[♥]

Apple dropped the price of the 8GB iPhone by $200.

For any of you who bought the iPhone for $599 do you feel cheated like this person?

For me, I'm thinking of buying it now. I was waiting for a price drop. I don't think people got cheated, necessarily; a price drop is always inevitable. I happen to think that there is going to be some kind of a modification made to the iPhone before Christmas and then the price will jump a bit as usually happens with Apple's products.

[JohnM15141]

I don't really feel cheated because those are the breaks but what has upset me to the point of real disgust is that in one quick move apple turned me into a "sucker!"

I don't feel like a sucker but thats what all the people around me who once admired the iPhone, gathering around to "oh and ah" it, now they walk up to me and the first thing they say is, "What a Sucker" and "How do you feel about that, Apple sure made a chump out of you." etc. You get the picture?

For that, I'm really disturbed by Apples actions!

I expected this after the next release of the iPhone maybe as early a 6 months but not, for all practical purposes, right after I walked out the door with one.

This sucks!

[MacinTommy]

Hey.. hindsight is 20/20.. Sometimes you just have to make the jump early and you may have to pay the price. Now if they do give a rebate (which I HIGHLY doubt) I would gladly take it but for now what can you do? Nothing! So everyone just needs to quit whining and cut their losses.

[JonoMarshall]

I don't feel like a sucker but thats what all the people around me who once admired the iPhone, gathering around to "oh and ah" it, now they walk up to me and the first thing they say is, "What a Sucker" and "How do you feel about that, Apple sure made a chump out of you." etc. You get the picture?

Who gives a sh!te what the people around you think? That's the kind of attitude that leads to early adoption of the new 'must have' gadget in the first place. Sometimes early adoption works out (if you end up satisfied with a great product) and sometimes it doesn't (rev. A issues and price cuts).

We're all chumps really if you think about it (aspirational product purchases, projected lifestyles, etc), perhaps the price cut was a good wake up call?

[MacosNerd]

Some people decided to wait in line over night and get one and now some of them are complaining they paid too much.

The price cut was inevitable. Every phone on the market started out being priced in the stratosphere. A few months down the road the price started dropping. That's why I choose never to be on the bleeding edge, not just with phones but other technology. I'll let someone else pay the premium and/or find the bugs.

[Chuckit]

I didn't buy one, but honestly, a price cut is a silly reason to feel ripped off. Apple's offering to pay the difference if you just bought one, but even if they weren't, of course the price was going to go down. Everybody freakin' knew that. I don't know anybody who goes, "Oh, you bought an Xbox 360 in 2005? Sucker!"

[ort888]

You'll all be double suckers when Apple releases a 16gig 3G iPhone for $499 a month from now.

[MacosNerd]

Originally Posted by ort888 

You'll all be double suckers when Apple releases a 16gig 3G iPhone for $499 a month from now.

I won't because I still don't have an iPhone. I'm on the hook with Verizon for two years. While I do want one I'll have to wait

[turtle777]

Early adopters always pay premiums - what else is new ?

To complain about it is just silly.
Yes, I understand that it feels bad, but they should have though about it when they bought it. That's how the thecnology game works.

-t

[Naplander]

Originally Posted by ort888 

You'll all be double suckers when Apple releases a 16gig 3G iPhone for $499 a month from now.

Bring it on!

[lpkmckenna]

To the whiners: if you feel ripped off, return it. Otherwise, shut up. I'd love to have been "ripped off" early adopter, but sadly I still can't get an iPhone in Canada. (Nor can I get movies or tv shows from iTunes. Grrr....)

[kman42]

I still love my $599 iPhone. I'm glad they dropped the price as it will spurn others who were on the fence to buy one which will benefit the platform, and thus, me.

If I was willing to pay $599 for it two months ago, why should I feel differently just because Apple dropped the price?

[Sörnäinen]

Being an early adopter is always risky with Apple products.
You easily become a Beta tester and still pay for it.

I would be pissed in this situation, if i bought one.
But really - it was somehow expectable, i think... :-O

[CharlesS]

I'm sorry, but anyone who didn't see this coming is a schmuck. $600 was a ridiculous price for what the iPhone is, and frankly, I'd expect to see the price drop some more in another few months, because Apple is going to need to do that to be able to keep selling these once the novelty wears off.

