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I was the first Apple Watch Series 2 Customer in the world!

I was at the Sydney Apple Store picking up my iPhone 7 and picked up an 42mm SS Apple Watch with Sport Band (to replace my current Apple Watch).

I was told I was the first person in the world to buy an Apple Watch Series 2. They tried to get some of the press interested in my purchase, but they were all focussed on the iPhone.

My possible 5 minutes of fame all went ignored and I walked out without anyone even noticing.

It was fun buying my new Apple Watch with my existing Apple Watch to.

Congrats on your new Watch :)

I will try to stop by tomorrow in Cali to see the madness ;)
 
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WHY WOULD YOU WANT A PLUS PHONE IT'S SO BIG YOU CRAZY.

I just wanted to do one of those yelling comments once. That was fun. But for real? I am going from 6s Plus to 7 regular and I cannot friggin' wait to get rid of this brick. Too big for me.
 
Oh the plus is out on time. It comes out tomorrow with the regular one. You're real complaint is that the phone is so popular it's essentially sold out.

Apple really dropped the ball if they can't even get the Plus out on time.

Inexcusable.
 
I personally wouldn't spend that kind of money or sign up for a 24 month contract for a phone I didn't 100% want. I understand the "must have it now" feeling when new tech comes out though so good on them I guess, I hope they enjoy the smaller screen and don't get buyers remorse!
 
We don't have student loans in Australia like the US does. University is paid for by the government here and you pay back the debt only when you earn above a certain threshold (around $52k/yr). They they just keep 4% of your tax return each year until it's paid off.

Also, it's Exam time for most universities last week/this week. If they had time to wait in line, chances are they aren't students.

I'm going with rich kids.

Sounds like a sweet deal you have there with money for school. Sure wish we had that here.
 
Life is filled with tradeoffs.

If you want to wait until your desired model becomes available, that means that many weeks or even months of waiting, so it's not as through your alternative is entirely free of opportunity costs.

These kids have made their choice. Let's respect them for it.
There is zero cost to waiting longer for the phone to become available. No cost at all. Zero lost opportunities. These kids compromized and got something they didn't want. They'll learn.
 
I guess the public didn't get the message that this is just an "iterative" iPhone upgrade and that they should wait till next year for the REALLY good iPhone.

Of course, that's YOUR subjective interpretation and view, doesn't mean it's right....

Some will be coming from previous generation models... Some from other manufacturers even... Some will want the IP67 rating.... Some would have heavily used their existing iPhones to deplete battery performance..... Some will be handing down existing phones to family members....

Yes it's an iterative model from the previous version. If people work hard and want to buy it though - for whatever reason - then that's up to them. They "shouldn't" have to wait until next year because you say so...!
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Walked out with 2 iPhones each.. hmm wonder what they're planning on doing with them :p

Yup. Obviously went with what they could get because it would still make them money. The models they really wanted weren't to use, they would have just made them more money.

Restrict to one per person at launch. If you really want a phone, join the queue.

Instead, the "ticket touts" have just been given an extra $100 each after depriving genuine customers of a launch day phone at retail price. :(
[doublepost=1474014008][/doublepost]
Life is filled with tradeoffs.

If you want to wait until your desired model becomes available, that means that many weeks or even months of waiting, so it's not as through your alternative is entirely free of opportunity costs.

These kids have made their choice. Let's respect them for it.

Whilst I agree with this, and sometimes people will want to trade off to get the phone today instead of waiting, and that's their choice.... My guess (and it's a guess, I don't know for sure) is that at least one of the phones each is to sell for a decent profit.

Supply and demand and all that, they're allowed to buy two so they've not "technically" done anything wrong and all that....

If all five of them are all just buying a second for a friend or family member then I'd find it surprising that they'd still just go for what they could get. Not a single one of them or the other person each of them might be buying for might have wanted to hold out for what they really wanted?

If my guess is right and they're buying to sell at least one (if not both) on at a profit, then they've deprived genuine customers of a launch day phone at a retail price. Nothing illegal, it's within the rules --- but still, it's no better than ticket touting when you think about it? With an extra $100 each thrown in for their troubles....

My thoughts are Apple should restrict to one per customer at launch....
 
