Online iPad 2 Availability Pushed to 4-5 Weeks, First Deliveries Arrive

[QCassidy352]

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Lot of conspiracy theorists here. I don't suppose it's possible that demand is just currently exceeding manufacturing capacity?

And to those saying they should have released later, what good does that do? So instead of some people not getting orders until mid April, nobody would get orders until mid April?

 

[DakotaGuy]

It's the Nintendo Wii marketing strategy. Keep the shelves empty to keep demand high.

Whether you like it or not it is a great marketing strategy. If you have a HOT selling product and make it a little hard to get people want it even more. The last thing you want to do is just flood the shelf with iPads. I think they learned from their first iPad launch when plenty were left over after launch day to make it a little harder to get, thus driving demand. Things like that make something "gotta have" in the eyes of the general buying public.

 

[Gasu E.]

Oh, I don't know.

Call me suspicious if you like, but if they had kept, as almost everyone thought, to their expected "One year since the last launch" they would of had another 4 to 5 weeks to ramp up production and build up stocks around the world so they could of launched with good stocks in shops and on-line.

Instead they launch 4 to 5 weeks early and just don't have anything like enough to even have much stock in stops, let along on-line.

Surly Apple don't plan THIS Badly do they?

I can see why you might think that. But, as every business person knows, idle inventory=wasted money. So every well managed company today makes every effort to minimize inventory stock, whether it is finished product or work in progress. Well-managed inventory generally results in the ability of the company to offer more competitive prices (and there seems to be a general agreement that iPad 2 prices are very competitive) as well as generate greater profits.

There are exceptions to this, particularly where product unavailability results in significant permanently-lost sales. But I don't think that is a problem for the iPad 2 over the next month or so.

 

[imwoblin]

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Went to my not so local Apple Store to pick up accessories for my new Air and saw many familiar faces from Friday's launch waiting in line for the newest iPad 2 shipment. I talked to a few who I recognized from my long wait on Fri and everyone I talked to was buying 2 and flipping them for resale! Pissed me off, but hey it's capitalism at it's finest.. Not!

 

[Popeye206]

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Lot of conspiracy theorists here. I don't suppose it's possible that demand is just currently exceeding manufacturing capacity?

And to those saying they should have released later, what good does that do? So instead of some people not getting orders until mid April, nobody would get orders until mid April?

Exactly... they could have pushed back the launch for a month, built up a couple million units in stock. But instead, they choose to hit the ground running as fast as possible.

It's funny... some people here think products like the iPad, even with it's what seems to be simple upgrades just happen overnight. These things take tons of time to design, engineer, test, prototype, test again, change, and then on top of all that, do the same thing for mass production.

"But they just made it slimmer!" "They only added two cameras and a new processor!" Yeah.... and those things require all new boards. All new designs, new injection molds. New, new, new.... It's not like they just took the iPad 1 and just started swapping parts. Not that simple. I would guess it was a scramble just for them to hit a date early enough for mass production to even spit out 500K units to just launch the darn thing.

However... Apple is smart and a sales and marketing engine too and they know that these tight supplies benefit them in the long run too and that's why they launched when they did vs waiting a month and having more stock.

 

[Winni]

The demand on this product is just a bit ridiculous. Would love to buy it but I have a macbook air.

My guess is that the supply is artificially limited for marketing reasons. People are more interested in something that they seemingly cannot have and that apparently everybody is crazy for. It just wouldn't look so good if the shelves were full of iPad 2s.

In other words: It's a cheap trick, and it works.

 

[NikeTalk]

I'm sure they had more than enough units ready to go. It's not like you need to make 100 million just so they don't sell out on launch day and be stuck with them..

 

[The Diana]

I'm sure they had more than enough units ready to go. It's not like you need to make 100 million just so they don't sell out on launch day and be stuck with them..

Mine is in Memphis!!


All shipment travel activity is displayed in local time for the location
Date/Time Activity Location DetailsMar 14, 2011 11:43 PM
Int'l shipment release - MEMPHIS, TN Mar 14, 2011 9:57 PM Arrived at FedEx location MEMPHIS, TN Mar 14, 2011 1:45 AM

 

[mr. who?]

I don't understand this "artificial supply limitation", or "they should have waited until they had more available before launching", or "they should have launched in April" logic. That's consumer thinking - not business thinking. Apple is a business people!

I believe they genuinely didn't have enough units to sell. But holding off until April is ridiculous from a business perspective.

Scenario 1: Apple holds off until April = no major product launch in Q1 = no revenue / dividends promised to shareholders from ipad 2 sales = no solid forecasting for Q2, Q3 & Q4. Stock retains value.

Scenario 2: Launch with available quantity = Q1 revenue = dividends for shareholders = stock value increase because of forecasted demands in Q2, Q3 and Q4 = more shareholder dividends.

