Zac, I'm sorry but this is pretty lame journalism - "compelling evidence that all is not well with the iphone" - sorry but have you read the recent user satisfaction surveys?

"So far iphone sales have fallen well short of expectations" - errm, where is your evidence for this? Whose expectations exactly?

"A lot of people are just unimpressed with the iphone" - and equally a lot of people clearly are impressed with it.

Have you read any of the analysts reports where they have actually done some investigative work to establish current levels of sales in Apple and A T & T stores?

Very unbalanced piece, like a lot of the articles recently appearing on this blog.

Ahem - I concur with the first comment. I am very surprised by some of the statements in this article; I follow technology news very closely and some of the elements you mention are very new to me. The fact that you do not provide any evidence to back them up - such as sales figures or number of returns - removes al credibility from your article. Can do better.

Apple has set their iPhone sales expectations and I think they're going to make it. Everybody else has set unrealistic numbers and of course people will be disappointed when Apple is not selling a million a week. Let's see during the next CC if Apple hit their iPhone numbers and then worry.

Zac wrote:

"It's possible that they were returned by speculators who were hoping to resell them on eBay but were disappointed when Apple had enough stock."

Speculators would not have opened the box. Unopened boxes do not equal refurbished.

Also, Apple is smart to sell refurbished phones for less. It is a very sly way to get the phone in the hands of those concerned about price without having to disrupt the normal channels.

Gotta agree with the others who commented. This was a very poor blog post.

apple hs allways had refurbished units available they are always in new condition and scratched or worn parts are replaced they are good deals and add to the bottom line. they are in an area of the website that you have to dig for and are not in the stores. any attempts to use this as a harbringer of doom for apple shows the writer of this blog to have an agenda and a "spin" worty of fox news i invite the author to sell her house and short apple with the money. the word putz comes to mind

I'll bet that Apple is at $150 by Xmas. Want to cover the action Zac? Say for $1,000?

Refurbished phones? Will this entry appear on the next corporate report? And, where do I get one?
Wait until you have something to write before you write.

Beltway Greg

This is without a doubt one of the worst examples of "journalism" I have read.
Writing like this leads me to believe that you did not graduate High School or that you are doing 'whatever it takes' to get blog hits.
Truth will get you farther.

WOW! Why don't you say what you feel without backing it up. You are either a prophet with insight you are unwilling to reveal or at the very least tuned to a wave-length of random conclusions.

Let's see if I've got this right... Using YOUR deductive reasoning... You can buy a refurbished HP, Compaq, Dell, Sony, (insert famous brand here), so this automatically means, "all is not well?"

This reads like one of those naysayer articles that seem to try and dip a stock so that a buying opportunity is created. Or perhaps you get "paid per click," so you deliberately publish nonsensical assessments that goad us into replying. Whatever your reasoning, you really should dig up some supporting evidence when you make claims.

Veronica

Bad form Zac, bad form...

Zac, you obviously don't know much about Apple or the subject you are writing on. First of all, Apple sells all of their products in this same manner. I am typing on a MacBook "factory refurbished" that was purchased when the MacBook was hotter than a firecracker. It has nothing to do with low sales or satisfaction. In fact, if you read the experts yesterday (i.e. Bloomberg), they said that the Iphone in fact is on track to exceed sales expectations. You might want to do a little more homework before your next blog.

Looks like someone slept in this morning and had to rush out a blog post.

Hope you weren't late to class!

GREAT STUFF.YOU REALLY HIT IT ON THE HEAD. WONDER WHY THE BRITS AND THE GERMANS AND OTHERS ARE STILL WILLING TO SIGN A CONTRACT WITH STEVE JOBS.DO YOU THINK THEY ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE LANGUAGE? OR PERHAPS NOT AS SMART AS YOU ARE. PERISH THE THOUGHT.
BILL

That post seriously reduced my confidence in this blog. Did you even think before posting it?

This article's writer just want the hit on his story - nothing new - I would do same thing - to get pays per hit!!!

Why do I think you should be looked at by the SEC as it seems you might have shorted Apple stock....

Hmm, is someone dropping some FUD to short the stock?

"That may be part of it, but it seems likely that a lot of people are just unimpressed with the expensive new phone."

Your statement runs counter to the user satisfaction surveys we've seen headlined recently that show iPhone customers to be thrilled with their new purchase. Yes, facts vs. your personal speculation. Hmm, which to believe?

This blog post is utter nonsense.

My iPhone is the best gizmo I've ever owned. That some buyers can save another $100 by scooping up a refurb'ed unit is gravy for them.

Oh, and "priced to perfection," eh? Let's talk again at $200/share.

So far iPhone sales have fallen well short of expectations

"Shares of Apple Inc. rose nearly 5 percent on Tuesday after an analyst for UBS Investment Research said checks indicate that the company will likely beat its stated sales goal of 730,000 iPhone units for the current quarter."

"Apple Inc. appears headed for yet another rosy fiscal fourth quarter, with sales of both Macs and its new iPhone handset tracking ahead of expectations, an American Technology Research analyst said Wednesday."

""Updated iMacs further affirm our outlook for stronger Mac/iPhone momentum [over the next two quarters], based on forecasts from RBC's Technology Adoption Panel, with 2.0 million Macs expected [during the current September quarter]," lead analyst Mike Abramsky told clients in a research note Wednesday."

wow, zac, trying really hard to make "jackass of the week" huh?

The other possibility is that they're segmenting the market thereby allowing them to charge both $499/$599 and $399/$499 for the same phone. This makes it possible them to maximize both unit sales and profits the same way other retailers offer coupons or software companies offer home/pro versions. It's quite common.

Yup. Another uninformed post. It's official Zac, you're an idiot!