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I life in Switzerland and did buy my iPhone 7 plus 256 GB black Online a Week ago.
I am using it now for a couple of days and it really is a greath device! Only to the new home button i need getting used to... :)

I have absolute no clue why in the world someone would go to a Apple retail store, waiting in line (wasting time for nothing), and at the end walk out without the specific model they wanted du buy...

^^
 
So they didn't get the phone they really wanted? Seems like a waste of time other then 15 seconds of fame.

welcome to the iPhone black market. you can sell it in countries where the launch is delayed for 1.5x price in 10 minutes.
they were disappointed to not be able to buy the 256G flagship 7plus in JB which could instantly land them ~500$ for each they sell.
 
It's embarrassing to launch a product and not have any stock.

Their embarrassment ends when they bank the massive profits from another successful product launch. Apple is seemingly immune to the laws of marketing when it comes to not having enough stock at product launch. Rather than creating disappointment and customers seeking alternatives, it just seems to increase the appeal and demand.
Part of the supply problem could be attributed to having two sizes in 5 different finish options.
Regardless, I am sure other smartphone companies would love to be this "embarrassed."
 
Their embarrassment ends when they bank the massive profits from another successful product launch. Apple is seemingly immune to the laws of marketing when it comes to not having enough stock at product launch. Rather than creating disappointment and customers seeking alternatives, it just seems to increase the appeal and demand.
Part of the supply problem could be attributed to having two sizes in 5 different finish options.
Regardless, I am sure other smartphone companies would love to be this "embarrassed."

There's more to it than that. Apple - and other companies selling highly popular products often get accused of artificially manipulating supply and demand to massage profit by making their products seem more popular. Really it's about building a sustainable business model and supply chain.

There's 2 versions (7/7Plus) in 5 colours with 3 different storage options and 3 different carrier band/tech models. That's 90 SKUs/variants. That's a lot of different variants!

There's almost certainly two types of production line - one for the 7 and one for the 7 Plus. They're most likely not interchangeable. The Plus will use more raw materials (and therefore need more storage space - both pre- and post-manufacture) and take longer to build - therefore the number of Pluses manufactured will be less in the same time period than the 7.

Anything they do up front is just an educated guess. You can't stockpile to have enough to cover everyone for day one or week one - that would lead to lots of phones not being needed being manufacturing... As well as a huge ramp up in raw materials, in storage space for raw materials, in storage space for finished products, in staff for manufacturing, in courier availability, in storage space at retail and carrier partners - and staff to sell... Most of which would then disappear overnight.

Businesses have to operate in a sustainable fashion. It's better to be more consistent for longer from a business and cost perspective than it is to try and raise capacity for a very short burst of time. Those suppliers providing that capacity would have to hike prices up to cover times when the capacity wasn't used - which would get passed on to the consumer.

Then there's a human cost too.... Surely it's better to have less jobs but they're permanent or longer term contracts than it is to have more jobs for a shorter amount of time and then let most those people go? To then hope you can hire them again a year later for the next phone? Also any good talent in your workforce you're gambling with - they may not be available.

Soooo.... Once pre-orders start coming in Apple can start manufacturing across the two types of production line the specific variants people want --- but it takes orders to start coming in to do that..... Which is why day one and week one will always be a disappointment for most.

It's not Apple doing anything wrong - it's them running their business properly and operating in a sustainable fashion.
 
There's more to it than that. Apple - and other companies selling highly popular products often get accused of artificially manipulating supply and demand to massage profit by making their products seem more popular. Really it's about building a sustainable business model and supply chain.

There's 2 versions (7/7Plus) in 5 colours with 3 different storage options and 3 different carrier band/tech models. That's 90 SKUs/variants. That's a lot of different variants!

There's almost certainly two types of production line - one for the 7 and one for the 7 Plus. They're most likely not interchangeable. The Plus will use more raw materials (and therefore need more storage space - both pre- and post-manufacture) and take longer to build - therefore the number of Pluses manufactured will be less in the same time period than the 7.

