Black market peddlers flood New York with creepy Apple products

metro

by dean balsamini

Canal Street’s sidewalk hawkers are going high-tech.

Counterfeit kings have flooded Chinatown and the Lower East Side with Apple knockoffs like the wireless AirPods Pro and AirPods Max, selling devices for $40 that would retail for $550 if authentic. Masu.

On a recent Wednesday afternoon, The Post spotted about 30 Apple sellers along Canal Street, and concerned neighbors say the problem is getting worse.

“Over the past month, that number has increased significantly. On a weekend day, there are probably 30 to 40 dozen Canal Streets in operation between Lafayette Street and Mott Street. . . . “We can’t do that,” Chinatown activist Karlin Chan fumed.

“Chinatown is a vibrant neighborhood that we locals want to be known for our food and culture, not as a fake destination that reinforces negative stereotypes,” said Chan. Ta.

With Chan’s help, Post reporters purchased AirPods Max and Pro from two dealers on Mulberry Street and Canal.

The box for the Max headset was not sealed and was smaller than the real McCoy.

Some instructions had grammatical errors.

The device was plastic instead of aluminum.

The peddler started at $150, but quickly haggled down to $40.

The second seller wanted $100 for the AirPods Pro, but settled for $50.

The external packaging and instructions looked authentic, but the internal packaging was made from a plastic that Apple doesn’t use.

As for the buds, the cushion wasn’t removable like Apple’s, and the device used an outdated Lightning connector.

Street vendors (West African immigrants who speak little English) carry plastic bags filled with white “apple” boxes, and as pedestrians approach, the peddlers remove the boxes from the bag and ask what kind of food they have. They show off their products in the faces of unsuspecting pedestrians.

“Come with me!” the seller insists.

Most of the time, we use the iPhone app’s “Text Translator” to answer questions.

The peddler rushes towards a car stopped in traffic.

“We need money to eat,” one of them said.

When a peddler sees a policeman, he shouts, “Police!” They then disperse and return until the coast is clear.

“It’s getting out of hand. Coupled with over 100 Chinese fake luxury goods sellers, it’s impossible to pass on the sidewalks, especially since they all like to turn corners, creating a safety hazard. ,” Chan said.

He added: “It also hurts our merchants who pay high rents and taxes.”

Distributors agreed, arguing that their profits were being hurt.

“It’s not good and it’s illegal. They’re selling on the streets. They’re taking away our customers,” said Mohammad Khan, whose brother runs the Chinatown Center Gift Shop on Canal Street. (25) was outraged.

German tourists Mark Hochtricht, 53, and his daughter Charlotte, 23, weren’t tempted by street sales pitches.

“This is not real, it’s fake,” said his father, a doctor. “If you go home and try it, it won’t work,” he predicted.

Messages to Apple headquarters were not returned.

“They’re fake,” declares Seattle-based attorney Dan Harris. Dan Harris helps companies navigate global intellectual property issues and is the director of the China Law Blog.

He examined the photos of the item after purchase.

“Nobody would sell an AirPod Pro for $50 unless it was stolen,” he says. “I don’t believe these are genuine Apple products sold out the door because I’ve never heard of such a thing. And I’m sure Apple has very good security in place.” He said, “Right now, somebody might walk away with one Apple product and sell it out the back door, but it’s not going to be a lot.”

“Believe it or not, the best way to tell if it’s fake is to examine the packaging and instructions and look for discrepancies,” Harris said.

He said Apple has its own “highly trained counterfeiting team and they will ensure this activity is stopped.” That’s bad for business. ”

Joseph Giacalone, a former NYPD sergeant and adjunct professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said selling counterfeit goods is not a victimless crime.

“If you think a company like Apple isn’t going to pass the cost on to consumers who actually paid for the real McCoy, you’re wrong,” he said. “This kind of behavior is stealing from everyone.”

In March 2023, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents seized approximately $290,000 worth of counterfeit AirPods and Apple Watches shipped from China to Washington Dulles International Airport.

“We are aware of counterfeit Apple products being sold along Canal Street and are continuing to conduct enforcement efforts to address this situation,” the NYPD said in a statement.