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We Thought "Sold Out" Sounded Better Than "Awaiting Delivery"

April 28, 2011 at 12:55 pm PT

Apple investors unsettled by reports claiming the Asus Transformer tablet is co-opting iPad demand can rest easy. The threat here appears to be a bit less than what it’s been made out to be. While it’s true that the device sold out quickly online at retailers like Amazon.com and Best Buy, the reason for those first-day stockouts seems to be more a case of piddling inventory than a surge of overwhelming demand.

To wit, J.P. Morgan’s Mark Moskowitz’s informal survey of Best Buy and Target outlets, which found that most hadn’t received any Transformer tablets yet. “All stores we spoke to had not even received the Transformer tablet,” Moskowitz says. “The general read was that supply would not reach most stores until mid-May. As a result, we ask how the Asus tablet can be sold-out when it did not arrive in the first place.”

Good question. “ASUS Transformer Sold Out” makes for a great headline, but a lousy story if there weren’t that many out there to sell.

Tagged with: Apple, Asus, ASUS Transformer, digital, hardware, iPad, John Paczkowski, sales, sell out, tablet

comments so far. Add yours.

Anonymous

Actually is was an online launch. though it was mentioned as such. But Best Buy and Amazon both had stock of the Asus online upon launch.

just sayin.
http://twitter.com/juvus juvus

sold out is a great marketing line. That’s how apple does it. Everybody wants to be with the winner.

I will bet money that when it does come out, the Transformer will be sold out for real because people heard that it was sold out the first time. Winning begets winning.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_LPJDIT4NKW2FFMGUA6M5MO6U5M J

Yes, it really does sound better saying

“Cameras shoot VGA quality (front) and HD video (back)”

instead of

“Front camera is 0.3mp and rear camera is 0.7mp”

Right Steve?
http://profiles.google.com/nick5434 nick ash

ummm whether they had plenty of stock or not if they dont have anymore that means they sold out doesnt it? even if they have low inventory you cant sell what you dont have
Anonymous

Yeah, only if you’re talking Charlie Sheen’s style of “winning.”

The important point you miss is that when Apple says something is “sold out,” it often counts things in the millions. Apple is also the ONLY company that actually states how many units were sold after it sold out, i.e. 1.6 million iPhones in 3 days, 300,000 iPads in one weekend, 1 million iPads in the first 30 days, etc.

The other company truly play NOTHING but marketing games, saying something is “sold out” WITHOUT ever providing numbers. I bet their marketing team tells the engineers how many units to make, too. “I want you to cut the order to just 10,000 so we can claim it’s sold out.”

Providing the actual sales number would be pretty embarrassing, which is why it’s missing from ASUS’s PR.

So how about it ASUS? Why don’t you tell it like it is and tell us how many units you sold before it “sold out?”
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_YCQQEQAXSHX7MV42Q6IBJLKN4Q Steven F

If this was a marketing stragety of Asus or some one didn’t really have a clue as to what they were doing, kinda makes me want to do a double think on purchasing anything made by Asus. Kinda wonder about the after purchase support on any of Asus products from this point forward. A manufactor can have the best product out there. But if it word does not hold up, then why would anyone want to take any more chances? Makes you wonder.
Anonymous

I wonder how someone who writes like a grade school dropout can actually comprehend how to use a computer to post their opinions? Savant?
If you have had a severe brain injury in the past, then I apologize for my rude and insensitive commentary.
http://www.bignerdblog.com BigNerd

There’s a bit of slight of hand going on here.

Like many people, I had thought this would be in physical stores on the 26th.

Not true… all the Best Buys in my area, although they have it on the website, don’t have the SKU in their store inventory systems. Fry’s doesn’t have it… nor does Amazon’s supplier, Target.

From what I’ve read on Amazon reviews, non-national stores have gotten small quantities but nothing like a national store launch.

And other than this site, no one is really talking about it. Finally an Android tablet priced below the iPad with decent features and can double as a netbook but hardly any of the tech sites have caught on to the fact that it really hasn’t shipped to stores in the US. iConspiracy?
http://www.thefutureofpublishing.com Thad McIlroy

Thank you for getting behind the headline, John. I’d just read the very positive coverage on The Chronicle of Higher Education. And I thought: Let me validate that with a more experienced source. Done!

We Thought "Sold Out" Sounded Better Than "Awaiting Delivery"

comments so far. Add yours.

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