It's hard for Apple to control... and, should they actually ask you to use a different font? That's how we end up with the Toys R Us and Best Buy iPad fonts which are, er, not that attractive.
Ah, the poisoned chalice that is typography knowledge. Once you learn typography most ads, brochures etc. will bug the hell out of you.
As soon as I heard the iPad 2 was coming out I knew I wanted one. But I found it hard to justify the $500 purchase when I have a mortgage, wife, child, etc. I have a few Best Buy gift cards saved up, and got a few more as gifts so I thought to myself, now is the time.
I tried getting on the wait list at my local Best Buy, and they told me they weren't doing that anymore. I saw the for the sale starting this past Sunday, and I waiting in line for over an hour so I would be first in line. I got in to the store, and they told me they were out of stock. Why wouldn't they have told us as we were waiting in line? I asked when they thought they would get more in, and they said they didn't know. They did say however that Apple wasn't giving them any of the 16GB models because it costs them the same to manufacture the higher priced models.
Could Apple really be doing this? Or is Best Buy just bad mouthing Apple?
Either way, I looked online the next day and found out that my local store was again doing a wait list. Why wouldn't they have told me that when I was at the store? I had to go back again just to get on the wait list. And when I did, the kid ringing me up got bored with it and made me go wait in line at another register to finish the transaction.
Bottom line, once I get my iPad and use up my gift cards, Best Buy will never see me as a customer. Online shopping is better anyways.
The whole point of advertising a promotion even when you don't have inventory is to drive traffic to the stores. Once they have you inside, they are hoping you will browse and pick up something else.
This was the opposite of that. At the ones I stopped by no one who went for an iPad was getting anything else while they were there. They were asking to see managers and had smoke coming out of their ears. I guarantee that none will ever return to a BB for anything other than an emergency ink cartridge.
I was able to amuse myself for 30 minutes (while waiting for a friend) by continually going over to the display model on 5th Ave and putting this page on it. : )
Seems to amazes me everytime I read this forum about whiners not getting an iPad 2 due to lack of inventory. They mostly aways have iPad 2 in stock where I go. Got mine opening day with no wait at 7:40pm while they had 30-40 in stock.
What do you expect from a big box retailer who in the past carried Apple computers, in some select stores by the way, slung them in a dimly lighted area of the store, and if you had a sincere question about the Apple product line the employee would go away possibly never to return, or get that deer in the headlights look on his face, you have a question about what ? Before CompUSA got purchased by a Mexican conglomerate, that drove them to brick and mortar store extinction and led to the closing of the majority of their stores, they too practiced the same procedures as does Besty Buy, carry Apple products put them in the far corner of the store, hire employees who don't have a clue what the difference in a Mac mini and a Mac Pro. Only stock older out of date Apple accessories, keyboards, software that has so much dust on the box that Steve Jobs himself must have packaged the software. Another sign is Wally World carrying Apple products, their people are even possess less knowledge about electronics in their departments, TVs etc. I asked an employee if they had any DVD Light Scribe Discs rather than the printable etc. She went into a total tail spin and went to the computer terminal to search their inventory, in the middle of helping me some mope dressed like he stepped of of a MC Hammer vid came up and broke her train of thought, to search for some recorded DVD, she left giggling, and I left that area of the Wally World, somebody hit the fade me to black button. The other three employees were busy talking on the phone, discussing who got to go on break. Besty Buy is a great place to shop as long as you don't mind listening to music that is played to the threshold of deafness not only on the overall store system, then you walk near the car audio department only to be serenaded by several receivers on the same urban music station.
If you are diligent you would be at the Apple Store when it opens as hundreds of Asians are daily purchasing whatever version of iPad they have on hand in that store. I have a relative who works at an Apple Store and each day we works at the store opening, they are greeted by a stream of Asians, cash in had for iPads. The same is true of in little of lesser known Apple resellers, Computer Advantage, last Sunday I saw to Asians purchase for two iPad 2s each, plop down the cash and exit the store. Of course that totally depleted their inventory in the iPad category.
Besty Buy is a place I go only if I am armed with more knowledge than their employees, which is not hard to accomplish, and I must have the item now, and don't want to spend the extra bucks for overnight or expedited shipping, and want to suffer more hearing loss than I already have suffered. You must realize going in Apple products are not their strong suit no matter whether or not its happens to be iPads. They sell middle of the road Windows computer products for the most part.
