US carriers signal launch iPhone 5s inventory will be 'grotesquely' low

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Comments

  • Reply 61 of 85
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by malax View Post

     

     

     

    But as others have asked, then why didn't Apple limit sales to US initially instead of, for the first time, making them available in China simultaneously.  That decision suggests that Apple does have sufficient stock to handle the initial surge reasonably well.

     

    Stock outs at the carrier retail locations are bad news though.  My experience buying an iPhone at a Verizon store a few years ago wasn't pleasant.  They tried to talk me out of the iPhone in favor of some other device.  Some (hopefully small) percentage of people who head to a non-Apple store to get the new iPhone will walk out with some other brand of phone if they are out of iPhones (plus an overpriced bundle of crappy accessories).


     

    For a few years now Apple has been releasing their products in as many counties as soon as possible to curb people buying them and shipping them overseas and inflating the costs. If I had to guess, Apple has enough supply to give each major market a certain amount of phones. Just because they are for sale in lots of countries doesn't mean they have a ton to go around.

     


    Sometimes everyone getting a little is better than some getting all and others getting none.
  • Reply 62 of 85
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DroidFTW View Post

     

    If supplies are "grotesquely low" then Apple should raise the price on the 5S.  I'm sure they'd sell at a higher price if supplies are that limited.


    That's what scalpers do. A company like Apple can't raise its price willy-nilly once it's been announced.

     

    Learn something about how a real business works, and how they respond to short-run v. long-run supply shocks.

  • Reply 63 of 85
    y2any2an Posts: 187member
    They are launching in China. What do you expect? Of course launch day supplies in the US will be more constrained than in the past.
  • Reply 64 of 85
    If Apple Knew that they were going to be short why open up sale in China so early...? Or is it a new strategy to offer more phones to China to win a more competitive market. While slowing the U.S sale because they dominate and potential sale will wait.
  • Reply 65 of 85
    droidftwdroidftw Posts: 1,009member
    That's what scalpers do. A company like Apple can't raise its price willy-nilly once it's been announced.

    Learn something about how a real business works, and how they respond to short-run v. long-run supply shocks.
    You certainly have a valid point but the way in which you made it could certainly use some improvement. I know it can sometimes be difficult to determine tone when communicating online, but you sometimes come off as unnecessarily hostile. It's certainly possible that I'm not reading your time correctly and if that's the case then you have my apologies.
  • Reply 66 of 85
    I am sure this unsubstantiated rumor will be the next focus of those anti-Apple CNBC haters, led by Melissa Lee.
  • Reply 67 of 85
    Who came up with the term "grotesquely low"? To exactly what are they even comparing that term? How does it hurt these carriers? If there aren't enough iPhones to go around, the consumers can just pick up some low-cost Android smartphone or two Samsung Galaxy S4s for $199. After all, everyone says that iPhones aren't anything special as far as hardware is concerned. The carriers can bait and switch iPhones for Androids then customers won't have to leave the carrier retail stores empty-handed.
  • Reply 68 of 85
    and as usual for this type of report, AAPL up $5 and change.
  • Reply 69 of 85
    dunksdunks Posts: 1,254member
    Grotesquely low as in Microsoft-Surface-launch low? Or just low compared to anticipated demand?

    It's curious how stock outs for any other product, no matter how artificially constrained, would result in generous media fawning and praise. Somehow the physical inability of Apple's supply chain to produce the massive volume of cutting-edge components will be spun as poor planning, poor management.
  • Reply 70 of 85
    droidftw wrote: »
    You certainly have a valid point but the way in which you made it could certainly use some improvement. I know it can sometimes be difficult to determine tone when communicating online, but you sometimes come off as unnecessarily hostile. It's certainly possible that I'm not reading your time correctly and if that's the case then you have my apologies.

    No need to apologize. I overstepped in my tone.

    It's just that I have a Pavlovian response to your username every time I see it (which is why I rarely, if ever, respond to your posts; I know I run the risk of showing my annoyance).
  • Reply 71 of 85
    dunks wrote: »
    Grotesquely low as in Microsoft-Surface-launch low? Or just low compared to anticipated demand?

    It's curious how stock outs for any other product, no matter how artificially constrained, would result in generous media fawning and praise. Somehow the physical inability of Apple's supply chain to produce the massive volume of cutting-edge components will be spun as poor planning, poor management.

    The spin may not be entirely misplaced this time, given that they took an extra couple of months to do their phone announcement. One would have thought that addressing supply chain issues would have -- given last year's iMac fiasco -- been priority #1.

    That's why I don't believe this report.
  • Reply 72 of 85

    I may be wrong...but I think Apple has a real winner with the iP5S. It's more of an advanced device than even the MBP or MBA.

     

    Advanced security, advanced camera, advanced battery, advanced chip design, advanced apps, etc., etc. And "mobile" has Apple's attention.

     

    Stevo said, "...in tech you have to be 10 years ahead of the competition and Apple is now five years ahead." 

     

    I think the iP5S is at least 5 years ahead of anything Samsung, Motorola, BB, Nokia/MS, HTC has produced.

  • Reply 73 of 85
    I think the iP5S is at least 5 years ahead of anything Samsung, Motorola, BB, Nokia/MS, HTC has produced.

    In 5 years I think that list is going to be much smaller or very different.
  • Reply 74 of 85
    Its mainly due to the demand for the metallic colors. I am almost certain Gold will be this "it" color for the fall.
  • Reply 75 of 85
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TeeJay2012 View Post



    How can you use grotesquely" low inventory and "less.. than expected demand" in the same story?



    I am pleasantly annoyed at this.

     

    Because it an analyst telling the story lol they can be both wrong and right at the same time. For plausible deniably reasons in the future.

  • Reply 76 of 85
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dunks View Post



    Grotesquely low as in Microsoft-Surface-launch low?

    Lol now your just making me laugh.  They had plenty of surfaces,  They had to eat $900 million worth of them in a write off. Now there giving the damn things to schools for free.  I guess the schools can always use them for door stops.

  • Reply 77 of 85
    512ke512ke Posts: 782member

    If Apple only made just a few phones, then I think it would only be fair to remove them from all the stores and put them on eBay instead.

     

    All iPhone 5S's will be sold on eBay to the highest bidder.  That way, there can never be a shortage of iPhone 5S's.  Problem solved.

  • Reply 78 of 85
    I don't know if I can justify moving from the 5 to the 5S but my wife's Galaxy III is looking long in the tooth...
  • Reply 79 of 85
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mechanic View Post

     

     

    Because it an analyst telling the story lol they can be both wrong and right at the same time. For plausible deniably reasons in the future.


     

    Because analysts are "notoriously semi-accurate".

  • Reply 80 of 85
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post



    I remember a few years back, when people would scramble to get their hands on the Nintendo Wii, and it was never in stock at retail stores. Most of these people didn't just say, oh, let's just buy a PlayStation instead!

     

    I worked in the electronics department of a certain ubiquitous retail conglomerate during the Wii rollout.  Every Tuesday, late in the afternoon, three or four units would trickle in amongst all the other shipments.  They would never last overnight; in fact, we'd have people calling the department ahead of time, asking us to hold one for them.

     

    It went on this way for months.  Not even once would anyone consider a competing  product.

     

    (Thanks for the memories, Newt)

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