[Dakarʒ]

This soon? really?

[Jawbone54]

Early adopters ALWAYS get screwed. Usually there is a price cut within a year and a hardware upgrade within that same time period. With the iPhone, the early adopters just got screwed earlier than usual.

I'm just glad I didn't get one. I told the story of why a week or two ago; it involved AT&T being ridiculous (again).

Someone upstairs was looking out for me.

[Dakarʒ]

Yes, your iPhone is in God's plan.

[Laminar]

No, his wife is upstairs right now and got pissed when he wanted to get an iPhone.

[Dakarʒ]

That's funny because it's true.

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by Laminar 

No, his wife is upstairs right now and got pissed when he wanted to get an iPhone.

*ding ding ding*

[runningdog]

Well not only did we pay the $599 for the iPhone the day it debuted but we also had to pay the penalty from Verizon when we ended that contract. We wanted the iPhone so we had no problems with that. i think it's great that Apple dropped the price. Now if only AT&T would improve their service - too many dropped calls and crappy connections. Love the iPhone.

[♥]

^^^Ouch.^^^

That's a double whammy, eh?

Yes, AT&T's dropped calls are ridiculous.

[cybergoober]

Apple - To all iPhone customers

$100 Apple Store (or online) credit

[Nodnarb]

Not anymore, I don't!

[abe]

Originally Posted by lpkmckenna 

To the whiners: if you feel ripped off, return it. Otherwise, shut up. I'd love to have been "ripped off" early adopter, but sadly I still can't get an iPhone in Canada. (Nor can I get movies or tv shows from iTunes. Grrr....)

You are so unfortunate.

[Atomic Rooster]

You never buy a car the first year of production.

Figure out the reason behind this statement and you will rarely get ****ed up the arse.

[Brass]

It seems almost as though Apple are saying, "Oops, we got the price wrong so we're fixing it now", or that they deliberately over-priced it, knowing there would be initial high demand (which I guess is not "over-priced" if you figure that demand dictates price).

In any case, I don't recall ever hearing of any company voluntarily giving a partial refund to every single one of its customers (of a particular product) after the fact, without any obligation apart from customer relations (ie, without any legal requirement, or known product defect). Are there other examples of this sort of thing happening for other products in the past?

Although I guess its not as good as a cash refund, its still not bad.

[zro]

Am I the only one who thinks, as a phone, the iPhone is a step backward? The phone I had two years ago was more user friendly.

[JonoMarshall]

Gutted that early adopters get some money back, I'd rather Apple kept the money... but a nice gesture all the same. Let's move on.

[Kevin]

Early bleeding edge adopters ALWAYS pay more. They really fund the cost of the development. Once that is taken care of Apple can drop the price.

So thanks early adopters.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by Atomic Rooster 

You never buy a car the first year of production.

Figure out the reason behind this statement and you will rarely get ****ed up the arse.

I never buy RevA products of ANY design or company.

[♥]

Could be marketing genius: Apple overprices their product...people run out and buy it including non-Apple consumers...Apple then offers a "rebate" that can only be used in their stores or for their products...they get thousands and thousands of new customers shopping in their stores and looking at ways to use that credit.

That is pure marketing genius if you ask me.

[Chuckit]

I wouldn't say Apple overpriced the iPhone. It sold quite well — about as fast as they could be made at first. Sounds like the price was exactly right.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by Chuckit 

I wouldn't say Apple overpriced the iPhone. It sold quite well — about as fast as they could be made at first. Sounds like the price was exactly right.

Bingo. This is capitalism. Supply and demand.

[♥]

I'm going to go get one in about an hour as a gift for someone.

$399 is a price I can feel comfortable with. Not $599.

[design219]

If you purchased with an American Express card on the first day, you should be eligible for their 60 day buyers protection plan.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by design219 

If you purchased with an American Express card on the first day, you should be eligible for their 60 day buyers protection plan.

Yes and no.
Amex quietly discontinued that buyers protection last year. Unfortunately.

What's left is

• Fraud Protection Guarantee - protects you when shopping online or off
• Purchase Protection Plan - provides coverage for theft or damage
• Buyer's Assurance Plan - extends original warranties

-t

[jonn804]

The experience has been worth it. I do not feel cheated. End of discussion.

