I'm in California (South Bay area) and none of the stores seem to have it in stock anytime soon. Was anyone able to get it shipped by this week, or get an in-store pickup? I know that people in the UK have already gotten the Pencil from stores....
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iPad Pro Apple Pencil availability
- Thread starter masotime
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Picked up my iPad Pro - no keyboards or pencils in stock. Said maybe later today or tomorrow but they haven't come in yet.
This really sucks! If Apple was smart enough, they need to roll out all three components (iPad Pro, pencil, keyboard) all at once. By the time I ordered my iPad Pro there were literally no pencils in my area. This was the one thing I was looking forward to. Sure, its a bigger iPad BUT as a graphic designer, I need that one tool that would help me create some amazing stuff. I guess I'll use my 53 stylus until they get the pencils in stock.
I believe "Zero" available for sale...
Couple of users reported that they were handed demo pencils during the pick up by mistake, but then were asked return those.
Very good job Apple, very good...
So has there been any news or announcements on this? Did they produce like 12 Pencils for the entire planet lol? I was ordering the Pro the minute it started online and never saw availability of the Pencil. But it sounds like literally 2 or 3 trickled out to a couple of stores? Weirdest Apple product release to date. And it's just a freaking stylus, how difficult could it possibly be to produce (I mean relative to a phone or tablet)?
went to two different apple stores and neither had any for purchase. one store (perimeter) had the keyboard for sale yesterday but it was now sold out. no biggie, i want the pencil. neither store had received the pencil except for the display units. bummer.
Bought an iPP today with the Apple silicone back cover. Got home and ordered a pencil just to be sure I get one eventually. Liked the look of the Logiteck keyboard but will think about that.
Depending on who I spoke to in the store I got 'no pencil ever in stock so
order online', or 'call back a few times and you might be lucky to bag one of the few we get delivered every day or so'. Very confusing situation!
Depending on who I spoke to in the store I got 'no pencil ever in stock so
order online', or 'call back a few times and you might be lucky to bag one of the few we get delivered every day or so'. Very confusing situation!
I was told by chat to keep checking the website to see if my local store had stock of the pencils as they are receiving stock daily. When I told her that the website does not give an option for in store pick up right now, she said I could order it for delivery then. Chat ended. Nice.
Questions:
Why is this happening?
Why do they trickle ship these too stores, and not have an orderly ordering system FOR PEOPLE WHO OWN THE TABLET?
Why are they making us waste time like this? Time is money.
Haven't they got enough of ours already?
Why is this happening?
Why do they trickle ship these too stores, and not have an orderly ordering system FOR PEOPLE WHO OWN THE TABLET?
Why are they making us waste time like this? Time is money.
Haven't they got enough of ours already?
Questions:
Why is this happening?
Why do they trickle ship these too stores, and not have an orderly ordering system FOR PEOPLE WHO OWN THE TABLET?
Why are they making us waste time like this? Time is money.
Haven't they got enough of ours already?
Totally valid questions. (I'm extremely frustrated with this as well.) Frankly, the items should have, at minimum, been in abundance on launch (1:1 ratio) and if it didn't sell well then they could have dialed it back and slowed production. It's obvious from this launch they had NO idea who would buy this or how many would sell. They struck oil but were entirely unprepared for the geyser that would follow, and while they tediously toil away at trying to convince people to wait, it's very likely Microsoft and others are licking their chops to woo customers over to their platform.
Of course, the Microsoft products are priced way out of reach of anything close to the iPad Pro... so... looks like everyone is a bit screwed and we'll just have to wait LOL
Hey fitshaced,
I own a technology research firm and we routinely buy hardware and software to evaluate the use cases for enterprise customers to integrate into their business processes, products and services. The Apple Pencil has key (non-replicable) features when paired to the iPad Pro but the issue of availability means we are fronting thousands for iPad Pros which we will not be able to fully test until the damn accessories arrive. The keyboard is less critical as most scenarios can be duplicated with third party bluetooth keyboards but really this is just a botched release.
