epa05541742 Apple customers sell their new Apple iPhone 7s to dealers across the street from the Apple store in Hong Kong's Causeway Bay district early in the morning on the day of the Apple iPhone 7 launch in Hong Kong, China, 16 September 2016. Dealers on the parallel market were offering around 8,000 Hong Kong dollars (1,000 US dollars) per iPhone 7 on street corners and alleyways across the street from the Apple store, with a view to later selling the new Apple products on the Chinese mainland. The practice is not illegal but is frowned upon, as the criminal syndicates who run the scheme make their profits by hedging profits on the different tax rates in Hong Kong and mainland China. EPA/ALEX HOFFORD
Apple has scrapped its longstanding free-of-charge return policy in Hong Kong and Macao, in a sign of the tech giant's determination to deter scalpers from making a quick buck on its newly launched handsets.
Apple had previously allowed customers in Hong Kong and Macao to return the undamaged products for free, with the original receipt and packaging, within 14 days of the pick-up date.
