Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Resolved Bought an iPad Air at Best Buy, But They're Not Selling...

F

FrankB1191

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 14, 2013
722
1
Pennsylvania
I went there at 2pm, and they had a cage filled with Airs. I asked if they had sold many, and the salesman said TWO!!!!! This is in an affluent suburban Philadelphia store, and people weren't even looking at the Air. The salesman said everyone is waiting for the Mini, and the few people looking at iPads were looking to see if the Minis were retina yet.

I haven't had a chance to even open my box, so I'll have to get to that sometime soon. Just thought I'd pass the lack of sales along.......
 
Eh, our BB in a small town had a decent number of people in the store at 8:30 this morning. I rarely expect a rush for iPads compared to the phones - primarily because here in the US, anyhow, most people only need to put out $200 up front for a new iPhone vs. $550 or more for an iPad. That's a big difference.
 
I just left one in West L.A. and it's pretty dead. Only 2 people in line inside the store to buy an iPad Air. I stopped by to pick up a lightning camera card reader since my Apple store was out. The cashier said they hardly had a line this morning for the store opening. Guess the online/pick-up same day has really changed things for some of the launch products.
 
I picked mine up at Best Buy this morning along with about 25 other people when they opened at 8:00, so that location had already sold at least 25 of them by 8:15am. So obviously they are selling at some locations for sure.
 
Maybe those affluent people have work today and other things to do.

I walked into best buy at 1 pm, and another person was in the process of buying an iPad air as well. I'm not sure how many people were there in the morning though. I live in a college town, and everyone went flocking to walmart for the iPad air, probably because the base model is 20 bucks cheaper.
 
lmao. my store had massive lines. even best buy had no more cellular pads left. i dont know how i feel about my 16gn one. might bite me in the ass when i need 32gb.
 
Brittany246 said:
Maybe those affluent people have work today and other things to do.
Click to expand...
They would have sent their servants out...LOL! I was honestly afraid they'd be out of Airs, even though I said a few days ago I wasn't buying one. It's nice. The weight is way better than the iPad 4, and I like the Mini form factor. Volume is decent, and the sound is alright. Display is fine, and I'm already used to the plastic feel of the panel, having owned a Mini. It feels fine to me. No stutter when pinching out of apps, and it seems to flow much more smoothly than my Mini on iOS 7. No complaints.... ;)
 
FrankB1191 said:
They would have sent their servants out...LOL! I was honestly afraid they'd be out of Airs, even though I said a few days ago I wasn't buying one. It's nice. The weight is way better than the iPad 4, and I like the Mini form factor. Volume is decent, and the sound is alright. Display is fine, and I'm already used to the plastic feel of the panel, having owned a Mini. It feels fine to me. No stutter when pinching out of apps, and it seems to flow much more smoothly than my Mini on iOS 7. No complaints.... ;)
Click to expand...

any screen bleed with movie/tv or back heating up?
 
zhenya said:
Eh, our BB in a small town had a decent number of people in the store at 8:30 this morning. I rarely expect a rush for iPads compared to the phones - primarily because here in the US, anyhow, most people only need to put out $200 up front for a new iPhone vs. $550 or more for an iPad. That's a big difference.
Click to expand...

you're quite right about this. i see that since iPhone is a necessity and cost less (199 compare to 599) people want it more instead of the iPad which to me is just an added toy or quite a luxury to buy especially if you have an iPad already. i for myself, who had a mini, is still debating whether it's good to get one. but i am definitely looking forward to the mini 2 and will compare. otherwise my mini will be able to tide me up for the next 3-5 years or more. plus i have already invested in so many accessories for my mini. i will see how it goes.
 
FrankB1191 said:
I went there at 2pm, and they had a cage filled with Airs. I asked if they had sold many, and the salesman said TWO!!!!! This is in an affluent suburban Philadelphia store, and people weren't even looking at the Air. The salesman said everyone is waiting for the Mini, and the few people looking at iPads were looking to see if the Minis were retina yet.

I haven't had a chance to even open my box, so I'll have to get to that sometime soon. Just thought I'd pass the lack of sales along.......
Click to expand...

I went to one of the local BBs here and bought an Air at 9:30. They had opened at 9am (mall store) and had already sold several. I guess it depends on where you live.
 
Same here. I had a few doctor appointments out of town and decided to check out the best buy and Apple store in Birmingham. Best Buy at the time had only sold maybe 15 according to the sales guy and the Apple store still had a ton of both black and white and every storage option. I have to say I am waiting on the mini to be released. I'm going to buy 2 and keep one and the other is going on Amazon or ebay

Edit: Just got off the phone with a friend who works at a local electronics store. While this store only got a limited supply, they have only sold 1 as of this posting at 3:55pm central time.
 
Last edited:
isephmusic said:
lmao. my store had massive lines. even best buy had no more cellular pads left. i dont know how i feel about my 16gn one. might bite me in the ass when i need 32gb.
Click to expand...

AlabamaSlammer said:
Same here. I had a few doctor appointments out of town and decided to check out the best buy and Apple store in Birmingham. Best Buy at the time had only sold maybe 15 according to the sales guy and the Apple store still had a ton of both black and white and every storage option. I have to say I am waiting on the mini to be released. I'm going to buy 2 and keep on and the other is going on Amazon or ebay
Click to expand...


I arrived at best buy at 2:30pm, and the cashier said that they sold more iPad airs between 1:00pm and 2:30pm. I personally observed 7-8 people waiting in line at the "apple cage" to get the iPads. And yes, I know they were all buying iPads because that was the only product in the cage.

