Steve pretty much told all the fanboys bend over and take it like a man.
The iPhone was announced in January. People had seven months to decide whether or not it was worth $600 to them. If it wasn't, then they shouldn't have bought one until it inevitably became cheaper. Regardless of when the price changes, with technology you buy when the features and price meet your requirements. If someone's happy with the features and the price they're paying for it, then there's no reason to be upset afterward when either improves.
I think Apple's initial price was set for the fanboys that would pay through the nose. Once those people paid, the $399 price was adjusted to target the next category of consumers. Apple cares about their customers but they care about their income statement a little more. Apple knows the fanboys will complain but they will spend when the next great product comes along.
Jobs is exactly right. I am an avid Apple fan, I own a large amount of their common stock, and many Macintosh computers, iPods, and of course an iPhone. I knew I was taking a risk in buying any first generation Apple Product. It could have been a complete dud. It is not though.
Prices of technology fall, dramatically sometimes. I think the company saw that the pricing structure was just too high to hit its targets. Oh, well. I paid too much money for an I item I still enjoy. As an economist, I understand that I would still be willing and able to purchase and iPhone at the $599 price point, if it were still at that price. All Apple has done was "create" a larger consumer surplus for many people including myself. So, when I purchase my next iPhone I will see it as more of a bargain. Some people have been complaining that their iPhone has depreciated by $50 per week since launch. This is correct; but do you get less satisfaction from knowing that the price is now lower? Do you like your iPhone less? Well if you do, then sell it. Remember the $599 price is a sunk cost and should not be influential in future decisions. Basically what I am saying is get over it! It is just money.
Bullshit. If you purchased the Razor phone out of contract, it was still $399.
The Blackberry Perl has been out for a while and the BB Pearl2 is about to be released.
Go check the prices of the high end phone at Cingular, and you'll see that darn near all the smartphones still cost %100 of their release date price without a contract.
I'm not sure what your point is.
You are ostensibly buying the iPhone 'under contract', whether you buy it from AT&T or an Apple Store, as it is only usable on the AT&T network. As such, the price drop is not comparable to buying a Razr (or another smartphone) out of contract.
I bought two phones on launch day. The iPhone is one of the best electronic devices I have ever owned. I do not regret my purchase.
I do have one request though.
I would like a bronze plaque emblazzoned with all the names of iPhone buyers prior to Sept. 5, 2007 and posted at each of Apples retail stores.
Here is how it would read:
"To all our loyal customers, we at Apple would like to thank all of the individuals below for your purchase of the iPhone prior to 09/05/2007. You all "took one for the team". And for this, we are grateful.
People foget that the iPhone specs and price were determined 6 months before launch (due to the requirement for licensing). Its perfectly reasonable to suppose that component and manufacturing costs have dropped significantly since then.
Apple are going to sell a shitload of them in Europe with the lower price. Wayhey!
I think Apple's initial price was set for the fanboys that would pay through the nose. Once those people paid, the $399 price was adjusted to target the next category of consumers. Apple cares about their customers but they care about their income statement a little more. Apple knows the fanboys will complain but they will spend when the next great product comes along.
Well said. 100% correct.
I think Apple is going to sell a bunch at this price. I came into the office this morning to discover that 2 colleagues along with their spouses had purchased iPhones last night. I was very happy for them and Apple. I cheerfully showed them the little intricacies of the UI that I love so much to demo.
I really don't mind at all that Apple lowered the price, I think it's great. But that's just me, apparently some people are just wired a little differently.
There are a couple of interesting and relevant Bible verses starting at Matthew 20:1 which clearly shows that human nature hasn't changed any in 2000+ years. Good read. I'm not saying that you should read the Bible, but this particular set of verses is a really funny in light of all the recent iPhone complaints.
Early iPhone adopters need to get over it. Ok, I pulled the trigger yesterday on a 16gb iPod Touch: I know that, at any time, Apple could very easily come out with one having a high capacity HD (just to appease those that are crying fo one right now). They could release that high capacity between the time I receive mine and xmas and cash in on it big time. Will I scream and yell foul? No! Will I feel cheated? No!
Why not? Because it was MY decision to be an early adopter KNOWING that Apple could very easily trump my new toy with an even better one....even within a couple of months of my purchase. It IS the nature of business just as Stevie says.
"I live in Canada, can't even get the damn phone even though it would work fine here, and think anyone who got to buy one the day it came out should suck it up."
Or, as John Gruber put it, "if you didn?t think the iPhone was worth $599, you shouldn?t have bought it. That?s how supply and demand works."
I think almost 1 million people learned a valuable lesson about impulse buying.
