts
becabill 18th May 2010
@tomogden
The U.S. Government (admittedly not the best guarantor)
marks its bills "This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private". I wonder if this policy would stand up in a court of law? Are we going to be *required* to feed yet another Wall Street Fat Cat each time we buy something?
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@tomogden ......I am a business owner. Are you implying that I am crooked and abusive because I object to paying the high rates charged by the credit card processing companies?...I suppose our ancestors were also crooked and abusive since they used cash or barter. What about the wisdom of experience for those who were traditionally greedy and went bankrupt because they over-extended their credit to live above their means and could not pay their credit card bills with the high interest rates? Dis their tradition and greed give way to the wisdom of experience? Hopefully it did and they are now using cash because they have learned that plastic is toxic to their well being.
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@tomogden

I guess it depends what business you are in. I deal with a lot of Alternative people and country (rural Western Australia). But even in this very specific business very very few want to use cash. In fact I only recall people I know personally wanting to use cash.
With small business you can assess this on a case by case basis - but this would be very difficult for a larger company and would put a lot of responsibility on the sales staff. Each business has to assess the risks, responsibility and cost and formulate policy to suit.

I understand Apples policy. They are a prime target for cash abuse - their costs and security issues may also rise with having lots of cash in each store. They may also have obligation to somehow track sales of the ipad / iphone to do their bit towards ensuring international law is not compromised and doing this for cash sales may be too hard / costly.


Sure it is easy to point the finger at the big bad apple but is it as un-American to do that as it is to refuse cash?

I don't think many business owners would blink at Apples decision - other than to think maybe there is a way for the tiny percentage of legitimate cash sales to be accepted. But as we don't know why the policy stands nor have any clue about the possible complexities of the issue it's simply a waste of time.
@tomogden So my stolen checks that someone used would be ok along with stolen credit cards?
@tomogden
I don't know what business your in tomogden but not all people using credit cards are not really so nice. Look at how many people steal credit cards, credit card numbers and other forms of ID so they have "act so nice" so they can perpetrate fraud to the business without the business knowing and getting suspicious.
Here are some links about credit card fraud and ID thief:
http://www.paymentsnews.com/2009/04/issuer-credit-card-losses---credit-loss-or-fraud-loss.html
http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/credit-card-industry-facts-personal-debt-statistics-1276.php#idtheft
http://www.consumerfraudreporting.org/internet_scam_statistics.htm
@tomogden It sounds like you've got your head screwed on backwards or have been listening to too many "financial experts". Customer walks in, pays cash, takes merchandise, walks out. End of transaction. What's wrong with that?
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I'm curious as to whether that policy would be enforced if you buy the iPad from BestBuy.
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Best Buy might have you arrested
ptcruisergt 18th May 2010
@Badgered, Best Buy had a customer arrested for trying to pay with legal tender (albeit, $2 bills).
@ptcruisergt
Why - $2 bills are still legal tender. I've got a collection of the pre-circ bills and have used $2 bils to buy things from Georgia to California and have never had an issue.

If your story is true, then the customer has a Federal case against BB as they must accept all forms of legal US tender if they accept cash.
@ptcruisergt $2 bills? or $3 bills? if it were the latter, I could totally understand it.

Now step over to the back of my truck where I've got a few items you might be interested in.
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You sure about that?
becabill 18th May 2010
@ptcruisergt
If they were $3 bills, I could see it, but...
@ptcruisergt Probably some dumb clerk who had never seen a 2 dollar bill. A product of our dumbing down.
@ptcruisergt At least he wasn't trying to pay with $3 bills bearing the image of Alfred E. Neuman!
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US$ no longer acceptable
guihombre 18th May 2010
I think its the iTune subscriptions they probably make you sign up when you buy the iPad to iTunes automatically.

Read the small print carefully on that EULA, ibut f I was you I would give this product a wide berth.
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It's all about the App Store
Timpraetor 18th May 2010
@guihombre
This is correct. If you don't use a credit card, how can you sign up to use the App Store? I asked the Scottsdale Apple Store manager and he said that this is exactly why they do this. However, if you want to pay for the iPad with cash and can show that you will use a CC/DC when signing up for the App Store, they will gladly accept cash for the purchase of the hardware.
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Nope
AttackComputerWhiz 18th May 2010
@Timpraetor