Anything they do up front is just an educated guess. You can't stockpile to have enough to cover everyone for day one or week one - that would lead to lots of phones not being needed being manufacturing... As well as a huge ramp up in raw materials, in storage space for raw materials, in storage space for finished products, in staff for manufacturing, in courier availability, in storage space at retail and carrier partners - and staff to sell... Most of which would then disappear overnight.

Businesses have to operate in a sustainable fashion. It's better to be more consistent for longer from a business and cost perspective than it is to try and raise capacity for a very short burst of time. Those suppliers providing that capacity would have to hike prices up to cover times when the capacity wasn't used - which would get passed on to the consumer.

Then there's a human cost too.... Surely it's better to have less jobs but they're permanent or longer term contracts than it is to have more jobs for a shorter amount of time and then let most those people go? To then hope you can hire them again a year later for the next phone? Also any good talent in your workforce you're gambling with - they may not be available.

Soooo.... Once pre-orders start coming in Apple can start manufacturing across the two types of production line the specific variants people want --- but it takes orders to start coming in to do that..... Which is why day one and week one will always be a disappointment for most.

It's not Apple doing anything wrong - it's them running their business properly and operating in a sustainable fashion.

Excellent point and I totally agree. I always find the comments about Apple's launch days amusing, particularly the part about Apple manipulating supplies. It's been like this with every iPhone release and the first few iPad launches. Such conspiracy theories are silly and usually from trolls. There are a lot of things about Apple that warrant criticism but this is not one of them. (I just want a meaningful refresh to the iMac/MacBook Pro products lines.)
 
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They have enough stock. Apple purposefully holds back just a little to magically inflate the demand by tricking buyers into thinking that supply is low.

Sure there will be some bad PR with this kind of strategy and I think the debacle with the iPhone upgrade program and the class action lawsuit might just bite them in the ass with this tactic


James

That should be illegal. Some may not agree with but it should be a white collar crime for pulling this kind of crap. Cook can't play dumb saying " Oh, I don't recall ". He knows everything with what's happening in the company and it's job is to OK the decisions or shoot them down. If he OKed the artificial demand, he needs to go to jail. I wish they would pass laws to ban this kind of BS.
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Life is filled with tradeoffs.

If you want to wait until your desired model becomes available, that means that many weeks or even months of waiting, so it's not as through your alternative is entirely free of opportunity costs.

These kids have made their choice. Let's respect them for it.

That's NOT a trade-off. That's bait and switch which is ILLEGAL. They should have told the customers in the line that they were out of those particular models and that if they wanted the 4.7, they were welcome to stay in line for it or go home. Simple as that.

I don't respect anyone who's that STUPID or douchey enough to stay in a long line and then find out they don't have what they want.
[doublepost=1474027936][/doublepost]
There's more to it than that. Apple - and other companies selling highly popular products often get accused of artificially manipulating supply and demand to massage profit by making their products seem more popular. Really it's about building a sustainable business model and supply chain.

There's 2 versions (7/7Plus) in 5 colours with 3 different storage options and 3 different carrier band/tech models. That's 90 SKUs/variants. That's a lot of different variants!

There's almost certainly two types of production line - one for the 7 and one for the 7 Plus. They're most likely not interchangeable. The Plus will use more raw materials (and therefore need more storage space - both pre- and post-manufacture) and take longer to build - therefore the number of Pluses manufactured will be less in the same time period than the 7.

Anything they do up front is just an educated guess. You can't stockpile to have enough to cover everyone for day one or week one - that would lead to lots of phones not being needed being manufacturing... As well as a huge ramp up in raw materials, in storage space for raw materials, in storage space for finished products, in staff for manufacturing, in courier availability, in storage space at retail and carrier partners - and staff to sell... Most of which would then disappear overnight.

Businesses have to operate in a sustainable fashion. It's better to be more consistent for longer from a business and cost perspective than it is to try and raise capacity for a very short burst of time. Those suppliers providing that capacity would have to hike prices up to cover times when the capacity wasn't used - which would get passed on to the consumer.

Then there's a human cost too.... Surely it's better to have less jobs but they're permanent or longer term contracts than it is to have more jobs for a shorter amount of time and then let most those people go? To then hope you can hire them again a year later for the next phone? Also any good talent in your workforce you're gambling with - they may not be available.