I think people who are fanatics just went the online order route, and the "normal" people are filtering into the stores as their schedule allows. I'm sure that most of the lower capacity models will be sold out (in my area) by the end of the day.
 
Ended up at Bestbuy and a Apple store looking for a case.

Both stores said very very low sales of the Air.
Apple salesman said it was the smallest new product crowd he has ever seen.
 
OSMac said:
Ended up at Bestbuy and a Apple store looking for a case.

Both stores said very very low sales of the Air.
Apple salesman said it was the smallest new product crowd he has ever seen.
Click to expand...

More people probably order online these days, plus since there is plenty of supply people probably didn't feel the need to rush to a store to get one.
 
OSMac said:
Ended up at Bestbuy and a Apple store looking for a case.

Both stores said very very low sales of the Air.
Apple salesman said it was the smallest new product crowd he has ever seen.
Click to expand...

Ordered online for store p/u but went by BB on the way as I preferred to buy it there for the points. They were out of the model I wanted but had a much larger supply of many models than past launches and no customers around buying them. At the Apple Store the guy helping me told me where the line stretched out to this AM which was a short distance in comparison to previous launches.

I don't know if any of these anecdotal reports though have anything to do with sales though. I think that is premature. For example, I would think a lot of people opted for store p/u and will p/u this weekend at their leisure vs. camping out at 6am for no real reason. Also Apple already said it had ample supply so the fact many models are still widely available doesn't necessarily mean people are not buying them. We'll see what Apple reports next week.

But as far as gift giving goes the retina mini is what most people are holding their shot for.
 
That may be Best Buy but at least my Apple Store seemed to do well. I've owned a mini and I can say that this Air almost takes the place of the full size and the mini. With the reduced bevel, thinness, and lightness it's like holding a slightly larger mini. Seeing as how I spend a majority of my time on tablet, a full size seems more logical than a mini.
 
Robster3 said:
any screen bleed with movie/tv or back heating up?
Click to expand...

I only played a bit of video, and haven't noticed any screen bleed or heating issue at all. My iPad 4 did got hot once in a while, and for no apparent reason. This isn't a bad device at all. The squared off edges and noticeably lighter weight make it much more comfortable to hold than the last generation. This really is a Mini with a larger display!

If you go to Best Buy, they have the iPads locked with tensioned cables and anti theft devices on the back, so the lighter weight is hard to appreciate. I was actually a bit disappointed holding the shackled display model, but this is very nice out of the box. I'm kind of wondering if I'll need the retina Mini now..... :)

----------
patseguin said:
That may be Best Buy but at least my Apple Store seemed to do well. I've owned a mini and I can say that this Air almost takes the place of the full size and the mini. With the reduced bevel, thinness, and lightness it's like holding a slightly larger mini. Seeing as how I spend a majority of my time on tablet, a full size seems more logical than a mini.
Click to expand...

We cross posted, but my sentiments exactly!
 
The two Apple stores where I'm at ususally have a mile long line for each launch. Both stores (according to Apple employees) had less than 10 people line up today. Seems strange.
 
My feeling is that iPads are no longer a day 1 purchase because anyone who wanted an iPad already owns one, and anyone willing to upgrade isn't necessarily in a rush considering that there really isn't anything you can do with the new iPad that you couldnt with your old one. So sales will likely be good enough for Apple and the news puppets to brag, but I have a feeling that this next gen will still belong to the iPad Mini and the impressive batch of Android competitors.
 
FrankB1191 said:
I went there at 2pm, and they had a cage filled with Airs. I asked if they had sold many, and the salesman said TWO!!!!! This is in an affluent suburban Philadelphia store, and people weren't even looking at the Air. The salesman said everyone is waiting for the Mini, and the few people looking at iPads were looking to see if the Minis were retina yet.

I haven't had a chance to even open my box, so I'll have to get to that sometime soon. Just thought I'd pass the lack of sales along.......
Click to expand...

A data point of one at a Best Buy. The Mission Viejo Apple store had about 50 people in line when I did my personal pickup.

----------
urkel said:
My feeling is that iPads are no longer a day 1 purchase because anyone who wanted an iPad already owns one, and anyone willing to upgrade isn't necessarily in a rush considering that there really isn't anything you can do with the new iPad that you couldnt with your old one. So sales will likely be good enough for Apple and the news puppets to brag, but I have a feeling that this next gen will still belong to the iPad Mini and the impressive batch of Android competitors.
Click to expand...

I know of no impressive android competitor and I'm pretty familiar with them. Apparently no one uses them either judging by stats.
People seem to be expecting iPhone like sales. I think they are and will be selling very well.

----------
patseguin said:
That may be Best Buy but at least my Apple Store seemed to do well. I've owned a mini and I can say that this Air almost takes the place of the full size and the mini. With the reduced bevel, thinness, and lightness it's like holding a slightly larger mini. Seeing as how I spend a majority of my time on tablet, a full size seems more logical than a mini.
Click to expand...

A lot of people who thought they would want a mini are buying Airs.
 
I ordered online and picked it up from an Apple store about 10 this morning. I asked the guy who was helping me how crowded it was and he said there was around 20 or so people waiting before the store opened, but after that it was dead. I noticed no unusual amount of traffic in the store during the 15 minutes or so I was there. It will be interesting to see the sales numbers on it. Maybe people are just waiting for the mini. My eyes need the bigger screen.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back