I signed up for the App store using my Paypal account. I was NOT about to allow Apple direct access to my credit card information!
I stood in line on the 30th at the Apple store in Reston VA with cash in my pocket because I didn't know what the daily limit was on my debit card. Aft finally getting inside, selecting my iPad and a bunch of accessories, i tried to pay with cash - about $1,100 worth in total - and the clerk told me the same thing - no cash and for the same reason. I was polite and asked to speak to the manager, did so, and they took my cash. Guess it's a per-occasion policy. Shrug.
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So they should. If they're tracking per-customer sales via credit card, why not come up with something else for those that pay in cash? Driver's license, virtual ID assigned by Apple, etc.
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Registration
becabill 18th May 2010
@spstanley
Doesn't Apple have you register their product like everyone else? An awful lot of my personal info goes out that way.
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What a crock of
soulquarian 18th May 2010
sh. If this recession has taught us anything, it's that cash is still indeed king. Jobs and company have always been very fickle people but, even for them, this is a bit off the radar.
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I don't get it
bobiroc 18th May 2010
Apple has so much money that they can turn away paying customers. IMO this just goes along with the smug egotistical attitude that Apple has along with many of it's employees and definitely Steve Jobs.

If they truly are trying to avoid people buying and selling them there better ways to do this. I mean who cares anyway. Can't they use the serial number for anything. Unless you jailbreak it you need to use iTunes and set up an apple account if you plan on getting any use out of the device right. So if it ends up being registered over seas and that is in violation of something then lock out the device right.
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What about that little bit...
wolf_z 18th May 2010
...about cash being legal tender for *all* debts, public and private?

Refusing to take cash for no explicable reason seems to be cruising for a rude impact with the FTC.

I could see if the policy was in place to keep the amount of cash on the premisis to a minimum for security reasons, but if that was the case Apple wouldn't be so silent about it.

Besides, being such an upscale product Apple stores are typically located in upscale locations, meaning few security problems.

Personally I think the policy makers have all been infected with Steve's God complex. But that's just me...
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It's not a debt.
Palmetto_CharlieSpencer 18th May 2010
There's no debt involved here. If they want to sell their product in exchange for postage stamps or Pokemon cards, that's their right.

Even banks won't accept coins in payment of debt unless they're wrapped.
@Palmetto

well technically if you want to purchase something it is a debt you owe and the company's refusal to sell you the product with a half-BS reason is just wrong.

But you are correct as it states here that no private business, person, or organization must accept cash

http://www.ustreas.gov/education/faq/currency/legal-tender.shtml

I still think that apple has poor reasoning on refusing cash on select products.
Some banks will not accept coins if tehy are wrapped.
@Palmetto - Of course it's a debt - the product becomes yours instead of theirs and you are now indebted to them, you pay for the product and the debt is cleared. Apple chooses not to accept currency which they have every right to do so. All it means to me is that as a Company, they stink.
@Palmetto My bank still does.
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I was wondering the same thing
ericesque 18th May 2010
@wolf_z As a kid I was told it's illegal to refuse cash as payment. I guess I've assumed that was true ever since.
then they're telling you "you're not good enough" to own an iPad.
If you really push the subject, I doubt it would hold up too well. Besides, who gives Apple the right what I do with it after I buy it, as long as it doesn't go against any US import/export laws.
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No, not equipped to buy apps.
Palmetto_CharlieSpencer 18th May 2010
I think guihombre came close. If you don't have a credit or debit card, you're not equipped to buy apps. Apps are where Apple's profit comes from on their mobile devices, not the sale of the hardware.
@John Zern That is a question I would also have. Weren't there some court cases a while back about what a person can do with opther products such as video tapes which established that once you bought it you could resell it? I suppose Apple would try to say that the software on the device was only licensed, but the courts have generally held under first-sale doctrine that an EULA cannot prohibit such a sale even if the EULA says "licensed". Several states have even passed laws specifically targeting software on this issue.
@Palmetto

Nope. Although their App Store is underway to becoming a billion dollar market, the major profits still comes from their hardware (iPhones, iPods, iPads).
@wolf_z
While I appreciate your position and wondered the same. Here is the US Treasury FAQ: on the subject:
http://www.ustreas.gov/education/faq/currency/legal-tender.shtml
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I guess thecash was not Apple approved
OS Reload 18th May 2010
You can only use Apple approved cash.
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RE: Apple's turns away iPad buyer; points to No Cash policy [POLL]
jackson1984-24316069205748857739440257893812 11th Oct
I can't indicator up for kinds RSS feed. Make nflshop sure you assist?

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