iPhone 3G Shortage to Last a Month?

[equilibrium17]

GEE Wally, seems like Apple is playing games like Nintendo? Yep Beav, Apple sure is!


Such BS, I am sooooo sure Apple couldnt have made enough Iphones to support the demand... yeah right..


Drink that Kool Aid.. umm it tastes GOOD.

While technically true, your post reveals your ignorance of macroeconomics. Of course Apple is technically capable of getting more iPhones to market, faster; they've got a huge cash reserve and if they really wanted to they could probably buy every small electronics production line in SE Asia.

But I find it highly unlikely Apple (or Nintendo with the Wii) really deliberately set out to create a shortage, though I'm sure they view the additional publicity as a silver lining.

Think about it. In order to satisfy demand now, Apple would have to either:

(a) contract with A LOT more electronics assembly lines in Asia to build more of the the things, faster. Assembly lines don't come for free, and the more of them Apple contracts with the more it costs them. Its would be especially costly to buy more assembly lines to satisfy the on-release demand spike because Apple only needs the additional capacity for the first couple of months or so; after this, demand will presumably settle down to a more normal level. Short-term manufacturing contracts are more expensive; it's a lot cheaper to contract one assembly line for 3 months, than it is 3 assembly lines for 1 month. But you end up with the same amount of product in the end. They would also have to then buy more short term shipping space on planes, ships, truck, etc.; also a significant expense. So to do this, Apple then either has to raise the price of the product, or take less of a profit. Neither of these are good business choices.

(b) Delay release for several weeks until they can build up more product in warehouse. There's whole host of problems here. For starters, Warehouses, etc. cost money. And delaying release means that maybe one of your competitors gets their product out ahead of you. Finally, no one actually gets their iPhones any sooner this way; everyone just gets them later, albeit at the same time.


Patience, Grasshoppers. The gotta-have-it-first folks will work their way through the system in a couple of weeks. They'll make enough for all of us eventually...

 

[gavol39]

Leak Marketing....

This may be the case, but I was at an Apple Store in GA yesterday with no hope of getting an iPhone 3G when low and behold they rolled 20 new Black 16G iPhone's out of the back of the store at 1pm. According to the Mac retail store availability website at 9pm the night before, this store was not going to have any iPhones yesterday. In speaking with the employees they said that they have no idea when shipments are coming in on any given day.... The phones seem to "leak" in. I jumped in line and waited 1 hour to get my new Black 16G iPhone.. Sweet.....

 

[Romanesq]

pretty much the case....

Since the Apple retail site is merely a snapshot of end of day, there's no telling what will happen the next day.

Seems like deliveries come in batches daily and your timing was very good to be there when a bunch arrived.

Of course, activation changes everything. The time factor is multiplied and I cringe when I hear people in a line of 20 people taking over two hours to get in and out.

Ouch.

 

[jamesarm97]

My order of a black 16gig I placed Wed the 16th from AT&T went from backordered 1 to backordered 0 so it might be getting ready to ship.

- James

 

[antielectrons]

Think again, in Spain there will be no 3g iPhones in white until the Autumn!!

It is disgusting how Apple has handled this rollout internationally - or should I say pathetic.

I would be surprised if someone is still unable to get an iPhone in another week if they are located in or around any major city

I am sure people living around just 1-2 stores may still see shortages but around here there are tons of AT&T stores and every day a few have some iPhones and in a week I suspect more will have a few in stock

 

[ramuman]

My order of a black 16gig I placed Wed the 16th from AT&T went from backordered 1 to backordered 0 so it might be getting ready to ship.

- James

That will happen a lot before it actually ships (esp. for the black phones). At my store, they just finished shipping out the launch day DF orders. My order which was placed on Tuesday has flipped at least 4 or 5 times between backordered and not.

 

[whooleytoo]

I joined the waiting list in two stores but couldn't get any on launch day and they haven't contacted me since. I chanced my arm last night in another branch of CarphoneWarehouse and it turned out they had two in stock. So, I guess it's hit and miss. It's worth trying and you might get lucky.

 

[RetiredInFl]

I walked into a small AT&T store last Monday in North Jersey around 10:15 AM. Wasn't a single customer in the store (they still had the Disney type ZIG-ZAG line there from the launch weekend). I went with the intent to order one because I was sure they were OOS. I'm looking around at other items and after about 15 minutes walk up to the salesguy relaxing behind the counter (no one even asked me if I needed any help) and told him I came to order an iPhone. He said "why?" I said "Well, obviously you are out of them because there is no one here in line." He laughed and said "which model do you want?" 10 minutes later I walked out with a black one. 30 minutes later (it was in a strip mall) the line was packed. They got a shipment at 9:30AM before they opened. Go figya.

 

[MacSKY]

New iPhone App - 3G STOCKER - Who's Got The iPhone 3G in Stock? Use this app to find out which stores in the country have stock and how long the lines are! Could make you a couple of bucks at least for the next week or so until Apple gets their distribution levels in order!

 

[wonderbread57]

New iPhone App - 3G STOCKER - Who's Got The iPhone 3G in Stock? Use this app to find out which stores in the country have stock and how long the lines are! Could make you a couple of bucks at least for the next week or so until Apple gets their distribution levels in order!

please tell me this is a horrible joke. this is like a pregnancy exam where you take a sample of your baby's DNA to tell you if you have a kid.