Not at all. A lot of us were grownups and knew the situation going in (Apparently not all of us, though, judging from AppleInsider's poll results). We knew prices would drop, and we knew later models would add features. Well, one of those two things just happened. Fine. Who DIDN'T think the price would drop with the initial rush was over? I hope Apple sells a trillion of these things. I'm not in competition with anybody else, and it doesn't hurt me that you might be able to buy something cheaper today than I did 2 months ago. I got to have my iPhone from the beginning, and I'm delighted with it. That's my compensation. Frankly, I'd have preferred a price drop to something like introducing an 80GB iPhone at the old price. Now THAT might have hurt!
People need to get over it. Cell phone price drop fast. I have bought phones for $200 which drop to $-50 after rebate (yes, they pay you) in a couple of short months.
I won't be surprised if iPhone end up $100 in one year, and $0 or negative in two years.
I would like a bronze plaque emblazzoned with all the names of iPhone buyers prior to Sept. 5, 2007 and posted at each of Apples retail stores.
Here is how it would read:
"To all our loyal customers, we at Apple would like to thank all of the individuals below for your purchase of the iPhone prior to 09/05/2007. You all "took one for the team". And for this, we are grateful.
LOL. Seriously, though, I bought an iPhone on day 5 or so. I didn't "take one for the team." I did it for myself, and I have no regrets.
Sorry kids, but I have to agree. This is why I don't buy new Mac products the day they come out. I dig Mac & all the Apple wares and I like to get my grubby paws on all the new goodies...just not on Day One.
Anyone following Apple for more than a month knows that they drop their prices in the months following a new launch. Always have.
I feel bad for the early iPhone adopters...I wanted one, too. But, this is exactly why I waited. You can't be surprised the price fell before the Holiday season.
I'm not sure what your point it. Cingular is subsidizing the other smartphones not the makers. So comparing it to other smartphones out of contract is correct. You DO NOT have to sign a new contract to get the iPhone at it's current price.
Quote:
Originally Posted by audiopollution
I'm not sure what your point is.
You are ostensibly buying the iPhone 'under contract', whether you buy it from AT&T or an Apple Store, as it is only usable on the AT&T network. As such, the price drop is not comparable to buying a Razr (or another smartphone) out of contract.
Not that I care, but people are acting like this is so common for a ~33% price drop in 3 months.
You trusted Apple to set the price for you? What happened to personal responsibility? Holy bejeezus batman!
To all that are angry about this... You agreed to purchase the iPhone for the price it was listed at at time of purchse. By handing them the money you agreed that it was a price you were willing to pay, at that time, for that device. End of freaking story. If you thought the price was too high, or couldn't afford it, then you shouldn't have purchased one. This is very simple.
You are all pissed off that others now can buy the same phone for a cheaper price. Get over your jealousy, and live with the fact that you agreed to the price as it was previously when you purchased it. My god you all sound like a whiny 4 year olds.
Grow up and get over it. You shouldn't have handed them the money if you didn't think it was worth it. Period. Whatever happens to the price in the future is completely inconsequential.
Example: if they hadn't dropped the price so that others can now afford it, you would be just fine, not angry?! That makes absolutely no sense at all. It's called jealousy, and it's a bad thing.
Dropping the price $200 after 10 weeks wasn't decided yesterday.
They obviously took advantage of the goodwill I had toward their company by overinflating their price at launch. I'm not bitching, I am merely stating that I will never show them any goodwill again, and will no longer be making any unneccasary purchases from them ever again.
Losing out on any further business from me, and any future iTunes purchases I might have made, is also the "tough luck of technology."
I have bought many Mac computers over the years. I remember in the '80s I bought a Mac Lisa for $5000 in 1980 dollars. Within a few months they even dropped support on it and it was TOTALLY worthless.
I still buy MACS and will forever because I like the wonderful technology efforts the boys up there in Coopertino put into the products.
I look forward to them lowering the price of high end Pro desktops so I can sell my G5 dual 2.5ghz. I may even pop for a iPhone someday too.
Steve's responce is compleat is wrong in so may ways and to those who say they saw it coming; show me one thread on this or any other news or fan site that talk about a $200 price drop within 60 days of launch day.
No other device in recent history has seen such a deep price reduction this quickly. Not the Razor, PSP, or xBox? ?Unfortunate reality of the cut-throat technology world? BS!
This is a classic case of price gauging.
Did Apple's cost to make the iPhone suddenly drop? No.
Did Apple drop the price to increase sales? No.
At nearly 1 million sold in two months, the iPhone is quickly on its way to becoming the best selling smart phone in history?.Or maybe not, because now Apple has about 1 million pissed off customers who feel like they?ve been ripped off.
The reality I see is how cut-throat Apple can be in dealing with its loyal customers.
