“Apple has yet another success on its hands,” Jonny Evans writes for Computerworld.
“It seems Apple has already sold out of a product that hasn’t officially shipped,” Evans writes. “And even though you can’t buy the product in an Apple Retail store, hundreds are already waiting in line just to take a look at this ‘most personal’ device.”
“Unless you made your order by 3:45am EST you won’t be getting one this month,” Evans writes. “Waiting times have already hit six weeks or more.”
Read more in the full article here.
Related articles:
Apple Watch draws strong turnout at Apple Retail Stores – April 10, 2015
Apple Watch already sold out – April 10, 2015
Open thread: Did you get your Apple Watch preorder placed? – April 10, 2015
This article simply confirms what we all knew was to be expected. The naysayers don’t listen to Apple buyers on places like MDN, they assume their own conclusions until we prove them wrong.
That’s like a pharmaceutical company listening to investors negative opinions on whether patients will benefit from their new drug, while doctors are saying “yes, it’ll be great, get it to market now!” and then all the financial analysts being shocked at its success.
Still, even less than expected AppleWatch sales shouldn’t cause serial downgrades of Apple but it does all the same. Serial downgrades don’t represent analysts being shocked at AppleWatch success. It would appear that they believe AppleWatch has failed right out of the gate.
Netflix got a huge upgrade and the share price jumped. AppleWatch, increased buybacks and dividends has only brought multiple downgrades for Apple. Apple appears to be giving off very bad vibes to Wall Street.
No, it’s an opportunity for investment firms to spread FUD about a new Apple product in a pathetic attempt to drive down market prices temporarily so the investment firms can short and benefit from the inevitable jump in AAPL.
However the biggest question is…
How many did they actually make to sell out of? If it was just enough for a test audience then this IS ALL FUD to begin with… If they produced good number and they are still gone, well that’s just awesome sauce!!!!!! 😉
Yhea Android Wear doesn’t have problems with pre-order sell-out. Don’t have to make appointments or wait in line, there is always Android Wear in stock.
Seems selling-out available pre-order stock, making appointments, and waiting in line are typical Apple problems. Problems its competitors wish they had. 😀🖖
Everyone on MDN says “FUD” all the time, and maybe I should know this already, but can someone explain what the acronym (assuming it’s an acronym) means?
Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt ™ – Formerly known as Microsoft-based anti-Apple propaganda.
Yet, the media is showing that the buzz and lineups at the Apple Stores are tepid. Yes, they’re pushing people to buy online but still, today you can try on the watch and see it. And the line ups just aren’t there from the various media reports at Apple Stores around the world. You actually don’t have to make an appointment to see the watch: they have displays under glass.
I registered this morning to try on the Apple Watch at the downtown store here (very busy store by the way) and I had no problem getting multiple appointment times.
The fact that Apple’s website says shipping in 4-6 weeks is meaningless because we have no idea how many they’ve sold. Until we know that, this is all premature. Apple could be trying to amass as many sales as possible and artificially limiting supply to give the illusion of demand.
We’ll see when the sales numbers come in. If the sales numbers aren’t readily reported, then it’s not selling well, because Apple always brags about opening weekend sales when they’re good as a PR point.
How many of them are ending up on eBay? At 40% markup?
FYI – A stainless link bracelet model (sold by for $999) is being offered at $3,200.
If you can find one on eBay at 40% markup, GRAB IT and flip it for another 100% markup (or more).
I had mine ordered by 2:03 am Central Daylight Time and I’m on a 4-6 week wait. Impressive!
Then I read on a Yahoo Finance and see a Bloomberg headline: “Muted Debut for Apple Watch With Sparese Crowds in Europe and Asia”. Apparently Bloomcrap doesn’t realize you have to order the ⌚️ online only.
All you droid trolls; ha, ha, ha! Stick it fools!!
Which is truly an ignorant article, because this was only pre-orders and you had to make an appointment to buy one anyway. No walk-up purchases.