[mitchell_pgh]

Originally Posted by ♥ 

I'm going to go get one in about an hour as a gift for someone.

$399 is a price I can feel comfortable with. Not $599.

I think there are many MANY people feeling the same way. for $400, I can cancel my Verizon contract and go AT&T. I've been thinking about it for some time...

$600+$179 is simply too crazy... even for a sucker like myself.

If the iPod touch had email, I'd buy that and stick with Verizon (love the service, hate the phones)

[Face Ache]

I, Cringely . The Pulpit . The Puppet Master | PBS

This week’s iPhone pricing story, in which Apple punished its most loyal users by dropping the price of an 8-gig iPhone from $599 to $399 less than three months after the product’s introduction, is classic Steve Jobs. It wasn’t an accident. It wasn’t a thoughtless mistake. It was a calculated and tightly scripted exercise in marketing and ego gratification. In the mind of Steve Jobs the entire incident had no downside, none at all, which is yet another reason why he is not like you or me.

Let’s deconstruct the incident. Apple announced a variety of new and kinda-new iPods dominated by the iPod Touch (iPhone minus the phone) and an iPod Nano with video (great for watching miniseries). At the very end of the presentation, Jobs announced the iPhone price cut. Why did he wait until the very end? Because he knew the news would be disruptive and might have obscured his presentation of the new products. He KNEW there was going to be controversy. So much for the “Steve is simply out of touch with the world” theory.

So why did he do it? Why did he cut the price? I have no inside information here, but it seems pretty obvious to me: Apple introduced the iPhone at $599 to milk the early adopters and somewhat limit demand then dropped the price to $399 (the REAL price) to stimulate demand now that the product is a critical success and relatively bug-free. At least 500,000 iPhones went out at the old price, which means Apple made $100 million in extra profit.

Had nobody complained, Apple would have left it at that. But Jobs expected complaints and had an answer waiting — the $100 Apple store credit. This was no knee-jerk reaction, either. It was already there just waiting if needed. Apple keeps an undeserved $50 million and customers get $50 million back. Or do they? Some customers will never use their store credit. Those who do use it will nearly all buy something that costs more than $100. And, most importantly, those who bought their iPhones at an AT&T store will have to make what might be their first of many visits to an Apple Store. That is alone worth the $50 per customer this escapade will eventually cost Apple, taking into account unused credits and Apple Store wholesale costs.

So Apple still comes out $75 million ahead, which is important to Steve Jobs.

Steve has a love-hate relationship with, well, everyone. Customers buy Apple products and they appreciate Steve’s design and market sense, but they also have opinions and NEEDS — two characteristics Jobs (and for that matter almost any CEO) would like to do without.

So Steve slapped his customers around a bit and what happened? Apple got free publicity worth tens of millions and the iPhone, which was already the top-selling smartphone in the world, will now sell two million units by the end of the year, up from an estimated one million. And Steve, having deliberately alienated his best customers, now gets a chance to woo them back. He has finally placed millions of people in the role of every key Apple employee — being alternately seduced and tormented. In this case the torment is over and the seduction will come next month when Apple ships OS X 10.5 (Leopard) — the company’s last chance to position its products for Christmas. Look for 1-2 very un-Leopard surprises at that event — surprises intended to get us all dreamy-eyed over Steve Jobs again.

So Steve does things like this because he can. It reaffirms his iron grip over both Apple and Apple’s customers. It’s a lot about ego and a little about business, though with Steve Jobs they are hard to differentiate.

[smacintush]

reaffirms his iron grip over both Apple and Apple’s customers.

Iron grip?

Yes, Steve Jobs has us all by the balls and we're helpless.

I didn't buy an iPhone and I am not buying one soon (in '09 when my contract is up then maybe…) but I have to say that all this hue and cry over the price drop is just asinine. What responsibility does Apple have in reference to their pricing? Answer: None. Well, no moral or ethical responsibility anyway. Their one and ONLY duty is to set a price that will maximize their profits without hurting their sales. Period.

It makes NO sense to me for a person to pay $600 for an iPhone and then a few months later when the price drop complain they got ripped off. Obviously they felt that $600 was a fair price then so how did that change? It didn't. At what point did your responsibility for your own purchasing decisions go away?

Typical of many Americans. They always feel like they're "owed" something.

