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Walmart Offering iPhone 5 for $127, Third-Generation iPad for $399

This is a really bad sign for Apple's finances.

iPhone 5 sales well below expectations: http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-2012-12

And now heavily discounted brand-new iPads.

First signs that Apple won't be able to keep up their fantastic margins any longer without losing market share. Samsung's margin is a bit more than half of Apple's but they make up for it by selling twice as many devices.

It will be a full-on and bloody Apple vs Samsung war of the giants next year, with everyone else being trampled into insignificance.
 
TennisandMusic said:
Apple cut their iPhone orders for next quarter though, which is one reason the stock was down 20 points today (that, and the dud launch in China). You'd have to assume that means sales are below their expectations. People are buying them, just not in the numbers they wanted.
Click to expand...

When did Apple say they cut orders for next quarter? A Wall Street analyst and his "supply chain checks" != Apple. Of course I'm not surprised APPL dropped like a rock on that news. The tiniest bit of FUD sends the stock price downward these days.

As far as the dud launch in China, Apple implemented a reservation system so they wouldn't have the chaos that occurred with the 4S launch (where they had to postpone the launch in Beijing and Shanghai). China Unicom preorders were over 300,000 compared to 200,000 for the 4S.
 
Nunyabinez said:
Are there that many people who are eligible for an upgrade that have been putting it off because $199 is too much money but $127 will make them buy it? I would certainly like to save the cash, but I'm not eligible until May. Maybe this will attract new iPhone purchasers, but I can't imagine there being lots of people who are sitting on a previous iPhone and not upgrading because of the price of the phone.
Click to expand...

I understand this for sure. I'm sitting on my upgrade because I have a 4S that's more than enough for me at the moment. Maybe the 5S or even the 6. That, and I really do want to end my contract in March and see what T-Mobile's got going when LTE drops in 2013...
 
iPad 5 must be really close to release. :p Or maybe everybody including their grandmas already have a tablet. Only reason to upgrade is if they start using Intel processors for non-shovelware softwares from OSX.
 
waloshin said:
You would make a 2 hour round drive to save $90? Fuel and would almost cost you that!
Click to expand...

No.
40MPH: 80 miles; Averaging 20MPG, that would take 4 gallons.
Even 80MPH: 8 gallons. Nowhere near $90.

People say gasoline is really expensive, but it's not when you consider what it does. It's just that people drive so much.
 
AppleScruff1 said:
I bet that the sales are very good, the hysteria has died down and the sales number will be steady. At some point in time sales are bound to level off.
Click to expand...

Hope you are correct, but the reason they are launching IP5 in so many countries so early suggests otherwise. This never happened before. Most of these countries got 4s probably just 6 months back. Analysts are expecting more IP4s sales than IP5 in China. One reason customers in developing countries are more quality/durability conscious than US. With all the scratch/dent issues IP5 may be less attractive.
 
I guess it was too good to be true for the iPad. And a lot of stores around here don't have any iPad 3's anyway.
 
AppleScruff1 said:
I bet that the sales are very good, the hysteria has died down and the sales number will be steady. At some point in time sales are bound to level off.
Click to expand...

The problem is that this point in time has not come yet for the entire market. Samsung is still growing like crazy. iPhone sales better outgrow the market at least a little or else the share price will continue to fall.

Signs are rather that they are currently losing market share, which would be bad in a market with so much potential left.
 
iphoneclassic said:
Hope you are correct, but the reason they are launching IP5 in so many countries so early suggests otherwise. This never happened before. Most of these countries got 4s probably just 6 months back. Analysts are expecting more IP4s sales than IP5 in China. One reason customers in developing countries are more quality/durability conscious than US. With all the scratch/dent issues IP5 may be less attractive.
Click to expand...

But even at that, in some point in time sales will more than likely level off. The double digit growth won't last forever. Sooner or later the mass hysteria will subside. It's not an exclusive or niche product at sales of 80+ million a year.
 
AppleScruff1 said:
I guess it was too good to be true for the iPad. And a lot of stores around here don't have any iPad 3's anyway.
Click to expand...

Check with some of the smaller stores in your area, if there are any. Smaller stores - generally in lower population areas = fewer sales on tech goodies, so things tend to sit around a little bit. My store has a dozen iPad 3's, a couple leftover 32gb iPad 2's (sadly, not marked down yet), and one 2-year old, sealed, iPod Classic. We have not yet gotten any iPad 4's, other than a demo model, because they would occupy the same retail space as the 3 that they replaced, that aren't selling due to being the same price as folks can go to bigger stores to get a 4.

It would seem this could be the driving force behind such a drastic price reduction, IMHO.

Cheers!
 
Speedy2 said:
This is a really bad sign for Apple's finances.

iPhone 5 sales well below expectations: http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-2012-12

And now heavily discounted brand-new iPads.

