I'm not suggesting anybody penalize the "decisive". Quite the contrary. When the pre-orders start it's everyone for themselves.
But this is a watch. It's personal. It needs to be fit to the wearer. It's not a one-size-fit all iPhone or iPad. It's an expensive purchase for many, and very expensive for others. Pictures and stats aren't enough for something you wear.
Who would it have penalized to offer the watches in the store a week before anybody could have ordered them? If they had started previews last week, nothing would have changed for the "decisive" and it would have made a lot more of Apple's customer base happy, namely the ones who won't be among the first wearing a product they knew they wanted.
Forget about the scalpers, that's a small part of it. How about all the double orders that are going to be cancelled once those "decisive" buyers make it to the store and try it on?
Think what you want but this was a short-sighted way to handle this rollout for this particular product.
I'm not suggesting anybody penalize the "decisive". Quite the contrary. When the pre-orders start it's everyone for themselves.
But this is a watch. It's personal. It needs to be fit to the wearer. It's not a one-size-fit all iPhone or iPad. It's an expensive purchase for many, and very expensive for others. Pictures and stats aren't enough for something you wear.
Who would it have penalized to offer the watches in the store a week before anybody could have ordered them? If they had started previews last week, nothing would have changed for the "decisive" and it would have made a lot more of Apple's customer base happy, namely the ones who won't be among the first wearing a product they knew they wanted.
Forget about the scalpers, that's a small part of it. How about all the double orders that are going to be cancelled once those "decisive" buyers make it to the store and try it on?
Think what you want but this was a short-sighted way to handle this rollout for this particular product.
Yet the decisive people think different than you about ordering a watch unseen. Give them credit for knowing their mind and reducing the lines at stores. It might be for these people, that this isn't a watch at all but a wrist computer, so for them, rules of watch purchase don't apply.
I wonder how many buyers had selected and marked a favorite model in the Apple Store iOS app or online in recent days/weeks? I assume that, while Apple promoted marking favorites as a way to speed up ordering, they also would use this info to get a sense of demand for the different configurations.
Anyway, I'm glad I set an alarm to get up in the middle of the night and complete my order with the first rush. I was wondering whether I'd wake up later and find the same model still available with the same delivery date.
It's incredible, the amount of work and consideration on all fronts that needs to go into a launch like this. Other companies just shit their products to market with no infrastructure. Apple spends millions of man hours coming up with training, redesigning their stores, setting up the try-on rules, an insanely in depth website, meticulous packaging and marketing, etc. I never really considered the fact that the favoriting option would benefit them by gauging interest for each SKU, but now it makes sense also.
Yet the decisive people think different than you about ordering a watch unseen. Give them credit for knowing their mind and reducing the lines at stores. It might be for these people, that this isn't a watch at all but a wrist computer, so for them, rules of watch purchase don't apply.
Again, that's not the point. Is Apple just trying to move units like Samsung, or are they trying to cultivate a brand an experience? Everything they have done with the watch up until now, the diaries, the fashion placements, the boutique jewelry store partners, have all suggested this is more than just a commodity product. Yet, they dump it sight unseen onto the market, limiting the initial experience to the techno-geek, Apple fanboys and early adopters, who know how to game the system, leaving the potential market they have so carefully cultivated since last Fall out in the cold, because they had the audacity to accept Apple's marketing at face value and believe this was something more than a "wrist computer".
Again, that's not the point. Is Apple just trying to move units like Samsung, or are they trying to cultivate a brand an experience? Everything they have done with the watch up until now, the diaries, the fashion placements, the boutique jewelry store partners, have all suggested this is more than just a commodity product. Yet, they dump it sight unseen onto the market, limiting the initial experience to the techno-geek, Apple fanboys and early adopters, who know how to game the system, leaving the potential market they have so carefully cultivated since last Fall out in the cold, because they had the audacity to accept Apple's marketing at face value and believe this was something more than a "wrist computer".
So, how are the people that are going to the stores today only to try on Apple Watches having their "experience" impacted? There have already been reviewers that have had these and plenty of conversations amongst all of technorati and horology. There are, as far as I am aware, no Edition watches available online today, and few venues for viewing and purchase. Perhaps the experience the you desire is more exclusive to the Edition, and provided for those that desire it, for the other watch materials.
