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Dutch first day iPhone sell out feels like planned pr stunt


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Dutch first day iPhone sell out feels like planned pr stunt
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Doxxic
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Amsterdam
 
2008-07-12, 11:46

I don't know.

iPhone3G promotion posters everywhere, while during a midnight iPhone launch in Rotterdam only 500 iPhones were available.

Yesterday at 17h was my first opportunity to go to a store. I first went to a T-Mobile shop, owned by the exclusive iPhone carrier in the Netherlands. I expected that this Amsterdam store would be crowded with people who just had finished their work day. Instead, the shop was empty, but the iPhones were sold out. I was told I could order an iPhone if I paid in advance (I reclined).
Then I went to a premium Apple store. Usually, it's crowded at this time. Today it was empty. They told me iPhones were sold out in the whole country.
I said: "hmmm, feels like a pr stunt."
The assistant said: "Yes."
"How many did you sell?"
"I can't tell right now."

All iPhone 3Gs in Europe appear to have sold out before the stores even opened in the US.

So in fact, it looks a lot like there were only very few available in the Europe, doesn't it?

And, after all, why not?

The fewer iPhones there are right now, the happier their owners will be, the better publicity it gets, the easier it is for Apple to solve initial problems, while their customers complain the lesser.
The better they will sell by august.

And the customers who didn't get one, like me, have some time to think again.
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Graculus
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Sheffield, UK
 
2008-07-12, 13:42

Same in UK. They went on sale at 'selected' O2 stores at 8:02am. Small queues, maybe 50 or so per store, but the shop I was at one of two in the city centre had just 8x 8GB, and 2x16GB.

The store owner (franchisee) seemed genuinely gutted, and had no idea until the day before that the stock was simply not going to be there, and had no clue whether there would be more later in the day, the next day, or this month.

Plenty of buzz, plenty of coverage, just no stock. Coupled with the exclusive online upgrade opportunity for existing users earlier in the week - all sold out in about 20mins, and I've not heard of anyone who got through it without the O2 site crashing - it all seems like one big tease.

I didn't get one btw, was about 20th in queue, but had already got the (unofficial) 2.0 software and that'll do me till a SatNav app hits.
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Doxxic
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Amsterdam
 
2008-07-12, 14:37

I like the products, pricing and functionality more than ever - but I hate the hype, hysteria, and Apple's vanity.

looks like Apple's reaching a size and complexity again where it's time someone else picks up the helm - at least the public relations part.
.
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