iPad supply constraints boost Chinese black market Increasing numbers of people are being paid to wait in line and buy the latest iPad in the US so they can be transported to China, where they will be sold for more than $1,000 - despite only costing around $540 (for a 16 gigabyte version of the device). A woman called Amy (who refused to reveal her surname) told Reuters that she gets paid between $20 to $30 to queue for the latest Apple device, whether it be an iPad or the newest iPhone, and then deliver them back to the black market operators to smuggle back into China. Ironically, it is a huge effort to get the devices back into the country where they were originally manufactured but there is a big demand because of severe constraints on local supply. "You can pretty much determine when the first iPad arrives in China by monitoring the first flight out from the US on launch day," an Apple employee told Reuters. However, Apple has slightly depressed the black market by simultaneously releasing its products in multiple countries, instead of a gradual country-by-country roll out. It is also getting harder to smuggle the devices into China as the Chinese customs have clamped down on all routes in - telling some American shipping agents to refuse to accept iPad orders. They have warned travellers to declare their gadgets and pay a 10 per cent import duty on consumer electronics.