You have personally been a blight in these forums for your archaic thinking, and your rigid watch culture, doctrine, and liturgy.
I think we just read in another article that if Mr Cook had his 'druthers he might have delayed the release for awhile longer.
I"m sure that he wished the the friction stir welding of iMac cases had gone smoother and not delayed the wide release of that product some years ago either. But just as then, he had to make a decision, and once that happens, he doesn't have shutting it down as an option.
Whatever this storm is today, if it is even occurring, it won't have any lasting impact on Apple Watch sales.
So, how are the people that are going to the stores today only to try on Apple Watches having their "experience" impacted? There have already been reviewers that have had these and plenty of conversations amongst all of technorati and horology. There are, as far as I am aware, no Edition watches available online today, and few venues for viewing and purchase. Perhaps the experience the you desire is more exclusive to the Edition, and provided for those that desire it, for the other watch materials.
You have personally been a blight in these forums for your archaic thinking, and your rigid watch culture, doctrine, and liturgy.
But this is a mess. I was optimistic and supportive of Apples plan thinking they really had this worked out, but they didn't. I feel like an idiot now suggesting to people that Apple would not have offered online ordering and previews on the same day knowing that this is a device many customers need to see first, so there would be adequate time to pre-order witin at least the first several days.
Nope. So to all of those who suggested Apple should have offered a week of preview/fitting appointments before pre-orders started, I'm sorry. You were right. This is a mess.
So you are saying that Apple Stores could handle all the customers that needed to see the ?Watch first in a week?
Are you frigging nuts? You are aware there is not an Apple Store on every corner? You are aware that the previewing is done by a few of the staff, i.e., Specialists. You are aware that you "…will be able to view all three collections and get hands on with Apple Watch Demo…?"
I can't imagine how much time that would take. But I would suggest that if every Apple Store carried the full compliment, i.e, 54, ?Watches in stock to try on, purchase and set up, you would hate it if you were not in the first few dozen in line by the time the doors opened in the morning.
What is a disastrous marketing and sales strategy is over and under carrying inventory. Too much could kill the business, as recently experienced by Samsung's Androids. Apple, on the other hand is unique. There is really no comparable product. A smartwatch is not an ?Watch. No matter how you wind it.
When Steve Jobs was asked 3-4 years ago when he would bring the manufacturing back to the US, he said, Never. Why not? Because it takes 250,000 people to manufacture, assemble, ship, etc., the current demand for iPhone. More important, We would need 6,500 engineers to supervise the process. And we don't have 6,500 available engineers in the US just for the iPhone.
If you're worried about Apple reserving money on your credit card and maxing out, maybe spending several hundred (or thousand) dollars on a watch shouldn't be your priority.
Check your email confirmation. My black sports also said delivers 4/24 on then "Place Order" screen (12:04) but when I got the email confirmation from Apple, the expected delivery said "May 15-28". From what I've read, there were NO black sports available to be shipped in time for launch day delivery.
My email confirms 4/24-5/8. I'll be bummed if that changes (and I'm hoping to see it on the 24th)
I always shake my head at these 'restrict supply to make demand look higher' theories. At the end of the day all Apple wants to do is sell the Watch. Can't sell it if it doesn't exist. And how many people are going to see a 4-6 week delay and go "no thanks". But I'm seeing on Twitter that the Edition watches were saying August and now say July so I wouldn't be surprised if those 4-6 week shipping dates change soon.
I am not saying Apple is creating artificial scarcity, however, there are good examples where this has worked to drive more interest in the product. Nintendo did it with the wii which help drive more demand for the product. Unless Apple comes out with numbers we will never know what is going on. Was demand higher than their production capabilities or did they under produce until the could gage the real demand. There could be any number of things going on.
I order mine this morning and is shipping in June. The only time I had this happen to me before with Apple was the 27 thin iMac due to the production issues they were hanging and it took two months to get.
Same here. I've never been charged until the product shipped.
Have you ordered a watch?
AMEX reported the charge for mine immediately, and the thing's shipping in "June". Now they do also report "pending" and that was just my phone notification but...
Angela Ahrents must be hallucinating to think her request to shop for the new Apple Watch would materialize product that doesn't exist.
I tried to order a 38mm Sport w/pink Sport Band at opening bell using the iOS App the order posted at 10 minutes after opening and still got 4-6 week ship times. So where is the advantage that Angela was promoting?
