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Has this been the hardest Apple product to get at launch?

Kebabselector said:
It happens with other stuff as well, the Wii and Xbox 360 were in very short supply initially. Personally though I think Apple can't afford to have a product stockpiled and images get leaked of the design too early, hence the short supply.
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Yeah, the short supply is the norm with electronics like this.

I just wish they'd have done (and allowed other stores to do) preorders like for the iPad 1 and like they do for video game consoles etc.

That's just a more hassle free way to get limited stock near launch. I've bought many game consoles on launch days and never waited in line. I just preordered and went to the store hours after opening on launch day when lines were gone and picked up my system.

It's no big deal, but I much prefer that kind of system. But at the same time they offered online orders so I just went that route as I'll never wait in line to buy something. So again, no big deal. Just think pre-orders would have made things more clear cut and less of a hassle for people who don't like lining up to buy things.
 
I think it's more marketing than production. If people hear that the iPad isn't sold out or that there isn't a huge line forming, people in general would think that the new iPad isn't worth it. They rather risk not getting you today in order to secure you tomorrow. Of course this is just a thought.
 
When I bought my 3G iphone I had to wait a month until it shipped to the ATT store.. I'm not sure but I think they did pre-orders for the 3G.. I ordered mine a month after it launched and I still had to wait 1 month..

Customer service is still pretty good with apple.. But I think they are starting to drop in that department... Apple seems to be more worried about the media circus and their bottom line numbers..

And why did they release it at 4am EST.. Kind of odd IMO... maybe 10am or even 12pm EST would have been better... Maybe they were worried about their servers crashing or something..


James
 
JForestZ34 said:
And why did they release it at 4am EST.. Kind of odd IMO... maybe 10am or even 12pm EST would have been better... Maybe they were worried about their servers crashing or something..
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That's my guess. They wanted to cut down on the number of first minute orders to keep the site from slowing to a crawl.
 
I think that the iMac G5 was one of the worst launches for availability/shipping. I was waiting for that computer AND a baby! I don't know which one I was more excited about. Oddly, the computer came and then I went into labor later that night....

Here's the thread for that:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/88718/

The original iPod touch launch was pretty crazy too. They had an online 'preorder' but were available in stores before most of us were shipped the touches. I ended up getting some money off that transaction because they implied we'd have them for launch day.
 
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i walked into my local bestbuy on saturday and picked up a 16G Black Wifi... what's the problem? I kid, it was one of only two they had left and I suppose everyone else that went there before me wanted white, larger or 3G model. I was tickled because they had the model I was set on buying, which seemed to bother the "Apple Area in a Bestbuy" dude....not sure if he was a bonafide genius or not, I didnt ask.

I dont know if Apple creates this shortage on purpose or not, but I doubt they DISLIKE it very much. Seems to me that the majority of people who want an iPad, are not going to say "Well if I can't get one, i will get X product". This as posted before possibly creates a scene of a product being in such high demand that Apple can't keep up, which gets news attention, which gets the attention of people who don't live on macrumors and the like. A whole lot of people knew what my iphone4 was without me telling them, who had never read about or seen one before in their lives... but it was on their nightly news that I must have had to wait a month to get one, when i actually pre-ordered and received it day before launch...never even had a problem with the antenna but that was brought up as well, more news coverage of the "important" things i suppose.
 
Weren't there like 10 Apple 1's at launch? And you had to provide your own keyboard, case (wood plank), and monitor. I'd say 1 million ipads is much better than 10 Apple 1s. :)
 
I agree that any rational group of corporate decision makers would vote on selling as many units as quickly as possible, but I believe that holding out on inventory for a few days is just as profitable in terms of free publicity. That kind of marketing can be priceless. What company doesn't long for a product that's so cool and popular that the masses are all running towards stores, and lining up for hours (even days) in hopes of being one of the few lucky ones? The fact that pre-ordering wasn't allowed this time around says a lot, I think.
 
Caliber26 said:
I agree that any rational group of corporate decision makers would vote on selling as many units as quickly as possible, but I believe that holding out on inventory for a few days is just as profitable in terms of free publicity. That kind of marketing can be priceless. What company doesn't long for a product that's so cool and popular that the masses are all running towards stores, and lining up for hours (even days) in hopes of being one of the few lucky ones? The fact that pre-ordering wasn't allowed this time around says a lot, I think.
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That's pretty much exactly what I was trying to say. The "no pre-ordering" thing is what makes me think that Apple may have something to do with the shortage.
 
chris975d said:
That's pretty much exactly what I was trying to say. The "no pre-ordering" thing is what makes me think that Apple may have something to do with the shortage.
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I don't think they've manufactured a shortage.

But the new preorders was definitely to get publicity as that generates lines and makes the shortage more apparent.

Every new gadget that's in high demand has a shortage at launch and often in the weeks and months afterward. These things take time to make and just can't meet demand that's in the millions for a while.
 
Caliber26 said:
I agree that any rational group of corporate decision makers would vote on selling as many units as quickly as possible, but I believe that holding out on inventory for a few days is just as profitable in terms of free publicity. That kind of marketing can be priceless. What company doesn't long for a product that's so cool and popular that the masses are all running towards stores, and lining up for hours (even days) in hopes of being one of the few lucky ones?
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That just doesn't stand up to scrutiny. If Apple could have produced twice as many units as they did for iPad 2 launch day then do you really think that they'd (a) do what they just did and create a launch frenzy in the USA while needing to reduce the price of the iPad 1 significantly in other countries to avoid totally stalling sales, or (b) use these mythical extra units to also launch the iPad 2 in as many other countries as they could supply so that could create simultaneous launch frenzies in the UK, France, Germany, Japan, etc.

- Julian
 
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