back to article Apple's iPad resellers are revolting

Apple's Premium Resellers are getting iPads to sell on Friday - provided their shops pass Apple's stringent standards. But retailers are irritated at Apple's insistence that they do not take pre-orders or publicise the launch on their websites or in store until Friday morning. They were even more annoyed at DSGi's claim that …

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  1. Dale 3

    Title

    So what does this thing actually do?

    1. Annihilator
      Alert

      re: what it does

      I dread to think what sort of answer you'll get if you ask that question to one of the spotty oiks in Dixons (sorry, Currys Digital). I'm betting whatever it does, it won't do it half as well as when you purchase an Extended Warranty with it.

      1. N2

        And

        You will certainly need Norton Antivirus & Office 2010, wont you?

    2. Ted
      Boffin

      This is what the iPad does...

      http://www.apple.com/ipad/design/

      http://www.apple.com/ipad/guided-tours/

      DOS --> Macintosh --> iPad

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    Sad, sad, sad ....

    I despair

    1. Doshu
      Joke

      so very, very terrible

      Yeah, i guess a few people jonesing for an insignificant gadget really IS today's saddest story. Screw poverty and war, man, people are buying Apple!

      Run! Freak out! Your bible is a lie! ;-)

  3. Ed L
    Joke

    Apple's iPad resellers are revolting

    They certainly are. I can't stand them myself, either.

    Worse are the people who pay money for these products. They are truly the dregs of society!

  4. Ron1
    Jobs Halo

    Free economy?

    Lets see:

    1. the resellers do not mind getting a (fat?) commission from selling Apple products

    2. they do mind being unsatisfied with Apple's policies

    Well, they can stop bitching and stop selling Apple products. Oh wait, this is against point 1above. Bummer.

    iFan - I am not an Apple fan (quite the contrary, mostly due to their closed platforms and tight grip on users), but Steve does have the right to sell his products the way he wants...

    After all, he is not forcing anybody to be a reseller, or is he?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      I'm not an Apple fanboi but......

      ...lots of fanbois put the "I'm no apple fanboi" quote in their posts.

      I am sure there are a list of them that they must give you with every boxed apple product. Includes lots of non quantifiable things about how great apple products are usability, work flow, and total cost of ownership type phrases.

    2. Craig Foster

      Re: Free economy?

      <quote>1. the resellers do not mind getting a (fat?) commission from selling Apple products</quote>

      Apple hardware margins are tightly controlled and are not high at all (tier2 reseller <5%) . They rely on a couple of things:-

      1. Education gets decent discounts (double figures)

      2. Buyers are usually fanbois or have been persuaded by a fanboi, making the sale fairly easy

      3. There's no tech support required - you just palm them off to a hardware repairer or to AppleCare (or sell them Apple Care Protection :P )

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Headmaster

        Too easy

        +1

        When I tried to buy a MacBook the sales rep wouldn't even try to sell it to me (eg. not fully answering questions, being distracted, etc). I even said thanks and moved on to another sales rep (big shop) and got the same treatment. So I guess it's too easy to sell and they don't bother.

        I should have waked away but I bought the thing. I'm dumb I know.

  5. UBfusion
    Jobs Halo

    Mystery solved

    Now I finally realise why the british empire has such huge debt...

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    Weaksauce hypocrisy

    "We're also guessing, in the name of good news management, that shortages will quickly become a big story."

    ..you sneer. Yet, you're writing these non-stories about the thing all the damned time. No-one needs to manage a thing, while such dullards are metoo-ing fit to bust like this.

  7. Shinku 1
    Thumb Up

    "even had people asking if they could queue overnight to ensure they're near the front of the queue"

    Asking permission to queue? How very British.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      @shinku 1

      Nah, those were those overly polite Americans. Brits wouldn't dare ask, they'd just cut in the queue when they arrived 5 minutes before store opening.

      1. Doug Glass
        Go

        That's Right!

        And don't you frakkin' forget it!

  8. Alex Walsh

    Big news story?

    Shortages will only be a big news story because every website will want to ramp up visitor figures by having as many iPad stories as humanly possibly ;)

  9. LuMan
    Go

    Gotta give Apple their due.

    Despite the HUGE amount of anti-Apple-fanboi-ism exhibited by Reg commenters, you've got to admit that they know how to whip up a media frenzy around objects of desire. And who can blame them? Would you rather sell an item for peanuts with a small penetration or sell out 100% at a premium price? It's a no-brainer. AND you'll even get resellers jumping through hoops to flog your kit (similar to what Sony did with the Playstation, perhaps).

    You may not like it, but this will be another marketing victory for Apple.

    (cue: loads of thumbs-down)

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Stop

      Sure, why not.

      Jobs and his marketing strategists are world class, no doubt.

      I guess they would have to be, to be able to sell Jobs' insane lock-in policies.

      Don't get me wrong, I'm sure the iPad devices are very nice. I would just prefer a device that I can use without having to get a written approval from his Jobsiness for every letter I type.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Noone is forcing them to sell it!

    I guess there is no other news these days.. and theregister is creating news out of nothing ;)

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      @AC re: news out of nothing

      And yet you felt compelled to comment upon the nothing news. ;-)

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Is this more Jobs dictatorship?

    I don't really mind what Apple sell (and in fact are grateful to them for creating the Apple II which is what started my interest in 'puters), but this increasing paranoia and secrecy just makes them look like a bunch of weirdo dictators. Has Job's illness affected his brain? Because some of the stuff they get up to now does smack of erratic synapse firing.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    I would send Apple a picture

    Of all my staff showing Apple their arses.

    Dear Apple,

    Fuck off you dictatorial bunch of twats.

    Sincerely

    UK retail Stores

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Happy

      @Jim Booth

      Although an interesting protest I seriously doubt you'd sell more iPads that way (or any other Apple products afterwards).

