Whoops. Check it again. You gotta triple check for typos whenever making a forum joke of any kind.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Watch Sold Out in Less Than 6 Hours as Shipping Times Slip on All Models
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Whoops. Check it again. You gotta triple check for typos whenever making a forum joke of any kind.
I believe what is really said is that folks like you have such a meaningless life that they need to come here and insult those who realized their desire to enjoy something in life. I'm only insulting you because you insulted so many here.
http://appleinsider.com/articles/10...reating_artificial_product_shortages_for_hype
I thought we were past this "Scarcity to create demand" conspiracy theory by now.
Could be worse I did the exact same as you (except through the iPhone app) and my ship date is May 13 - May 27. It was ordered at 3:02am. I just hope the ship time improves over the next week.
I remember reading a couple months ago on macrumors that the initial order was cut in half due to 'production issues' so it sounds like there was only a couple million available.
I hopped on the apple store app at 2am CST and when it finally loaded, my shipping estimate was mid-may. (42mm space grey sport with black band)
I really don't think apple intentionally produces a low yield to 'create demand'. This is the first time they have ever made a wearable and are entering a new product category so I think they are proceeding with caution until it's a proven winner. (which it will be, of course)
I hopped on the apple store app at 2am CST and when it finally loaded, my shipping estimate was mid-may. (42mm space grey sport with black band)
I really don't think apple intentionally produces a low yield to 'create demand'. This is the first time they have ever made a wearable and are entering a new product category so I think they are proceeding with caution until it's a proven winner. (which it will be, of course)
Ask your money back
Kids,if you've actually taken Marketing 101 and think this is how the "scarcity effect" works: ask your money back.
It tries to make you buy something that you can get now by implying you may not be able to buy it later. Not the other way around.
The key point to look for is the the term "Almost sold out" instead of "Sold out (for now). Come back later."
Kids,if you've actually taken Marketing 101 and think this is how the "scarcity effect" works: ask your money back.
It tries to make you buy something that you can get now by implying you may not be able to buy it later. Not the other way around.
The key point to look for is the the term "Almost sold out" instead of "Sold out (for now). Come back later."
So you have a $600 watch on your wrist, an $850 phone in your pocket ... thieves will notice you're worth a lot of money walking down the street...
just sayin'
Walking down the street with a laptop bag must mean you're filthy rich, then. Everyone has a smartphone, they're all worth upwards of $600.
I bought mine 11 minutes after the stated launch time. I was trying the website, but it wouldn't refresh. I came here and saw that people were succeeding in getting into the app, and instantly went there. I got "June" as a shipping estimate. So, depending on the watch, I'd say the Apple Watch sold out in less than 11 minutes, not 6 hours.
I'm sure they they'll crank up the production and the shipping estimates will draw back into May.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Citysnap, don't put words in my mouth. I didn't call Apple incompetent or use words like "winging it". I actually spun the concept of scarcity from deviant "holding back" as some have implied to genius marketing strategy.
Keying in on perceived negatives and spinning those into me calling Apple incompetent or only "winging it" is so very wrong. If you want to quote what I've actually said, QUOTE ONLY WHAT I'VE SAID, but don't make up words like I've said them to help support your counterpoint.
To respond to what you've actually said (I won't put words in YOUR mouth), I think Apple understands demand just fine. I've referred to them as "big brains" within this very thread. I think they are logistical geniuses. I've also referred to them as marketing geniuses within this very thread too.
What I have offered though is that since this same "sold out in minutes" thing happens EVERY SINGLE TIME, how about taking the very best estimate they can make next time and adding some surplus to it? If they are making as many as they possibly can, set the launch date for a little later than earliest possible so they can have twice as many or three times or more minutes to make their buyers feel lucky before they sell out. Choose to launch in fewer markets so that they can have enough product for more than a few minutes and then roll out to other markets as supply ramps up... you know like they used to do. Etc. There's simple options to meet a real or imagined marketing scarcity objective AND delight more customers who have set their alarms for all hours of the night hoping to be among the lucky few.
None of that puts Apple down- just talks to how Apple could make even more customers feel lucky, sell (charge for) even more products the first day and so on.
