I wish the Spark Digital portal had a delivery ETA. Time-stamp on my order says 20:04, so I completed checkout within 3 minutes of the preorder start time. Unfortunately though it gives no indication of whether I'll get it from the first batch on 3/11.
As far as I am aware, none of the telcos have ever produced real time updates on stock status or any kind of reliable feedback (on pre-order opening day) on whether you have secured one of the initial stock. I think their online allocations are generally quite low -- it's in their interest to preserve some retail stock and to leave things ambiguous so that people will keep ordering online in the hope of getting lucky. Although in the case of the X, one would have to be living in some kind of cave to think that you have any chance of picking one up on November 3 if you didn't order within the first few minutes.
As far as I am aware, none of the telcos have ever produced real time updates on stock status or any kind of reliable feedback (on pre-order opening day) on whether you have secured one of the initial stock. I think their online allocations are generally quite low -- it's in their interest to preserve some retail stock and to leave things ambiguous so that people will keep ordering online in the hope of getting lucky. Although in the case of the X, one would have to be living in some kind of cave to think that you have any chance of picking one up on November 3 if you didn't order within the first few minutes.
It doesn't work like that even remotely, nice try though.
As far as I am aware, none of the telcos have ever produced real time updates on stock status or any kind of reliable feedback (on pre-order opening day) on whether you have secured one of the initial stock. I think their online allocations are generally quite low -- it's in their interest to preserve some retail stock and to leave things ambiguous so that people will keep ordering online in the hope of getting lucky. Although in the case of the X, one would have to be living in some kind of cave to think that you have any chance of picking one up on November 3 if you didn't order within the first few minutes.
It doesn't work like that even remotely, nice try though.
How does it work? Genuinely interested since I have a vested interest!
As far as I am aware, none of the telcos have ever produced real time updates on stock status or any kind of reliable feedback (on pre-order opening day) on whether you have secured one of the initial stock. I think their online allocations are generally quite low -- it's in their interest to preserve some retail stock and to leave things ambiguous so that people will keep ordering online in the hope of getting lucky. Although in the case of the X, one would have to be living in some kind of cave to think that you have any chance of picking one up on November 3 if you didn't order within the first few minutes.
It doesn't work like that even remotely, nice try though.
How does it work? Genuinely interested since I have a vested interest!
Most carriers won't know the exact stock of each configuration they'll have on launch day this far in advance. They will have enough eventually, which is why orders still get taken. Friends and colleagues working on previous launches confirmed stores even didn't know the stock they'd receive until the day of launch.
There's also no benefit of saving stock for stores other than for marketing (Causing big lines and hype), selling online is cheaper and easier than running a store full of staff. And if they can sell a phone entirely without a customer speaking to someone, why wouldn't that be preferred over having a staff member spend time doing it in store/on the phone.
It doesn't work like that even remotely, nice try though.
The trouble with replying using silly one-liners is that it doesn't give you any kind of credibility, nor is it obvious which part of my post you were replying to. Now I just went and tried out Vodafone and Spark's pre-order sites and the first part of my post is prima facie proven -- I can't see any kind of useful feedback on whether if I order now when I will get my phone. And given the oft-cited inconsistencies in terms of when/whether people get their pre-ordered phones, in the absence of further elaboration, you'd have to excuse me if basic commercial common sense suggests that your denial is rather lame.
Most carriers won't know the exact stock of each configuration they'll have on launch day this far in advance. They will have enough eventually, which is why orders still get taken. Friends and colleagues working on previous launches confirmed stores even didn't know the stock they'd receive until the day of launch.
There's also no benefit of saving stock for stores other than for marketing (Causing big lines and hype), selling online is cheaper and easier than running a store full of staff. And if they can sell a phone entirely without a customer speaking to someone, why wouldn't that be preferred over having a staff member spend time doing it in store/on the phone.
So you actually admit the central propositions of my original post -- that the telcos can't provide reliable feedback on whether preorders made can be supplied at initial launch date and that they simply encourage people to order in the hopes of drawing in customers - is correct? Even if what I supposed about retail stock allocation was wrong, it's pretty obvious what the original post's major thrust was. So next time before spewing one-liners, it might pay to spend some time reading and comprehending.
Most carriers won't know the exact stock of each configuration they'll have on launch day this far in advance. They will have enough eventually, which is why orders still get taken. Friends and colleagues working on previous launches confirmed stores even didn't know the stock they'd receive until the day of launch.
