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I love how 1/2 of the Apple Stores retail space is filled with products you can't buy
- Thread starter slapass
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You will have a far better chance of physically buying a MacBook at an authorised reseller. Majority of Apple Store`s will just point you to online sales.
I find it a little difficult to understand why Apple launched the MacBook April 10th, yet were and still are seemingly completely unprepared for the demand. Given the price point and the performance envelope of the MacBook, it`s not a Notebook for all.
I can only assume that this is Apple`s new sales paradigm, equally as a customer I don't care for it...
Q-6
I find it a little difficult to understand why Apple launched the MacBook April 10th, yet were and still are seemingly completely unprepared for the demand. Given the price point and the performance envelope of the MacBook, it`s not a Notebook for all.
I can only assume that this is Apple`s new sales paradigm, equally as a customer I don't care for it...
Q-6
Apple Store: We have none in stock, but you can preorder it using one of our demo units.
I'm beginning to wonder if this is where Apple starts to plateau before it sinks.
Can you imagine the amount of Apple employee's, products and shear size of the global Apple organization?
Like any behemouth, logistics becomes their number one nemesis, especially producing and moving physical products around the world, trying to meet deadlines.
This is not too say that Apple missed the boat when it came to this product launch, but they better start trimming the fat, or lose some of their "fan" base...
Like any behemouth, logistics becomes their number one nemesis, especially producing and moving physical products around the world, trying to meet deadlines.
This is not too say that Apple missed the boat when it came to this product launch, but they better start trimming the fat, or lose some of their "fan" base...
Seriously.
Here's my story. I ordered the Macbook in my signature on May 5th, from a 3rd party authorised reseller here in Sweden, dustin.se.
My initial estimated delivery date was May 24th. I was I formed I was 3rd in line for this particular model build. Then my order got pushed back to June 1st. Then June 9th. Then June 16th. Finally this morning I received notice that it had been further pushed back to June 26th, a full 52 days after my initial order, more than 7 weeks.
Now, admittedly I made the mistake of not ordering directly from Apple, but really, how is it possible for it to take that long? They must have literally had zero units made at launch, and they must have some kind of yield issue on a couple of the parts that hasn't allowed them to ramp up production. It must also be in seriously huge demand, relatively speaking, something that they were not prepared for at all. They must have made the calculated guess that this would be too far ahead of its time, like the 1st gen MBA. While the rMB isn't for everyone...it appears they have made it good enough for it to at least SEEM like it can be. The production problems can't possibly be THAT hardcore as to cause them to not be able to deliver on a niche market 2 months in. This isn't a volume product in the same way even the Apple Watch has been let alone iPads or iPhones...or it wasn't meant to be at least...what if it is???
Anyway, I was forced to cancel my order because my annual summer in San Diego means that nobody would be home to receive the delivery until August. I reordered the same model today with Swedish keyboard layout from the U.S. Apple Store and expected delivery was 3-4 weeks, July 10-17. So there you go, that's potentially only 2 weeks or less than my wait would have been, if the June 26th date had held, which I seriously doubt, actually. Total of 9-10 weeks wait.
Could almost have waited for the Skylake version at that rate. Just kidding of course, but still. AND, my otherwise flawless 2011 11" MBA's trackpad button just started to go this morning, only "clicks" from the lower left corner now
Need my replacement machine soon!
Ok, rant over, move along...
Here's my story. I ordered the Macbook in my signature on May 5th, from a 3rd party authorised reseller here in Sweden, dustin.se.
My initial estimated delivery date was May 24th. I was I formed I was 3rd in line for this particular model build. Then my order got pushed back to June 1st. Then June 9th. Then June 16th. Finally this morning I received notice that it had been further pushed back to June 26th, a full 52 days after my initial order, more than 7 weeks.
Now, admittedly I made the mistake of not ordering directly from Apple, but really, how is it possible for it to take that long? They must have literally had zero units made at launch, and they must have some kind of yield issue on a couple of the parts that hasn't allowed them to ramp up production. It must also be in seriously huge demand, relatively speaking, something that they were not prepared for at all. They must have made the calculated guess that this would be too far ahead of its time, like the 1st gen MBA. While the rMB isn't for everyone...it appears they have made it good enough for it to at least SEEM like it can be. The production problems can't possibly be THAT hardcore as to cause them to not be able to deliver on a niche market 2 months in. This isn't a volume product in the same way even the Apple Watch has been let alone iPads or iPhones...or it wasn't meant to be at least...what if it is???
