Anyone Else Suspicious of Apple's Alledged Sales Numbers for China?

[SomeDudeAsking]

So for the iPhone 5 in China, Apple said it "sold over two million of its new iPhone® 5 in China, just three days after its launch on December 14" from http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2012/12/16iPhone-5-First-Weekend-Sales-in-China-Top-Two-Million.html. However, this number seems highly suspicious now and I believe Apple stuffed many boxes onto the shelves of retailers and claimed every single one as a sale when in fact it may not have sold. The reason to be suspicious is that there were absolutely no lines or much traffic for a launch day in any Chinese Apple stores and then it has come to light that Apple has cut in half it's component orders for the iPhone 5 from the Wall Street Journal. In the past, kdarling here has shown that Apple includes retailer inventory as "sold" units when making these suspicious press releases and my spidy senses are tingling from this smelly fudging.

And to add to this, Apple shares are in a free fall right now at a 6 month low. It has been tumbling down ever since the iPhone 5 went on sale. Even the stock market doesn't seem to believe Apple.

 

[BHP41]

So for the iPhone 5 in China, Apple said it "sold over two million of its new iPhone® 5 in China, just three days after its launch on December 14" from http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2012/12/16iPhone-5-First-Weekend-Sales-in-China-Top-Two-Million.html. However, this number seems highly suspicious now and I believe Apple stuffed many boxes onto the shelves of retailers and claimed every single one as a sale when in fact it may not have sold. The reason to be suspicious is that there were absolutely no lines or much traffic for a launch day in any Chinese Apple stores and then it has come to light that Apple has cut in half it's component orders for the iPhone 5 from the Wall Street Journal. In the past, kdarling here has shown that Apple includes retailer inventory as "sold" units when making these suspicious press releases and my spidy senses are tingling from this smelly fudging.

And to add to this, Apple shares are in a free fall right now at a 6 month low. It has been tumbling down ever since the iPhone 5 went on sale. Even the stock market doesn't seem to believe Apple.

I really feel for you, nothing better to do than be on a forum about a company/product you hate. Making every post you can to try to bring down the big bad apple. It's starting to get sad.

 

[takeshi74]

The reason to be suspicious is that there were absolutely no lines or much traffic for a launch day in any Chinese Apple stores

Citation? Does Apple only sell via it's B&M stores in China? They don't sell online or through other retailers and carriers as well?

 

[JohnLT13]

If your a shareholder, I guess you would be a bit concerned.
I am not so I, really does not matter if they sell 5k or 5 million.
If your an Apple hater, well I believe nothing you say.

 

[bonskovsky]

I've been suspicious of Apple sales since the 5 million in 5 days. Carriers say its selling but

 

[corvus32]

The thread starter doesn't know what he's talking about.

The long lines and rioting that took place during the 4S launch was exactly what Apple hoped to prevent this time around. For the iPhone 5, Apple used a tiered reservation system to spread out pickups at its stores, and encouraged both sales and preorders through various carrier outlets.

The truth is this was a major logistics win for Apple.

 

[chambone]

The thread starter doesn't know what he's talking about.

The long lines and rioting that took place during the 4S launch was exactly what Apple hoped to prevent this time around. For the iPhone 5, Apple used a tiered reservation system to spread out pickups at its stores, and encouraged both sales and preorders through various carrier outlets.

The truth is this was a major logistics win for Apple.

Exactly, and in addition to that, retail points have about doubled compared to when the 4S launched.

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Anyone Else Suspicious of Apple's Alledged Sales Numbers for China?

Nope. Looks like you're on your own.

 

[Interstella5555]

You're confused why there weren't lines with 0.001% of the population buying something? People have way too much time on their hands... Side note - when companies want to inflate numbers they say "shipped," not "sold."

 

[aziatiklover]

You're confused why there weren't lines with 0.001% of the population buying something? People have way too much time on their hands... Side note - when companies want to inflate numbers they say "shipped," not "sold."

Yeap this is what samsung does! 1 million galaxy note 2 shipped in south korea!

 

[SomeDudeAsking]

Citation? Does Apple only sell via it's B&M stores in China? They don't sell online or through other retailers and carriers as well?

http://www.ibtimes.com/iphone-5-draws-crowd-just-one-person-china-938173

This morning Apple achieved a new record-low for iDevice attendance. While the iPhone 5 delivered sizeable crowds throughout the United States, it was not nearly as successful overseas.

According to Reuters, only one person waited outside of the Apple Store in Shanghai. Another report found that just two customers showed up at Apple's flagship store at an upscale shopping district in Beijing.

There are just too many things adding up to show that the iPhone 5 is not living up to expectations.

For some others in this thread, kdarling in the past has shown that Apple includes both sold and shipped inventory to retailers (that are not necessarily sold) when putting out these press release sales numbers as a standard means of obfuscation.

 

[ThatsMeRight]

The thread starter doesn't know what he's talking about.

The long lines and rioting that took place during the 4S launch was exactly what Apple hoped to prevent this time around. For the iPhone 5, Apple used a tiered reservation system to spread out pickups at its stores, and encouraged both sales and preorders through various carrier outlets.

The truth is this was a major logistics win for Apple.

Yep, plus they only count activated phones. So even if they actually sell a phone, but the buyer doesn't turn it on and connect it to the internet, it doesn't count as a sold unit.

 

[dcpmark]

I really feel for you, nothing better to do than be on a forum about a company/product you hate. Making every post you can to try to bring down the big bad apple. It's starting to get sad.

Can you even imagine what a pathetic and worthless existence this dude actually has, to spend this much time and effort whining about someone else's choice of products from a consumer electronics company??

You can't help but feel sorry for him.

 

[dextr3k]

There have been problems with line-ups in China and HongKong previously with iPhone 4S launch. So Apple used a online lottery system:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/dec/17/apple-2-million-iphone-5-china

The announcement by Apple seemed calculated to respond to reports on Friday suggesting the lack of queues at its stores meant a lack of interest. In fact the online lottery – instituted by the company after near-riots around the launch in January of the iPhone 4S – meant customers could come into stores at any time to pick up a handset if they were allocated one in the scheme.