Apple's inventory piling up.
<a href="http://news.com.com/2102-1040-939363.html" target="_blank">http://news.com.com/2102-1040-939363.html</a>
This could be very bad for Apple.
This could be very bad for Apple.
Comments
The 'new' iMacs are 7 months old now and MWNY is less than a month away. People are waiting until Macworld to see if anything new shows up.
My younger cousin who is considering buying a new iMac and wants to convert from the PC (after he got an iPod which he loves), even knows that it would be foolish to buy now.
I think we'll see a 'clearance' on some of these computers really soon from Apple in the form of coupons, bundles, or discounts.
to change.
Ouch :eek:
It'll be interesting to see how Apple reacts to this. It's definitely not good news.
Remember that a lot of people order from the Apple Online Store as well.
I got it. Why doesn't Apple advertise their retail outlets...period. They never have (at least I have never seen or heard anything at all). Now they have to. Not everyone gets it Apple. Not everyone knows you have retail outlets. Not everyone gets a clue about these "Switch" ads (I'm beginning to think these could have been done a lot better).
Not Everyone = Average consumer: "Wow, cool iMac/iBook/iPod...where do I get one?"
Not everyone wants to buy a computer online. Not everyone knows Apple has retail outlets. Not everyone knows about waiting for MWNY. Some people will go out of their way to find an outlet...see the GAP here?
APPLE...ADVERTISE YOUR RETAIL OUTLETS NOW.
And don't be so pretentious about it! Lowering prices would help loads too.
Consumers, even potential switchers, still compare hardware. A Gateway with a 2 GHz processor and an LCD monitor can?t be had for a song. At just $999, it has a pretty catchy tune.
I still think the ergonomics of the FP iMac is a big deal. But it is not big enough to overcome the crippled hardware that makes up the rest of the machine. (100 MHz sys bus is unacceptable to anyone who has a clue about such things.) Apple should lower the price until the specs demand a higher price. Apple still has a winner on its hands if managed well.
Maybe not in aggregate, but I GUARANTEE that every new eMac sold is one less iMac sold.
Only an insane person would buy an iMac over an eMac (except for Superdrive buyers).
eMac == death of iMac
ting5
<strong>
eMac == death of iMac
ting5</strong><hr></blockquote>
Not if Apple puts a 17" LCD in the iMac drops the lowend model and ups the specs and hopefully drops the price by $100 things will be fine. The inventory problems stem from low demand across the board for computers, higher priced iMac, and Apple increasing production too much. The e-mac hasn't been out long enough to effect sales.
[ 06-26-2002: Message edited by: imacFP ]</p>
<strong>
Not if Apple puts a 17" LCD in the iMac drops the lowend model and ups the specs and hopefully drops the price by $100 things will be fine. The inventory problems stem from low demand across the board for computers, higher priced iMac, and Apple increasing production too much. The e-mac hasn't been out long enough to effect sales.
[ 06-26-2002: Message edited by: imacFP ]</strong><hr></blockquote>
You are funny. Raising the specs AND lowering the price? The difference in the 17" LCD price vs. the 15" LCD price is probably north of $300, and you want the price to go DOWN?
The iMac is the new Cube: pretty, and pretty expensive. At least the Cube could have been a success.
ting5
I went to the Apple Store and I only saw one eMac on display next to the CRT iMac in the corner. I think they have to feature it more because it is the best value.
<strong>
You are funny. Raising the specs AND lowering the price? The difference in the 17" LCD price vs. the 15" LCD price is probably north of $300, and you want the price to go DOWN?
The iMac is the new Cube: pretty, and pretty expensive. At least the Cube could have been a success.
ting5</strong><hr></blockquote>
I'd rather be funny than stupid. Apple has no choice but to raise specs and lower the price. The Cube won't come back and Apple will never offer a consumer tower. The eMac is not flashy enough to drive sales so at the mid-range they need the iMac. One thing that Apple could do is allow people to remove the Superdrive on the highend iMac. That would drop the price about $250 to $300 but keep the better specs. I don't think they would do it but many people want the faster chip and bigger hard drive and don't care as much about the Superdrive.
[ 06-26-2002: Message edited by: imacFP ]</p>
One interesting article I read (no link right now, sorry) speculated that it's partly due to a reduced consumer interest in desktops, period. Maybe Charles Moore is finally right, and laptops have hit a price/performance point that makes them a better option for many than desktops.
<strong>Raising the specs AND lowering the price? The difference in the 17" LCD price vs. the 15" LCD price is probably north of $300, and you want the price to go DOWN?</strong><hr></blockquote>
Again, the Cube had no space in the market because the iMac DV Se was sitting in its place. Plus it cost over $2000 with a monitor. I don't expect the iMac to drop much lower, but if they could manage to drop the price to the original levels, I think it will help sales volumes a lot. I would agree that a price break to $1000 wouldn't make sense because, again, it would compete with the eMac's sales which would be a waste of resources to sell two machines for the same price and market.
I think a lot of us here are on the same wavelength.
Now that Apple has the eMac to shore up the low end, there is no reason for the iMac to have a dinky little 15" LCD. At the price points the iMac is at, it really needs a 17" LCD to compete with wintel offerings.
<strong>
I'd rather be funny than stupid. Apple has no choice but to raise specs and lower the price. The Cube won't come back and Apple will never offer a consumer tower. The eMac is not flashy enough to drive sales so at the mid-range they need the iMac. One thing that Apple could do is allow people to remove the Superdrive on the highend iMac. That would drop the price about $250 to $300 but keep the better specs. I don't think they would do it but many people want the faster chip and bigger hard drive and don't care as much about the Superdrive.
[ 06-26-2002: Message edited by: imacFP ]</strong><hr></blockquote>
You can't really lose money on a product and make it up on volume, except in a dotcom, circa 1999.
ting5