Unlocked iPhone 3G available for direct shipment from Hong Kong, no catch at all

Man, waiting in line for the iPhone 3G can be a royal pain, right? Wouldn't it be nice if you could just circumvent the whole boring, sheep-like process and have one delivered to your doorstep? Well thanks to Alibaba.com and the weird and wacky copyright laws of Hong Kong, now you can! According to the wholesale goods supply site, you can just order up the "original" Apple device direct from a company called Union Camera and have them sent to whatever poorly lit dock, abandoned warehouse, or suburban safe-house you desire. The best part? They're network unlocked. You know, something seems wrong about this, but we just can't put our finger on it...

Update: As some commenters point out, it seems to be $1000 minimum order as opposed to 1000 pieces. Guess we'll just have to start the process and find out.

[Via PMP Today]

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 17th 2008 1:26PM]

Hey guys, John Mayer here,

I'm at the location for a new music video and taking a break. I'm hanging out with some Hongkongneses down in Mongkok disctrict. Born and bred Hongkongneses have shown me some great gifts to give to my model girlfriends - unlocked 3G iPhones. I give my two thumbs up for anyone interested to purchase now. BTW - for every albulm you buy from my collection - a model wants to sleep with me.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 17th 2008 3:43PM]

WTF?!!!

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 17th 2008 8:31PM]

BULLSHIT!

[Professional Amature Posted Jul 17th 2008 3:47PM]

I'm not sure what you mean by "affectionately used for people born and bred in China" but I was not born in China or even the above listed cities/countries. I call myself Chinese even if my certificate does not list China as my country of birth.

While Singapore is legitimately NOT a part of China, Hong Kong is indeed a part of China and except for concessions in the Opium wars which led to Britain being able to occupy HK for so long, it would have remained a part of China with no one referring it as a separate entity.

Taiwan is a special case but it can legitimately be argued that it is a part of China. The international address for sending mail or packages to Taiwan is to list it as "Taiwan, R.O.C." with the ROC being Republic of China.

Personally while I don't mind someone referring themselves as being Hong Kongnese (or however you refer it as), Singaporean or Taiwanese, if they deny they are Chinese then that would be like a black person denying they are African. It's part of your heritage. China and the Chinese is part of a 5k year history filled with inventions and ideas that have benefited the modern world. If you're not proud of that, even if there are things to be ashamed of, then you have nothing to be proud of.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 17th 2008 4:15PM]

@ T.H.

Sorry, a Taiwanese denying they aren't Chinese is NOTHING like a black person denying they are African.

If you hear Taiwanese people denying that they aren't ASIAN, then you might have a point.

Think before you speak.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 17th 2008 5:38PM]

說得好

Taiwanese denying being Chinese is plain stupid. I'm from Taiwan actually, but I'm so sick of people saying that China has got nothing to do with Taiwan.

But if people ask where I'm from, I would answer "Taiwan", because you could ask a Hawaiian, where you're from, he/should would say Hawaii instead of America to be more specific.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 17th 2008 5:28PM]

I've tried pretty much this same exact deal when the 1st Gen iPhone was released....ITS A SCAM.

lol...cammon' look at what else this company is selling!

http://unioncameraltd.en.alibaba.com/product/200084665/203622860/Coca_Cola_Classic_Can_330ml_USA.html

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 17th 2008 8:23PM]

Looks like an unvarnished rip-off to me. Beware! And anyway, why would I want to do business with a country run by criminal thugs who are helping to enable genocide in Darfur?

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 17th 2008 8:10PM]

Looks like an unvarnished rip-off to me. Beware! And anyway, why would I want to do business with a country run by criminal thugs who are helping to enable genocide in Darfur?

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 17th 2008 8:04PM]

Iphone 3G activation is done in two steps. First in the store, second when you connect the Iphone to a computer using Itunes 7.7.
Activation requires a local Itunes account. So if you buy a phone from Hong Kong are you then able to activate it if you don't have a Hong Kong based Itunes account? And can you get one if you don´t have a Hong Kong issued credit card? Sounds like those phones need a jailbreak in order to become functional

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 18th 2008 3:59AM]

found another site which has them: mkenterprise.com
i know the company is legit as i have ordered stuff from them before....

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 19th 2008 7:03PM]

Hi, I am very interested in buying some iphones 3g from you, I noticed it is $1000 minimum but it doesn´t say the price per unit, and if there is an expetial price if i buy an expecific quantity of them.

Thanks
Alonso

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 20th 2008 5:41PM]

The ad has been removed. Clearly it was a scam...

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 20th 2008 8:47PM]

$1000 US? Why not not buy a prepaid iphone in Australia (from optus) for $720 then get it unlocked for $80. Thats $800 AU for exactly the same product