I'm trying to think of it as costing me $3 a day for the months of July and August to own my Iphone, when put that way, it is a bit easier to stomach. I spend more than that a day on red bull and cigarettes. I still have my Iphone to show for it!
Anyone following Apple for more than a month knows that they drop their prices in the months following a new launch. Always have. You can't be surprised the price fell before the Holiday season.
They usually upgrade the product at the same price. They do not have a history of knocking 33% off the price of an item 10 weeks after launch.
Calling Spetember 5th the holiday season is also a stretch.
I've never bought any new product in this price range that suddenly magically becomes 33% less in value after 2 months.
Apple knew how many iPhones they'd have opening weekend and then estimated how many people would want to buy one that weekend. They priced the phones accordingly to keep demand as far DOWN as possible.
Imagine the demand if these suckers were $399 on June 29.
I do think they should have introduced a 16GB version for $599 Wednesday. That might have lessened the sting a bit.
Comments
Steve pretty much told all the fanboys bend over and take it like a man.
The iPhone was announced in January. People had seven months to decide whether or not it was worth $600 to them. If it wasn't, then they shouldn't have bought one until it inevitably became cheaper. Regardless of when the price changes, with technology you buy when the features and price meet your requirements. If someone's happy with the features and the price they're paying for it, then there's no reason to be upset afterward when either improves.
Prices of technology fall, dramatically sometimes. I think the company saw that the pricing structure was just too high to hit its targets. Oh, well. I paid too much money for an I item I still enjoy. As an economist, I understand that I would still be willing and able to purchase and iPhone at the $599 price point, if it were still at that price. All Apple has done was "create" a larger consumer surplus for many people including myself. So, when I purchase my next iPhone I will see it as more of a bargain. Some people have been complaining that their iPhone has depreciated by $50 per week since launch. This is correct; but do you get less satisfaction from knowing that the price is now lower? Do you like your iPhone less? Well if you do, then sell it. Remember the $599 price is a sunk cost and should not be influential in future decisions. Basically what I am saying is get over it! It is just money.
Bullshit. If you purchased the Razor phone out of contract, it was still $399.
The Blackberry Perl has been out for a while and the BB Pearl2 is about to be released.
Go check the prices of the high end phone at Cingular, and you'll see that darn near all the smartphones still cost %100 of their release date price without a contract.
I'm not sure what your point is.
You are ostensibly buying the iPhone 'under contract', whether you buy it from AT&T or an Apple Store, as it is only usable on the AT&T network. As such, the price drop is not comparable to buying a Razr (or another smartphone) out of contract.
I do have one request though.
I would like a bronze plaque emblazzoned with all the names of iPhone buyers prior to Sept. 5, 2007 and posted at each of Apples retail stores.
Here is how it would read:
"To all our loyal customers, we at Apple would like to thank all of the individuals below for your purchase of the iPhone prior to 09/05/2007. You all "took one for the team". And for this, we are grateful.
Apple are going to sell a shitload of them in Europe with the lower price. Wayhey!
I think Apple's initial price was set for the fanboys that would pay through the nose. Once those people paid, the $399 price was adjusted to target the next category of consumers. Apple cares about their customers but they care about their income statement a little more. Apple knows the fanboys will complain but they will spend when the next great product comes along.
Well said. 100% correct.
I think Apple is going to sell a bunch at this price. I came into the office this morning to discover that 2 colleagues along with their spouses had purchased iPhones last night. I was very happy for them and Apple. I cheerfully showed them the little intricacies of the UI that I love so much to demo.
I really don't mind at all that Apple lowered the price, I think it's great. But that's just me, apparently some people are just wired a little differently.
There are a couple of interesting and relevant Bible verses starting at Matthew 20:1 which clearly shows that human nature hasn't changed any in 2000+ years. Good read. I'm not saying that you should read the Bible, but this particular set of verses is a really funny in light of all the recent iPhone complaints.
m
Why not? Because it was MY decision to be an early adopter KNOWING that Apple could very easily trump my new toy with an even better one....even within a couple of months of my purchase. It IS the nature of business just as Stevie says.
"I live in Canada, can't even get the damn phone even though it would work fine here, and think anyone who got to buy one the day it came out should suck it up."
Or, as John Gruber put it, "if you didn?t think the iPhone was worth $599, you shouldn?t have bought it. That?s how supply and demand works."
I think almost 1 million people learned a valuable lesson about impulse buying.
Not at all. A lot of us were grownups and knew the situation going in (Apparently not all of us, though, judging from AppleInsider's poll results). We knew prices would drop, and we knew later models would add features. Well, one of those two things just happened. Fine. Who DIDN'T think the price would drop with the initial rush was over? I hope Apple sells a trillion of these things. I'm not in competition with anybody else, and it doesn't hurt me that you might be able to buy something cheaper today than I did 2 months ago. I got to have my iPhone from the beginning, and I'm delighted with it. That's my compensation. Frankly, I'd have preferred a price drop to something like introducing an 80GB iPhone at the old price. Now THAT might have hurt!