First signs that Apple won't be able to keep up their fantastic margins any longer without losing market share. Samsung's margin is a bit more than half of Apple's but they make up for it by selling twice as many devices.

It will be a full-on and bloody Apple vs Samsung war of the giants next year, with everyone else being trampled into insignificance.
Click to expand...

Linking to Business Insider, one of the biggest click bait sites around? LMAO

Since when is the 3rd gen iPad "brand new"? And one store (Walmart) taking off $100 of the 3rd gen iPad is not "heavily discounted brand-new iPads". :rolleyes: Walmart probably wants to get rid of the remaining stock they have.

I can't wait until Apple reports its quarterly results and all these wall street clowns have egg all over their faces. :D
 
Speedy2 said:
Signs are rather that they are currently losing market share, which would be bad in a market with so much potential left.
Click to expand...

Depends on which signs you are reading. Year over year, their market share is actually still growing with the notable exception of last quarter. Their sales are simply becoming front-loaded on the introduction of a new iPhone. Bulging in the first two quarters after launch and thinning in the last quarter as consumers anticipate a new iPhone.
 
BaldiMac said:
Depends on which signs you are reading. Year over year, their market share is actually still growing with the notable exception of last quarter. Their sales are simply becoming front-loaded on the introduction of a new iPhone. Bulging in the first two quarters after launch and thinning in the last quarter as consumers anticipate a new iPhone.
Click to expand...

We're talking about the current quarter here, which needs to be spectacular to make up for the last 2 weak quarters. Signs are it won't be good enough.

----------
Rogifan said:
Linking to Business Insider, one of the biggest click bait sites around? LMAO

Since when is the 3rd gen iPad "brand new"? And one store (Walmart) taking off $100 of the 3rd gen iPad is not "heavily discounted brand-new iPads". :rolleyes: Walmart probably wants to get rid of the remaining stock they have.
Click to expand...

Suit yourself. I could have linked to any odd site as the news was everywhere today.
Edit: You are right about the 3rd gen iPad. I edited my comment.
 
Speedy2 said:
We're talking about the current quarter here, which needs to be spectacular to make up for the last 2 weak quarters. Signs are it won't be good enough.

----------



Suit yourself. I could have linked to any odd site as the news was everywhere today.
Edit: You are right about the 3rd gen iPad. I edited my comment.
Click to expand...
Yeah, Walmart PR screwed up. Of course $100 off iPad 3 isn't surprising. Who would buy an iPad 3 for $499 now? I'm sure Walmart just wants to get rid of whatever remaining stock they have.
 
Speedy2 said:
We're talking about the current quarter here, which needs to be spectacular to make up for the last 2 weak quarters. Signs are it won't be good enough.
Click to expand...

Which signs? Seems like you just cherry-picked a few to make your point.

Business Insider? Third-party retail discounts? :rolleyes:

Samsung's margin is a bit more than half of Apple's but they make up for it by selling twice as many devices.
Click to expand...

Samsung's average selling price is a bit more than half of Apple's. There is no way their margins are in the 20% range.
 
Speedy2 said:
This is a really bad sign for Apple's finances.

iPhone 5 sales well below expectations: http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-2012-12

And now heavily discounted brand-new iPads.

First signs that Apple won't be able to keep up their fantastic margins any longer without losing market share. Samsung's margin is a bit more than half of Apple's but they make up for it by selling twice as many devices.

It will be a full-on and bloody Apple vs Samsung war of the giants next year, with everyone else being trampled into insignificance.
Click to expand...

The iPads are not heavily discounted. The Walmart spokesperson erred when she originally spoke with MacRumors.

See Update 2 at the end of the original article.
 
Got the Fourth-Generation iPad for $399

When macrumors posted this article - before it got updated. I went into a Best Buy and showed them the 399 price and they gave it to me. Can't believe that Walmart announced they were wrong. Wonder how many people did the same thing as me.
 
Ugh I just bought an iPhone 5 from Best Buy a couple of hours ago at the $150 price. Do they do a price guarantee if I find it cheaper elsewhere? If so, how do I prove it to them? It doesn't list a price on the WalMart site.
 
Awesome! Wife was up for a new iPhone, and her birthday is this week. Just walked out of my local Walmart with a 16Gb 5 in white for the $127! Very, very cool. Picked her up a spec case, as well as an extra cable, all, including tax, for less than I was going to pay for the phone just a few days ago.

Thanks Wally World!
 
Any purchase reports from California on the iPhone 5? Are they charging tax on the subsidized price or the full, unlocked price?
 
For what it's worth, I bought my iPhone 5 two weeks ago at Walmart. I went there tonight and they refunded me the price difference because I was still under the return window. It was a small amount of hassle for a $62 refund.
 
sale or no sale?

I just called the closest Walmart and the lady that answered the phone said the iphone5 is not on sale!

Guess she didn't read the memo. No use driving all the way to Walmart to see if I can get the discount.
 
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