The Apple Watch Edition, which starts at $10,000, is perhaps the most controversial product Apple has ever launched. Not only is the device only available for pick-up in select stores, prospective buyers can skip in-store queues, adding to the sense of injustice surrounding a device that costs more than a small car.
A report from 9to5Mac claims that even returning an Apple Watch Edition is a special affair, with multiple checks for cracks or engravings.
When an Edition is brought into the store to be returned, the Watch will first be visually inspected by a member of the floor staff to ensure that the luxury device is in proper condition and is not cracked nor engraved. Next, an allocated Genius Bar staff member will inspect the Watch with special tools, including microscopes and a gold weight scale, to ensure that no gold has been removed from the Watch to be sold on secondary markets.
If the relevant members of staff are not present, then the return cannot go through, according to the report. Once returned, the Edition watches are placed in "tamper-evident Apple Watch Edition return bags" before they are signed and then sent off.
With the Edition model of the Watch, Apple is looking to reposition the company as a fashionable, luxury brand - more so than it already is. For people to spend $10,000 or more on a product, they must first be assured that the product is of a high-enough quality to warrant the purchase, and perhaps making it hard to return will help this.
Source: 9to5Mac | Image via Apple
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