Besides that when you buy as a business you are issued POs for the purchase which cannot be easily modified. So even if we find pencils on the shelves we must still follow through with the purchase of the original invoices and only then can we go through an RMA process. The net result is a massive logistical pain in the ass for a 99 dollar accessory.
So, before you go telling people to stop complaining or allude to the possibility that someone is complaining because they are petulant and unable to wait one or two days for something to arrive, time is indeed money, especially when analysts and engineers are on standby while other companies who have gotten their devices through more direct channels at Apple have been toying with them for months.
It's a stifling and anti-competitive practice. In other words, Apple is being a bit Microsoft about this obfuscation of accessory availability. This has usually extended across the product lines but this case is particularly tedious and I am willing to bet good money that it is all due to a false assumption on their part. (That barely anyone would be interested in the accessories so why not just seed a few into the stores and see how well they do.) As they got closer to release they got more and more positive feedback about the Pencil but by then the initial orders were placed with their distributors and ramping up production takes about 30 - 90 days.
Before anyone runs off half cocked and blames Tim Cook for this, I am also willing to bet good money that he is not directly at fault for this decision. This, to me, seems more like an oversight by the head of retail as they should be managing supply for the stores as well as store operations. Just my two cents.
Looks like you put the cart before the horse then. Apple didn't over promise and under deliver for you. They have delivered on their word so far. If your business is being compromised because of a gamble you took in purchasing these, then you have to eat it. Should your business have an ongoing relationship with Apple and are dependent on delivery of their products outside of what they are announcing to everyone else, maybe you need to communicate that with them and hope they can accomodate you.
What you have done though is jump the gun and raise a PO based on a guesstimate of when the pencil would be released. Did you assume that if you ordered seconds after they went live online you would bag your full order at the first wave of deliveries? Your situation is purely created by you and a risky business decision. I hope it doesn't have any impact on your company or your staff but no one is responsible for you feeling shafted by Apple but you.
I bought the tablet knowing that the pen is backordered. The pen isn't essential to my needs. That's not what I was asking. I was asking why they are trickle shipping these to stores, creating a rather random purchasing scenario, when they could be trying to get these to present buyers of the iPad Pro.
The problem I have is, there's now an option to either call or walk in, which is absurd. It just is frustrating the way it's set up. I think they should reserve them for online and in-store reserve. I'm not sure why they are doing this
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fitshaced,
You are being insolent. In every organization there are always Monday morning quarterbacks who assume they know how best to do everything. What exactly have you done in your career? That being said, I did nothing of the kind. I put the order in knowing FULL WELL of the expected delivery date of the accessories (which for us would be December 2nd). The issue is that the stores are receiving continues trickle shipments which they have no idea when or if they will receive and that inventory SHOULD go to all those who placed an advanced order. To pepper the stores with bits of product here and there serves no purposes but to frustrate customers who plan their purchases.
And the companies I am referring to who get the accessories in advance are those such as IBM, Adobe and so on as they are very large and have significant relationships with Apple. Of course this is not unheard of in any industry but I feel this inventory issue is being entirely mishandled.
Not to mention the fact that their SAP inventory management system doesn't even REGISTER stock until a certain (undisclosed) threshold of product is available at each location. Which results in stores having maybe 1 to 5 or perhaps a little more of any given accessory while showing NO AVAILABILITY in the SAP system until the threshold is met. There was some sound reasoning for this years ago when iPhone was in high demand and shipment quantities were unpredictable, but again for a 99 dollar accessory that has been marketed as a key feature this seems just tedious.
Almost as tedious as your, frankly, worthless contribution to these discussions has been. Please do not bother replying to my comments unless you have something to say about your experience with the acquisition of the product. I don't care, and doubt anyone else reading this thread does either, what you feel other people should be doing with their businesses or their money.
Have an excellent evening/morning.