Apple Class Action Lawsuit

[Viro]

I'm surprised this hasn't made it here yet. Apple seems to be under a class action lawsuit by some resellers for alleged illegal practices. Details and a short write up can be found on ArsTechnica here. The original article is available at Forbes.

The lawsuit, which the new law won't affect, was filed Thursday in California Superior Court in San Francisco on behalf of consumers and resellers of Apple (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) products. It seeks to include in the consumer class any person in the U.S. who purchased Apple products or repair services since Jan. 1, 1995, except for someone affiliated with Apple or the lawsuit.

 

[bobw]

Old news, but Apple really has screwed it's loyal dealers out of existance.

 

[ElDiabloConCaca]

I heard that a few terms in the reseller agreement were changed, and Apple tried to get many resellers to "sign off" on the changes to avoid lawsuits... we'll have to wait and see.

In one way, I can sympathize with the resellers -- but in another light, these resellers need to take steps to offer unique services that Apple doesn't offer. These resellers had no "back up" plan. They offered services identical to Apple's own services, so where's their advantage? Why should I go with a reseller and wait for my PowerBook or my G5, when I can go direct to Apple? Now, if the reseller offered to load all my programs for me, configure my wireless connection, then spend 30 minutes getting me accustomed to my new computer, that might sway me to go with the reseller. If they offered me a protection plan that's different or better than Apple's, that might sway me. But most of the resellers just order computers from Apple, mark 'em up, then sell them.

Still, I'd like to get some specifics on exactly what "unfair trade practices" Apple has practiced (other than the complaint of not getting resellers new equipment in a timely manner... that's debatable as "unfair").