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They might as well offer deep discounts on the iPhones if they are going to loose that much money. I'm sure Verizon would prefer to give the money to their customers rather than to Apple.

And Apple may not like the deep discounts on their flagship product so Verizon may be able to extract some concessions from Apple

What "deep discounts"? Signing on to the most expensive network? They agree to a price per phone. If they want to take more of a loss, and say you can pick up a 5S as a "free" phone, that's called cutting off your nose to spite your face.
 
They might be able to sell them, if they included them in their advertisements, instead of the crappy droid devices. I know a lot of people who wanted iPhones but either believed that they weren't on Verizon Wireless's network, or were told they didn't work well by commissioned sales people.
 
Everyone already knows CDM technology is old tech. Verizon and Sprint aren't able to use talk and data at the same time. That is why Europe adopted GSM (AT&T, T-Mobile) as the standard over 20 years ago. Because it allows for Talk and Data at the same time, as well as other more efficient measures of use.

You are incorrect.

The SG3, SG4 and many other Android Phones have the ability to use voice and data at the same time.

It's a limitation of the iPhone 5 and LTE. Blame Apple, Not Verizon.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2409716,00.asp
 
Even if they did, doubling the iPhone sales seems impossible. They should at least quit shoving the Droid Razr MAXX HD at customers. That thing sucks.

You're right. To make those numbers, Verizon would need to stop selling
Android junk, and AT&T would need to go out of business immediately.
Both equally unlikely events.
 
Verizon F,,,up

See Verizon never should have took away the unlimited plan to the long term
users. Now since they did this they have lost customers that would have been using all those Iphones that verizon is stuck with. Way to go Verizon!!!!!:D
 
Doesn't this bring up the old 'shipped vs sold' arguments everyone throws at Samsung?
 
...so does this exclude phones that were not bought AT verizon but activated on their network? Cause honestly, who buys from the carriers anymore? They used to give us $50 Ne2 credit. Now that the credit is out the window -- where's my incentive to buy from Verizon rather than buying directly from Apple?
 
Seems like Verizon has the perfect storm brewing...

- possible overestimation of iPhone popularity
- lack of advertising for the iPhone
- poor management, resulting in more aggressive sales of phones with better commissions for the sales force

Any one of these issues might be survivable on their own, but all 3 combined is a bad scenario.

Verizon clearly signed their life away to get an immediate slice of the iPhone pie with no regard for future sales.

This is obviously bad news for Verizon, but it also tarnishes Apple because they get their name attached to headlines like "Verizon eats billions in unsold iPhones".
 
Now, Apple is not living the times when their sales are doubling. If we look at 2010, we can see that Apple was experiencing really amazing quarters. Sales were exploding. Everything was good. Steve was there etc. Hence, the commitments look rational from that point of view.

However, the ostensible key mistake is to assume that Apple's sales will keep doubling. That's very unreasonable. Every company has a peak point in terms of growth and that must have been estimated.

Probably, they will renegotiate and fix that issue. Otherwise, Apple will lose in long term.
 
Very bad news for Apple.

But worse for Verizon.

As a longtime Verizon customer, I tried real hard to find any reason whatsoever to buy an iPhone 5 from Verizon. I researched every option, visited several Verizon stores and talked to several Verizon reps - but no matter what, they insisted on charging me full price (>$850) with no device or service discounts (like "new every two", about $100 credit), and monthly charges nigh unto confiscatory. I made it absolutely clear that there were many reasons to leave Verizon (like a $350 refurb iP5 from AT&T, and I needed 2) and I was begging them to give me a reason, however slight a concession, to stay - nada.

Yet, it seems, in making the purchase agreement with :apple:, Verizon was assuming I'd pay a very steep full price and full service charges, when competitors were providing equal or better service with at least soften-the-blow discounts.

Agree to buy iPhones for resale, and then give customers no reason to buy them? Well yeah that's gonna hurt...

----------

Seems like Verizon has the perfect storm brewing...

- possible overestimation of iPhone popularity
- lack of advertising for the iPhone
- poor management, resulting in more aggressive sales of phones with better commissions for the sales force

Any one of these issues might be survivable on their own, but all 3 combined is a bad scenario.

