Oates reports, “We were contacted by irritated Apple dealers, and passed on their questions to Apple: is it likely there will be shortages at launch so you have been forced to restrict supply? Or does Apple believe it will sell enough directly through its own stores?”
“We asked an Apple spokeswoman for answers,” Oates reports. “She suggested we read the Apple press release which talks about ‘select Apple resellers.’ At the time of writing she has been unable to tell us who these resellers are in the UK.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Pre-order at Apple Store online or swing around and try your luck at an Apple Retail Store like we’ve done in the U.S. Until supply catches up with demand, don’t look for iPads to be sold “everywhere.”
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Lava_Head_UK” for the heads up.]
Until supply catches up with demand, don’t look for iPads to be sold “everywhere.”….
That should be about January 2011.
Got mine from MacConnection on time. Ordered my 64 GB +3G Saturday April 3rd which shipped Thursday April 29. Received Wednesday May 5th. Camera Connection kit arrives tomorrow. Case arrived in early April. So clearly some American third party Authorized Apple resellers are taking orders & getting product to sell.
iPads on sale everywhere. One per store.
Best Buy stores sold iPads here in the states.
Yet more restrictive trade practices from Apple. They seem to want all of us dealers to die a slow death. Their behaviour, via changes to policies, procedures, business practices and rules that we have to follow but not their own stores, makes us look like second class citizens rather than the valued business partners that we are. It’s all Apple retail all of the time. An honourable company would at least offer to buy us out rather than choke off our air supply.
This year it’s no iPad marketing or pre-orders for the select dealers that we’re allowed to sell iPads. Last year, they were originally not going to sell Mac mini server via the dealer channel (a product clearly designed for the SMB market, a market that they SAY they want us to pursue with vigour). Two years ago, most dealers didn’t get Leopard for launch day – plan events at Apple’s request, invite customers, spend money on such activities only to end up with NO product for launch day. Three years ago we were denied the iPod red products. I could go on but you get my drift.
Love the product. Hate the company.
I have had mine on order now for 7 working days with no email coming back as of yet, that it has shipped. Site says shipping in 5 to 7 working days. Tough spot to be in for Apple with too much demand for a product that became more popular than expected.
Checking the status of my iPad 3g order from May 4 – “Not Yet Shipped” on May 11. Since I have to be out of town next week, I’ll have to cancel the order.
Meanwhile Daryl Hall pines to sing with his ex-partner who tries these pathetic forays into tech reporting.
That’s exactly what I would do if I ran Apple. Sell it’s brand new, smoking hot product at someone else’s store so they can get a cut of the profits? Not. Gonna. Happen. This isn’t rocket science.
“Comment from: montex: That’s exactly what I would do if I ran Apple. Sell it’s brand new, smoking hot product at someone else’s store so they can get a cut of the profits? Not. Gonna. Happen. This isn’t rocket science.”
Yeah. Who was there holding the flag high when they were in the doldrums? And we’re not talking just any stores. We’re talking about Apple authorized dealers, you know, Apple’s BUSINESS PARTNERS. Wow. Your ignorance of business and sales channels is appalling but, given the state of our educational system, not surprising. As for profits, I guess you think that dealers get a big fat margin. NOT!
MCC in Chester (UK) have just confirmed they will have stock on the 28th
And what if there isn’t a sniff of an Apple Store such as here in the Republic of Ireland?
“Yet more restrictive trade practices from Apple. They seem to want all of us dealers to die a slow death. Their behaviour, via changes to policies, procedures, business practices and rules that we have to follow but not their own stores, makes us look like second class citizens rather than the valued business partners that we are. It’s all Apple retail all of the time. An honourable company would at least offer to buy us out rather than choke off our air supply.”
To all the resellers that are crying foul: It’s Apple’s company. The idea that they have a moral obligation to buy out a struggling reseller is ludicrous. They can choose to market their own new products as they see fit. Valued business partners? In what way? One-way only, in the direction of the reseller, it seems. Why should 3rd parties be able to profit from the R&D;and marketing of the original company, if there’s no advantage for this to the original company? Prior to the existence of the Apple Stores, resellers perhaps were a more valuable business partner, but now, their relevance has diminished.
All part of the plan from the beginning – create scarcity by holding back on shipments until the whole world is worked into an uncontrollable frenzy of having to have one of these gadgets.
