Do You Want Free Engraving With That?

Via Eli Dourado, a speculation on: Why does Apple offer free engraving?

The real reason Apple offers free engraving is to weaken the secondary market. iP*ds are durable goods. Apple has a monopoly on iP*ds, but it still has to compete with the products of its former self. If people get tired of their iP*ds or decide they want to upgrade to a newer model, they can sell their devices to other consumers, who in turn are not giving their money to Apple.

Who wants a weird engraving chosen by the previous owner on his iP*d?

Who indeed? Buying something with the next sale in mind is not something I do. So, naturally, I ordered ours engraved.

With apologies to Henry David Thoreau:

“Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which it was already but too easy to arrive at.”

Would you buy this iPad, if it were for sale?