Days of Whine and iPhones

I don't think Mr. Jobs caved. I think he made a very smart business decision! You appease your customers by giving them a partial "store" credit which you know they will probably spend more than double that for a new purchase.

Sent by James Caplinger | 1:49 PM | 9-7-2007

I don't think is about complain but about having values. Who wants to buy a product next day turns intoa fraud... they haven't even fixed common bugs

Sent by torca | 3:07 PM | 9-7-2007

I failed to purchase the new Iphone, but I agree with your core principle: if you buy it, you must accept it.

But, I feel that technology has always been overpriced and we consumers get constantly taxed for it, only for it to reach a lower price as the months roll in. That is not the fault of the large companies though, we as consumers should be aware of this trend and heed caution before purchasing the newest expensive toy.

I learned this lesson when I was about 10 and I bought Sega's Sega CD and 32X only to have them break months later, AND the price dropped. I couldn't get no bill then.

Sent by Rashid | 3:49 PM | 9-7-2007

THANK YOU!

Sent by Jane Godfrey | 4:22 PM | 9-7-2007

Ah the iPhone! even it had its 15 minutes of fame. Funny how everyone is talking about the iPhone AGAIN--another 15 minutes right as the holiday shopping season starts rolling! Any marketing student knows that even bad news are good news. Thanks to all the complaining, everyone knows the iPhone is cheaper. I guess the $100 store credit is to pay the whiners for the free advertising!

Sent by Rita Carreira | 5:42 PM | 9-7-2007

without the 'complainers', how could you get the $100 back? Happy now? So, stop whining about those whiners.

This is just another example: Apple overcharges (almost) everything.

Sent by Dave | 6:29 PM | 9-7-2007

Good call, Mr. Ridley! Stop the whining - there's a price to be paid for being on the bleeding edge...(and, no, I didn't just save $200 bucks on an iPhone. I figure in another three months I can pick one up and save another $100!)

Sent by rob hines | 6:41 PM | 9-7-2007

You are missing the plot. Granted Apple would eventually drop prices of its technology items, as well as HP, Dell, or any other technology manufacture. Had Apple launched the iPhone a hundred dollars less to start, and have done a hundred dollar drop three months out from launch at the consumer electronics expo there would have likely been few complaints. However look at the consequences of the action of cutting prices this far this fast on an emerging item that still fairly ruff around the edges item: Apple comes out with the iWigit with a list price of $599. This device is great, all reviews of it say it will revolutionize the wigiting world. Apple has a hit on its hand. O no, it does not sell. Every one is waiting for that price to drop with in rapid section as this iPhone precedence sets up. Apple had no choice to do something for the early adopters, for he will need their loyalty for their eventual iWigit.

Sent by Matt Koski | 12:20 AM | 9-8-2007

John, not everyone has the dollars for these gizmos, as you mentioned. Some worked very hard for that money. I'm sure that Steve Jobs doesn't have the same perception as the guy making a $450.00 take-home. Maybe you don't either.

I didn't buy an iphone and even at the lower amount don't expect to. I could afford it, but don't see that much value there.

Any way you cut it, Apple made a mistake with their initial pricing. The cut is to create move revenue volumn, and to capture more market share. The high price was focused upon net profits. The way this was handled means that both goals were compromised by too much greed early on. I'm certain that the people at Apple were caught up in the hype themselves and simply made a mistake that had to be corrected.

Sent by Pat O'Brian | 7:00 AM | 9-8-2007

It is still surprising to me that afficionados of the technological explosion would be so aware of upcoming advances, i.e. the iPhone, yet so oblivious to the reality of marketing ploys. Also- don't kid yourself- Jobs still only refunded $100.00 to the whiners while getting them to come back into the store.

Sent by Dave Harvey | 7:18 AM | 9-8-2007

I'm with you John. I want an iPhone too but I knew well and good that with the holiday season coming Apple would make some sort of change to up the sales figures. I am not surprised at all. Early adopters take this risk when they rush the net ... they need to be quiet and be happy with their phones.

