Apple Rejects Cold, Hard Cash at its Own Stores
Physical money isn't good enough to buy an iPad.
The iPad is opening up computing possibilities for many other non-traditional users, such as dogs, cats and even those nearing 100 years old.
Diane Campbell, who is disabled and on a fixed income, wishes to go onto YouTube to learn some new songs to play on her guitar. Instead of getting a computer, she's been saving up for an iPad. Slowly she saved up $600 in cash and proceeded to the Apple Store in Palo Alto, Calif.
"It took quite a long time for me to just save up this small amount of money to go down and purchase one," she said to ABC local station KGO. "I had my cash in the backpack and I went up proudly to the counter and told them, 'I would like to purchase an iPad.'"
To her surprise, the Apple store workers told her that cash wasn't a suitable form of payment for the iPad.
"They said, 'Sorry, we don't take cash.' And, so I looked at her and I said OK she's kidding," Campbell recalled. But Apple wasn't kidding, and she wasn't allowed to purchase an iPad without plastic.
The ABC station contacted Apple and was told that the policy is "a limit of two iPads per customer and you must pay by credit or debit card. Gift cards will not work either."
Apple declined to explain its policies, but store workers said it was to curb grey market sales of customers buying iPads in large quantities and selling them overseas at a profit.
Despite cash being "legal tender," the U.S. Treasury Department says that there is nothing in the law that requires businesses to accept cash as payment.
- DISASSEMBLED: Kin Two Phone With Nvidia Tegra
- Microsoft Opens Windows 7 Restaurant in Taiwan
- The Pirate Party Brings the Pirate Bay Back Online
- OCZ's Fatal1ty Modular PSU Does 750W
- BFG Tech: We're Done with Graphics Cards
- Deals for May 18: 15.4'' HP dv6 Quad Core i7 $799
- Lian Li Launches Slick Gaming Mid-Towers
- 10 Years Later, Romero Apologizes for Daikatana
- StarCraft II Beta Ending; BlizzCon Tickets Soon
- Yahoo! Acquires an Army of 380,000 Writers
- Samsung, Toshiba, Etc Fined For Price Fixing
- Microsoft Takes Cues from Gmail with New Hotmail
- Report: Sony Launching $70 PSN Premium at E3
- 'Wireless' 2Mbps Internet Using Blinking LEDs
- Microsoft Warns of Win 7 Graphics Security Hole
- Intel Confirms 25nm NAND Flash for New SSDs
- MSI SketchBook Dual-Sided with Keyboard, Tablet
- Deals for May 20: HP 16" G60t Laptop for $379.99








Welcome to the Socialist State of Apple! All hail the mighty iPad!
This has to be one of the most ...... things I have ever heard of!
Just another reason to boycott Apple.
Sounds like a case of discrimination to me.
If you don't have the income level or credit to get a credit card, you can't buy an iPad.
And this is why we in the US fail.. When companies can reject legal tender for payment..
... pwnd !
Grandma, get yerself a pc with some neat Radeon or Nvidia card!
I know there are some businesses that do not accept cash for a variety of reasons.
However, those businesses are usually smaller and don't want the liability of losing the cash. I wonder what reason(s) Apple has for rejecting cash?
What will they take instead, liver? Kidney or perhaps a lung they charge enough for cheaply produced crap as it is. Also are my dollars/euros not good enough in cash? Then don't ask for RFID chip. Directed at Apple , we all know they read the articles and comment sections.
If I was in her position, I would tell the cashier to go and I would never buy again from apple. In fact, I never did, and never will.
This is not that big of a deal, its apple's loss.
You all should be glad they are throwing profits aways like idiots that they truly are.
My god, why does ANYONE do business with that company?! I swear, Steve Jobs is so uptight!
I can hear Job's jackboots in the back round!
aerodrome
Seems like every piece of news about apple just makes me hate them more!
I'm wondering if it's a theft-deterrent. They might still have people stealing those iPads, but it would make it difficult to stick up the register for cash with a gun at one of those places...
I think US currency is 'legal tender' I didn't think it could be refused. She should just keep going to the store and purchasing the iPad and then offering the cash.
Apple gets dumber by the Minute i swear..........
this is ridiculous!
apple is the stupidest. most retarded company i have ever heard of.
i sold the macbook someone gave me brand new for christmas within half a year cuz it was total JUNK!!!
just like anything apple makes
oops i have ann iphone (btu i didnt buy it) but that thing doesnt work too well weither . it crashes all the time.
as i sadi before, who would buy from that stupid company?
funny they dont want cash but debit cards are totally fine cause really its the same thing as cash with out holding it on you
seems like a form of discrimination to me since not everyone can have credit cards or debt cards.... I got feeling some lawyer gonna pick this up and its gonna be a easy victory in her favor. She disabled so its not like she could get out to a bank all the time anyway (depending on what the disability is). But i still think there should be a law against them not taking dollar thats just stupid
Steve jobs was potty trained at gunpoint
Wouldn't apple make $10 more by not paying credit card fees?
I can't imagine refusing to take someone's cash.
What an arrogant company.
funny they dont want cash but debit cards are totally fine cause really its the same thing as cash with out holding it on you
and to top it off what would stop them from buying one and still selling it overseas?
Don't need credit for a debit card. Just a bank account. Could also pay a stranger to use their debit card on the spot, luck willing.
KILL Apple now, they are a rotten apple.
It's to track the sale. If you use a credit card Apple will store that info, and cross check to see if you've bought multiple iPads, which is against their policy. For some reason they feel morally obligated to prevent people from buying large numbers of iPads and selling them in countries where iPads are not available at a profit. In my country, it is ILLEGAL for businesses to not accept cash. They CAN reject credit cards and other fraud-prone pay vehicles.
apple not accepting cash does not affect me, i refuse to spend a penny on a single one of their products
So, what good is an iPad without a 3g contract or at least WiFi from an ISP? How would she pay for those?
What . She should have dotted his eye with her cane.
I don't use credit cards. Any business that doesn't accept check/cash will find themselves with 1 less customer.
So, what good is an iPad without a 3g contract or at least WiFi from an ISP? How would she pay for those?
Uh, I don't know, maybe the ISP could send a paper bill to her home every month? Companies still do that, ya know...
Most of you seem unable to read and comprehend properly. There is no legal requirement for Apple to accept cash. Why, if so many of you hate Apple, do you click on Apple related links, misunderstand the news item and still make fatuous comments?
It's to track the sale. If you use a credit card Apple will store that info, and cross check to see if you've bought multiple iPads, which is against their policy.
You're right on that.
But if apple is not taking in consideration some other countries, how are they supposed to acquire any product?
ipads are sold here in Mexico at a premium price of 12,000 pesos (930 USD) for the 32gb 3G version, and that because of it isn't yet on mexican apple stores.
For some reason they feel morally obligated to prevent people from buying large numbers of iPads and selling them in countries where iPads are not available at a profit.
maybe they want to be the only ones price-raping people... who knows?
Welcome to the Socialist State of Apple! All hail the mighty iPad!This has to be one of the most ...... things I have ever heard of!Just another reason to boycott Apple.
This tactic is commonly used to fight the black market, and this was stated in the article. There was a time when US forces overseas used MPC and not green backs for money, and you had a ration control plate (plastic) that was used to track all purchases. It was as late as 1973. Why? To control the black market.
Also, it really has nothing to do with socialism. Why is our society so bent on calling everything they do not agree with as being 'socialist?' In the 50's and 60's we used 'communism.' Seems like history does repeat itself.