Of course, Apple wouldn't be so foolish as to not consider these issues. Their original idea was that if users couldn't buy terminals from the Jiangnan Group, they would have to buy terminals produced by Apple.
Although there would be fewer applications, it could still satisfy basic usage. In the future, they could continuously attract third-party application developers, eventually completing the enrichment of software and forming a virtuous cycle.
This logic itself wasn't entirely wrong, but it had to be based on another matter: that American citizens genuinely couldn't buy mid-range products from the Jiangnan Group.
However, the reality proved that unless the United States launched itself into space, this logic simply wouldn't exist.
To give a simple example, when the US implemented a very strict prohibition on alcohol, the result was that although the prices of alcoholic products soared, sales continuously reached new highs. More importantly, it also nurtured the previously small-time American Mafia.
Before, due to limited income, American Mafia members were basically at the level of street thugs, dealing with trivial matters, and not amounting to much.
But with the promulgation of the prohibition on alcohol, the profits from smuggling alcohol reached astonishing levels. At that time, as long as one could manage to get a barrel of alcohol from Mexico and sell it, the profit was almost fiftyfold.
Driven by such crazy profits, the Mafia began to develop rapidly. Initially, they risked their lives to smuggle, transporting alcohol through various ant-like tunnels.
Later, after the Mafia obtained astonishing profits and had money, they stopped operating in secret. Instead, they directly reached cooperation with relevant border agencies and openly transported barrels of alcohol. In one year, they earned over 3 billion US dollars in profit.
This was 3 billion dollars in the 1920s, enough to build hundreds of aircraft carriers.
Although everyone later realized that this kind of thing was very stupid and the prohibition on alcohol was lifted, it successfully fattened the entire Mafia. After no longer being able to profit from transporting alcohol, they began to target higher-profit products.
What these products were, I won't elaborate further here. I believe everyone can guess. After all, almost all Americans have tasted those things to varying degrees, and 10% of the US population is completely immersed in these things. This is the consequence.
For a ban to be effective, the prerequisite is that there is no market demand. Once there is market demand, even gods cannot stop it.
So, soon after the Mafia discovered this new continent, they immediately reached cooperation with their companions in Mexico and then almost swept up all the high-end terminal flagships on the Mexican market, transporting them all in.
Keep in mind that these channels were originally used to transport those things. Now, using them to transport terminals was like using a bull's cleaver to kill a chicken. Therefore, there were absolutely no problems, and they could transport as much as they could.
Initially, these people still openly brought them to various markets for sale. If any administrative personnel inquired, they would say that these were old stock products and would be gone once sold. The administrative personnel did not pry.
After all, before the relevant laws were enacted, many merchants, including many enterprises under the four major financial groups, had a lot of terminal inventory. You couldn't stop them from clearing out this inventory, otherwise, the four major financial groups would lose so much they wouldn't even have their underwear left!
So, in the beginning, they could still openly sell them in the market.
But soon, people discovered, how can your old inventory never sell out? Isn't the terminal industry always characterized by low inventory?
Alright, even if you have a large inventory, why are models that were only released after the relevant laws were issued also being displayed?
These relevant agencies were not foolish. After clearing their own inventories, the four major financial groups behind them also decisively began to influence these agencies. As a result, it became difficult to buy personal terminals under the Jiangnan Group's framework in various regular supermarkets and markets.
But it didn't matter. If the physical market was gone, wasn't there still the online channel?
So, on the large e-commerce platforms in the United States, namely the Eastern Amazon, countless personal terminal products appeared for sale. Although the prices were tens of dollars more expensive than the normal official retail prices, they still couldn't dampen the customers' enthusiasm. They were almost all snatched up the moment they were listed.
At this time, the Mafia was surprised to discover that perhaps the internet was the best sales channel.
Of course, after doing this for more than a month, relevant agencies also began to investigate and directly ordered Eastern Amazon to stop sales from these stores.
Eastern Amazon naturally did not dare to violate official decrees. They quickly used technology to block all these personal terminals.
However, how could such methods stop the wisdom of the Mafia?