You forgot what I just noted above:

- treating would-be customers with a "FU, pay thru the nose and like it" attitude ...and that in a market of discounts and incentives

I switched to AT&T and got two refurb iP5s for less than the price of one at Verizon.
 
Well no carrier will agree to a similar purchase order in the future, that's for sure.

No carrier will be doing these types of sales anymore.

The T-Mobile no-contract (like the rest of the world has) is going to the normal thing from here out for everyone.

Verizon and AT&T made these commitments because they thought everyone will be locked into the 2 year cycle still at this point.
 
why our wireless plans cost so much. We thought the carriers were to blame but it turns out it's all because of Apple's greed.

You're really kinda uninformed on this aren't you.

This has everything to do with the carriers. It has nothing to do with Apple.

T-Mobile and the rest of the world have no-contract plans. That is what people want with cheaper monthly rates and higher upfront costs.
 
No wonder Apple can brag about their "sales" vs the others "shipments" when they simply force the carriers to foot the bill for the entire shipment, regardless if the devices reach consumers or not.
 
Then why restrict upgrades to 24 months.... You need to move inventory yet you make it more difficult for customers to purchase that inventory....

I didn't need an MBA to figure that one out.
 
And the geniuses keep training to push their employees to sell non iPhones....

No joke. This is Verizon's doing. They agreed to this silly commitment, they push non-iPhones in their stores over iPhones, and they don't discount the upfront pricing the way they do with other models because they don't want to cut into their margins. Well, which is worse: low margins or $billions in unsold product?
 
Nope, still the carriers.

Nope. Carriers contribute but mostly it's Apple. It's really simple. Just look at the money trail. Whoever makes most profits is the one who is robbing the customers. If Apple did not charge exorbitant prices for iPhones the carriers would not have to pay them huge subsidies and therefore could keep plan priices lower.

Hopefully Europe will help us. They are already investigating Apple for exactly this type of abuses (minimum iPhone volume requirements). Once they charge Apple they will probably have to drop this practice in Europe and elsewhere.
 
But this 22% decline is basically a rumor, no? Also, AAPL is up 7% for the month of July so this report at least doesn't seem to be negatively impacting the stock.
Woohoo! 7%

Apple needs some seriuos help to get back in to the 600+ range


Apple Inc.
NASDAQ: AAPL - Jul 11 3:10pm ET
427.49
 
Even worse, they'll pull BS moves on you. I got a message from AT&T stating that I was at 99% data usage for the month, and it would reset the next day (since it was the next month). Next day at midnight (0:00)? I guess. I disabled my data. Next day in the afternoon, I turned the data on and used it to check my emails... and BAM, message from AT&T saying that I've gone over my limit. What the **** is the deal here? Did they mean it would reset at 23:59?

I'm not too worried about them charging high rates for plans. Nobody is forced to buy it. It's just a ripoff when they mess with you with over-use charges totally unexpectedly.

Call them, I once had this problem with AT&T (back when I had them); I was on the smallest plan, and by the time 'their systems synced' 2 - 3 days later I was apparently in the overage phase. I explained to them it's not my problem that their system is not 'up to date and takes up to 3 days to show actual usage', and taht if they are to limit my data they owe me accuracy.

They reversed the charges.
 
Nope. Carriers contribute but mostly it's Apple. It's really simple. Just look at the money trail. Whoever makes most profits is the one who is robbing the customers. If Apple did not charge exorbitant prices for iPhones the carriers would not have to pay them huge subsidies and therefore could keep plan priices lower.

Hopefully Europe will help us. They are already investigating Apple for exactly this type of abuses (minimum iPhone volume requirements). Once they charge Apple they will probably have to drop this practice in Europe and elsewhere.

You just got a D in economics.
 
Ah that's interesting. When I worked at Sprint we never got paid based on phone sales revenue, we were paid based on the rate plan chosen and the amount of phones sold for that month.
There's another caveat and probability to Verizon's declining iPhone sales, their rate plans just aren't for everyone. The pricing is too high for what they are offering. Their services aren't much different from AT&T or Sprint where they can justify being more expensive.
Yes, Verizons coverage is wider but for most people all 3 carriers are roughly the same. I have friends with Verizon and their phones drop calls as much as Sprint and AT&T.