[Sherman Homan]

Let me see if I have this right, thousands of people waited overnight outside of Apple stores to happily put down $600 dollars for the bragging rights of having the first iPhone. Now they feel ripped off? I don't remember seeing Steve Jobs rounding up innocent people in the middle of the night and herding them into line with their credit cards...

[JohnM15141]

No, you've got it all wrong. You're just spouting the "spin" that is being put on it to make it a sensational story.

I don't feel ripped off. However I do feel miffed with the fact that they reduced the price by 1/3rd shortly after I bought it. I find that difficult to swallow, and it doesn't seem right. I would feel that way with any highly anticipated item that I purchased. If I bought a a brand new car and two months after I bought it they drop the price 33% I would be outraged and back at that dealer expressing it.

I found it disturbing that Apple dropped the price so soon after it was released, that speaks of some other cause besides normal depreciation. All first adopters expect some devalue or paying a higher price point but this goes way beyond that. It was too soon and too much to stand for. If this had occurred at the next iPhone product line update I would have tolerated that and chalked it up to oh well.

This was akin to standing in line, paying $599 and hearing the next person after you being charged $200 less...I'd feel outrage.

If Apple had a history of dropping the price that much that fast I would never be an early adopter. This was a first for Apple, in one fell swoop, they nearly eliminated any first adopters for any future releases of anything. Even now I will think twice before I do it again. I used to do it all the time, the penalty was never this severe.

[turtle777]

You guys should read the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

You'd hate it !

-t

[analogika]

Originally Posted by smacintush 

Iron grip?

Yes, Steve Jobs has us all by the balls and we're helpless.

I didn't buy an iPhone

Well, then, I suppose Cringely isn't talking about you, then, is he.

Duh.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by JohnM15141 

This was akin to standing in line, paying $599 and hearing the next person after you being charged $200 less...I'd feel outrage.

Why? Either you felt it was worth what you paid or not. How much somebody else paid is irrelevant. If I charge you $600 for a phone and then turn around and give one free to some guy in exchange for his really cool jacket, that's between me and the well-dressed fellow. We made a deal ("You give me $600 and I give you a phone") and I carried out my side of the bargain.

Let's turn this around: If Apple raised the price of the iPhone to $800 and saw that people still bought it, would you be OK with them coming back to you and going, "Hey, we think you really should give us another $200 for your iPhone"? No, it's ridiculous! But that's the same thing you're doing. When two parties agree on a price, that's the price. You can't decide after the fact that you want a better deal.

Originally Posted by JohnM15141 

I used to do it all the time, the penalty was never this severe.

What "penalty"? You have lost nothing. You still have your iPhone and it still does just as much as it did before. If they had dropped the price six months later, your iPhone would still be no more or less useful than it was before. If you were happy with the iPhone yesterday, why not today?

[analogika]

Originally Posted by Chuckit 

Let's turn this around: If Apple raised the price of the iPhone to $800 and saw that people still bought it, would you be OK with them coming back to you and going, "Hey, we think you really should give us another $200 for your iPhone"? No, it's ridiculous! But that's the same thing you're doing. When two parties agree on a price, that's the price. You can't decide after the fact that you want a better deal.

I think the problem stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of what capitalism is, and how it works.

The people whining picture Apple as some socialistic ideal that sets prices according to what the machines are costing them, rather than by what people are willing to PAY in the absence of competition.

The iPhone is in no way less worth the amount you thought appropriate six weeks ago, since it has in no way lost any of the qualities that made it worth that amount TO YOU. You buy digital equipment. It's lost a third of its worth the very second you walk out the door with it. It's obsolete a week later. Tough cookie. That's the way it works, and if you've never been bitten by this, you've not been buying stuff for long. If it's worth the money TO YOU, buy it, and put on the ****ing blinders and ENJOY your product, because its features will continue to be worth the money you deemed it worth spending on until it breaks.

The only quality it has lost is exclusivity, and honestly, if that rubs you like it does that elitist snob I had in the store the other day ("what's that guy checking out the iPhone for? It's not like he'll ever be able to afford it ahahahahah." Before the price cut.), then I suggest you take your disgruntlement and switch to a different vendor.

Good riddance.