Supply limitation or not, scenario 2 is what I would choose if I were a business. Consumer impatience / disappointment <<<<<<<<< sharedholder impatience / disappointment.

And the final disclaimer... this is all IMHO.

 

[jglavin]

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I think supplies will continue to appear constrained until Toshiba can get their NAND production back in order. That's probably going to be a huge bottleneck.

Exactly. I think people may be underestimating the impact of this quake on world gadget production.

 

[karlrmac]

I ordered 7 on Friday direct from ATT and they are all due today. I'll be setting them up and distributing them to users, 5 are new users replacing Dell mini's, 1 is replacing a broken original ipad and another is a new user.

 

[vartanarsen]

I want an iPod Classic

 

[aplqna]

This is ********. 16GB White Wifi iPad 2 ordered 12:45am PST Friday 3/11- still NOT YET SHIPPED (not even, prepared to ship). Have had the Smartcover since Saturday. This is upsetting!

 

[Genetheninja]

Now I'm really glad I only waited two hours in line at Best Buy to get mine instead of staying up until 4am to order it online!

And no, there is no light bleed by the way... I love it!

Sent from my iPad 2

 

[OneMike]

This is ********. 16GB White Wifi iPad 2 ordered 12:45am PST Friday 3/11- still NOT YET SHIPPED (not even, prepared to ship). Have had the Smartcover since Saturday. This is upsetting!

that's why I just decided to do the store thing. Lucky I was able to get on launch date, or have somebody pickup for me rather. But with the slow shipped I'd rather have chanced store then wait.

 

[Sreda]

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It's the Nintendo Wii marketing strategy. Keep the shelves empty to keep demand high.

Hate to tell you but its not wii marketing plan. Henry ford used it in the early 1900s and the Romans too

 

[SteveKnobs]

This is ********. 16GB White Wifi iPad 2 ordered 12:45am PST Friday 3/11- still NOT YET SHIPPED (not even, prepared to ship). Have had the Smartcover since Saturday. This is upsetting!

I'm in the same boat man- same model and almost exact same order time. I just don't get it....why are the white models taking so long to ship? Are they seriously that popular, or just that hard to produce?

 

[blackpond]

I'm sure the 4-5 week delivery is only fabricated so people form lines on launch day. Oh.. wait... You mean they might actually be selling a few of these things?

 

[Sreda]

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Parts of the iPad2 are made in Japan. The delay is going to get worse if you didn't get yours already

 

[aplqna]

I'm in the same boat man- same model and almost exact same order time. I just don't get it....why are the white models taking so long to ship? Are they seriously that popular, or just that hard to produce?

It has to be a shortage of White 16gb wifi. Seriously- I would cancel the goddamn order right now but knowing my luck, it probably would have shipped a minute later. I also don't feel like ****ing around with the stores because I'm disabled and I already woke up at 3:45 in the morning Friday as it is. Then, I see people on here bitching that theirs is prepared to ship or even that it is in the US but hasn't gotten to them yet. Boo hoo!

 

[gorgeousninja]

Surly Apple don't plan THIS Badly do they?

For some people, selling out of all available stock, generating long lines of people eager to buy their products, and selling twice the volume of a product barely a year old will be seen as bad... BUT,

These tend to be the same people who time and again say that Apple's products are no good, that no-one will buy them, and how other products are so much better...

haters gonna hate....

and the more they hate, the more ridiculous and foolish they make themselves look.

 

[alent1234]

went to target on friday with intention to buy a 16gb wifi any color. 32GB tops. walked out with a 64GB White Wifi.

 

[plaubel]

Apple Store in Reston VA.

I confirmed that My local Apple store would be open early today and I showed up a few minuets before 9:00 AM. There was a sign at the door that said "We do not have any IPAD2s today but find out how you can get one tomorrow" There were only 3 customers inside and I quickly spoke to an employee. No IPAD2s yet and we don't know when they will be here. I asked what the sign meant when it said "get one tomorrow". The employee said "perhaps it means that tomorrow never comes" and he must have not liked the look on my face as he quickly backtracked and said that he does not know what it means. The fact that the store was opened early implied that there were going to be a few there for sale and that perhaps "LineDance 2" would start early. WTF?

 

[jonnysods]

I just got my first iPad, a first gen on the weekend. I really love it, and i think that I would love to own a first gen. Having said that, I'm glad I'm not dealing with the waiting and the frustration.

Apple are so clever - everyone is crying foul that they have to wait so long, that they are getting screwed, that Apple should do this or that, yet here we all are, still buying their products, still waiting, still paying out whatever they ask for.

They are really on a good run of success right now if they can do this to people and still get sales!

iPad 3... that's where it's at for me. But I know that it will be 2 months AFTER launch that I get one. That way I don't freak out!

 

[TheAppleDragon]

...and this is another great example of the early bird catching the worm.