Verizon could owe Apple $14 billion off iPhone sales shortfall

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Comments

  • Reply 61 of 93
    chris_cachris_ca Posts: 2,543member
    yojimbo007 wrote: »
    So verizon agreed to sell 70 million iphones in two years... (45billion/630)
    No.
    No.
    The article is ambiguous/not clearly written. (That's something unusual for AI, eh? )

    At the end of 2010, Verizon had commitments of $45 billion over the next three years.
    Some (much?), but not all of that was to Apple.
    ajbdtc826 wrote: »
    BOGOF iPhone 5S sale coming soon?
    Never gonna happen.
  • Reply 62 of 93
    geekdadgeekdad Posts: 1,131member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Eternal Emperor View Post


    Maybe they could just...you know, stop trying to shove Android phones down people's throat when they come in for iPhones.



    Maybe...but if you go to the used car dealership and ask for a Ford and drive away in a Dodge then its on you........you don't have to buy what you buy....

  • Reply 63 of 93


    Verizon's new "Share Everything" plans (and their elimination of individual plans) is precisely the reason why my wife and I didn't switch to Verizon from AT&T.  It was going to cost us around $40 more to get a similar plan on Verizon compared to what we currently had with AT&T.  AT&T wasn't so bad for me to be willing to pay close to $500 a year extra to have Verizon instead hence we've stayed with AT&T.  Getting unlimited voice minutes is practically worthless to us since we've only used more than 450 minutes in ONE month in the last 4 or 5 years.  Unlimited texts also isn't important to us considering we use iMessage for almost all of our messaging which is free.  So the possibility of having more reliable service in LTE areas and slower data speeds in more rural area essentially ensured we'd continue with AT&T.

  • Reply 64 of 93
    steven n.steven n. Posts: 1,229member
    rnb2 wrote: »
    I'd be interested to know what impact Verizon's new "Share Everything" plans (and their elimination of individual plans) has had on sales. When Best Buy had their trade-in deal recently (which amounted to getting a free 16GB iPhone 5), I finally convinced my wife to upgrade from her ordered-on-the-first-day Verizon iPhone 4. Only problem: "Share Everything" would have dramatically increased her monthly bill, and there were no other options.

    So, after talking it over, she moved to AT&T, and we're now on a Family Plan that saves us quite a bit over what we used to pay individually. "Share Everything" plans are a terrible deal for 1-2 phone households, and Verizon's insistence that everybody move to these plans definitely cost them a happy customer in our case.

    We have 4 people on the Share Everything plan and it is $10 mire than 3 people on the AT&T family plan.
  • Reply 65 of 93
    woochiferwoochifer Posts: 385member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Doctor David View Post





    Maybe the solution is for one or more of the mobile companies to offer to be the place where customers can come and get their hands on different phones and get knowledgeable information without the bias of a commission sale. Apple is smart not to fall for for the "bribe our sales staff" trick. It's a useless distraction.



    I'm sure "something is wrong or could be improved" at Apple as you said. There always seems to be. And it's usually headline news.




    But, consider that while Best Buy employees, for example, do not work on commission, there are still other overlapping behind-the-scenes incentives in place. It's not Apple, but their competitors that try to influence retailers.


     


    Apple has steered clear of these practices for years, and it works for them so long as they keep making high demand products.  The issue for Verizon trying to boost iPhone sales is that the retail side plays with a stacked deck against Apple.  Part of this is Apple's choice, since their list prices have very thin margins for retailers, and they do not offer up any other incentives for retail stores.  Most of Apple's competitors play this game, and it tilts the retail landscape.  Apple can compete successfully because they make a superior product with an unmatched content ecosystem.  But, they are still competing with a handicap in the retail space.


     


    In-store retail sales remain a huge market factor, and keep in mind that Apple's own retail stores compete with Verizon stores.  If Apple does anything to try boosting Verizon's iPhone sales, that potentially has the effect of reducing sales at Apple stores, where they collect both the wholesale cost and retail markup. 

