If you’re anything like we are, you probably fully expect companies to play the supply and demand game. It makes complete sense why a company would withhold their supply to increase demand. Perception is everything, and if a product is constantly sold out, it means that it’s selling well, which in turn means that people are buying them up, making the device extremely popular.
Nintendo is notorious for this every year around the holidays. All year long you can pick up a Wii, but it seems like every holiday season there’s a huge demand for the Wii, and supply simply dries up. The next thing we know, there are reports on the news about the Wii being a hot ticket item again, and everyone finds themselves in a frenzy to pick one up before their neighbour does.
This is why it doesn’t surprise me that Gene Munster asked Cook straight up why Apple is constantly running out of stock. Apparently we’re on the same wave length, because the thought has crossed my mind a number of times over the last year as well. Does Apple withhold supply to increase demand?
Tim Cook, Apple’s COO had this to say, “We do not purposely create a shortage for buzz.” So there you have it. Apple claims they don’t slow down supply in order to increase the buzz around their devices, “purposely.” Depending on how big of a skeptic you are, that “purposely” could be a pretty big loophole. But, it’s good to hear that Apple’s not artificially creating shortages, and instead are legitimately selling out products faster than they can make them.
I have a hard time seeing a company who just increased their profits by $3.25 billion this quarter playing with their supply curve. People want their devices, and they want them now. If they can’t get them, they’ll pickup a substitute, as evidenced by the success of the Android platform on Verizon.