Anyway, I was forced to cancel my order because my annual summer in San Diego means that nobody would be home to receive the delivery until August. I reordered the same model today with Swedish keyboard layout from the U.S. Apple Store and expected delivery was 3-4 weeks, July 10-17. So there you go, that's potentially only 2 weeks or less than my wait would have been, if the June 26th date had held, which I seriously doubt, actually. Total of 9-10 weeks wait.
Could almost have waited for the Skylake version at that rate. Just kidding of course, but still. AND, my otherwise flawless 2011 11" MBA's trackpad button just started to go this morning, only "clicks" from the lower left corner now
Need my replacement machine soon!Ok, rant over, move along...
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Notebooks don't sell anywhere near the velocity of an iPhone so building up a bit of demand by having short inventory isn't necessarily a bad thing. I must have sold 5 units myself by all the attention I got with mine at Starbucks and in airline lounges this past month, sometimes creating a unicorn is good for business.
Apple runs the best supply chain in the world, the RMB is not indicative of how they are dropping the ball. Other priorities- like the Watch- were more important.
BJ
Tim Cook claim to fame before becoming a CEO was inventory control management... The last several product releases have been absolute failures... The MacBook & Watch are off the chart flops... I have been Apple stores in Nevada, California & Washington and their standard response is buy it on line... Best Buy a few blocks away had MacBooks inventory weeks ago... I finally bought my MacBook from MacMall & it only took a few days to get it... Apple has taken a page from Sears history & decided it is cheaper to sell their products from a catalog instead of stocking store shelves...
Apple needs Cook back in inventory management & new CEO who believes in putting products on the store shelves... Apple under Jobs was a 10, it currently rates a 4 in my book...
Apple needs Cook back in inventory management & new CEO who believes in putting products on the store shelves... Apple under Jobs was a 10, it currently rates a 4 in my book...
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I guess living in San Francisco, a new laptop doesn't really draw attention. It's not cutting edge or anything, in fact it might even cause someone to say "why would anyone buy that" it's a tablet with a keyboard and doesn't even have a touch screen.... there are about 10 other models out there that are also thin and light, and laptops that come in every color in the rainbow...
If they can't catch up with demand after 2 months with a lower volume product, How are they going to manage the next big launch? The iPhone 6 Plus wasn't exactly perfect and the Watch was a mess. The Watch is improving but for some reason, the MacBook is still struggling with month long backorders...
You mean to tell me that people wanted to buy a macbook after seeing yours and knowing they are hard to get? Would they have not wanted one if they were plentiful? Conversely, would they have changed their minds on an impulse buy after learning it was potentially 3-5 weeks before they could get one?
Having less of something doesn't increase the demand. It actually decreases the number to can potentially sell.
Have you called your local Apple store? I ordered mine online and was told 3-5 weeks for delivery. The next day I walked into an Apple store and walked with the exact model I wanted. They told me that they had plenty in inventory.
I suppose you are saying that Apple is doing this on purpose? For marketing halo effect? Or that the
Watch launch is making the rMB launch lower priority? Well, the Watch launch was/is even more of a fiasco, so big fail there. A limited amount of articifial demand is a good thing in a halo product, but that only actually works if the product is actually marketed as a limited edition item. That's not the case with the rMB. There is no Macbook Edition that costs $20,000 as with Watch Edition. The iPhone 6 didn't sell in record numbers because it was hard to get or a limited edition item - preorders alone destroyed all previous records, and they were pumping them out in the millions and millions as fast as they could.The thing is that there are tons of rMB's out there, just apparently not in configurations that people want or are willing to compromise on. It seems that people are actually more stubborn about this aspect than Apple may have taken into account. Same with the Watch. This may be a big part of the problem. For instance, I am not willing to get anything other than the SG 1.3/512 rMB. If I could get the Silver 1.3/256 tomorrow at Best Buy, which I most likely could, I would pass. Same with the Watch. I am only going to buy the SG SS 42mm with matching link bracelet band, so if I could get the Silver SS 38mm tomorrow, I would pass.