  • Reply 66 of 93
    gwmacgwmac Posts: 1,807member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Woochifer View Post


    In-store retail sales remain a huge market factor, and keep in mind that Apple's own retail stores compete with Verizon stores.  If Apple does anything to try boosting Verizon's iPhone sales, that potentially has the effect of reducing sales at Apple stores, where they collect both the wholesale cost and retail markup. 


    Good point but consider the fact that where I live there are at least 15 possibly 20 Verizon stores within a 15 mile drive of me. The closest Apple store is about 85 miles away. Apple stores are only located in larger cities  and even then may be far from where you live. Verizon stores are almost as abundant as McDonalds and in every town not just big cities. 

  • Reply 67 of 93
    agramonteagramonte Posts: 345member
    well new meaning to "Shipped not sold"...
  • Reply 68 of 93
    matrix07matrix07 Posts: 1,993member


    Now I know the internet is really full of bullshit.

  • Reply 69 of 93
    Note that I'm comparing the AT&T family plan that we already have had for three years to the Verizon share everything plan for new subscribers. Our AT&T bill for two iPhones with 2 GB of data on one and unlimitd on the other comes out to approximately $103 with all taxes and fees. I can't get anywhere near this on Verizon's share everything plan. It doesn't matter for us personally if the new AT&T plan is about the same as the new Verizon plan since AT&T has never threatened to get rid of any upgrade subsidies or any other tactics to force us to switch off of our current family plan to a more expensive plan.
  • Reply 70 of 93
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Verizon Special Offer Scam Alert.

    BTW folks... be very wary of Verizon offers out just now. My FiOS only (no phone nor TV) fee is $79.99 a moth for a 50/50. I got an offer for HD TV + Phone + FiOS + $300 cash card all for .... yep, $79.99 a month (albeit a slight increase year 2 of 2 year contract) which netted out to $180 less a year than I pay now.

    Seems like a deal eh?

    The very tiny small print on the back of the offer stated in the midst of other tiny print (I used a magnifying glass) stated *FiOS 15/15 Mbps

    I guess Verizon and now using HD TV and phones as bait to get people to lower their bandwidth!
  • Reply 71 of 93
    geekdadgeekdad Posts: 1,131member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post



    Verizon Special Offer Scam Alert.



    BTW folks... be very wary of Verizon offers out just now. My FiOS only (no phone nor TV) fee is $79.99 a moth for a 50/50. I got an offer for HD TV + Phone + FiOS + $300 cash card all for .... yep, $79.99 a month (albeit a slight increase year 2 of 2 year contract) which netted out to $180 less a year than I pay now.



    Seems like a deal eh?



    The very tiny small print on the back of the offer stated in the midst of other tiny print (I used a magnifying glass) stated *FiOS 15/15 Mbps



    I guess Verizon and now using HD TV and phones as bait to get people to lower their bandwidth!


    I wish we could get FIOS in the Phoenix area....... For $79.99 I would try to increase the bandwidth and see how much that affects the price......

  • Reply 72 of 93
    solomansoloman Posts: 228member
    Verizon Special Offer Scam Alert.

    BTW folks... be very wary of Verizon offers out just now. My FiOS only (no phone nor TV) fee is $79.99 a moth for a 50/50. I got an offer for HD TV + Phone + FiOS + $300 cash card all for .... yep, $79.99 a month (albeit a slight increase year 2 of 2 year contract) which netted out to $180 less a year than I pay now.

    Seems like a deal eh?

    The very tiny small print on the back of the offer stated in the midst of other tiny print (I used a magnifying glass) stated *FiOS 15/15 Mbps

    I guess Verizon and now using HD TV and phones as bait to get people to lower their bandwidth!

    It was quite silly of you to think that they were going to add TV + phone for free. There was obviously a catch somewhere and 15/15 is still pretty darn good.
  • Reply 73 of 93
    v5vv5v Posts: 1,357member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by malax View Post



    There agreement almost certainly specifies what the effect of not meeting sales goals are that are less draconian (or Verizon would have been insane to agree to the deal).