I won't be surprised if iPhone end up $100 in one year, and $0 or negative in two years.
I would like a bronze plaque emblazzoned with all the names of iPhone buyers prior to Sept. 5, 2007 and posted at each of Apples retail stores.
Here is how it would read:
"To all our loyal customers, we at Apple would like to thank all of the individuals below for your purchase of the iPhone prior to 09/05/2007. You all "took one for the team". And for this, we are grateful.
LOL. Seriously, though, I bought an iPhone on day 5 or so. I didn't "take one for the team." I did it for myself, and I have no regrets.
Anyone following Apple for more than a month knows that they drop their prices in the months following a new launch. Always have.
I feel bad for the early iPhone adopters...I wanted one, too. But, this is exactly why I waited. You can't be surprised the price fell before the Holiday season.
I'm not sure what your point is.
You are ostensibly buying the iPhone 'under contract', whether you buy it from AT&T or an Apple Store, as it is only usable on the AT&T network. As such, the price drop is not comparable to buying a Razr (or another smartphone) out of contract.
Not that I care, but people are acting like this is so common for a ~33% price drop in 3 months.
You trusted Apple to set the price for you? What happened to personal responsibility? Holy bejeezus batman!
To all that are angry about this... You agreed to purchase the iPhone for the price it was listed at at time of purchse. By handing them the money you agreed that it was a price you were willing to pay, at that time, for that device. End of freaking story. If you thought the price was too high, or couldn't afford it, then you shouldn't have purchased one. This is very simple.
You are all pissed off that others now can buy the same phone for a cheaper price. Get over your jealousy, and live with the fact that you agreed to the price as it was previously when you purchased it. My god you all sound like a whiny 4 year olds.
Grow up and get over it. You shouldn't have handed them the money if you didn't think it was worth it. Period. Whatever happens to the price in the future is completely inconsequential.
Example: if they hadn't dropped the price so that others can now afford it, you would be just fine, not angry?! That makes absolutely no sense at all. It's called jealousy, and it's a bad thing.
Dropping the price $200 after 10 weeks wasn't decided yesterday.
They obviously took advantage of the goodwill I had toward their company by overinflating their price at launch. I'm not bitching, I am merely stating that I will never show them any goodwill again, and will no longer be making any unneccasary purchases from them ever again.
Losing out on any further business from me, and any future iTunes purchases I might have made, is also the "tough luck of technology."
I have bought many Mac computers over the years. I remember in the '80s I bought a Mac Lisa for $5000 in 1980 dollars. Within a few months they even dropped support on it and it was TOTALLY worthless.
I still buy MACS and will forever because I like the wonderful technology efforts the boys up there in Coopertino put into the products.
I look forward to them lowering the price of high end Pro desktops so I can sell my G5 dual 2.5ghz. I may even pop for a iPhone someday too.
Hail Jobs!!
Steve's responce is compleat is wrong in so may ways and to those who say they saw it coming; show me one thread on this or any other news or fan site that talk about a $200 price drop within 60 days of launch day.
No other device in recent history has seen such a deep price reduction this quickly. Not the Razor, PSP, or xBox? ?Unfortunate reality of the cut-throat technology world? BS!
This is a classic case of price gauging.
Did Apple's cost to make the iPhone suddenly drop? No.
Did Apple drop the price to increase sales? No.
At nearly 1 million sold in two months, the iPhone is quickly on its way to becoming the best selling smart phone in history?.Or maybe not, because now Apple has about 1 million pissed off customers who feel like they?ve been ripped off.
The reality I see is how cut-throat Apple can be in dealing with its loyal customers.
So pleased to see you have such strong OPINIONS.
Would be nice if you actually had ANY FACTS.
Anyone following Apple for more than a month knows that they drop their prices in the months following a new launch. Always have. You can't be surprised the price fell before the Holiday season.
They usually upgrade the product at the same price. They do not have a history of knocking 33% off the price of an item 10 weeks after launch.
Calling Spetember 5th the holiday season is also a stretch.
I've never bought any new product in this price range that suddenly magically becomes 33% less in value after 2 months.
Apple knew how many iPhones they'd have opening weekend and then estimated how many people would want to buy one that weekend. They priced the phones accordingly to keep demand as far DOWN as possible.
Imagine the demand if these suckers were $399 on June 29.
I do think they should have introduced a 16GB version for $599 Wednesday. That might have lessened the sting a bit.