So this has been long in coming.
For quite some time, gift card resellers have been ordering lots of iTunes gift cards when Staples.com runs their semi-regular 15%-off sales. While resale values of iTunes gift cards on public exchanges are horrendous due to fraud issues, some people belong to private groups which pay enough to make them worthwhile deals.
Staples.com only allows purchasing 3 gift cards at a time, but nothing prevents people from ordering many times over. Apparently, Apple is fed up with resellers and they told Staples to stop allowing these bulk purchases. Staples cancelled all/some of the orders from those who ordered many times over.
We would like to inform you that your Staples order number XXXXXXXX has not been processed due to Apple Inc. Bulk Purchasing Guidelines regarding the purchase of their products. Please be advised that we are not authorized to sell Apple products in bulk to the following institutions/organizations: Non-Profit, Educational, Government, or Product Resellers. Staples will continue to monitor this activity and further policy breach may lead to your account being blocked. Your order has been cancelled. We value your business and apologize for any inconvenience. If you have any questions regarding your order or Apples policies, please contact us directly. You can choose to email us or chat with a live customer service representative, and please be sure to reference your order number.
This probably means the end of an era in terms of reselling iTunes gift cards from Staples.com. It might also mean that iTunes gift card values will go up slowly over time. The larger question is if Apple will start cracking down on other venues too somehow.
Hat tip to DDG
View Comments (19)
https://www.giftcardwiki.com/gift-cards/iTunes
I find the 3 month inventory vs sales chart pretty insightful.
What's the play here?
Wtf does one do with iTunes gift card??
When the IRS calls you in a very threatening manner and pressuring you to pay your bill immediately, they'll often encourage you to buy iTunes cards to pay them.
Lol comment of the year right here!
Well, you can buy stuff at iTunes, can't you?
yes but i'm pretty stingy when it comes to that lol
Then you can move along. Nothing to see here.
Buy songs, movies, books, games, etc.
wondering the same thing here. I've never bought an iTunes gift card before
Subscriptions that can be paid via an app, hbo, Netflix, .., all 20 percent off.
itunes were just on sale online at staples, bought my limit of 3 cards.
let's be honest, apple will happily sell as many cards at 15, 20% off all day long.
the government probably came in and said cool it or we're going to regulate you as a bank.
voila. Worked perfectly....lol
when apple stops selling itune gift cards at 20% discounts to retailers will be the day that itune gift card resale prices go up, not before. if you want a bunch of itune gift cards of $25 and $50 face value, they are on sale this week at Dollar General at 15% off :)
I've been grabbing a few but it says 1 per transaction so I've only been getting very small amounts, probably not worth my time to be honest. Have you tried multiple in one trans?
Did I miss this sale? When was it?
Happens frequently
wondering the same thing
I literally ordered one itunes for this deal and got this email.
Interesting. Noticed a sign on the iTunes cards at Randall's yesterday restricting sales to $500 so maybe this is a broader crackdown by Apple.
Asst Mgr at a store told me $500 for any gift cards. Nice.