     


    I wonder. From time-to-time we see a story that references a carrier's objection to Apple's "daunting" contract requirements. We almost never get details about what said contracts demand or what objection the carrier has, but maybe it's stuff like what's reported here -- commit to a certain number of units over the life of the contract and pay for them whether you sell them or not.


     


    Conditions like that might be part of why Japan's largest carrier still thumbs its nose at Apple.

  • Reply 74 of 93
    soloman wrote: »
    It was quite silly of you to think that they were going to add TV + phone for free. There was obviously a catch somewhere and 15/15 is still pretty darn good.

    Digitalclips never said he expected it. He said Verizon sent him an offer implying such a deal. The offer isn't what it appears and Verizon hopes people won't notice before they sign. Dirtbag move.
  • Reply 75 of 93
    solomansoloman Posts: 228member
    Digitalclips never said he expected it. He said Verizon sent him an offer implying such a deal. The offer isn't what it appears and Verizon hopes people won't notice before they sign. Dirtbag move.

    Read again. He already has 50/50 for $79.99 (internet only deals are not advertised) he then saw a offer for TV/internet/phone at $79.99 (a great deal), most people aren't going to be aware of the internet speeds and 15/15 is plenty for the average user.
  • Reply 76 of 93
    blackbookblackbook Posts: 1,361member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by fallenjt View Post


    If Apple will release these this year, it's a different story. Can they?


     




     


    Ugly. 


     


    The more I see these edge to edge concepts the more I detest them.

  • Reply 77 of 93
    soloman wrote: »
    Read again. He already has 50/50 for $79.99 (internet only deals are not advertised) he then saw a offer for TV/internet/phone at $79.99 (a great deal), most people aren't going to be aware of the internet speeds and 15/15 is plenty for the average user.

    I read it fine the first time thanks. If what Verizon is offering is such a good deal they shouldn't bury important contract details in the fine print. What you may think is plenty Internet speed for the average user should be decided by that average user without needing a magnifying glass.
  • Reply 78 of 93
    blackbook wrote: »
    That's what they get for telling their retail employees to push Androids and turn people away from iPhones.

    EXACTLY my first thought after reading only the headline!!! Couldn't have said it better myself. Screw Verizon
  • Reply 79 of 93
    kdarlingkdarling Posts: 1,640member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Doctor David View Post



    Digitalclips never said he expected it. He said Verizon sent him an offer implying such a deal. The offer isn't what it appears and Verizon hopes people won't notice before they sign. Dirtbag move.


     


    Or, using a little less tin foil hat, perhaps it just was a generic offer sent to everyone.


     


    Those with 50/50 are special to begin with, and would be expected to pay more attention (as he did).


     


    It's like when I get all those generic offers from Cablevision.  They're not tailored for me, or out to get just me.  They're just mass mail items and it's up to me to check the details.


     


    Ditto for insurance, real estate, mortgage and other mass mailing offers. 


     


    Now, if I called them up in person, so they were looking at my particular details, and they didn't tell me that my speed would change, THAT would be inexcusable.  But I don't think that would happen.  I think they'd say, hey you're going to lose 50/50, would you like to upgrade?

  • Reply 80 of 93
    blackbook wrote: »
    I've heard many first hand stories of people going to Verizon to buy an iPhone but being convinced to buy an Android phone instead.

    Tim Cook seems to agree this is a legitimate problem because he commented on their anti-iPhone practices at Apples latest retail meeting.

    That plus it's obvious they prefer Android, they always have ever since the early days of them being jealous AT&T had the iPhone and they didn't. They needed something to compete with AT&T with so they quickly struck a deal with Google. AT&T=their competitor, Android=Apple's competitor.....if you were Verizon, would you do it any other way? I HOPE they get stuck with that massive bill!
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