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    Herr Jobs

    You vill obey zee rules unt zen you vill be happy".

    (Apologies to German readers for crass archetyping).

  14. max allan

    I hope the news goes the other way....

    I'd love to see some photos of piles of unsold iPads and empty Apple stores on Friday.

    Not because I'm an Apple hater but because it would counteract some of the pointless frenzy of expectation in the other direction.

    The only reason for shortages is going to be Apple restricting the supply to make sure there are shortages, to make "news". Which then means the news is disappointingly re writeable as "Apple uses us to advertise their product for free again". Who needs paid advertising when they can manipulate the press?

    1. Ted
      Boffin

      The shortages are real...

      It's now a 2 week wait to get a 3G iPad in the States, and it's only going to get worse since the iPad is priced too cheaply for what it does... it's beyond amazing...

      No, Apple wouldn't restrict supply, that would make no sense. The problem seems to be the IPS touch screens... nobody has ever tried to make such large, high quality touch screens in such volumes before... so coupled with the tremendous demand, there is simply no way to create enough units.

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Paranoia?

    Its not paranoia, its called MARKETING.

    They force the sellers to do stuff, they bleat to the press, press print stories, bingo, free advertising, hype and drones like the mob on here telling the world how useless Apple are and how much they hate them (despite reading and commenting on EVERY Apple story going).

    "Worse are the people who pay money for these products. They are truly the dregs of society!".

    Love that. Clearly someone who buys a particular gadget from a particular company who you have a completely irrantional hatred off (after all, nobody makes you buy them, read about them etc etc, you could just ignore them...) is far worse than murders, muggers, rapists, street thugs, job dodgers and so on. Talk about a lack of perspective.

    1. Doug Glass
      Go

      RE: Its not paranoia, its called MARKETING.

      Yep. And you'd think the Lummox community with all its brainpower, superior product claims and wonderous initiative would take note.

      1. dogged
        Megaphone

        Marketing "free" never causes lines at the shops

        Because you just download the "free" and then run it, for free. Nobody's selling it.

        Was there a part of that you didn't understand?

        Let me try in little words.

        "If man put linux on machine, man no give Big Baldy Jobsman any money but stuff still work just as good".

        Did that help?

    2. Steven Knox
      Happy

      Just because they're after you, doesn't mean you're not paranoid

      '"Worse are the people who pay money for these products. They are truly the dregs of society!".

      Love that. Clearly someone who buys a particular gadget from a particular company who you have a completely irrantional hatred off (after all, nobody makes you buy them, read about them etc etc, you could just ignore them...) is far worse than murders, muggers, rapists, street thugs, job dodgers and so on. Talk about a lack of perspective.'

      Awesome! Clearly someone who posts a sentence like that (with a JOKE icon next to it to boot) really hates Apple fans. He's got to be more sociopathic than, say, someone who presumes the OP actually has the perspective put forth in his JOKE and who doesn't even have the balls to post under an actual (or fake, even) name.

    3. Ted
      Boffin

      Apple rarely does much marketing...

      Yes, Apple tends to let their products speak for themselves, they rarely spend much money on "marketing"... they have the lowest advertising budget of all computer and cell phone companies for example.

      Apple just makes great stuff... which makes people that are "connected" to all the poor quality products MAD... they get flustered since they don't have the engineering, the vision, the software skills to make great products.

      It's sad, but Apple just focuses on the "customer" experience... then everything else falls into place.

  16. Thomas 4
    Flame

    Oh dear

    People really need to get a grip. It's not like it's the second coming of the iPhone.

    1. Ted
      Boffin

      Actually the iPad will be far bigger than the iPhone

      The iPhone was great back in the day, but the iPad is what will change the entire computer industry... It's almost as big as the Mac... if you can believe it! It changes the entire landscape of computing... yes, it's early, but hang on tight... all computers will work like the iPad in 10 years.

  17. Doug Glass
    Go

    iEssence

    I've always thought Stevie Jobs should bpttle his farts and sell them at some super high price. Call it iEssence and give the iFans a chance to really get a whiff of their deity's finest.

  18. David 45

    Hyperbole, spelt b*ll*cks!

    Usual Apple methods. Hype the product as having mystical qualities and that it's the best thing since sliced bread and.....BINGO! Mass hysteria to buy the wretched thing. Don't be mugs, people - it's just what they want. It's nothing special.

  19. Anonymous Coward
    Troll

    Pictures

    pleze be to give us pictures of teh hot sexie apple Fanbois when wait they in line to purchase, we must teh sexie pictures see

  20. Neoc

    "Apple's iPad resellers are revolting!"

    Worse, they're now rebelling!

    (yeah, old joke, I know)

  21. Anonymous Coward
    Stop

    lmfao

    This is such BS, total marketing ploy to get into the media and hype up sales. Who gives a poop when they become available, really, does it matter who is selleing them and when, is your life going to be so dramatically distorted because you can't get your iPoop on the day of release?

    Apple are panicing you, making you think if you don't get it on release day you will never get one because all the world supplies will dry up. So FKN what! Life goes on, get it the week after....

    Don't you see how you are being manipulated, you poor fools?

    For me, just another reason to never buy crApple products, I don't appreciate being treated like a spaz.

    1. Ted
      Grenade

      No, it's not a ploy, it's just well made

      No, Apple would never do this on purpose, that's not their ethical approach to business. The problem is the iPad is incredibly well made and they priced it too low so demand will outstrip supply for the next year or so.

      You really need to use a product before you use a product, you clearly don't understand how it works, so have been tricked into thinking people are waiting in line for no good reason. Someday you'll touch one and see what all the excitement is about.

      So you have played the fool... check facts next time...

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