First come first serve.
Gotta be fast when racing against the whole world.
Knowing what you want in advance and a fast internet connection helps.
Gotta be fast when racing against the whole world.
Knowing what you want in advance and a fast internet connection helps.
Indeed: the online campground reservation system for Yosemite is a classic of that phenomena: the place sells out in a few minutes for the month long blocks they release five months in advance. The park goes so far as to provide a link to the national standards atomic clock widget so you can time the hit of your submission precisely....
That's the one I want (I like the darker colour a lot), but I also like the green band - wondering if it would look good with the darker case too??
That's the additional revenue stream: accessory bands to easily mix and match. As soon as I saw that band connection system I knew there'd be the possibility of a collection, change the look of the watch by simply slapping on a different band.
Comments
But this is a watch. It's personal. It needs to be fit to the wearer. It's not a one-size-fit all iPhone or iPad. It's an expensive purchase for many, and very expensive for others. Pictures and stats aren't enough for something you wear.
Who would it have penalized to offer the watches in the store a week before anybody could have ordered them? If they had started previews last week, nothing would have changed for the "decisive" and it would have made a lot more of Apple's customer base happy, namely the ones who won't be among the first wearing a product they knew they wanted.
Forget about the scalpers, that's a small part of it. How about all the double orders that are going to be cancelled once those "decisive" buyers make it to the store and try it on?
Think what you want but this was a short-sighted way to handle this rollout for this particular product.
I'm not suggesting anybody penalize the "decisive". Quite the contrary. When the pre-orders start it's everyone for themselves.
But this is a watch. It's personal. It needs to be fit to the wearer. It's not a one-size-fit all iPhone or iPad. It's an expensive purchase for many, and very expensive for others. Pictures and stats aren't enough for something you wear.
Who would it have penalized to offer the watches in the store a week before anybody could have ordered them? If they had started previews last week, nothing would have changed for the "decisive" and it would have made a lot more of Apple's customer base happy, namely the ones who won't be among the first wearing a product they knew they wanted.
Forget about the scalpers, that's a small part of it. How about all the double orders that are going to be cancelled once those "decisive" buyers make it to the store and try it on?
Think what you want but this was a short-sighted way to handle this rollout for this particular product.
Yet the decisive people think different than you about ordering a watch unseen. Give them credit for knowing their mind and reducing the lines at stores. It might be for these people, that this isn't a watch at all but a wrist computer, so for them, rules of watch purchase don't apply.
I wonder how many buyers had selected and marked a favorite model in the Apple Store iOS app or online in recent days/weeks? I assume that, while Apple promoted marking favorites as a way to speed up ordering, they also would use this info to get a sense of demand for the different configurations.
Anyway, I'm glad I set an alarm to get up in the middle of the night and complete my order with the first rush. I was wondering whether I'd wake up later and find the same model still available with the same delivery date.
It's incredible, the amount of work and consideration on all fronts that needs to go into a launch like this. Other companies just shit their products to market with no infrastructure. Apple spends millions of man hours coming up with training, redesigning their stores, setting up the try-on rules, an insanely in depth website, meticulous packaging and marketing, etc. I never really considered the fact that the favoriting option would benefit them by gauging interest for each SKU, but now it makes sense also.
Again, that's not the point. Is Apple just trying to move units like Samsung, or are they trying to cultivate a brand an experience? Everything they have done with the watch up until now, the diaries, the fashion placements, the boutique jewelry store partners, have all suggested this is more than just a commodity product. Yet, they dump it sight unseen onto the market, limiting the initial experience to the techno-geek, Apple fanboys and early adopters, who know how to game the system, leaving the potential market they have so carefully cultivated since last Fall out in the cold, because they had the audacity to accept Apple's marketing at face value and believe this was something more than a "wrist computer".
So, how are the people that are going to the stores today only to try on Apple Watches having their "experience" impacted? There have already been reviewers that have had these and plenty of conversations amongst all of technorati and horology. There are, as far as I am aware, no Edition watches available online today, and few venues for viewing and purchase. Perhaps the experience the you desire is more exclusive to the Edition, and provided for those that desire it, for the other watch materials.
You have personally been a blight in these forums for your archaic thinking, and your rigid watch culture, doctrine, and liturgy.
It's a new world today. Time to move on.
