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UKBeast

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 21, 2010
626
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Turkey
There are sport band or sport woven loop colours from previous seasons that are better or worse than todays bands on sale.

Every season they are changing these colours and old ones immediately going out.

For example you cant find black, white straps that are quite generic and appealing to most people.

Its nice to have new colour options every year but why cant i buy the last years color if i like the old more ?
 
^^This.

It's nice to have new colour options every year but why cant i buy the last years color if i like the old more ?

Can sometimes find the old bands (read: previous year) on Apple's Amazon storefront when not available on apple.com. Have done that in the past.

Amen! to having basic black and white available as I do not care for all the color combos. I want basic black, or as close to as can be. Current Midnight will be purchased soon so as to have another basic black like backup, and since Apple seems to be going after Chinese companies cloning the Loop designs, next to impossible to find basic black Loop knockoffs (where band loops at the lug vs somewhere mid-band).

Add it up, current situation is not driving me to buy new bands from Apple.
 
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It's not planned obsolescence.

It's likely just supply chain logistics.

The material reality behind the limited availability of bands is supply chain logistics yes, the conceptual approach behind rotating band colors is planned obsolescence.

I blame my misreading the point of the OP
 
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Another reason, on the Apple website for the Nike Sport band I got with my series 9, it says:

Nike Sport Loop​

Excess yarn from previous seasons create a soft, breathable band with a pull tab to easily adjust on the go.
 
My point is that you are having new colours on sale every year. This is ok. However why are the old colours leaving the collection when the new ones come out ?

Color preference is in the eye of beholder, i may not like the new season colors but i might like to buy the previous years colors.

Maybe this is not logistic or planned obselodence but seems like band thing is like a fashion sale strategy.

Especially generic colours like black or white are replaced with midnigt or silver. You are not finding same black or white.

Do Having too many colours in the collection cannibilize the new ones ?

I come to think that sole purpose it to sell new bands to people as when you have old colour from 3 years ago and this colour is still on sale then you will not have the feeling that you are using an old fashined colour and maybe will not likely to buy new band.
 
I come to think that sole purpose it to sell new bands to people as when you have old colour from 3 years ago and this colour is still on sale then you will not have the feeling that you are using an old fashined colour and maybe will not likely to buy new band.

I doubt that's the sole reason, or even the main reason. Way more likely to be a question of profitability of stocking past season bands. Inventory is the biggest cost that a retailer incurs, and the more SKUs a retailer stocks, the greater that cost is. So if the lost revenue Apple misses from not having those old bands is less than the incremental cost to produce, warehouse and stock them, it makes no business sense for Apple to make them. I'm guessing their bean counters have done that math.
 
There are sport band or sport woven loop colours from previous seasons that are better or worse than todays bands on sale.

Every season they are changing these colours and old ones immediately going out.

For example you cant find black, white straps that are quite generic and appealing to most people.

Its nice to have new colour options every year but why cant i buy the last years color if i like the old more ?
A whole bunch of reasons:

1. To make people buy them. If you know a band will be around forever, you'll might wait to buy it until you actually need it, in which time something you like more might come along. If it's going to go away in a few months, you're more likely to buy it now because you don't know if the new thing that replaces is will be better or worse.
2. Logistics. In order to keep all bands in stock, they'd have to either build up a massive stockpile of them (which isn't the way Apple operates) or just keep making them forever at increasingly smaller volumes. Neither make more sense than just cycling them out of the store and making something new. They can always bring them back later if they really need to.
3. Fashion. Apple accessories follow seasonal colour trends and are also designed to complement their latest devices, so keeping old stuff around doesn't make a lot of sense.

I say all of this as someone who hates most of the sport loops they've released in the last few years and has resorted to getting knockoffs of the colours I like.
 
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In the United States, the TJ Maxx discount stores often have the older bands at closeout prices.
 
The material reality behind the limited availability of bands is supply chain logistics yes, the conceptual approach behind rotating band colors is planned obsolescence.

I blame my misreading the point of the OP
I don't believe that what you describe is obsolescence - planned or otherwise. Obsolescence would be when the band you've bought becomes obsolete - when a band is discontinued your own band does not become obsolete.
 
boss.king got it, pretty much. They want people to buy them. Trends come and go. Cycling them out makes people collect them, which makes people buy them.

If you weant old colors and designs, though, you can get them on eBay. Chargerstore is a great seller who has virtually every band.
 
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