Report: Bot scalpers are scooping up thousands of Apple Vision Pros

Kasada — a company that, among other things, fights bots — has found evidence of bot scalpers scooping up thousands of the Apple Vision Pro pre-orders last Friday. 

Here are some highlights of the report:

° Face ID wasn’t used to deter bots. Face ID was not used primarily to stop bots (or multiple purchases), it appears as though it was more-about the fit. 

° Apple ID restriction didn’t limit quantity. Kasada found one bot alone to have successfully checked-out 1,592 Vision Pro pre-orders. Some of these are being resold for nearly $6,000. Assuming scalpers can sell all of these at that price, it’s an estimated $4million profit. 

° At the current time, resale value varies depending on size. Those with the largest light seals are currently up for sale at the highest markup, with a price of $9,000 for a U.S. Small Band, 33W Light Seal according to StockX.

° While thousands of Vision Pro devices were purchased in aggregate using bots, the high manufacturer’s suggested retail price and custom sizing resulted in what appears to be many users obtaining a small quantity with bots. This is opposed to other hype drops where a small number of bot operators and communities are able to secure large quantities of inventory.