why did verizon do this?

[increditim]

i'm just wondering if anyone has a good answer to this question. why did verizon release the droidx (and the incredible for that matter) with such a woefully inadequate supply to meet demand? did they not realize how good these phones were? i'm thinking people at verizon really didn't care that much for them and so they didn't make sure they had enough to sell.

 

[willymakit]

Keeps the demand high,let some out start the talk,makes more people want them. Pretty smart on their part if you ask me.

 

[Olsen]

What drives me crazy is a report I read in a magazine pre release (one of the tech ones at Borders -I can't remember which one) that said that Verizon was going to make sure that there were more than enough units in store on release day. FAIL! Now a backorder date of 9/7. When will the madness end?

 

[wildman]

This so true, they are spreading out their supply to continue to have a demand for it, also instead of having high sales demand for one quarter they can extend it as long the demand is present. Have you ever heard the old saying, as long as a person still owes me money, i can't ever say im broke. This kind of plays of this ideal. This is also why they continue to take orders even when they are on back order, basically they are not paying for devices off their books but instead using the customers own money to carry supply. This way they are making their money of the top; kind of slick but still a smart business move if you think about it. But still this isn't right to due but this is what companies due to minimize their overhead.

 

[Stang68]

While I agree with you guys, I also truthfully think the manufacturers are having trouble keeping up. That was a legitimate problem with the screen of the Incredible.

 

[increditim]

Keeps the demand high,let some out start the talk,makes more people want them. Pretty smart on their part if you ask me.

you may be right. it makes me want to find a way out of my contract and never deal with them again, but i wouldn't put it past them. i also think part of the problem is that the manufactures aren't selling the devices direct to customers and there's war between them and verizon. verizon has their own 'schedule' that doesn't jibe with motorola's or htc's. the other problem is that i think by the time they catch up with shipping completely they will have already decided to abandon these phones.

 

[wildman]

Well if you think about it this seems to becoming a pattern. The same situation has happened with Incredible, iphone, HD2 and EVO, all carriers have picked up this practice so i don't think leaving will put it behind you unless you stop using cellphones all together.

 

[increditim]

good point. i know it won't. i just hope my droid x doesn't have any problems when i get it. i've been through the frustrations of the lack of update with the incredible. i'm just not going to care when the x gets it. i just want to enjoy my phone and not have to deal with the company.

 

[moosc]

been going on for ever. not just its the hottest coolest for 30sec and every one wants it

 

[albokay]

We are verizon customers. We have been starving for cool phones FOREVER! Its not shocking that no matter how many phones they make they still cant keep up with the masses of people who are dying for an awesome phone like the DX or Inc.

 

[tech42er#AC]

People who ordered it on the release date had it within a few days. I ordered mine on July 30th and had it within a week. This is nowhere near as bad as the Incredible. The Verizon subscriber base is incredible large (just imagine how many Blackberries they've sold in the last few years!) and even though only a fraction of their subscribers now want amazing smartphones, that's still a huge demand. I don't think Verizon is deliberately limiting supply, and I sure as hell don't think they're apathetic towards their Droids; I think they're honestly just having trouble keeping up with demand. And that's great, because it means that tons of people are willing to take the plunge and get an Android phone, and that just enriches our community (and marketshare). If you want a phone, order one and you'll get it soon enough. In the meantime, just be happy that Android is finally getting the respect it deserves. Apple foolishly ignored the largest carrier in the US (and the one with the best coverage) and that oversight has allowed, and will continue to allow, Android to grow!

 

[WAldenIV]

The demand has far exceeded the expectations. The Android platform has grown faster than anyone expected. Screen supply issues prevented HTC from catching up with demand for the Incredible. The initial shipment of Droid X phones was quite high. The sales are simply too great to build inventory.

It's not a ploy by Verizon.

 

[davidnc]

Yeah I think vzw was a little more prepaired with the dx.I didn't have to wait as long for dx just 10 days compaired to a month for incredible

Sent using Tapatalk

 

[ottscay]

There are two major economic problems that constrain device availability. First, companies pay huge performance penalties for having stock on hand too long (especially at the end of quarters) so no one wants to order an impossible amount and then hope they'll sell in the next 6 months; they try to order enough to meet initial demand (i.e. first week) plus perhaps 10% (to cover them while they order more based on sales) and if the phone outperforms expectations then they are short for a while (and remember Android is looking at over 500% growth year over year, so it's easy to underestimate).