Then, introduce next generation model with couple of new features and repeat.
Steve Jobs – master marketer. Every business school should toss whatever else they are teaching and focus on Steve as all you have to know about how to run a company.
It’s actually an old model – car manufactures have been doing it forever but the day arrived when they too arrogant and too sure of themselves and next came the fall. Is Steve paying attention?
Supply less than demand: Apple maximizes profit by selling units at its own stores.
Supply not less than demand: Apple maximizes profit by maximizing distribution.
End economics lesson.
“Comment from: nsapap
The idea that they have a moral obligation to buy out a struggling reseller is ludicrous.”
No one mentioned any ‘obligation’. The word was honourable. Look it up.
“Valued business partners? In what way? One-way only, in the direction of the reseller, it seems.”
Ah, so ask about Point of Sales systems at the Apple Store. Or accounting, or inventory management, et cetera and all you’ll get is a blank stare. Dealers are vertical market specialists that help their clients, their own business AND Apple. Everyone wins.
“Why should 3rd parties be able to profit from the R&D;and marketing of the original company, if there’s no advantage for this to the original company?”
Gee, I guess every manufacturer should have their own chain of stores. No more hardware stores. No more grocery stores. No more department stores. In your world view, it would be all boutiques all of the time. In the real world, there are multiple channels for multiple markets serving multiple clientele with multiple needs, wants and desires. It’s NOT black and white.
“Prior to the existence of the Apple Stores, resellers perhaps were a more valuable business partner, but now, their relevance has diminished.”
See above and perhaps educate yourself a bit. Stop being and fanboi and see that there are options and more ways than just the Apple way.
Apple learnt the lesson from the iPad launch in the US. The demand was much higher than their own optimistic expectations. Rather than run the risk of an unmanageable initial demand they have chosen to restrict initial (pre ordering) demand in the UK. Not even all Apple Stores will be able to maintain stock.
As the supply chain hots up and the initial demand levels out they will be able to then manage a wider distribution channel. It’s common sense for anyone with strong supply chain and distribution logistics experience. It also will only likely be like this for a very short time as Apple already knows what to expect from the US experience and has not doubt upped their volumes.
BTW: I bought a new (as in still sealed with the original receipt from a NY Apple Store) iPad 3G here in England, trimmed an O2 SIM down to size to fit and have been happily iPadding ever since. Battery life much better than I expected. Yes I paid a premium this way, but I’ve got it and can now test my app development on a real device rather than just trusting to the emulator. IMHO well worth the extra.
I own an Apple reseller that has been here since 1984. Ownership’s changed a few times, and there were a couple of one- or two-year spells here or there in those 26 years where the store was closed, but ultimately, we go way, way, WAY back with Apple.
Places like us were the ONLY place to buy Macs for many years. And it’s true — we WERE there in the dark, embarrassing days of the 90s and first couple of years of the ’00s. This is truly a slap in the face, and it really does reek of the kind of thing a big, arrogant company does right before it begins to slide.
And I say this, obviously, as an Apple “fanboi” from way back, having learned about computers on an Apple ][+. Yes, for the few resellers that DID make the cut, the margins are paper-thin on the iPad, just as they are with everything else. (We may not have been authorized to resell the iPad, but we ARE able to see what the reseller pricing is.) Yes, iPad sales don’t even count toward our beyond-the-box incentives, etc. So yeah, it’s not really that big a loss in terms of dollars, but it’s horrible in terms of how it makes us look.
It’s hard enough persuading some customers (not all, mind you, but some) that we’ve got the same products as Apple, sell the same warranty, do the same repairs (we’re an authorized service provider, too), etc., when you have to tell people on the phone or in person, “oh, the iPad? Yeah, uhh, Apple won’t let us sell that.” Won’t LET us.
Frankly, Apple WANTS us to look second-rate. The only reason we survive is because of the repairs, the one thing that Apple’s own stores are nowhere near catching up to us on (they DO at least send us the occasional customer for repairs, though it’s not to the extent that we’d die without those occasional mercy referrals).
I’d love to open a second location, but between stuff like this, and reading columns by masturbatory self-proclaimed “analysts” who didn’t know how to SPELL “Apple” three years ago, going on about how it looks like Apple is moving away from making computers altogether, I’m really hesitant and unsure of whether it would even make sense to do so.
