America's No. 1 financial conglomerate

Chapter 290 Scalpers

Just how popular was the iPod? Ernst felt that if the Nobel Committee didn't award him the World Peace Prize, there must be some shady dealings behind it.

This palm-sized media player has brought about a miraculous drop in crime rates in Western countries that have historically suffered from poor public order.

The gang members who used to swagger around the streets are now all putting down the weapons they used to carry and instead voluntarily squatting at the entrances of iPod stores and shopping malls with baseball bats in hand, meticulously maintaining order on the scene, just like a group of professional security personnel.

At the entrance of Best Buy in Los Angeles, Tony and Victor stared at the surreal scene before them, rubbing their eyes hard, wondering if they had stayed up all night watching the game and confused themselves.

"I must be dreaming," Tony tugged at Victor's sleeve, his voice trembling. "Look at that tattoo on his arm, isn't that the Shadow Gang's symbol? They actually quit selling drugs and became security guards?"

Victor stared at the tattoos for a long time, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, his tone full of hesitation. "Are we seeing things? Maybe it's just a pattern that looks like a Shadow Gang tattoo."

"How could that be!" Tony immediately retorted, pointing to the scorpion tattoo on one of the burly men's necks. "Those three bars on the scorpion's tail are the mark of core members of the Shadow Gang. How could it be wrong?"

In the United States, powerful and established gangs have their own unique identifiers, mostly highly recognizable tattoos. A few gangs use bandanas or accessories of specific colors as symbols. The scorpion tattoo of the Shadow Gang is a danger signal that is almost universally known on the streets of Los Angeles.

But now these dangerous individuals are actually acting as order maintainers at the entrance of the shopping mall, a scene more bizarre than a science fiction movie.

"Forget it, forget it, don't think about it anymore." Victor tugged at Tony's arm and said in a low voice, "This has nothing to do with us. Let's go in, get the goods, and leave. Don't cause any unnecessary trouble here."

Upon hearing Victor's words, Tony couldn't help but smile, his eyes brimming with barely concealed excitement.

Although he missed out on the first shipment of iPods, he placed an order as soon as the pre-sale opened and was among the first lucky ones to receive one.

When he received the pickup notification from Best Buy, he was so excited that he didn't even eat. He immediately dragged his best friend Victor to the mall.

In a few days, he'll be going on vacation to New Orleans with his family. If he can bring his iPod and listen to music on the beach, he'll definitely be the coolest person there. Maybe he can even attract pretty girls to strike up a conversation and have a few romantic encounters!

Thinking about this, Tony felt his blood rushing through his veins, and he quickened his pace.

The two walked quickly into Best Buy, went straight to the front desk, gave their names and the phone numbers they had provided, and paid the remaining balance. The staff carefully took out a brand new iPod and handed it to Tony with both hands.

Looking at the white box with the silver logo, Tony thought it was the most beautiful thing in the world, even the latest computers on display in the mall paled in comparison.

Viktor, standing to the side, looked on with envy. He had also pre-ordered an iPod, but no one knew when he would receive it.

"Should we open it now and take a look?" Victor suggested. "If there are any quality issues, we can ask them to replace it on the spot, instead of having to go back home and make another trip if we find a problem there."

Upon hearing this, Tony nodded repeatedly, his head bobbing like a chicken pecking at rice. "Yes, yes, we must check it on the spot."

If it were any other electronic product, he might have thought of taking it home to study it slowly and then returning to exchange it if he found any problems. But the iPod is different. It is in short supply in the market. If he went home to disassemble it and found problems, he might not be able to exchange it by the time he rushed back to the store. He didn't want to wait another ten days or half a month.

"God help me, please don't let anything go wrong." Tony clasped his hands together, tightly holding the iPod box between them, closed his eyes, and prayed softly. His devout expression made it seem as if he were holding a priceless treasure, not a music player.

Just as he took a deep breath and was about to reach out and tear off the plastic film on the outside of the box, his vision suddenly went dark, and a strong smell of tobacco hit him.

He looked up abruptly and saw a burly man nearly two meters tall standing in front of him. His muscular body bulged out of his black T-shirt, and his arms and neck were covered with dense tattoos.

He recognized that face at the entrance; it belonged to the Shadow Gang.

"Is this yours?" The burly man stared at the iPod box in Tony's hand, his eyes gleaming, but his tone remained relatively calm.

Tony instinctively put the hand holding the box behind his back, his voice trembling slightly, but he still tried to remain calm as he asked, "What—what are you going to do?"

His heart pounded with anxiety, fearing that the other party was there to steal his things, after all, the Shadow Gang's reputation in Los Angeles was not to be trifled with.