Sent by Mary | 9:45 AM | 9-8-2007

Well, yeah. The super whining is a bit much. I felt mildly put out, sort of 'Gosh, that was fast. I probably should have waited. Who'd of thought they woulda dropped it like that? And that is the problem Apple has created for itself. There is a general perception among consumers that when a corporation sets a price for an item some sort of serious professional reasoning has gone into it, and though the price will eventually go down, the price represents a well-formulated cost/profit ratio. Apple's super speedy price slashing has cost the company a lot of credibility on two fronts: 1) the company's seeming inability to establish a price hints at both a lack of forethought and leaves a vague impression that they may be overcharging for everything in their line, and 2) it will now be difficult for them to generate momentum during new product releases as everyone will be focused on the stability of the new item's price. Steve Jobs isn't caving, but is responding to a genuine brand crisis. I like my phone. It is cool. But, next time, instead of waiting two months, I might wait five.

Sent by Chris Harlan | 10:27 AM | 9-8-2007

John,

I've been DJing clubs for years now and I can assure you: most clubs have a cheaper price for people who get in the door early because they make it look like things are jumping off. It's only at the HEIGHT of the evening that the price goes up and stays there until the very end, say, the last hour, when prices drop.

Sent by OW | 10:51 AM | 9-8-2007

Well spoken.

Sent by Alyxmyself | 2:21 PM | 9-8-2007

Well said, Mr. Ridley!

Let's not forget that electronics are a luxury, never a necessity.

It seems there is greater uproar from consumers than from voters these days.

Sent by JMK | 3:55 PM | 9-8-2007

The Chinese have an old saying: "Eat the 'ripe' bananas first". ('Ripe' in Cantonese also means the closest or the ones you know best.) That's what Apple has done to its cult followers who also have the abused-wife syndrome - always end up going back and wait in line for more. Apple has been doing it for over 25 years and is likely to continue with the iPhone and other future products.

Sent by Vincent Wong | 9:00 PM | 9-8-2007

This simplistic, dramatically ill considered opinion, is poorly argued, and that is being kind. I expect NPR to present deeper thoughts better expressed.

Sent by John Raymond | 1:44 AM | 9-9-2007

Must be 8 new ice rinks in hell - as we bough Zune's for clients instead of iPods. Apple is no longer a computer company but a consumer product company and not just a hardcore group of Jobs fanatics. Speaking of which, Jobs' genius gave MS 95% of the computer market when it could have gone to Apple and given the iPhone price debacle (something he as much admitted in his open letter) and NBC not renewing their contract and he will do the same with the iPhone and iPod.

Sent by NJR | 10:32 AM | 9-9-2007

I didn't like this article at all. A $200 price cut on a product just 2 months after release is unprecedented. I could understand a price cut a little closer to Christmas or 6 months from now but not so soon. What Apple did to its loyal customers is just wrong.
You can't generalize why people do things either. You wrote "we all purchased the thrill of being the first on the block to have a new toy." No, I purchased the iphone because it more useful than just an iPod. I wanted music while I was jogging and a phone just in case something happened to me while I was jogging. The iphone is still valued at $600 to me. I paid $600 and I still think it was worth it.
You also wrote "Steve Jobs caved to the baying and offered a $100 store credit to ALL iPhone purchasers. Bad news: Complainers are rewarded for complaining. No, Apple was wrong for cutting prices so soon. Steve had to mollify its loyal customers by offering some sort of refund. The majority including you seem to be content with the $100 gift certificate to the Apple Store.

Sent by Ryan | 2:08 PM | 9-9-2007

Wow! First time I've ever read your column (stumbled here looking for Apple news), but I'm bookmarking this one. Straight talk and common sense. "Quit yer whining" ought to be our new national motto. Thanks for breaking the news to these folks that life ain't always fair today but it's always fair in the long run.