Almost on the second day, a large number of personal terminals, marked as second-hand or "used by a beautiful girl," and "99% new," appeared on Eastern Amazon's second-hand trading platform.
Therefore, the selling price of these 99% new personal terminals was nearly 100 dollars higher than new products. However, the sales of these personal terminals with the fragrance of a beautiful girl actually improved. Often, one beautiful girl could sell hundreds or thousands of her used personal terminals.
Furthermore, it was difficult for Eastern Amazon to intervene, as you couldn't stop people from selling their own second-hand products, could you?
So, the relevant agencies came again and told Eastern Amazon that second-hand platforms were also not allowed to sell.
Eastern Amazon naturally complied. Therefore, the founder of Eastern Amazon is Brother Dong, and its major shareholders are also from the Jiangnan Group.
However, Eastern Amazon is a listed company. Over the years, the equity has become extremely complex. Although the Jiangnan Group still holds the largest share, it can no longer completely control Eastern Amazon. Moreover, Brother Dong has drifted further and further away from the Jiangnan Group over the years, which is why Eastern Amazon has gradually monopolized the market in the United States, because it has truly become an American company.
After all, the second-largest shareholder of Eastern Amazon is now the American Priority Foundation.
So, after even the second-hand channel was gone, was it truly successful?
Of course, that was impossible. Because the wise Mafia brothers found a new sales channel, which was to bypass Eastern Amazon and sell directly on "Xian Yu," the international second-hand platform under Jiangnan Mall.
"Xian Yu" is an internationalized second-hand trading platform launched by Jiangnan Mall after its internationalization. Recently, this platform has also added an intelligent AI voice translation function. You only need to input text for the product you want to sell, and the platform can accurately translate the text into the user's set personal language and corresponding characters. It is said that the accuracy rate is as high as 95%, making it very user-friendly.
With this platform, users can directly purchase second-hand goods globally.
Therefore, after the local Eastern Amazon was gone, the Mafia shifted their battlefield to "Xian Yu." It was still a lineup of "used by a beautiful girl," and the previously booming sales market quickly recovered.
Of course, relevant agencies in the United States immediately approached "Xian Yu," similarly demanding that they cease these illegal transactions.
The result was that "Xian Yu" very cooperatively told them, "Sorry, Xian Yu is not currently registered in the United States, nor has it opened any local services in the United States. Therefore, we do not accept the jurisdiction of your country. This is unreasonable!"
This answer completely baffled the relevant agencies. They then checked with the industrial and commercial departments, and indeed, "Xian Yu" had never registered or operated in the United States from beginning to end.
In fact, since 2008, the Jiangnan Group has hardly opened any new battlefields in the United States. The existing enterprises have also continuously shrunk. The enterprises that remain in the United States have basically done what Eastern Amazon did: directly list the company and reduce their own equity to a non-controlling proportion, completely withdrawing from playing the game.
As for "Xian Yu," it truly had never come to the United States from beginning to end. It only took action in some markets in Europe, South America, and Africa. All its domain names are in their respective countries, and it doesn't even have a server in the United States.
Moreover, "Xian Yu" has not opened any express delivery services. All express deliveries are provided by the sellers on the platform. The only services provided by "Xian Yu" are fund guarantees and dispute resolution judgments, and so on. There is nothing that infringes upon your laws.
But this clearly could not stop the enthusiastic American netizens from actively going to "Xian Yu" to buy things.
If your people are crossing borders online to find me, that has nothing to do with me, right?
Moreover, "Xian Yu" had a very good attitude. Upon learning of the difficulties faced by the relevant agencies, it immediately stated that it could proactively refuse business from American netizens.
Therefore, after an update, all users must set their country of origin before their next transaction. If they set their origin as the United States, they will be unable to use "Xian Yu" functions.
In other words, isn't "Xian Yu"'s attitude extremely sincere and impeccable?
Of course, if Americans insist on choosing that they are Chinese, then "Xian Yu" can do nothing. As an online platform, how can I personally go to the user's home to check if they live in the United States?