Desire Is the Root of Suffering
Desire is the root of suffering. So saith Siddhārtha Gautama, the Buddha. Apple makes objects of desire. Therefore Apple causes suffering. Just ask the folks who, after standing in lines last Friday night, jumped onto queues first thing this morning based on the rumor that the Apple stores would be restocked with iPad 2’s.
They went away, unenlightened.
So what’s going on? I think there are three factors that combined into a perfect storm.
1. Unexpected demand. On March 8th, in Business Insider, senior analyst Gene Munster from Piper Jaffray confidently predicted that lines will be much shorter this year than at last year’s iPad launch. He figured that Apple will sell a million units over the first four weeks of availability, but there will be far more channels through which it will be sold: Apple stores, Best Buy, Target, AT&T, Verizon, even Walmart. But more venues meant less stock, and certain models sold out very quickly. Which ones?
2. There are a total of 18 models this time. There are three storage sizes (16, 32, and 64 gigabytes), Wifi only, Wifi with AT&T 3G, and Wifi with Verizon 3G, and two colors, black and white. The very first ones to sell out were the Wifi with AT&T 3G. Why them? Because AT&T uses an international mobile standard (GSM). Verizon’s communications standard (CDMA) is mostly restricted to the US. What was happening is that certain Russian and Chinese entrepreneurs had buyers stationed in every line to snatch the AT&T models up first. These were then flown overseas, where they’re being sold for two or three times the list price to people eager to be the first on their block with the hot new technology. Official international sales aren’t scheduled to begin until March 25th.
In addition to the eager foreigners, there are equally eager grey marketeers in this country who snatch them up to sell on eBay. And I’m sure my employer was not the only one who had people in line to buy the new device to provide certain higher-ups that cool cachet of being the executive with the latest gadget.
3. Did I mention there were 18 models? The original iPad had only three - the AT&T 3G version didn’t ship until four weeks later. What happens when you’ve got a long line of eager buyers, and one model sells out? Well, if you’re me, and it’s the model you wanted, you go home. But many people get caught up in the frenzy. Quick! They’re running out! Better get what you can!
So there you have it. Apple hasn’t released sales figures yet - I think they’re still trying to get them all together from the various venues that sold the devices, but it’s an easy bet that they cleared half a million or more in the first weekend.
In a few weeks, this will be forgotten. It will be another incredible amazing product launch from a company that specializes in incredible amazing product launches. It will be time to crank the rumor mills and start building expectation for the iPad 3. Did you hear that it’s going to be powered by an Infinite Improbability Engine?
They went away, unenlightened.
So what’s going on? I think there are three factors that combined into a perfect storm.
1. Unexpected demand. On March 8th, in Business Insider, senior analyst Gene Munster from Piper Jaffray confidently predicted that lines will be much shorter this year than at last year’s iPad launch. He figured that Apple will sell a million units over the first four weeks of availability, but there will be far more channels through which it will be sold: Apple stores, Best Buy, Target, AT&T, Verizon, even Walmart. But more venues meant less stock, and certain models sold out very quickly. Which ones?
2. There are a total of 18 models this time. There are three storage sizes (16, 32, and 64 gigabytes), Wifi only, Wifi with AT&T 3G, and Wifi with Verizon 3G, and two colors, black and white. The very first ones to sell out were the Wifi with AT&T 3G. Why them? Because AT&T uses an international mobile standard (GSM). Verizon’s communications standard (CDMA) is mostly restricted to the US. What was happening is that certain Russian and Chinese entrepreneurs had buyers stationed in every line to snatch the AT&T models up first. These were then flown overseas, where they’re being sold for two or three times the list price to people eager to be the first on their block with the hot new technology. Official international sales aren’t scheduled to begin until March 25th.
In addition to the eager foreigners, there are equally eager grey marketeers in this country who snatch them up to sell on eBay. And I’m sure my employer was not the only one who had people in line to buy the new device to provide certain higher-ups that cool cachet of being the executive with the latest gadget.
3. Did I mention there were 18 models? The original iPad had only three - the AT&T 3G version didn’t ship until four weeks later. What happens when you’ve got a long line of eager buyers, and one model sells out? Well, if you’re me, and it’s the model you wanted, you go home. But many people get caught up in the frenzy. Quick! They’re running out! Better get what you can!
So there you have it. Apple hasn’t released sales figures yet - I think they’re still trying to get them all together from the various venues that sold the devices, but it’s an easy bet that they cleared half a million or more in the first weekend.
In a few weeks, this will be forgotten. It will be another incredible amazing product launch from a company that specializes in incredible amazing product launches. It will be time to crank the rumor mills and start building expectation for the iPad 3. Did you hear that it’s going to be powered by an Infinite Improbability Engine?