Second, the amount on hand is related to how many units can be produced each day, and that involves the size of your assembly plant. That's a large investment, and companies can't create manufacturing solutions that produce based on the first weeks supply...otherwise the assembly line would hardly be running in 6-8 months, and there would be a huge money sink (which means they'd end up having to charge more for the phone). Instead they try to build the assembly line around expected demand, with a bit of flexibility to ramp up or down (but that's a pretty finite amount of flexibility). To get the higher initial demand they try to get the line cranking out handsets for a couple of weeks ahead of time, so there are more on hand the first week then there will be any other week.

But of course things go wrong when you are opening up a manufacturing line (especially for a totally new product) and where you might have planned for 5 weeks of production, problems in test units, or simple hardware or design flaws in the assembly line itself can easily shave a week or two off that lead time, which could cut first day availability by 20-30%.

So there's a ton that can go wrong, and even if it all goes right a really successful phone will almost always exceed expectations (and honestly, even if you hit expectations perfectly...supply will still be tight at first, because a line can only be run for so many hours in a day to increase the number of units being produced).

It's not Verizon or anyone else trying to screw us, it's just the realities of todays rapid design and turnaround environment coupled with the economic constraints of bringing gigantic factory lines up to speed at a price everyone can afford.

 

[kroman1107]

I think vz has the hardware in stock they just make who they want to wait wait. For example i couldn't touch an incredible when i wanted to upgrade they were" scarce" so much that i just waited for my x glad i did btw. Anyway soon after my mom opens a new vz account and what do you know brand new incredible in her hand the next day. So wait loyal customer for years you wait. New customer who may cancel here's this phone so we can make an extra buck. Seems a little unfair.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

 

[ClaudiaP]

I read a news story today that said during the recession the chip makers scaled back and they are having a hard time getting back up to full production to keep up with the Android phone demand. I think they also waited to go to full production until they were sure the Android phones would really sell.

 

[quetzalcoatl]

I think vz has the hardware in stock they just make who they want to wait wait. For example i couldn't touch an incredible when i wanted to upgrade they were" scarce" so much that i just waited for my x glad i did btw. Anyway soon after my mom opens a new vz account and what do you know brand new incredible in her hand the next day. So wait loyal customer for years you wait. New customer who may cancel here's this phone so we can make an extra buck. Seems a little unfair.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

That is a know thing from every carrier. They have a small amount set aside for new customers. Which stinks for those that are with them but think about it from the business side for a minute. If you can take a customer away from your competion and lock them into a contract then you will. I could have had an EVO this way for both my wife and I. I was looking at phones and was not sure where I was going to go for service so I was talking with all the majors. When I was in the Sprint store they got an order and the EVO had come out that week. I asked if I made the switch if there was a way I could get an EVO they told me they had a waiting list but as a new customer I would go to the top. They checked the order they got and had 2 in it. They asked me if I wanted them before they called the customers on the list.

 

[skladek]

I think vz has the hardware in stock they just make who they want to wait wait. For example i couldn't touch an incredible when i wanted to upgrade they were" scarce" so much that i just waited for my x glad i did btw. Anyway soon after my mom opens a new vz account and what do you know brand new incredible in her hand the next day. So wait loyal customer for years you wait. New customer who may cancel here's this phone so we can make an extra buck. Seems a little unfair.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

Most of a carriers new phone sales come from upgrades, not new subscribers. Verizon clearly has some phones set aside for the new subscribers. This is just how it has to be. No one is going to switch carriers for a phone they won't get for 2 weeks, but people will extend a contract and wait 2 weeks. They have to move phones where they're needed to gain customers.

 

[hkklife]

I distinctly remember buying my Droid 1 the day after launch day with no problems whatsoever. The VZW sales rep said there had been some steady traffic that day looking for the phone but nothing major. Then I went out of town for a while and upon my return stopped in to buy the media dock or something. The strong reviews & word of mouth about the Droid had resulted in it being sold out in the subsequent days after its release. So it sort of started slow and got hotter and hotter. All of the D1's offfspring devices, Droid X included, have basically hit the ground running as a result.

Look at the horrendous state of VZW's smartphone lineup prior to Nov 6th of last year and you will see how desperate the VZW customer base was for a solid smartphone.

 

[kamo]

Most of a carriers new phone sales come from upgrades, not new subscribers. Verizon clearly has some phones set aside for the new subscribers. This is just how it has to be. No one is going to switch carriers for a phone they won't get for 2 weeks, but people will extend a contract and wait 2 weeks. They have to move phones where they're needed to gain customers.

For a variety of reasons, I did. I'm an ex-T-Mobile customer that was tired of the poor phone selection and worse coverage in my area and decided to finally select the DroidX for my initial Android plunge.

When I initially went in the store, they had a handful of DXs left in stock, so I ran home, grabbed the wife and ran back... only to find that they were gone. This was back on the 15th, and mine is "supposed" to ship on the 28th-30th. We'll see.

First post on the site, by the way. Seems like a good group.