Shipping Estimates for New 27-Inch iMac Already Slip to 3-4 Weeks

I can't help but look at the last year and think that Apple is in a decline... so sad.

Tim Cook is said to be an expert at managing the supply chain, so why is it that when I went into my local Apple store this morning there were no iMacs to be seen?

They should not have announced the new iMac until January when they will truly be available.

Apple is still exceptional at setting high expectations, generating buzz about the latest new gizmo, etc. The problem is they are consistently falling short when it comes time to deliver on the hype they created.

Fail.

Fail copy and paste.

Some of you have no clue about how sales and marketing really work.

This isn't a $5 bag of slap bracelets. It's a $2,000 + machine. Scarcity does NOT create more demand, nor an "irrational need to buy." The simple facts are that Apple's demand outweighs it's supply on nearly every product, simply because of resources and a supply chain that can't keep up.

Every potential customer who walks into an Apple store looking to buy iWhatever and walks out empty handed is a potential lost sale. Apple isn't in business to lose out on sales. Common sense

Please take a few Economics/Sales/Marketing courses at your local community college.

I can't help but look at the last year and think that Apple is in a decline... so sad.

Tim Cook is said to be an expert at managing the supply chain, so why is it that when I went into my local Apple store this morning there were no iMacs to be seen?

They should not have announced the new iMac until January when they will truly be available.

Apple is still exceptional at setting high expectations, generating buzz about the latest new gizmo, etc. The problem is they are consistently falling short when it comes time to deliver on the hype they created.

Fail.

you're an expert at complaining.

-- removed by user --

(However, I am also getting mine shipped from the CHINA to NZ. so that will add a bit of time.

Fixed for you. ;)

Some of you have no clue about how sales and marketing really work... Please take a few Economics/Sales/Marketing courses at your local community college.

Finally... a sensible comment.

Not sure the condescension was necessary, but you are correct.

Wasn't trying to be condescending, believe me. I just get tired of seeing illogical arguments. And I'm an Econ major so I guess it just really bugs me.

NO - this is lame

I think that the "production delays" are part of the marketing strategy.

By creating a perception of scarcity they feed into irrational impulse driven demand.

Haven't you noticed how apple devices always "sell out"? They are produced in quantities designed to do so.

The iMac is no different. Hype drives sales. Perceived scarcity builds hype. Very simple.

It makes the people that rush out and blow 3 grand on a desktop computer feel superior for a few days/weeks/months.

I'll tell you when I ordered my rMBP the experience was all the more exciting because I had to wait to have it delivered, and was the only person I knew that had one.

Now you can walk into best-buy and buy one.... it's lost it's exclusivity ;)

All these conspiracy theories on Apple's marketing, I'll tell you are simply *not* true.

Any delay in getting a product into the hands of the consumer equates to time the consumer will think about jumping to a competitor's offering. What Apple tries to do (and this is up to debate about whether they do it well) is balance having enough stock to meet day 1 and early demand without spending so much money on warehousing these x million units to meet demand for x time beyond early days post launch. It's a balancing act, and the big point these conspiracies ignore is that logistics and warehousing cost a company a lot of money. Can you imagine how much money is required to ship (from manufacturing) and store (before launch, which is corporate money sitting in a warehouse) millions of product units in warehouses ready for shipment all over the planet? It's not pocket change is all I can say.

The other thing these conspiracies ignore is that the shareholders want one thing - sales. They don't want hype of sales (however you imagine that is realised), they want sales. They don't want to lose customers who have to wait too long after launch, or before - try managing that act. What if they overestimate demand and then have stock sitting in warehouses with no one to buy the items? What if they wait too long to launch (before ideal day 1 stock levels are achieved) and miss an entire selling season with the product? These affects revenue and profit margin.

The whole chain from inception to putting the product in the hands of the consumer is complex and adding a conspiracy into the equation is simply something that doesn't happen.

Why on earth would Apple need to constrain supply to increase hype & demand? I'm sure Tim Cook would rather have people walking out of Apple stores with an iMac in hand rather than being told to come back in 3 weeks. You can't just assume people will wait for the supply and not purchase something else. Anyway would seeing that the iMac is available for deliery right away make someone less likely to purchase than if it has a 4 week shipping delay? :confused: