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“This is a factor of overwhelming demand.”
Sorry, but I don't buy that. In my opinion, the shortage of iPhones is a factor of an underwhelming production strategy. Of all the successful companies in the world, I would expect Apple to have a better rein on sales forecasts for this device.

When I was standing in line at the Apple Store, we had been in line for about 3 hours at this point; a guy next to me threw up his hands said a obscene slang word and started to walk off. He said we were all crazy for doing this. He said in a week we would all be able to just walk into any Apple store and buy one in 5 minutes.
Well to him I say (Insert childish comment here) :0p
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On a more serious footnote I have noticed that Apple stores are going through iPhone accessories at a high rate as well. It took me a little over a week to find a particular manufactures case that I wanted. All three Apple stores in my area, and the manufacture were sold out frequently. And I have yet to find the car charger that I want.
Not only has the iPhone been a boom for Apple but for accessories makers as well.
I look forward to Macworld's own Chris Breen's Guide to the iPhone 3G I am sure he is working on... in book stores everywhere this fall. Chirs is a lot better than (hyperactive, always ready to make a joke) David Pouge.

"This is a factor of overwhelming demand."
I don't buy that either. I would suggest that Apple deliberately caused a shortage, thereby increasing column inches about the 'out-of-stock' iPhone, increasing its appeal and predictably, creating the "must have" of summer 2008.

pistogrih said:

I hope you are being sarcastic, but if you are not, I will be!

Right. Because everyone knows how much more valuable column-inches are than sales of actual merchandise! One would think Apple makes iPhones as a loss leader to rake in those lucrative column-inches! Kinda like that razor/razor blade thing. ;)

Tim Cook is speaking corporate-speak and wearing the emperor's new cloths. Deliberately frustrating your customers and not being able to fulfill on a product that has been hyped for months is just bad business, and starts to remind Apple loyalists of Michael Spindler and his inability to deliver announced product. I've tried twice to get a phone from the Boca Raton store. The first time I was told there was at least a 2 hour wait and I chose not to get in line, and the second time they sold out their existing stock by 11:00 AM. I already own a first generation iPhone, so I think I'll wait now for the furor to die down and get mine later.
But just to be clear, it's not good business to frustrate your customers. Let's be clear about that, Tim.

Mine has shipped and I pick it up today! Woot! :D

It took somewhere around 74 days to reach a million units in sales with the first one. Why would you guess that they should predict that same quantity sold in a day?

Sorry, but based upon previous experience, the most useful tool in forecasting sales, they didn't do anything wrong.

Aside from that, it keeps them in the news and garners a lot of free press, which is what many conspiracists would tell you was their motivation from the beginning, much like Nintendo and the Wii.

So, by your reasoning, it would appear that Nintendo screwed up with the Wii, they still can't keep them on store shelves. Come on...

Well, there you go, the conspiracists start to filter in...

This is the real world, please remove the tinfoil hats prior to entering...

rlockhart said:

Quote

Tell that to Nintendo who after two and a half years still cannot manufacture enough game systems to meet demand. Sony, and Microsoft would love to have half the frustrated customers that Nintendo has. As well as the profits too sense Nintendo is the only company making a true profit on their little white game box.

If the majority of potential customers were so frustrated to the point of no longer interested in the product there would not be a line every morning in front of GameStop stores hoping to find a Wii, or Apple stores looking for iPhones.

I was in The Mall at Short Hills (Short Hills, NJ) the other night. 8:00 P.M. on a Wednesday night over 200 frustrated customers standing in line waiting to not give Apple their money making sure Apple knows how bad their business practice is.
/sarcasm

It is easy to think that companies planned this. However, there is no deep seeded conspiracy. If there was, and if this was the retail secret to success every company would be doing this with every product.

It cost money to manufacture an product. If a company makes to many of a product then they have unsold stock collecting dust on store shelfs. If they make to few then a potential customer might buy a competing product. There has to be a balance, but not with just two but with a third ball... cost.

In order for Apple to produce more iPhones they have to buy more parts, authorize the assembly manufactre to hire more employees, all this cost money and can eat up profit margin.

So, a company has to juggle keeping investors happy by showing profit or high return on investment and retailers happy, and customers happy. And while I do not mean any offense, and I hope none is taken, those who are angry or frustrated about not being able to just walk in off the street and buy a iPhone in 10 minutes are really in the minority.

You can bet Apple would MUCH rather have actual sales than press about "high demand shortages".
If someone walks out of a store without making a purchase (whatever the reason), there's a chance they won't be back. An "out of stock" situation means one thing and one thing only - lost sales.
While Apple can brag about shortages due to high demand, it's simply marketing - turning lemons into lemonade. (Much like bragging about a dual processor computer when you're lagging in the MHz race.) :-)
-phil

Let's also be clear about the history set by the first iPhone. It took around 74 days to achieve a million units.

There is no deliberate anything here other than your interpretation of how your experience should be. You didn't get what you wanted when you wanted it. A great example of self-importance and how people expect that they deserve instant gratification from merchandise.


Let's be very clear, it's worse business to over-produce a product and be left with overstocked merchandise than it is to have a reasonable supply at launch and possibly disappoint a few self-important instant-gratification types. Sorry that your experience didn't meet your unreasonable expectations, how would you like Apple to make it up to you?

So much whining in these forums lately...

But that's not a popularly ignorant conspiracy that makes ME and MY SATISFACTION the important factor! That position only addresses real business concerns and doesn't make ME the center of the whole equation!

How can I express my disgust at being made to feel like one of the unwashed masses? Shouldn't I be treated more like royalty and given preferential treatment since I am as great as I am?



For those that cannot tell, this post is intended to be sarcastic in nature.

Forecasting product demand is as much art as science and no company can budget for all variables. And this current shortfall may have nothing whatsoever to do with an inaccurate forecast anyway. It's possible that the iPhone manufacturer(s) fell behind schedule and that Apple was unwilling to delay the date of the product debut.
Take a breath; you can bet many more units are in the pipeline. If doing without an iPhone for a few weeks gets you all in a dither, you are desperate for a life.
Jeff Mincey