To be fair, selling out doesn’t mean much without numbers. I have no doubt Apple will sell a lot, far more than any other “competitor” has in total, but I also think that sales will really explode once they get onto people’s wrists and are used and improved. If they’ve only made a few hundreds of thousands that wouldn’t be that impressive (in comparison to iPhone sales). They no doubt have sold a lot more, and will likely ramp up production really quickly once they see what people are buying, but it’s hardly a shock that they’ve sold out.
Yeah… Just a little bummed that many of us who ordered in the first 20 minutes won’t have one on our wrist until June or later..
Ordering through the Apple Store app on an iOS device gets you in faster than through a web browser in a computer. I’ve been doing it that way for years. I always compare them side-by-side with my phone’s WiFi turned off, in case of an outage, and the phone app always opens up on time while the computer web browser takes minutes longer. Shhh. Don’t tell.
On that subject, I also noticed that on the iPhone there is a page turn to the Pay button while on the iPad the Apple Pay button is on the same page as the original favorites pane. So faster execution is possible on the iPad if they both reach the released Apple Store at the same time. ⌚️💥😍
Yeah I was delayed just a few minutes also ordering a MacBook as well and I noticed the times increased greatly from the start to the end of my order. (This is like buying Ticketmaster tickets for a high profile popular performer. Whoever can hit the “buy” button the quickest gets the prize much sooner.) Shoulda just ordered the Watch first and then gone back for the MacBook. But the miracle is the process, despite the no doubt crushing demand on their servers, still went smoothly unlike some previous years.
I think they’re probably already ramped up as much as they can be right now.
I disagree… This “shortage” is all marketing 101. supply and demand..
There IS NO REASON, that the largest company on planet earth couldn’t have had enough watches to last more than 20 minutes if they’d wanted to.
This has been in planning for several years.
It makes no good sense to set up production to meet the initial surge driven by pent-up demand; better to set it up for expected average demand rates.
Not to mention with firmware/software changes ongoing right up to release, there’s not so much reason to build up a huge pre-inventory over weeks or months before release.
Exactly. It was planned this way.
How do you know how many orders they took? You don’t. And there’s no reason to create an artificial shortage. With something like this, the thing that will drive demand is seeing it on a friend’s wrist and getting a personal demo. Creating an artificial shortage works against that.
Every time any Apple product sells out somebody starts shouting “marketing 101”. (ignoring that’s not in the 101 course), and yet never once in retrospect has it been shown that the shortage was artificial. Not once.
The oldest trick in the book which you’d learn in any marketing 101 college course.
Perception is reality.. People want what they can’t have..
If the shelves are lined with rows of Apple watches, people are more prone to wait.. If there is a shortage, everyone goes crazy and orders immediately.
I studied marketing, didn’t get that in my courses.
What i did learn is that if you don’t full fill demand ‘chances are people will flock to rival products’. if you can’t buy a LG TV for weeks you buy a Sony. (this doesn’t apply to Apple as rival products suck but this is What You Learn in Marketing 101 ).
It’ll help Apple better to sell a many as they can as then they can announce ‘millions sold’ (apple only announces shipped units as sold) PLUS book it into their quarterly financials (for the shareholders who hire-fire the CEO ) etc. …. rather than frustrating buyers (dates pushed back to June July). You seriously think Apple will FRUSTRATE buyers by making them wait weeks for a marketing ploy?
here is a quote just in at ZDnet to reinforce what I’m saying (artificial constraints if real is self defeating):
Zdnet
“Within an hour or two, stock had sold out and delivery times were pushed back to June — long after the April 24 date when devices were due to start shipping. Many took to Twitter to complain. Some users said they would not buy the wearable as a result.”
this flies in the face MikeK’s contention that apple is deliberately constraining supplies to boost sales (i argued that it actually hurts sales)
I disagree. I don’t claim to know more than the super geniuses at Apple. But, I do know this, as a plumber…
If I don’t have the product on my van, I can’t sell it to that particular customer.
The more product I have available, as long as my market is there, the more I can sell.
Business 101.
