Is 100,000 a lot?
Was anyone else surprised at how few preorders Apple got for the G5? A year or so ago they would sell 200,000 PowerMacs a quarter. Even last quarter IIRC they sold over 100,000. Supposedly everyone was waiting for these new faster machines. Well they are here now, and half way through the quarter they only have orders for 100,000 (and that counts the last week of last quarter). Based on the idea that poor sales the last couple quarters represented people postponing purchases until the G5 was released, and that steady state sales for PowerMacs should be at least 150,000, and that sales would be heavily front end loaded, I was figuring that they would get 150,000-200,000 pre-orders. Does anyone else find the 100,000 number disappointing?
Comments
Originally posted by JBL
Was anyone else surprised at how few preorders Apple got for the G5? A year or so ago they would sell 200,000 PowerMacs a quarter. Even last quarter IIRC they sold over 100,000. Supposedly everyone was waiting for these new faster machines. Well they are here now, and half way through the quarter they only have orders for 100,000 (and that counts the last week of last quarter). Based on the idea that poor sales the last couple quarters represented people postponing purchases until the G5 was released, and that steady state sales for PowerMacs should be at least 150,000, and that sales would be heavily front end loaded, I was figuring that they would get 150,000-200,000 pre-orders. Does anyone else find the 100,000 number disappointing?
I don't find it disappointing at all. Many people will not preorder. They'll wait until they can take the machine home. I'm not a preorder guy. I hate lines whether they be physical or virtual. You want my money? You better have product available in a matter of a few days. 100,000 souls were more patient than I would be.
They're expecting to get back to 200000 per quarter. I'd say 100,000 PRE orders is pretty good
Originally posted by Big Mac
Even if it's not disappointing, 100k isn't too spectacular. The G5 was supposed to be the sales leader. You'd think all of that pent up demand would have brought Apple a lot more than that. It's strange that Apple included that fact in the press release.
Yes but realize that many of us expected the entry level G5 to be 1599-1699 starting. Had Apple hit this pricepoint they would have higher sales potentially.
I think a lot of people are waiting for benchmarks before deciding what to buy. Is there a difference between the 1.6 and 1.8 that justifies the higher price? Is the dual so much faster that it's really the best value? I would really like to see what I'm getting for my money before plunking down the cash.
Besides, if Apple thought the numbers were below expectations they would not have announced them at all. We'd have had to wait for the financial results to see how G5s were selling.
Still, 100,000 is pretty good for pre-order.
I won't pre-order. There's more people like me. I like to be able to go into a store and test things out. And let's face it, by the time Apple ships the dual 2 gigger in plentiful supply and by the time most people get their money together...it will be Rev B time! 2.5 gig!
I don't believe in hanging on for 'vapourware', competing for initial batches of things, like Oliver Twist in the porridge queue. I'm a customer. I want things in plentiful supply and to get what I want, when I want it...and what position I want it in...er...ahem...
I think Apple are on course to shatter 200,000 units for the quarter. When people can get in the stores and touch these beauties in the flesh...and word gets out about the performance of these machines...the blue touch paper will be lit.
Re: the price. Kinda agreed. However, with rev B, the current speed grades will probably move into the current G4 tower range (and the G4 towers phased out...The G4 Tower is playing price buffer to the G5 as the eMac is to the iMac2.) This will mean that many more people will be able to afford the G5 goodness and it will mean that for about a grand early 2004, a 1.6 Gig G5 will be picked up cheaply and still out perform Intel's latest 3.2 or 3.4 gig Processor!
It will only get better for the G5 come Christmas/New Year. I think Apple will hit 300,000 unit sales for the Quarter before then.
If they don't...they won't be far off and like you say, price may be a small factor this time.
It will probably be another week before we get ours in the UK...we always have to wait a week, a month later for anything good from the yankeedoodles...
Lemon Bon Bon
Originally posted by Big Mac
Even if it's not disappointing, 100k isn't too spectacular. The G5 was supposed to be the sales leader.
Apple themselves said they don't expect sales to be at the same level Power Macs used to sell when they were still hot items. The whole laptop-as-desktop concept has bitten off a big piece of desktop sales. Fred Anderson said they hoped to get back to 200,000 units per quarter with the G5. For comparison, the eMac/iMac line sold about 285,000 units last quarter.
100,000 pre-orders and 200,000 sales per quarter are excellent figures for the laptop dominated 21st century.
So in that respect, yeah, it must be a little disappointing. The sluggish economy (plus maybe the increased interest in laptops) has taken its toll.
On the plus side, 100K pre-orders sure isn't anything to be ashamed of. And it's clear the most popular model is the Dual 2Ghz, at Apple's highest price point. That's got to be good news.
edit. took a while to post, Ensign, and missed yours -- but at least that '99 150K figure is now CONFIRMED.
Several of you have suggested that the "I won't buy until I can carry it out the door" factor is larger than the "gotta get it first" factor. Are there any figures to back that up? How did preorders of the iPod, iMac or 17" PowerBook compare to the rate of sales after they were readily available?
Originally posted by JBL
Several of you have suggested that the "I won't buy until I can carry it out the door" factor is larger than the "gotta get it first" factor. Are there any figures to back that up? How did preorders of the iPod, iMac or 17" PowerBook compare to the rate of sales after they were readily available?
I don't know about preorders, but sales of the entire PowerBook LINE were only about 160,000 each quarter.
So many of Apple's key markets, like advertising, are still really hurting. Agencies that are still laying off employees are not making major investments in new equipment. Education budgets, public and private, are really tight or shrinking. I think that there will be a lot of demand for G5s when the economy picks up.
Originally posted by medialab
I believe the bulk of tower sales will come from business and professional circles. Video post houses and publishing companies will likely order in batches of 20 - 150. Any competently-run business that lays out that kind of expenditure has a procedure to follow. And it doesn't involve buying things sight unseen -- no matter how groovy it is. I'm betting that Apple will see sales of 350,000 units between now and the end of the year.
Yeah, most customers buying these towers aren't the same customers that preordered imacs or cubes.
Originally posted by medialab
Any competently-run business that lays out that kind of expenditure has a procedure to follow. And it doesn't involve buying things sight unseen -- no matter how groovy it is.
And that's what makes the number of preordered G5s (professional workstations, priced accordingly) impressive. This is not a bunch of consumers satisfying gadget lust. Well, not entirely (murbot?).
Originally posted by Amorph
And that's what makes the number of preordered G5s (professional workstations, priced accordingly) impressive. This is not a bunch of consumers satisfying gadget lust. Well, not entirely (murbot?).
1st: Haha
2nd: I was going to get it out of gadget lust, but decided a PowerBook would suit me better. The PowerMac will come next year right before college.
I'm not a preorder guy. I hate lines whether they be physical or virtual. You want my money? You better have product available in a matter of a few days.
I didn't realize you had to front several grand months before you actually get your order. Didn't happen with mine?
The main reson I preordered was the this feeling I had about being unable to get my hands on a dualie for sometime after Apple shipped machines to retail. I think it might be a while until you see a dualie sitting on a shelf somewhere.
Plus, I needed that Radeon 9800 Pro as well. Yeah, you can get it retail but that one blows due to lack of ADC.
Yeah, you can pay like a hundred bucks for an adapter. Buying at retail costs another hundred bucks as the bump to a 9800 Pro via BTO is 300 bucks.
It would cost me 200 bucks more if I got a dualie via retail.
Its kind of why I am part of the 100,000.