I think we just read in another article that if Mr Cook had his 'druthers he might have delayed the release for awhile longer.
I"m sure that he wished the the friction stir welding of iMac cases had gone smoother and not delayed the wide release of that product some years ago either. But just as then, he had to make a decision, and once that happens, he doesn't have shutting it down as an option.
Whatever this storm is today, if it is even occurring, it won't have any lasting impact on Apple Watch sales.
You just proved my point. Thanks!
Enjoy your moment of bliss.
No. To the contrary.
But this is a mess. I was optimistic and supportive of Apples plan thinking they really had this worked out, but they didn't. I feel like an idiot now suggesting to people that Apple would not have offered online ordering and previews on the same day knowing that this is a device many customers need to see first, so there would be adequate time to pre-order witin at least the first several days.
Nope. So to all of those who suggested Apple should have offered a week of preview/fitting appointments before pre-orders started, I'm sorry. You were right. This is a mess.
So you are saying that Apple Stores could handle all the customers that needed to see the ?Watch first in a week?
Are you frigging nuts? You are aware there is not an Apple Store on every corner? You are aware that the previewing is done by a few of the staff, i.e., Specialists. You are aware that you "…will be able to view all three collections and get hands on with Apple Watch Demo…?"
I can't imagine how much time that would take. But I would suggest that if every Apple Store carried the full compliment, i.e, 54, ?Watches in stock to try on, purchase and set up, you would hate it if you were not in the first few dozen in line by the time the doors opened in the morning.
What is a disastrous marketing and sales strategy is over and under carrying inventory. Too much could kill the business, as recently experienced by Samsung's Androids. Apple, on the other hand is unique. There is really no comparable product. A smartwatch is not an ?Watch. No matter how you wind it.
When Steve Jobs was asked 3-4 years ago when he would bring the manufacturing back to the US, he said, Never. Why not? Because it takes 250,000 people to manufacture, assemble, ship, etc., the current demand for iPhone. More important, We would need 6,500 engineers to supervise the process. And we don't have 6,500 available engineers in the US just for the iPhone.
I think we just read in another article that if Mr Cook had his 'druthers he might have delayed the release for awhile longer.
He did?
Please supply a link. Thank you.
If you're worried about Apple reserving money on your credit card and maxing out, maybe spending several hundred (or thousand) dollars on a watch shouldn't be your priority.
I am not saying Apple is creating artificial scarcity, however, there are good examples where this has worked to drive more interest in the product. Nintendo did it with the wii which help drive more demand for the product. Unless Apple comes out with numbers we will never know what is going on. Was demand higher than their production capabilities or did they under produce until the could gage the real demand. There could be any number of things going on.
I order mine this morning and is shipping in June. The only time I had this happen to me before with Apple was the 27 thin iMac due to the production issues they were hanging and it took two months to get.
Same here. I've never been charged until the product shipped.
Have you ordered a watch?
AMEX reported the charge for mine immediately, and the thing's shipping in "June". Now they do also report "pending" and that was just my phone notification but...
Angela Ahrents must be hallucinating to think her request to shop for the new Apple Watch would materialize product that doesn't exist.
I tried to order a 38mm Sport w/pink Sport Band at opening bell using the iOS App the order posted at 10 minutes after opening and still got 4-6 week ship times. So where is the advantage that Angela was promoting?
First come first serve.
Gotta be fast when racing against the whole world.
Knowing what you want in advance and a fast internet connection helps.
I wanted to get a 42mm black on black Sport but it was sold out by the time I woke up this morning.
That's the one I want (I like the darker colour a lot), but I also like the green band - wondering if it would look good with the darker case too??
First come first serve.
Gotta be fast when racing against the whole world.
Knowing what you want in advance and a fast internet connection helps.
Indeed: the online campground reservation system for Yosemite is a classic of that phenomena: the place sells out in a few minutes for the month long blocks they release five months in advance. The park goes so far as to provide a link to the national standards atomic clock widget so you can time the hit of your submission precisely....
That's the one I want (I like the darker colour a lot), but I also like the green band - wondering if it would look good with the darker case too??
That's the additional revenue stream: accessory bands to easily mix and match. As soon as I saw that band connection system I knew there'd be the possibility of a collection, change the look of the watch by simply slapping on a different band.
So you are saying that Apple Stores could handle all the customers that needed to see the ?Watch first in a week?
Nope.