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Hey, did you know Ballmer's best year was the year before Microsoft sales plummeted? To see if someone is going to "kill it", you need to look at their new products and the direction they are going, not the past.

Never seen hardware so weak from Apple, and Microsoft is finally putting out good hardware.. they just need to get their OS up to par. And Android OS is quite impressive, very innovative and google now kills Siri any day. Tim rode the wind that Steve left him.. that wind is dying now
I disagree. The MacBook is actually pretty useful and will only get more so as Intel gets its act together with Core M. Given Intel's pricing for Core M the MacBook is fairly priced. iPad Pro seems to be enjoying a burst of popularity and may convince more developers to see the iPad as a "real" platform.

Tim Cook has done a decent job as CEO. People like Steve Jobs come around once in a lifetime. Following is a difficult act. Cook has done a far better job than Steve Ballmer. Unlike Ballmer, Cook didn't inherit virtual monopoly cash cows in Windows and Office. Arguably Steve Jobs cost Apple by not developing iOS with resolution independence. It cost Apple at least one and probably two years before the iPhone 6 Plus was ready.

Google Now "kills" Siri because Google has no scruples and mines everyone's personal data. I like Apple's stance on privacy.

As for hardware, have you seen the benchmarks for the A9? The best CPU engineers want to work for Apple now.
 
Beyond the sale, I'm really wondering what this says about Apple Watch sales. That can't be good.
Target said that the Apple Watch helped it set a record yesterday. I'm sure Apple Watch sales are fine. Remember, this product is 7 months old and going through its first holiday quarter. It will subject of many promotions.
 
Normally I would agree, but we know from the last quarterly report that Apple Watch is doing quite well.

I think it it more likely that Collette sold a very limited number at 50% off (they are out of stock already), and any loss is a marketing expense to get their name out there. It worked for me--I certainly never heard of them until now.

Do we? Apple isn't officially reporting anything on the Watch and any other info is basically guess work.
 
My take is they overshot on their estimates and have excess inventory to liquidate. Luxury items always have high discounts during Christmas season. Nothing new. I'm sure it was sold at a profit. Just not as much.

Right.... Good grief, these things sell in such low quantity (even when they sell well) with so little variance that no one on earth would keep an "inventory"; they can just get them bought and sent from Apple in small batches every week. Do you really think they're ordering a huge of batch of these things? That would be insane for any retailer, let alone someone selling $10K items.

I'm sure they're NOT sold at a profit at that price, although Apple does profit...

Also, this is still early in the holiday season, selling to liquidate (what 50% off would be) is never done this early unless you've ordered a huge batch of Christmas ornaments (or something like that), that has no value past a certain date.

This is either marketing/PR or a loss leader (also a type of marketing)

That's what black friday is all about.
 
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I suppose the question is, could Apple have had a hand in this, testing the waters for "sales" and such.

Clothes go into the sales at the end of the season and people buy them cheaper. iPhones don't, they get discounted a little when a superior model comes out but Apple is by no means trying to get rid of them, just offer a lower priced option. At worst they use the leftover inventory to fulfill warranties and repairs.

Maybe they're seeing where the watch should be positioned ready for next February or March, when they have their next big event. With the tag line "We came around" or something like that (complete with round Apple Watch)
 
Do we? Apple isn't officially reporting anything on the Watch and any other info is basically guess work.

Apple doesn't give a direct number, but it's not really guess work either--it's just a combination of two facts. (1) We know from the quarterly call to shareholders that well over 100% of "Other Products" growth is due to the Apple Watch. (2) We know from the quarterly report that "Other Products" had over a billion dollars worth of growth.

I don't think anyone expected a first gen Apple Watch with 1 day's battery life to do that well. I certainly didn't.
 
Normally I would agree, but we know from the last quarterly report that Apple Watch is doing quite well.