There's also no benefit of saving stock for stores other than for marketing (Causing big lines and hype), selling online is cheaper and easier than running a store full of staff. And if they can sell a phone entirely without a customer speaking to someone, why wouldn't that be preferred over having a staff member spend time doing it in store/on the phone.
So you actually admit the central propositions of my original post -- that the telcos can't provide reliable feedback on whether preorders made can be supplied at initial launch date and that they simply encourage people to order in the hopes of drawing in customers - is correct? Even if what I supposed about retail stock allocation was wrong, it's pretty obvious what the original post's major thrust was. So next time before spewing one-liners, it might pay to spend some time reading and comprehending.
I was more so going after your line about it being in their interest to keep ambiguous. How would it be in their interest to hide the stock availability and wait times? No one wins. Customers are annoyed, telco has to deal with annoyed customers, staff get annoyed as a result as well. Everyone is stressed and rushed. If stock was known and could be planned, it would be made known.
If being able to tell when you'll get your phone/get a guarantee is important for you, order from Apple. They control the stock so can provide better updates on shipping timeframes (which they do, in near real time).
If being able to tell when you'll get your phone/get a guarantee is important for you, order from Apple. They control the stock so can provide better updates on shipping timeframes (which they do, in near real time).
Agreed, unfortunately not an option for me this time.
I was more so going after your line about it being in their interest to keep ambiguous. How would it be in their interest to hide the stock availability and wait times? No one wins. Customers are annoyed, telco has to deal with annoyed customers, staff get annoyed as a result as well. Everyone is stressed and rushed. If stock was known and could be planned, it would be made known.
If being able to tell when you'll get your phone/get a guarantee is important for you, order from Apple. They control the stock so can provide better updates on shipping timeframes (which they do, in near real time).
Of course it's in their interest to keep things ambiguous. If, as you say (the evidence certainly supports it) that they have no way of establishing whether and when they will have enough phones to sell, it wouldn't be in their interest to loudly advertise this fact. The fact that they don't make it this abundantly clear is itself an ambiguity. If you look at the wording of VF's pre-order page where they admit that stock may be constrained but that pre-ordering preserves one's place in the queue, this supports my view. The statement is literally true but contains enough "carrot" for people to order in the hopes of a positive outcome. Spark meanwhile says that due to popular demand, delivery timeframes may vary.
I have to give 2Degrees a lot of credit -- they currently openly advise that the Iphone X is out of stock and if you are pre-ordering now, you are definitely just going onto a queue to possibly get a phone in the next shipment(s). So I would say that two out of the three telcos are deliberately keeping things ambiguous. And I am not naive enough to believe that it's some accident.
I was tempted... but I got the red 7+ earlier this year (day 1) after getting a 7+ day 1 last year.. going to see some real world reviews and then maybe look at getting through skinny direct if they are going to be offering it (I assume it might be a few months till they do offer it)
I was more so going after your line about it being in their interest to keep ambiguous. How would it be in their interest to hide the stock availability and wait times? No one wins. Customers are annoyed, telco has to deal with annoyed customers, staff get annoyed as a result as well. Everyone is stressed and rushed. If stock was known and could be planned, it would be made known.
If being able to tell when you'll get your phone/get a guarantee is important for you, order from Apple. They control the stock so can provide better updates on shipping timeframes (which they do, in near real time).
Of course it's in their interest to keep things ambiguous. If, as you say (the evidence certainly supports it) that they have no way of establishing whether and when they will have enough phones to sell, it wouldn't be in their interest to loudly advertise this fact. The fact that they don't make it this abundantly clear is itself an ambiguity. If you look at the wording of VF's pre-order page where they admit that stock may be constrained but that pre-ordering preserves one's place in the queue, this supports my view. The statement is literally true but contains enough "carrot" for people to order in the hopes of a positive outcome. Spark meanwhile says that due to popular demand, delivery timeframes may vary.
I have to give 2Degrees a lot of credit -- they currently openly advise that the Iphone X is out of stock and if you are pre-ordering now, you are definitely just going onto a queue to possibly get a phone in the next shipment(s). So I would say that two out of the three telcos are deliberately keeping things ambiguous. And I am not naive enough to believe that it's some accident.
The large TElco account managers will always get stock first to give phones to corporate CEO's etc. They have a vested interest to look after larger corporates first and sadly retail comes last.
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