Sent by Dr Bonk | 11:17 PM | 9-9-2007

Thank you John for your wonderful article. I agree 100%. I chose not to buy the iphone when it was released, as much as I wanted one, knowing the price will drop. Everyone pays for being the first on their block to say, hey, look what I have. And that is how it is with these types of purchases. I hate the fact that I live in a society, where, as you say, everyone wants something for nothing and the people who complain the most get the best deals. For once I would like to walk in a car dealership and when they tell me the price and I say, "OK", like I always do, they say, "wow, for being so nice and decent, I am going to give you a little break". Instead, I will pay the full price, while someone who balks, kicks, screams, whines and threatens gets the better deal. Glad I am not the only one who sees that there is something fundamentally wrong with our society.

Sent by barbara press | 8:26 AM | 9-10-2007

I remember telling a family relative of mine a few months ago why I wasn't in a hurry to buy an iPhone; I knew the price will be slashed. He vehemently disagreed with me calling it a one-of-a-kind invention. He even made a comparison to the iPod that the price basically stayed the same.

So when the news came out last week that Apple was cutting the price by $200, my mind went straight to him. I was about to get on the phone to tell him "I told you so," just to rub it in when I remembered he's on a cruise.

Sent by Moji | 9:02 AM | 9-10-2007

I really liked the way John wrote this article, almost with no regard as to whoes toe he steps on, "Thats Bitchin". It sad the way people complain and whine to get what they want. I personally haven't fallen for the ("I have got to have it first") crowd, and personally I don't mind waiting as in the case of the XBox. Marketers know that people will pay big money in order to be the first one on the block to have somthing shiny and new. So really stop your "whinning" "bitchin and "complaining". It's not our fault you have to be first in line, at least you get to deal with all the bugs.

Sent by Johnny Linan | 9:11 AM | 9-10-2007

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your comments. I can not believe how much people are whining over this. If you have $600.00 to spend on a cell phone you are not hurting for cash and if you don't you shouldn't have made such a frivolous decision. Apple is a for profit company and it is not their job to subsudize those of use who are trying to be the Jones. Get a grip, maybe we should refund money to everyone who buys something and then the price goes down. Hey I just filled up my tank when gas was $2.99, now it is $2.52. I want a refund! : )

Sent by Sick of Grown Babies | 9:29 AM | 9-10-2007

Of course we all know the price would drop! No store credit is deserved.

Sent by Sponge Dan | 10:23 AM | 9-10-2007

The author makes a very good point. Though it is a bit tough to see the reaction of my friends who just bought the phone. Still, they knew the price, they paid it, they could just as easily have waited for the inevitable price drop. They made their choice.

Sent by sionnan | 11:51 AM | 9-10-2007

HAHAHA! I am laughing at all you who just HAD to have this thing early.
So now, not only are you spoiled gadget geeks, you're whiners too. Take your $100 gift card and buy some common sense.

Sent by dave | 5:22 PM | 9-10-2007

I understand the perspective on whining and victim culture but consumers should have power in a capatalist world. They are allowed to have reasonable expectations of the companies from which they purchase, the average time for technology price drops are 18, not 3 months, and usually not a by a full third. So this sort of price drop would be a reasonable expectation, those who felt that they were treated unfairly because they bought iphones when it was obvious Apple knew they were going to drop the price have the right to do so. And the fact that this compensation compromise was made does not "reward whining" but demonstrates a free market as it is supposed to work, responding to the needs and complaints of consumers.

Sent by Kyra Glass | 4:31 PM | 9-11-2007

Hi, I've read through five other blog articles before getting to this one, many involving issues of race, so if I say I like your writing, I say so sincerely. However, I have a quibble with injecting race issues into this one. You wrote, "Much as there is no such thing as reverse discrimination (there is only one kind of discrimination, no matter which way it cuts or who it cuts against), there is also no such thing as reverse price gouging." In my opinion, that is not a helpful, clarifying analogy. Which point are you trying to prove? That gripe aside, thanks for the news. Hearing nothing but cautious positive about the product, save the hype, I wouldn't have guessed that Apple cut the price so soon or so dramatically. Regards, and I'll be back to your column.

Sent by David Villa | 4:19 AM | 10-24-2007