An iPod shortage at Amazon.com appears to have spread to other distribution channels, according to an analyst.
Shaw Wu of Kaufman Bros. reports that after checking in with his retail sources, he believes that Apple is experiencing an iPod shortage as holiday demand proves stronger than the company may have anticipated. Retailers such as Wal-Mart, Best Buy, and Target are now reporting iPod shortages after Amazon.com extended the lead times for its iPods following Black Friday, he wrote in a research note distributed Wednesday.
It had been unclear whether the public was responding to Apple’s latest crop of iPods, despite the usual saturation advertising for the iPod Nano and iPod Touch. With the stock market in the tank and people worried about their jobs, it didn’t appear that this would be the best holiday season for iPod sales.
Don’t wait to get your Christmas iPod.
New models at MacWorld?
#1. Yup.
Thanks for the heads up, I got my order in.
Also… Am I reading that right, or is the iPod touch more expensive on Amazon.com than it is on Apples own store???
*wink* *wink* *wink* Apple is learning from Nintendo to artificially create shortage.
I believe Amazon noted the iPod was #1 choice on Black Friday sales. These all are good problems if you ever worked in sales.
Short supply is always better than no demand. Ask a Hummer dealer.
#1, #2 – Nope.
Mac desktop updates will be unveiled at MacWorld, as well as more information on Snow Leopard. The closest thing coming to an iPhone/iPod update is a memory bump in the phone.
#4 – The question is if Apple underestimated iPod demand, as its been reported that they see the iPod on the decline, or if they really intended for a shortage. I’m inclined to believe the later, especially when the hype around using an iPod Touch as a gaming device.
My wife loves her iPod touch. She’s in the hospital and can use it to send email with Wi-Fi.
#3 – GregA – Looks to me like the prices are the same. I just noticed that they have a 32GB Touch now.
Sounds like bullshit to me. Remember the nationwide shortage of houses in 2006?
#6
The later it is, they can simply trickle down the quantities and one week before X-mas come with the excuse of an extra cargo arriving.
I just don’t see how running out of an item makes it more desirable.
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I ordered a 32gb touch from Amazon on Monday night. The price at that time was $359 which was even cheaper than my friend’s Apple employee discount can get it for. Good thing I pulled the trigger because on Tuesday morning the price was up to $371 and as I type this it’s up to $378. I was hoping and praying that Apple would actually offer a good sale price on things but, once again, their offerings were pathetic.
#13 – Yeah, I guess the delta between $359 and $378 is just to over the top for some people. That $19 could have been spent to feed the homeless, put half a tank of gas in the car or buy some pr0n.
Real pathetic…
I’ve heard (and seen) many people saying this is not a good time for an expensive cellphone like iPhone. Reality seems to be that people are not replacing their laptops but getting iPhone/iPod Touch instead.
The netbooks are looking for market, the companies producing them have perfect timing to get the last benefits from XP with them. I personally ended up with iMac 24″ for general use, HP laptop (old) for work (for setting up machines with it’s RS232 port), and iPhone for everything else while I’m on the run. All the other gear (PC towers, MacPro, MacBooks, MacMini) have only occasional usage, maybe twice a week.I believe many people have ended up with similar setups.
Apple might just come up with a bigger “iPhone” or MacBook Touch, but I need to really think where that would be needed, maybe in school to finally replace the books?
#10 – You mean that isn’t St. Steve making everyone’s wishes come true, but just inventory control?
#12 – The editors don’t want the competition.
#15 – I’ve heard (and seen) that the iPhone is selling like crazy, and that it’s Apple’s competitors in the space that are having problems. If Apple delivers a $200 to $400 device every year, they have a built in audience that will upgrade every year. That puts them in quite the position of power.
At this point, the iPhone is a long way from replacing a laptop. It’s a cool communication tool but no laptop.