So it looks like Apple has hit their milestone ahead of schedule. Originally forecasted to sell 1 million iPhones by the end of September, Apple announced today in a small press release that they have already hit the 1 million mark in iPhone sales. Subsequently, Apple’s stock also rose 2.8 percent after a slight dip following the iPhone’s price cut last week.
Even so, the buzz these days is still all about the price slashing of the iPhone, and the subsequent open letter apology (coupled with the promise of a $100 credit) to early adopters of the iPhone. For obvious reasons, iPhone news even overshadowed the launch of a new generation of iPod’s and the iPod touch. Chances are, the iPods won’t be going through a similar price slash given that Apple clearly understands the Mp3 player market. They have dominated the Mp3 industry since the birth of the iPod in 2001 after all. We suspect that Apple is only now starting to understand the competitive nature of the cell phone industry, and what price points it takes to not only compete, but to eventually dominate the cell phone industry.
There is good news in all of this of course; especially for the folks that have held out to get an iPhone. Not only will you be able to get an affordable 8GB iPhone, now wonderfully priced at $399, it also means that your SquareTrade warranty with added accidental protection will now be cheaper as well! That of course goes for the new generation of iPods, including the iPod Touch as well. Where else are you going to be able to protect your brand new iPod Touch or spiffy new iPod Nano from the occasional accidents? Not even AppleCare does that for you.
A quick note on eBay iPhone sales. It appears that the iPhone price cut has only affected eBay’s iPhone sales minimally. The average sold price of the 4GB iPhone on eBay dipped a mere $17 since news of the price cut. Many 4GB iPhones are still being sold above the listed price of $299. We can attribute most of this to buyers who committed to higher price points before the news of the price cut. We may even see a spike in cases where winning buyers simply will refuse to pay the final value knowing they could simply head to a local AT&T store and save $200. We also expect the average sold price to dipped dramatically over the next few weeks.
So keep a close eye on your conversion rates sellers. You'll have to do a Steve Jobs like price cut on your iPhone inventory in the very near future if you want to rid your inventory, even if it will be for a loss.
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