Yep this happened to me yesterday. I was second in line at my local store. At 9:55 a rep came out and told us they had no iPads in stock. He did allow everyone in line to reserve an iPad for pickup when the next shipment arrives. Hopefully that will be quicker than the 2-3 week wait on Apple's store. Still a bit of a low blow from Best Buy.
Comments
I really hope you aren’t being serious.
I think we're the ones taking him too seriously...
Wow! They murdered that typeface. That is one ugly ad. Had to be done on Windows. Mac designers don't use Lucida Grande.
Resellers specifically are not supposed to use Myriad Pro (or Apple variants) in the marketing communications for the iPad.
So we have stuff like the Best Buy one which is hideous, a page like this which is conservative: http://www.machines.com.my/ipad.html and something a little strange like this: http://www.epicentreorchard.com/ipad.html).
Toys R Us went with a different font than Best Buy but also something chunky:
A lot of Apple Resellers around the world get away with using Myriad Pro (or Apple variants) anyway:
http://www.nextbyte.com.au/ipad
It's hard for Apple to control... and, should they actually ask you to use a different font? That's how we end up with the Toys R Us and Best Buy iPad fonts which are, er, not that attractive.
Ah, the poisoned chalice that is typography knowledge. Once you learn typography most ads, brochures etc. will bug the hell out of you.
I tried getting on the wait list at my local Best Buy, and they told me they weren't doing that anymore. I saw the for the sale starting this past Sunday, and I waiting in line for over an hour so I would be first in line. I got in to the store, and they told me they were out of stock. Why wouldn't they have told us as we were waiting in line? I asked when they thought they would get more in, and they said they didn't know. They did say however that Apple wasn't giving them any of the 16GB models because it costs them the same to manufacture the higher priced models.
Could Apple really be doing this? Or is Best Buy just bad mouthing Apple?
Either way, I looked online the next day and found out that my local store was again doing a wait list. Why wouldn't they have told me that when I was at the store? I had to go back again just to get on the wait list. And when I did, the kid ringing me up got bored with it and made me go wait in line at another register to finish the transaction.
Bottom line, once I get my iPad and use up my gift cards, Best Buy will never see me as a customer. Online shopping is better anyways.
The whole point of advertising a promotion even when you don't have inventory is to drive traffic to the stores. Once they have you inside, they are hoping you will browse and pick up something else.
This was the opposite of that. At the ones I stopped by no one who went for an iPad was getting anything else while they were there. They were asking to see managers and had smoke coming out of their ears. I guarantee that none will ever return to a BB for anything other than an emergency ink cartridge.
I was able to amuse myself for 30 minutes (while waiting for a friend) by continually going over to the display model on 5th Ave and putting this page on it. : )
If you are diligent you would be at the Apple Store when it opens as hundreds of Asians are daily purchasing whatever version of iPad they have on hand in that store. I have a relative who works at an Apple Store and each day we works at the store opening, they are greeted by a stream of Asians, cash in had for iPads. The same is true of in little of lesser known Apple resellers, Computer Advantage, last Sunday I saw to Asians purchase for two iPad 2s each, plop down the cash and exit the store. Of course that totally depleted their inventory in the iPad category.
Besty Buy is a place I go only if I am armed with more knowledge than their employees, which is not hard to accomplish, and I must have the item now, and don't want to spend the extra bucks for overnight or expedited shipping, and want to suffer more hearing loss than I already have suffered. You must realize going in Apple products are not their strong suit no matter whether or not its happens to be iPads. They sell middle of the road Windows computer products for the most part.
I have bought and RECIEVED 3 iPad 2's in the last 30 days. : )
I just ordered them online. I'll give you 3 reasons why I ordered on line 3 iPAD 2's
Some people just need something to complain about. By the way 2 were gifts to others.
Yep this happened to me yesterday. I was second in line at my local store. At 9:55 a rep came out and told us they had no iPads in stock. He did allow everyone in line to reserve an iPad for pickup when the next shipment arrives. Hopefully that will be quicker than the 2-3 week wait on Apple's store. Still a bit of a low blow from Best Buy.
I was wondering if you ever got your ipad?