Yep, VZW is overpriced for somewhat better coverage in areas that are less populated. Major cities are covered just fine by the top four major carriers. Getting a smartphone there or at ATT in general is a pretty terrible experience in that you are automatically slammed into a data contract that adds a minimum of $20 to your monthly bill if not $30 or $40. This deters people from getting phones that could pull data via wifi and in general keeps them out of decent phones, android or apple.

This is simply a matter of Verizon's point-of-sale tactics catching up to them. They pay their salesmen low wages, and hinge their real, commision-based income (and continued employment) on selling devices with high profit margins. Whether it's some junk feature phone, or the Android du jour, they run a vicious, no-holds-barred sales environment that is aimed at maximizing margins, rather than selling the customer the device that best suits their needs. As it turns out, the iPhone is one of their least profitable devices, and employees get in trouble or are outright terminated if they sell too many of them. That's the real reason Android has a greater market share in the US, and it's the reason Verizon finds themselves in the position that they are currently in. Apple was smart to put that term in place - it is the only thing that protects them from backwards point of sale systems like the one Verizon employs.

Until someone works at Verizon verifies this I won't believe it. I would think if I worked with phones all day long, I'd find the iPhone boring and would prefer to play with the other phones because there is more to learn, and then as a result might push them on more people, despite them not necessarily being a better option for that user. For my parents an iPhone is better because it comes with everything you need, it's more simplistic and get things done quickly. For me, I can go any route, and I'm not sure which way I will go, but since my iPhone4 works fine, I'm not rushing to upgrade, when it means I'll get locked into another 2 year contract.

Yeah, I'm confused about that. I always see Verizon advertising heavily for their junky HTC phones and Motorola's Droid Bionic or Razr MAXX HD, not even the Samsung ones. Are the Verizon TV ads with all of the new Android phones they have partially sponsored by Motorola and HTC?

I think it's because Apple in general does a better job of marketing their iPhone than verizon, and might have an approval process from their brand management teams to air such commercials.

For the love of...

Is it possible, the salesperson LISTENED to the customer and made an assessment based on their needs that an iPhone WASN'T their best choice???

Has anyone CONSIDERED that only recently iPhones have had LTE capabilities???

It's not a "guaranteed sale" if you end up buying something else.

Well, this is definitely possible... in the case of my dad who is over 65. My mom wanted to get an iPhone, but he already had an iPad and had no interest in having a smartphone and paying for data when he would rarely use it if ever. He has a good gps in his vehicle, prefers not to text, reads books over watching movies, and doesn't listen to music other than when driving or sitting around at home. For this reason, the genius at the Apple store told him to not to waste money on an iPhone and get a regular cell phone for now. I think that's awesome. When he went to the ATT store they tried to get him to get an iPhone lol.
 
ahm because there are no superior phones ? If you look at the overall image ?
-> Security : iPhone
-> Color reproduction : iPhone
-> ease of use : iPhone
-> build quality : iPhone, HTC One
-> ScreenSize : depends on usage, i like smaller not bigger (i am a one handed user)
-> apps : iPhone

Come on now, that's a very narrow minded view. The "best" smart phone is purely opinion-based. Yes, one phone or another will win a certain category, but everyone will have a category that matters the most to them.
 
Nope. Carriers contribute but mostly it's Apple. It's really simple. Just look at the money trail. Whoever makes most profits is the one who is robbing the customers. If Apple did not charge exorbitant prices for iPhones the carriers would not have to pay them huge subsidies and therefore could keep plan priices lower.

Hopefully Europe will help us. They are already investigating Apple for exactly this type of abuses (minimum iPhone volume requirements). Once they charge Apple they will probably have to drop this practice in Europe and elsewhere.

"Could keep plan prices lower". Yes, I'm sure any cost savings would be passed on to the consumer. This is from companies that want to force people into unlimited text plans or else charge 25 cents or more per text. Really? :)
 
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