The Verge’s Wes Davis expressed his discontent, revealing that he invested a significant sum for the privilege of owning an Apple Vision Pro in February. In total, including optical inserts and taxes, he spent over $3,900 for the 256GB version of the headset.
“A day or so ago, I made a mistake that I'm sure many early adopters are familiar with: I looked up how much it's been selling for on eBay. On Wednesday, a 1TB Vision Pro, complete with all the included gear, Apple's fluffy $200 travel case, $500 AppleCare Plus, and claimed to have been "worn maybe about an hour" sold for $3,200 after 21 bids. The listed shipping estimate was $20.30. Brand new, that combination is $5,007.03 on Apple's site for me.”
Davis discovered another eBay listing, with a configuration similar to his headset (but without optical inserts), selling for a mere $2,600 -- once again, with most, if not all, of the included accessories. Several other 256GB and 512GB models were sold for around that price this week. The situation is no different on Swappa, a popular reselling site among Apple users.
“But it still stings, doesn’t it? Knowing I could have saved several hundred dollars and gotten the highest storage configuration, AppleCare Plus, and a storage case is particularly painful. I like the Vision Pro plenty — maybe more than any other writer at The Verge — but if I hadn’t missed the return window, I would send mine right back to Apple in a heartbeat just so I could get one of these deals. Thankfully, when I’m wearing the headset, nobody can see my tears,” Davis said.
We might have made a snark or a “told you so comment,” but Davis uploaded picture of himself captioned “a picture of a fool” (above), so he has a self-deprecating sense of humour.
Meanwhile, employees at some Apple retail stores are now being asked to fill out surveys after giving Vision Pro demonstrations to potential buyers. Apple wants to know if they could close a sale and get any feedback from the would-be buyer. Apple also wants to ensure employees are following the 20-minute demo script.
Vision Pro demand has dropped considerably at many Apple stores. One retail employee says they haven't seen one Vision Pro purchase in weeks and that the number of returns equalled the device's sales in the first month it was available.