I think a big aspect of these launch problems are the sheer amount of different configurations, that Apple hasn't had to deal with on this scale before. With an Apple laptop you used to just configure the RAM, processor and storage. Now the actual chassis has become configurable, so you have three different colours there - it is a lot harder to manage inventory, supply and logistics when you essentially exponentially increase the number of configurations that have to be taken into account. Same with Apple Watch. Packaging the bands with the Watch seems a ludicrous decision from a logistics point of view, as the actual high volume chassis choices are limited to four (not taking into account the Edition) with zero choices for internal configurations, making them actually less cumbersome than iPad or iPhone. Had the bands been sold separately, and had production not been limited due to reported yield problems,
Watch would probably have rolled out at least as smoothly as the remarkably decent iPhone6 launch.Another aspect is the bizarre and frustrating 3rd party resellers treatment, where not all are being treated equally. Best Buy for example, appears to have an abundance of base and mid-range configurations in all colours - same with MacMall. Others, especially outside the US, are getting lower priority than individual consumer orders, so they basically have nothing. Those holding out for a maxed CTO build in any colour appear to have to order directly from Apple and wait.
I ordered from Apple directly on April 24th, my estimate was June 6. I was aware of the estimate before I entered in my credit card. I received my 1.3 SG rMB on May 29th. Estimates from Apple are almost always overstated. Same went for my Watch ... had to wait, but came about a week before estimated date. Estimates are 3-4 weeks and its not the end of the world. I continue to enjoy the product and have no hard feelings over Apples ability to continuously improve to increase supply vs. demand.
Keep one other thing in mind, rMB was seemingly designed for that user that didn't quite want an iPad and didn't need the power of a MBP. Turns out that market loves it, but also those MBP / iMac / iPad users who thought it would be a great machine to supplement their current one. I was one of those people and it fits my needs perfectly, so demand surely was misforecasted but you almost can't blame them for that.
Keep one other thing in mind, rMB was seemingly designed for that user that didn't quite want an iPad and didn't need the power of a MBP. Turns out that market loves it, but also those MBP / iMac / iPad users who thought it would be a great machine to supplement their current one. I was one of those people and it fits my needs perfectly, so demand surely was misforecasted but you almost can't blame them for that.
It's a highly-publicized and sought after piece of cutting edge technology made by Apple.
You sound very jaded. Visit Paterson, New Jersey, learn something.
BJ
Yes, they saw mine and wanted one. They didn't realize just how thin it was.
Releasing an expensive, luxury item in short supply is a proven strategy to create buzz and additional demand. Rolex does it every year with its Daytona, Apple did it themselves with the Gold iPhone.
Having less of something to drive up demand due to its scarcity, again, is a proven tactic. Especially on an expensive luxury item in a crowded space. People on the fence find out they have to wait 6 weeks so they hunt around on the internet for a few hours and find out they can get one from a distributor the next day. So they buy it because of that tactic. Meanwhile, the people who wanted one from Day 1 place their orders, wait their 6 weeks, and get them too.
BJ
You miss the point of the RMB. It's not a replacement for the Pro or the Air. It's not for college students. It's a toy for a wealthy businessman who wants the thinnest and lightest notebook a lot of money can buy. It's not a necessity for them, it's a luxury, and making it harder to get with a long wait makes it even more tempting.
That old adage about guys wanting the girls they can't have more than the ones that are easy to get. It's like that.
BJ
I get what you mean, but I somehow think that the avoidance of $1300 impulse buys might not be that bad for the consumers.
But Bolt, that's just the point. Any one of those people you perceived to have gotten gadget envy from seeing yours could have easily gone to Best Buy or similar and gotten a base or mid-range model identical to yours same day. They aren't scarce in that sense. Its not a Ferrari Enzo. Its more like a 4 series coupè, to put it in a language you might relate to. It is a new model, svelt and attractive, with a special cool factor for fans of the brand, but it isn't nearly the most powerful, best performing, or expensive model in the line-up. You can go and buy a base example in grey or blue from a dealer near you now, but if you want the big engine, M performance package in white pearl and the connectivity package together with the black alacantra leather trim, you are going to have to order it and wait a few weeks.
Apple are not intentionally keeping these put of people's hands. Especially in the US, there is plenty of stock of the standard models if you take 15min to look/call around. Given, in Europe at the moment this is a different story. Here, your argument holds more water, but not by design.
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Ha ha ha...sorry to laugh, but that is exactly what I am talking about, illustrates my point exactly.
What does that have to do with his point? He's saying Apple is losing sales because people aren't able to buy it when they see it and get that, "wow, I want that now" factor. Whether it is good or bad subjectively for consumers doesn't come into it.