[JohnM15141]

So you're advocating a return to the barter system? Thats a step backwards socially and economically. On a small scale bartering can be profitable, but it is inefficient, socially and economical a disaster. Saying that I should be happy with the iPhone at $699 since I was willing to pay that much is idealistic and is philisophical nonsense just like socialism and communism, it has no bearing with real life and what motivates people. In no way would will I ever be happy with anything that I was willing to pay that much for while the next guy who is unwilling to pay that much gets it for less. We are more competitors then social, I want the best deal like everyone else, I see someone get a better deal and I want the same or better. Thats human nature.

Now, I was willing to pay a premium to have the privilage to be among the first to enjoy the iPhone, I paid that premium but then Apple turned around immediately and removed that privilage so in essence I didn't get what I paid for...naturally I am chagrined. I'm human so are you thats why you gloat at others misfortune, and yes you can decide after the fact that the price was wrong and you want a better deal, when it becomes clear that you where over charged.

Originally Posted by Chuckit 

Why? Either you felt it was worth what you paid or not. How much somebody else paid is irrelevant. If I charge you $600 for a phone and then turn around and give one free to some guy in exchange for his really cool jacket, that's between me and the well-dressed fellow. We made a deal ("You give me $600 and I give you a phone") and I carried out my side of the bargain.

Let's turn this around: If Apple raised the price of the iPhone to $800 and saw that people still bought it, would you be OK with them coming back to you and going, "Hey, we think you really should give us another $200 for your iPhone"? No, it's ridiculous! But that's the same thing you're doing. When two parties agree on a price, that's the price. You can't decide after the fact that you want a better deal.


What "penalty"? You have lost nothing. You still have your iPhone and it still does just as much as it did before. If they had dropped the price six months later, your iPhone would still be no more or less useful than it was before. If you were happy with the iPhone yesterday, why not today?

[JohnM15141]

Thats nonsense, the moment I find out I paid more than you, the value diminishes, it loses its worth when its found to be worth less. There was no time to chalk it up to depreciation and there in lies the problem. This is not the way it works, thats why there are buyer protection programs, Attorney Generals, Better Business Bureaus, etc, to protect people from exactly what you are saying is the way it works and "tough cookie." The proof is that Apple realized this and offered a token penance to soften the blow. It was a blow and they realize it...so do we, and that would hurt Apples bottom line, gouging costumers is a quick way to lose them. This whole episode bespeaks of gouging, whether it was or wasn't, the impression was there. I'll pay a premium for luxuries but I won't be gouged into paying the maximum I'm willing to pay for something that turns out to be worth less; like in this case.

Originally Posted by analogika 

.................
The iPhone is in no way less worth the amount you thought appropriate six weeks ago, since it has in no way lost any of the qualities that made it worth that amount TO YOU. You buy digital equipment. It's lost a third of its worth the very second you walk out the door with it. It's obsolete a week later. Tough cookie. That's the way it works, and if you've never been bitten by this, you've not been buying stuff for long. If it's worth the money TO YOU, buy it, and put on the ****ing blinders and ENJOY your product, because its features will continue to be worth the money you deemed it worth spending on until it breaks.
.................

[analogika]

Originally Posted by JohnM15141 

Thats nonsense, the moment I find out I paid more than you, the value diminishes, it loses its worth when its found to be worth less. There was no time to chalk it up to depreciation and there in lies the problem. This is not the way it works, thats why there are buyer protection programs, Attorney Generals, Better Business Bureaus, etc, to protect people from exactly what you are saying is the way it works and "tough cookie."

What is its "value"? Its monetary value? Because that diminishes the SECOND you walk out of the store with it. It really collapses the moment you actually UNWRAP the product.

Its actual value to you? No difference, unless your products magically stop doing what they were bought for the moment prices are reduced or new, better products are released.

Buyer Protection programs are a COURTESY.

Anything else, you're gonna have a tough time arguing.

Questionable morality, perhaps, but questionable legality? No.

I sympathize, certainly - I've been in the same situation often enough. But realize that nobody OWES you ANYTHING. Apple throwing out the $100 vouchers is a magnanimous gesture that you should accept and be glad about, because they certainly didn't have to do squat for anybody.

Enjoy your iPhone, and spend those $100 on something nice. After all, they're an unexpected present - surplus budget as far as you're concerned.