College marketing courses would tell you differently.
then again, a bad drain pipe is not quite the same thing as an coveted material possession.
Lighten up already.
Nope, I won’t! I’m bitter that I have to wait till June. 🙂
You might have noticed that Apple does things differently. They don’t follow the usual business rules, they make their own. How big have you grown your business? How big did Apple grow their business.
Business 101 – Do what succeeds, not what others do.
I can imagine lots of reasons myself, not to say that this isn’t the case, but the simplest one is that the number of people from the largest company on the planet is still smaller than the total number on the planet. I can think of a few more off the top of my head but certainly the initial demand is going to outstrip the supply.
Of course, it’s also the law of supply and demand that one learns in marketing 101. In marketing 202 you learn about the law of demanding what the company supplies, but that’s a joke for another day.
MikeK, you clearly have no idea about how a completely new product goes into production. You don’t just start at full capacity. Nothing does. And while the Watch has been in planning for several years, Apple was making changes to the design all the way up to production.
And it’s not marketing. Apple knew it would sell millions more than it could possibly produce. By not having more product on hand, Apple is costing itself sales because people who were excited to buy right now can’t buy until later, when the initial excitement of being one of the first with an Watch was greatest.
Biz law, you clearly
yep, that’s all!
You think that Foxconn has been working on building millions of Apple Watches over the last 6 months and Apple has purposely not started selling them three months ago or more to then hold back most of them to achieve some vague purpose you have in mind?
How do you think manufacturing and sales work? Magic elves whip up millions the week before a company starts selling them? Your understanding of the exigencies of a business seem very week.
Millions? In minutes?? you’re joking right?
If you think Apple sold any where near “Millions” in 10-20 minutes, you don’t only need a “reality check” you’re delusional.
The launch was world wide – Apple produced more watches for this international lauch than any company has.
Make no mistake: Apple is machining those little beauties as fast as they can.
Everyone knows, but not everyone will admit – Apple Watch will sell in the tens of millions. This year.
I’m sure it will be another great success, but still poorest Apple product launch EVER!! when the 24th delivery date sells out in the first 3 or 4 minutes tells me they had VERY little stock and now it’s all made to order
Marketing.
Maybe, with so many configurations, made-to-order is really the only way to go. I don’t think they knew until today exactly which models, colors and bands would be the most popular. Obviously, they grossly underestimated demand for the Sport in space gray with black band. I don’t think anyone who ordered that one got the April 24th ship date.
But come on…how was it not obvious to them that the LEAST gaudy version would not be the most popular?
marketing.
marketing…yes, piss off loyal customers….yes!
Apple are masters at marketing.. If you know their history, you would know this to be true.
It’s not about pissing off loyal customers, it’s about driving demand. It keeps Apple watch frenzy in the news for months, it creates hysteria, and lines and people paying huge mark-ups.. This is intentional.
If you really think the most resourceful company on planet earth with 100plus billion in the bank couldn’t have ramped up enough phones to last more than 20 minutes in a pre-sale you are delusional .
^er watches…
Apple didn’t have to drive demand by selling out in a few minutes. It could easily have had 10x the number of Watches and still sold out over a few hours, thus creating the same marketing demand you keep crowing about but selling millions more Watches and lining its pockets with even more money.
Clearly you didn’t hear the conversation inside Apple:
Marketing: “We’ve got to sell out in a few minutes. That will drive demand”
Tim Cook: “What if we, say, sell out in five or six hours? We’d sell 100x more watches and still get the buzz”
Marketing: “No no no! I was talking with this guy MikeK on the internet, and he assures me that’s the way to go! He says supply and demand. I’ve heard that phrase before!”
Tim Cook: “Really? I was taught supply and demand influences pricing. That it’s really an economic principle, not a marketing one. Isn’t he effectively saying ‘supply and demand creates demand’? That doesn’t even make sense.”
Marketing: “You’ve got a lot to learn, Mr. Cook. This is MikeK, from the internet!”