"Don't misunderstand." The burly man waved his hand, trying to force what he thought was a warm smile, but the scar on his face that stretched from the corner of his eye to the corner of his mouth, along with the scorpion tattoo on his cheek, made him look ferocious no matter how you looked at it.

"I just wanted to ask if you'd be willing to sell this iPod you have? I'd like to buy it."

Despite being terrified, Tony shook his head without hesitation. "I won't sell it. I want to use it myself."

This is a treasure he has been longing for for so long, how can he sell it so easily?

Undeterred, the burly man continued, "I'll offer a thousand dollars, how about it?"

"A thousand dollars?" Tony and Victor's eyes widened simultaneously. They looked at each other and saw surprise in each other's eyes.

They had no idea that the other party would quote such a high price.

From the very first day of the iPod's release, its price on the black market skyrocketed. Although media reports claimed that the black market price of an iPod had exceeded one thousand dollars, in reality, many shops on the street were only offering six to seven hundred dollars for it.

On their way to the mall today, they saw many signs advertising high prices for iPods, with the highest price being only $650, which is almost twice the official price of an iPod.

But this burly man in front of me actually asked for a thousand dollars, which is almost three times the official price.

Tony could resist the temptation of a price difference of twice as much because of his love for the iPod, but a price difference of three times as much made him start to have doubts.

If he doesn't sell it, he can take his iPod on vacation and become the center of attention.

But if he sold it, the thousand dollars would be enough for him to treat the female classmates to several meals at upscale restaurants in the new semester, and he might even be able to get rid of his single status and find a girlfriend.

Moreover, he saw in the news yesterday that iTech CEO Tim Cook had publicly stated that they were urgently expanding production lines to strive for a stable supply of iPods after the Christmas and New Year holidays, so it wouldn't be too late to buy one then.

Seeing the hopeful look in the burly man's eyes, Tony swallowed hard and cautiously tentatively said, "One thousand one hundred dollars. If you agree, we can make the deal right now."

Unexpectedly, the burly man nodded in agreement without even thinking, saying, "No problem."

After saying that, he immediately pulled out a stack of brand-new US dollars from his pocket, quickly counted out eleven bills and handed them over, his movements so fast it was as if he was afraid Tony would change his mind.

Tony took the money, feeling the texture of the banknotes on his fingertips. He counted it, confirmed it was $1,100, and then reluctantly handed the iPod box to the burly man.

The burly man took the box, turned around, and quickly left without saying a word.

Tony stared at the burly man's retreating figure, still somewhat dazed, when Victor patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile, "You really hit the jackpot! But tell me, is it even possible for him to make a profit by spending so much money on an iPod?"

Tony shook his head. In fact, he didn't know the answer either. What he didn't know was that for these gang members, this price was a sure-fire way to make money.

Just two days ago, a member of the Shadow Gang returned from a trip to the Middle East. At a gang gathering, he boasted, "The oil tycoons in the Middle East are really rich. iPods there are selling for over two thousand dollars, and they're still in short supply. You can't buy one even if you have the money."

The speaker has no intention, the listener has the heart.

Upon hearing this, the gang members immediately had an idea.

You can get an iPod for $800 in the US, but you can sell it for $2,000 in the Middle East, more than doubling the profit margin.

In the past, they risked being investigated by the police to deal in laundry detergent, but they didn't earn much money all year round and always had to live in fear.

Now, as long as you bring the goods to the Middle East, you can make a huge profit by reselling them, and the key is that there is no risk.

Because of limited iPod inventory, and because AkiTech focused its main market on developed countries in Europe and America, there was a severe shortage of supply in the Middle East.

As more and more people began reselling iPods to the Middle East, something amazing happened.

The more goods are sold, the stronger the market demand becomes, and the higher the price is driven up.

For the wealthy in the Middle East, buying an iPod is no longer about listening to music, but about saving face.

It would be incredibly embarrassing if others had one and I didn't, so I'd be willing to pay a high price to snag one.

According to information from Shadow Gang's henchmen in the Middle East, the price of iPods there has now been inflated to around $2,300, which is an outrageous profit.

Moreover, this news had become a semi-open secret within the gangster circle, which is why they took the initiative to maintain order at various iPod sales points in order to acquire iPods from buyers like Tony as soon as possible.

Because of limited stock, the iPod was subject to a policy of one purchase per person. To obtain a large quantity, one had to rely on the efforts of ordinary consumers.

How many wealthy people are there in the Middle East? And how many iPods are currently being produced?

Anyone with a modicum of common sense can figure out that this wave of iPod profits will last for at least another two weeks, which is an incredible windfall.