I really do wish people would move beyond the fanboyism — and I say this as a dyed-in-the-wool fanboy going back to the ’80s — and take a look at the bigger picture. I got closer to Apple because I admired them so much, but maybe it’s this closeness that’s giving me a better view of their ugly side. Nobody, and no company certainly, is perfect. And I fear Apple might be about to crest. At least I bought my stock at $9.50 a share — that’s made me a lot more money than being a reseller. (OK, I’m exaggerating. But it sure feels that way some days.)
Makes sense for Apple. Hot product, possible limited supplies. So, keep control of Apple orders through Apple store online for more efficient sales numbers and allocation of product to maintain supply at all stores and balance sales for least disruption to customers in different countries.
It makes for a better purchaser and customer relations experience during the first period of sales.
Apple continues to lock resellers out of iPad sales
Is this only occurring overseas? I see the Wi-Fi models on Amazon from various resellers and on MacConnection, etc.
If so, MDN should consider modifying the headline to reflect this is only in the UK, etc.
I highly doubt Apple cant keep up with demand. Would not shock me that they are holding back.
I wil say this. Apple has made some mistakes in the area of their retailers. They need to take care of these retailers who got them where they are today. Ones who sold their products back when no one else would.
However i know many of these retailers do not need special treatment. Some open in a corner of a appliance store. I remember one who opened in independence, ks a very small town that was an appliance store and they had apple products on one shelf in the back corner. No advertising or really pushing of the products.
Then you have the stores who are dedicated to Apple products and have been for many many years and sell lots of Apple products.
Many of these serve a great purpose i have heard it time and time again that if you want older machines worked on dont go to the Apple store most of the guys are not well briefed when it comes older apple products.
Many of these dealers specialize in keeping the older apple machines running and getting parts for them. And many are great in areas where there is no Apple store for hundreds of miles. And some are in areas where there is no best buy either.
I am not saying apple needs to cater to every dealer but it does seem they are forgetting the little guys. Sure they let Mac mall have them and CDW and microcenter but what about the dedicated retail small business mac stores?
Apple is a great company with some awesome products but they have to remember those who got them where they are today.
Maybe at least give them a few ipads they dont have to give everyone hundres of them but come on Apple. I realize that the ipads are short on supply but they did this with the Mac mini and they have done it with other products. Its not fair to the dealers. I know they make the most money selling directly from their own stores but again these other stores have been there and Apple should be working with them too. Especially after how hard it is to become a dealer in the first place
@ Jonny
“And what if there isn’t a sniff of an Apple Store such as here in the Republic of Ireland?”
According to what I’m hearing Jonny, we could be waiting for a physical Apple Store here. There was a jobs posting last year recruiting for Apple Retail, the shop rumored to be on Grafton Street and/or possibly Liffey Valley Shopping Centre. The posting was withdrawn after a few weeks.
Then suddenly there was the announced CompuBee store (Apple Authorized Dealer) that has opened up at the Trinity end of Grafton Street. It’s rumored that CompuBee have Apple’s blessing and some backing.
What I’m hearing could be wrong, but I think the planned Apple Store/s have been put off for the time being.
If CompuBee doesn’t have iPads, I guess Irelands online store will have to do.
http://store.apple.com/ie
Apple makes more profit per iPad if it is sold by its own stores, online or retail. Therefore, it makes sense that during the period of constrained supply, Apple wants to sell more iPads through its own outlets.
What is it that people don’t understand about: “There isn’t enough product to go round!”?
Apple has made a huge misstep, here, (not technically a mistake) in grossly underestimating the demand for this product. Now they are scrambling to service all the customers coming directly to Apple.
I have visited two Apple stores(including the flagship Broadway store)and a Best Buy, all selling the iPad, . . . with none in stock. I ordered one through Apple via the phone, on the 28th of April. . . . I received it yesterday. Apple is well aware of the value of brick and mortar stores, and actual products available to touch and try-out. They also know the added value of being able to sell the product and immediately place it in the hands of the customer, allowing them to walk out the front door with the boxes and bags labeled Apple.
I ordered and had to wait for my i7 iMac, as well. Now the news is that there is high demand for the new MacBook Pros. When Apple finally catches up with the immediate demand and is able to pipeline the iPad to resellers, there should be plenty of sales to follow. . . . This is a wondrous product, and in two years you’re going to see them everywhere.