Soooo.... Once pre-orders start coming in Apple can start manufacturing across the two types of production line the specific variants people want --- but it takes orders to start coming in to do that..... Which is why day one and week one will always be a disappointment for most.

It's not Apple doing anything wrong - it's them running their business properly and operating in a sustainable fashion.

Even if that's the case, Apple still dropped the ball on this. They're well known for producing products AHEAD of launch dates. They always have but you don't just manufacture something right at the last minute upon orders by selling the "illusion" that there will be supplies on official launch day. That's bone-headed.

Second, all this supply and production delays, you should thank Jeff Williams for that mess. It was Cook WHO promoted him to COO months ago on the claim that he was the best and hardest working person to get the job done. I don't buy it one second. Jeff is Cook's "pet".
 
That should be illegal. Some may not agree with but it should be a white collar crime for pulling this kind of crap. Cook can't play dumb saying " Oh, I don't recall ". He knows everything with what's happening in the company and it's job is to OK the decisions or shoot them down. If he OKed the artificial demand, he needs to go to jail. I wish they would pass laws to ban this kind of BS.

You're coming out with some kind of rubbish about your own entitlement here. Apple haven't held anything back to artificially inflate demand as the person you're replying to claims. They have no need to. They have no benefit to. The demand is there. Just because someone comes up with a theory that doesn't hold up to scrutiny and rants about it on the Internet, it doesn't make it true.

That's NOT a trade-off. That's bait and switch which is ILLEGAL. They should have told the customers in the line that they were out of those particular models and that if they wanted the 4.7, they were welcome to stay in line for it or go home. Simple as that.

Yes, bait and switch is illegal. This ISN'T bait and switch. People have NEVER been guaranteed a phone - let alone "the exact model they want" just for standing in line. Everyone that queues knows it's a gamble. Apple even said quite publicly that specific models wouldn't be available for walk-ins anywhere today. Some stores have told people queuing that they won't get specific models they want too....

I don't respect anyone who's that STUPID or douchey enough to stay in a long line and then find out they don't have what they want.

So first of all it's all Apple's fault. Now it's the fault of people who queue. You're also insulting both for no good reason here. Oh, yeah - they're not you. I get how you got there now.

Even if that's the case, Apple still dropped the ball on this. They're well known for producing products AHEAD of launch dates. They always have but you don't just manufacture something right at the last minute upon orders by selling the "illusion" that there will be supplies on official launch day. That's bone-headed.

They didn't drop the ball. They have to work with their supply chain partners - the manufacturing companies, their raw material suppliers, the warehouses, the couriers, the carriers, retail partners... All of this across many different countries globally.... In order to build a sustainable supply chain - that can manufacture and sell and keep going for months.

It's infeasible - no, actually impossible - to do this to have enough stock for day one for everyone. It would be for a handful of variants, let alone 90 variants.

Second, all this supply and production delays, you should thank Jeff Williams for that mess. It was Cook WHO promoted him to COO months ago on the claim that he was the best and hardest working person to get the job done. I don't buy it one second. Jeff is Cook's "pet".

There you go with your insults again - for something that's totally irrelevant. What has happened here will happen next year, and in future years - for Apple, and Samsung, and Microsoft, and Sony.... And for any company producing really popular products that have a cult-like following.
 
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That's NOT a trade-off. That's bait and switch which is ILLEGAL. They should have told the customers in the line that they were out of those particular models and that if they wanted the 4.7, they were welcome to stay in line for it or go home. Simple as that.
To me, it's no different from queueing at a food stall to buy lunch, only to be told that they are out of certain ingredients by the time it is my turn. You are not guaranteed something simply by virtue of lining up in the queue. And you have the option of walking away or buying something else for lunch.

In life, you win some and you lose some. You get the phone you want, good for you. You don't, too bad. Just move on. I don't get the people who are throwing a hissy fit and trying to make this into a bigger deal than it really is.
 
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Don't get why people still camp out at the store when they can order it online. Or geez wait a couple of weeks and get the one you want without any shortage issues.

But they want it NOW!

In all seriousness though, I'm all about waiting until the craziness dies down before I place my order for the 7. Plus, I'm not eligible to upgrade until Oct. 7 (on IUP) anyway.
 
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