Last edited:
I guess I should be more specific - It says 4/24 to 5/8. Maybe I am being a little optimistic, but I figure since I got the order in on the App before the Online store was up (probably a good couple min before)...
I'll let you know on April 24
In the age of the Internet and there is a fundamental mismatch between manufacturing and interest for popular products. Hype peaks sharply on release day and decays over time. Manufacturing starts slowly and doesn't reach maximum capacity for a while.
There just isn't a great solution; no matter how good your supply chain is you can't magically make manufacturing peak at the beginning. In theory you could hold a ton of stock in a warehouse somewhere, if you want to spend a bunch of money on warehouse space for no reason, and sell people devices with already-old batteries. Nobody actually gets their devices sooner that way though, and you lose the opportunity to correct any issues that show up in real-world usage of the first production batches; and I don't think anyone here is seriously suggesting that Apple should wait a year just so they can build up a huge stock in a warehouse somewhere.
There just isn't a great solution; no matter how good your supply chain is you can't magically make manufacturing peak at the beginning. In theory you could hold a ton of stock in a warehouse somewhere, if you want to spend a bunch of money on warehouse space for no reason, and sell people devices with already-old batteries. Nobody actually gets their devices sooner that way though, and you lose the opportunity to correct any issues that show up in real-world usage of the first production batches; and I don't think anyone here is seriously suggesting that Apple should wait a year just so they can build up a huge stock in a warehouse somewhere.
On to another "metric" - the "absorption rate". Put simply, it's a measure of how quickly things are flying off the shelves. But not really. You could say x number of iPhones are being sold per day, and that would be the speed at which they are flying off the shelves. The absorption rate, however, measures how long it would take to sell the current inventory on the shelf at the current speed. If I was making iPhones this measure makes sense because it tells me how soon I might run out of inventory, so I can ramp up or slow down production. So the question is who needs this "absorption rate"?
Neither side can say a thing until we have actual numbers.
If 2 watches were up for sale and those sold out in .00001 seconds, would this be something to squash the haters with?
All we know for sure right now, is that Apple is not meeting demand. Either bad logistics, or bad market analyses.
I doubt it has to do with credit. It's obvious that the reason they warned about shortages is because they were behind schedule in manufacturing them which is very likely.
That's why with the late manufacturing schedule run, Angela probably decided not to allow long lines and require online ordering or risk disappointing the customers that waited hours...in line like fools.
I am interested in finding out why in store pick up was suddenly removed as an option. I thought apple said it would be an option.
This is a new product, would it be plausible that apple would control supply, therefore generate demand, and creating the impression it's popular . It's in thier interest that this gen 1 product is successful. Also if you are unsure about a product , do you produce too many? Or test the waters with controlled demand? This is not an iPhone . Could be wrong but plausible.
You know, those 2 assertions are not mutually exclusive. It's not a binary world. You can have a very good and desirable product, lots of demand for it, and still be able to increase the desire and lust for it even more by artificially constraining ( a bit ) its availability on launch..
You can never have too much of a good thing , in this case lust and desire for your product.
This marketing technique is only bad if there is no real desire for your product in the first place. Wich is not the case for the Apple Watch, there is already plenty of desire for it, although not as much as for the original iPhones/iPAds
Last edited:
I haven't read all the posts in this thread. But tell me - have we had any posters noticeably upset because something they've never had before is suddenly something they are entitled to have on the day of launch vs having some patience and waiting?
It's 101 in Internet Conspirator terms, sure. The facts are that making more than you're going to sell can lead to a billion dollars stuck in a warehouse and making less leads to pissed off customers. In Apple's case, the volume they sell of the iPhone gets them to the point they can only make as many as is humanly possible and it's still not enough. And since that's where people think Apple "restricts" supply, I think they all need to retake 101 of whatever it is.
I just checked your $15 meh dot com watch. It's SOLD OUT!!!
Apple watch has some serious competition here
Well they launch their sales at 12:01 EST, so it really sold out in about 10 hours. But once sold out they are gone for good.
So Apple now has to compete with a $15 COLLECTORS ITEM! Good luck with that Apple.
Huh?
You could always not be an early adopter, you know. Hard to believe you NEED a product that hasn't existed before.
You could always not be an early adopter, you know. Hard to believe you NEED a product that hasn't existed before.