Or better yet…
Gee we’ve been building and planning this device for years. We have the largest cash pile of any company on planet earth… We have some of the most talented marketing, design and sales people in the world but really had no idea we were going to sell out in 10 minutes. Maybe we should have spoken MikeK.
International marketing dictates millions, which if you do the most basic math, Apple produced.
My space gray black band sport 42mm was ordered at 12:03, shipping date May 13-27, that’s 4 to 6 weeks, can’t wait, yahoo!!!!
I suspect there have been manufacturing issues and Apple doesn’t have the stock it would like to have. Notice how Ahrendts’ first memo directed Apple Store employees to tell customers that they should “Tell your customers we have more availability online.” (Note the use of the word “more” indicating it was not exclusively intended to be available online.)
Then just a few days later, her next memo says the Apple Watch will be exclusively available online.
My other anecdotal piece of evidence: My order for a Sport/Space Gray/Black Band was placed at 12:05am PDT, and my earliest available ship date is May 13.
Apple was so focused on the Apple Watch debut and forgot about MacBook on-sale information. I had to have an online chat with an Apple assistant to confirm April 10th was also the debut of the new MacBook. Nowhere on their Store site did they mention what was the first day on sale they’d be offered and even Apple’s own guy said yes, they should have! Weird.
Apple’s website clearly states “Now Available” for the MacBook, and it did state Available April 10 on its website previously.
I looked and didn’t find the April 10th date listed, at least it wasn’t terribly conspicuous. Even though I ordered around 12:10am last night I still won’t get it for another 3-4 weeks. Wonder what MacBook sales were like? Everyone is so focused on the Watch numbers.
Looks like no one got their Sports model scheduled for a April 24th delivery.
I ordered 12:02 PDT on my iPhone app (the online store was still down). and I got the shipping date as 4-6 weeks. (May 13-27th).
I feel the store is launching only the Watch (stainless steel) model for delivery on debut. the Sports and the Edition are starting with 4-6 weeks delivery
I got to try one on today at the Apple Store in Berlin. I hadn’t made an appointment online to see the watch, but I got an appointment as a walk in. I tried on the AW Sport, 42mm Space Grey/black band.
The picture on the Interwebs really don’t due the watch justice; even the Sport models are GORGEOUS. A lot “thinner” than I thought it would be. I have small wrists, but the 42mm model was still just the right size. Very responsive.
Apple has another hit on it’s hands. Sorry, haters. 😉
I have to agree. I was surprised at how much better EVERY watch and band looked in person! I ordered one at midnight like everyone else, but had to cancel my order because I changed everything after I tried it on. It was a magical moment. Much like when I got my first iPhone!
I preordered the 38mm Midnight Blue watch with modern band in stainless online. I also had an appointment to view these beautiful watches in person. The store here in Florida has terrible fluorescent lighting and while the more brilliant colors were beautiful for viewing the others such as the one I purchased in this particular shade didn’t look as nice in my humble opinion under the lighting. The watch itself is beautiful, display magnificent I was surprised there was nothing special about their display table. I’m aware of the simplicity factor overall but they have to do something about the lighting in this store because it didn’t do any justice. didn’t do any justice. It was not crowded nor were there long lines waiting for others to be shown the watches. Sales guy was very pleasant and well trained. Everything was well organized.
Fluorescent lighting. – Here’s Apple, pioneer in computer color management and color profiles, still not caught up with the major fashion and art faux pas of using fluorescent lighting. Bad show Apple. Get with it! Continuous tone lighting is REQUIRED.
First request. All of the naysayers and trolls who adamantly predicted poor Apple Watch sales, admit your error in judgment and accept the resulting justified jeering at your stupidity in the face of history and evidence.
Second request: To those same people who post on this forum…think twice before spewing unsupported BS as likelihood or fact in the future. Please go elsewhere, because we know Apple and Apple users a whole lot better than you ever will (unless, possibly, you switch).
Apple sells out of all 1,000 available units. Totally amazing. Worth mentioning when you hear the actual sales figures.