 

[NotSFQB]

I ordered and got my iPhone in 3 days...no lines

Maybe I was lucky...but I got my iPhone 3G with no waiting...
I live in San Francisco. This past Thursday, I walked into the local ATT Wireless store (on Geary) to check on iPhone availability. The guy at the counter told me that they were sold out, but I can order one (he told me that it will take 10 to 21 days and the phone has to be shipped to the store). I hate lines, so I put in an order for a white 16G model. By Friday night, I got the email that my iPhone had shipped via FedEx overnight (and my credit card was charged upon shipping). I was back at the ATT store today (Sat) by 11am to activate my phone. The same salesperson told me that while people who ordered the 8G model seem to be waiting, the people who ordered the 16G model seem to be getting them right away. Also, I was not charged extra for overnight shipping, it looks like ATT has been shipping them overnight to get them out faster.

Hope this helps.

 

[Rhalliwell1]

Plenty of stock in the UK. I should go and buy a load and put them on eBay if you guys are struggling...

 

[charlituna]

well the lines are really caused by the crappy in store activation, it apparently takes 20-30min to process each purchase, and you can mostly only purchase one item at time. last time around it was 2-3min/purchase with up to 4 iphones/customer. further, you were able to buy it online.

blame that on the folks that hacked the phones to violate the ATT agreement etc which made the in store necessary

 

[charlituna]

New iPhone App - 3G STOCKER - Who's Got The iPhone 3G in Stock? Use this app to find out which stores in the country have stock and how long the lines are! Could make you a couple of bucks at least for the next week or so until Apple gets their distribution levels in order!

the only way such a program would be of any use is if it had access to every store's inventory system for live updates. and no way is Apple going to let that happen.

 

[charlituna]

Nice analysis. I was thinking along the same lines. I was wondering could they sell 10 million phones if they even had them? If it is taking them this long to process people,

on launch day, at least at my local store, they only sold the iphone. no repairs., no training, no non iphone purchases (unless you were getting the phone also and knew exactly what you wanted).

not everyone took 30 minutes. many had their stuff together right and took only 5-10. it all depended on whether folks had decided on a rate plan, had their old not ATT account number, had checked upgrade eligibility and so on .

 

[DMann]

on launch day, at least at my local store, they only sold the iphone. no repairs., no training, no non iphone purchases (unless you were getting the phone also and knew exactly what you wanted).

not everyone took 30 minutes. many had their stuff together right and took only 5-10. it all depended on whether folks had decided on a rate plan, had their old not ATT account number, had checked upgrade eligibility and so on .

On launch day, after system went back up, I was out in 8 minutes after reaching the counter. Activation took place at the counter by docking the iPhone. This took less time than purchasing a shirt at Urban Outfitters.

 

[charlituna]

On launch day, after system went back up, I was out in 8 minutes after reaching the counter. Activation took place at the counter by docking the iPhone. This took less time than purchasing a shirt at Urban Outfitters.

i suspect that that happened for a lot of folks. most of the long ones were probably people that didn't check if they were eligible and then wanted to call ATT and fuss cause they weren't, had crappy credit and were going to have to put down a deposit and wanted to call about that, didn't bother to bring their old account info and had to call home or just hadn't made up their minds about rate plans and wanted to spend 20 minutes debating about the choices.

 

[oticon6]

Definitely worth the 4 hours

 

[soLoredd]

I went by my Apple Store on the way to work this evening to get some screen covers for my 2G and there was a sign right when I walked in..."Sorry, no 3G iPhones in stock today. We apologize for the inconvenience." I literally laughed. They had to place a sign in the front of the store? Tired of getting asked?

Anyway, I'm giving it another couple days and if I can't go in and get me a white 16GB without ordering or jumping through hoops, I'll get a AppleTV instead and wait for next year's iPhone.

 

[Ozz.Man]

Same here. I am in no hurry to get a new one and will wait until there is ample supply. Since theres no 3G here anyway, I am not exactly in an uproar.

Patience my dear friends

 

[SFJon]

Maybe I was lucky...but I got my iPhone 3G with no waiting...
I live in San Francisco. This past Thursday, I walked into the local ATT Wireless store (on Geary) to check on iPhone availability. The guy at the counter told me that they were sold out, but I can order one (he told me that it will take 10 to 21 days and the phone has to be shipped to the store). I hate lines, so I put in an order for a white 16G model. By Friday night, I got the email that my iPhone had shipped via FedEx overnight (and my credit card was charged upon shipping). I was back at the ATT store today (Sat) by 11am to activate my phone. The same salesperson told me that while people who ordered the 8G model seem to be waiting, the people who ordered the 16G model seem to be getting them right away. Also, I was not charged extra for overnight shipping, it looks like ATT has been shipping them overnight to get them out faster.

Hope this helps.

That hasn't been my experience. I placed a 16gb Black on order at the ATT store in downtown Berkeley. On Wednesday. My order tracking page online say "In Progress" and hasn't changed in status. That said, the clerk who rang me up despite the company response time of 14-21 days felt that I'd likely have mine in 1-2 weeks since Launch Day orders had arrived on Tuesday and Wednesday.

 

[MacSKY]

the only way such a program would be of any use is if it had access to every store's inventory system for live updates. and no way is Apple going to let that happen.

I was just joking about this of course. Just trying to burn some time for those of us waiting for the dust and lines to settle!

 

[KirkM]

iWish iHad iPhone. iOrdered, iWait. iCarumba!

 

[hiimamac]

The shortage is a farce, believe me and Kasper @ insider can vouch for me.

AT&T needs to catch up as well as deal with all the IRU problems (discounts on phones) and, while very cryptic, out of iPhones, meaning not in the store or...

NDA and treading lightly as I love APPLE

 

[hiimamac]

PS. Apple also doesn't like the publicity, you would think they would but every MAJOR Blog and Pod Cast reports negatively on the lines so, just ask yourself, how does Apple get rid of the lines?

Duh..