I think it it more likely that Collette sold a very limited number at 50% off (they are out of stock already), and any loss is a marketing expense to get their name out there. It worked for me--I certainly never heard of them until now.

I highly doubt Colette needs to get their name out there. You may not have heard of them but they are the number 1 rich hipster store in France, and pretty much any travelling rich hipster in the world knows about the Colette store in Paris. They are catering to a very precise and targeted jet-setting clientele ( or Bobos as they are called in France "Bohemians Bourgeois" ), not to average consumers in general ( like you and me ).

I think they just couldn't get rid of their Apple watches , now that they are widely available in Apple stores, there isn't any reason for their typical clientele to buy it from Colette instead of the Apple Store at the Louvre or at the Opera. Buying an AW from Colette doesn't bring any added value, whether real or perceived.
 
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I was tempted but even at 50% off I'm just going to wait for another gen. Although... you could probably buy one at 50% off and sell it much later for a profit. Oh well!
 
Well. WHAT a surprise. I ordered the Black Stainless .42 with the same band and the charge went through, I got a confirmation and then I get this today...Funny how things work.

Shocker. Not. Looks like I will be waiting for Gen2 now.
Snip20151128_2.png
 
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Well. WHAT a surprise. I ordered the Black Stainless .42 with the same band and the charge went through, I got a confirmation and then I get this today...Funny how things work.

Shocker. Not. Looks like I will be waiting for Gen2 now.View attachment 602754

Yeah I ordered 3 watches and got the same message this morning on that exact watch. No refund on PayPal as of yet. Figures. I'll be filing a protest shortly, sent them a nasty gram on teh operation of their website.

Hello,


This order will be cancelled asap .


Product is sold out.


Thanks


Solal

clip_image001.png
 
What a way to look at it. You do realize its Black Friday right? If they had those same prices on normal days then your comment might make some kind of sense. The fact they were quickly sold out makes your comment look even more silly.
Great, so why no 50% off deals on iPhones. They’re what people really want too? That would be a tremendous loss leader.
 
Remarkable deal? Not so much. I ordered a stainless steel link bracelet the moment the sale hit. 50% off. Not bad. Got the order confirmation, they charged my card. Then I get an email today telling me my order was cancelled - apperently they are all out. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
 
I wonder what they are doing with "our" money while they "process" the returns. Sounds like a way to float some cash for a while. Epic fail.
 
Do you know if we have to pay any custom fees or taxes?
I'm not sure. I tried looking it up and didn't find much. I guess we'll see.

Most of the things I've found say that goods valued under $2000 for personal use are not taxed.

Also, lots of original Apple Watches shipped from China and those people didn't have to pay an import tax on them.
 
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I'm not sure. I tried looking it up and didn't find much. I guess we'll see.

Most of the things I've found say that goods valued under $2000 for personal use are not taxed.

Also, lots of original Apple Watches shipped from China and those people didn't have to pay an import tax on them.

I have bought many products from China in the past and never had to pay taxes or custom fees, but Europe might be different. I also tried doing research on the subject matter, and found little information. However, I did discover some individuals writing that they had to pay DHL for custom fees before they would release the package to them.
 
Anyone successfully get a shipping confirmation yet?

EDIT: I noticed that all of the prices of the Apple Watch have gone back up. Maybe the 50% off was an error, which is why they are cancelling the orders?
 
Apple doesn't give a direct number, but it's not really guess work either--it's just a combination of two facts. (1) We know from the quarterly call to shareholders that well over 100% of "Other Products" growth is due to the Apple Watch. (2) We know from the quarterly report that "Other Products" had over a billion dollars worth of growth.

I don't think anyone expected a first gen Apple Watch with 1 day's battery life to do that well. I certainly didn't.

Not really. iTunes (Apple Music) and Apple TV in particular definitely affect the "Other Products" revenue as well. The whole wearables industry was waiting to see what Apple would release and I have to say it's been a very "meh" product. I'm interested to see how it grows though!
 
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