How low in price can the iPhone 5 go?

[andyx3x]

http://9to5mac.com/2012/12/14/walmar...pad-3-for-399/

This is unbelievable that the price on the phone is dropping so quickly. This has never happened before, especially during the holiday season. I guess those low sales numbers are true.

[zhenya]

Nope, it has happened before. Stores use it as a loss leader to get people in the stores before the holidays.

I don't know what 'low sales' figures you are talking about because the iPhone 5 is by far the fastest selling smartphone ever released.

[andyx3x]

Originally Posted by zhenya

Nope, it has happened before. Stores use it as a loss leader to get people in the stores before the holidays.

I don't know what 'low sales' figures you are talking about because the iPhone 5 is by far the fastest selling smartphone ever released.

This has never happened before with an iPhone that has only been out a few months. Never.

http://bgr.com/2012/12/14/iphone-5-sales-iphone-4s/

[sixteen12]

Or Wal Mart is lowering the price a lot to get people to buy it there. They get paid by cellphone providers based on number of contracts signed. Clearly they think taking a hit on the phone makes it worth it based on project numbers.

[zhenya]

Originally Posted by andyx3x

This has never happened before with an iPhone that has only been out a few months. Never.

http://bgr.com/2012/12/14/iphone-5-sales-iphone-4s/

Yes it has. http://www.phonearena.com/news/Targe...k-only_id24645

and even bigger discounts with the iPad.

http://slickdeals.net/f/3596938-iPad...-25-and-NOV-26

[Mrbobb]

Well I guess finally the shortage is over.

[howyoudoin]

Originally Posted by zhenya

Yes it has. http://www.phonearena.com/news/Targe...k-only_id24645

and even bigger discounts with the iPad.

http://slickdeals.net/f/3596938-iPad...-25-and-NOV-26

$75 discount on the iPhone 5 compared to a $25 discount on the iPhone 4S is quite a difference especially with a phone that is "record selling". Walmart is also offering the newest iPad (4th gen) at $399, a device that came out just 2 months ago compared to that Target sale which was a $75 gift card and it only applied to models with cellular modem (also the iPad 2 came out in March of that year). AAPL stock is clearly showing the concern.

[tardman91]

I'll be happy when they knock some money off the unlocked retail price.

[zhenya]

Originally Posted by howyoudoin

$75 discount on the iPhone 5 compared to a $25 discount on the iPhone 4S is quite a difference especially with a phone that is "record selling". Walmart is also offering the newest iPad (4th gen) at $399, a device that came out just 2 months ago compared to that Target sale which was a $75 gift card and it only applied to models with cellular modem (also the iPad 2 came out in March of that year). AAPL stock is clearly showing the concern.

I'd have to see some proof that Apple is in any way involved in these discounts. More than likely it is just that the retailers are getting more aggressive, and if anything, the increased sales volumes and pent up demand (even today you can't walk into the average retail store and buy an iPhone 5) are being used to their advantage as a marketing tool.

Again, the iPhone 5 is by far the best selling smart phone ever, so on what basis do you think this is a concern? Stock price has little to nothing to do with the fundamental health of a business.

[howyoudoin]

Originally Posted by zhenya

I'd have to see some proof that Apple is in any way involved in these discounts. More than likely it is just that the retailers are getting more aggressive, and if anything, the increased sales volumes and pent up demand (even today you can't walk into the average retail store and buy an iPhone 5) are being used to their advantage as a marketing tool.

Again, the iPhone 5 is by far the best selling smart phone ever, so on what basis do you think this is a concern? Stock price has little to nothing to do with the fundamental health of a business.

I don't think Apple is in any way involved with the discounts but Best Buy who is offering $50 off plus 5000 reward zone points (equals $100 in certificates) has plenty of stock on hand at all 9 stores in my area (not counting the mobile stores which also have stock). My concern is in the past retailers didn't have to discount Apple products because everyone has them for the same price. Now we have retailers knocking 35% off the iPhone 5 which was hard to find until just recently, seems strange to discount something that's so hard to find (which I don't believe)

[Blakjack]

Originally Posted by zhenya

nope, it has happened before. Stores use it as a loss leader to get people in the stores before the holidays.

I don't know what 'low sales' figures you are talking about because the iphone 5 is by far the fastest selling smartphone ever released.

#wrong

Plus the OP wasn't asking whether or not Apple had a hand in this. Simply asked how low we thought the price could go and expressed how surprising this was.......because again......this has never happened before. He's right! It hasn't!

[AFDoc]

Who cares? Why does it matter if some retailers are offering discounts? Move on with life ffs.


The price of the phone can go to zero.... that's how low it can go. I guess they could actually pay people to take it but that would be cray cray (as my 7 year old says.)

[harcosparky]

Originally Posted by AFDoc

The price of the phone can go to zero.... that's how low it can go.

Yeah it could go to zero, but I would stick with my iPhone 4 before I took the zero deal on an iPhone 5 because no doubt at zero for the new one I'd have to stick myself with another 2 year contract!

[hyteckit]

I've own every single iPhone since the original iPhone, except for the iPhone 5.

The iPhone 5 just doesn't entice me enough to give up my sexy iPhone 4S. The iPhone 5 has a faster CPU, larger screen, LTE, and slightly better camera.

However, I'm sticking with my iPhone 4S until the release of the iPhone 5S or iPhone 6.

[Beeplance]

It's free if you decide to steal it.

[ThatsMeRight]

Originally Posted by andyx3x

http://9to5mac.com/2012/12/14/walmar...pad-3-for-399/

This is unbelievable that the price on the phone is dropping so quickly. This has never happened before, especially during the holiday season. I guess those low sales numbers are true.

Quite a drastic switch here. You went from:

“Some of our Chinese sources do not expect the iPhone 5 to do as well as the iPhone 4S,” Millunovich wrote.

To

those low sales numbers are true

Also, keep something else in mind: Apple has barely lowered price for the iPhone 4S ($0 to $40 dollars, depending on country) and introduced the iPhone 5 with a higher price in lots and lots of countries.

For example, in Europe there are lots of countries where the iPhone 4S launched (without a plan) for around $790. The iPhone 5, however, launched for around $920 dollar. That's a $130 price increase!

We're talking here about Apple's own pricing.

And on almost every carrier (so with a plan), the iPhone 4S has stayed the same in price while the iPhone 5 is at least $130 (€100) more expensive.

Normally, you'd expect that the iPhone 5 would launch for the same price as the iPhone 4S, while the iPhone 4S would drop in price.

--------------------------------------------------------
Just to give you an idea how such a price increase would like in the US. Currently, it looks like this (subsidized pricing):

$199 - iPhone 5 16 GB
$299 - iPhone 5 32 GB
$399 - iPhone 5 64 GB

If you folks in the US had to deal with the same price increase, it would look something like this (subsidized pricing):

$329 - iPhone 5 16 GB
$459 - iPhone 5 32 GB
$619 - iPhone 5 64 GB

The 64 GB model was raised even more in price.

So, let's assume that your statement (iPhone 5 sales are lower than iPhone 4S), is actually correct. It doesn't really matter for Apple. They earn about as much as on an iPhone 4S as they did before, and since the iPhone 5's price is higher, a lower sales number might still mean they earn more.

[Mrbobb]

Surprisingly no long queue at the Beijing release, maybe due to the dusting of snow they say.