You bought it because the $600 was OK to shell out. Shut up. Everything will be cheaper tomorrow, but if you only sit and wait there will be no fun...

Is ABSOLUTEY right. I just bought my iPhone last weekend. there was no hint of such a drastic price drop, and Max is right: Apple needs to address this. And yeah, yeah, we all know, Appleisgreat, that prices drop as new models are introduced; and I'll even go as far as to say that technically, Apple did what it can do. What I'm saying is, Apple should do something nice for the early adopters. I mean, why even bother pricing it out so high, only to draw it back? Surely Apple must've known how that would impact those purchasing it early. Now, having said that: do any of you think that Apple will offer any sort of trade-in/up deal?

Ouch, Apple. Very ouch.

If you bought it within the last 14 days, just take your receipt to the Apple Store where you bought it, and they'll most likely refund the difference. They did that when I bought a last gen iMac a few weeks ago, and then came out with the new ones and dropped the price. In your case, you should be fine. I can't see where they wouldn't refund the difference (read the back of your receipt under price changes.)

Let's make sure everyone clearly understands what happened here. The original price of the iPhone ($600) reflected enormous hype and pent-up demand. The price was set to $600 (or $500, but apparently, few people bought the $500 model); it could have easily be set at $800 and they would have still sold out in first three days. This was a premium, deliberately set for a very special and unique group of consumers, called 'Early adopters', who are used to paying hefty premium in order to be first. Admittedly, there were about a million of them in this case, but the fact remains; this group is expected to pay substantial premium over a realistic price of the product.

HD-DVD and Blu-Ray are current examples of the same concept. These devices started at $1400 or so. Very quickly, they begun dropping in price. They're still premium products, but already shaved about half of that price. Same story years ago with DVD players, which started at $800 and can now be had for about $20.

It is very unfair to most of us who wanted but couldn't afford an iPhone, to complain now about this price cut after bragging about your precious devices for over two months while we watched from the other side of the window. Your $200 have bougt you more than TWO MONTHS of bragging rights over the resto of us. In my opinion, you got more than your money's worth.

vasic: Right on. The PS3 is another fine example. I'm sure the folks who shelled out $800 and waited in line for three days or more to have them first cringe when they walk by the stacks of them now selling for $500.

We don't even have them here in Europe! With price drops like these, they'll probably go for $10 when they hit our shores...

I smell Yet Another Class Action Lawsuit

Everyone knows they pay a premium for being early adopters (really insightful comments guys! Thanks!) and we enjoy that aspect. But this is too much. $200 (33%) off in a few short months? yes, it was expected but it does leave a bad taste in my mouth re: apple. It meant they were money grubbing on the originals if they can still make money on $399 price point. They should have made the original $100 less and this would have been more palatable.

I agree w/ sentiments that this is normal for early adopters and Apple owes them nothing. It's always happened and will still happen

But then again, this price cut is in part because not enough sales were being made, and this type of quick response will only further deteriorate people's desire to buy early on new, exciting products.

I know I sure won't bite again...and that's not what Apple wants, IMHO.

/

There is a return on investment that comes with numbers. I'm guessing Apple sold more of these quicker than expected and can now pass that savings on to consumers. If you didn't think the device was worth $599 when you bought it, you're an idiot for paying that. You pay what you think it's worth at the time and live with it. Those that buy at $399 will probably be crying when the price drops to $199 in 6 months. That's life. Enjoy your phone. It's a cool device.

Are we free market yet?

My old cell phone died 3 days before the iPhone was released (which I thought was perfect), but I could have bought another phone - thrown it out now and still saved money.

I bought the $499 model since the ipod feature of the iPhone interested me the least. Okay it was pretty quick but they will be moving a lot more of these with the new price. This will also give those "I"ll wait till the second revision" types something to think about. The iPod touch will bring more switchers than even the Iphone. What a fantastic gadget they have some so far in the past 5 years.

WTF... This thing isn't even 90 days old and it gets a $200 price drop? That's the last time I buy a new Apple product in the first 3 months of its release. Of course, next time they'll wait 4 months. Talk about a $200 slap in the face!

SUCKERS

Quit your bitching about the price drop

you were the one that chose to walk into the apple store you are the one that put the money on the counter no one had a gun to your head.

You deserve it. MORONS

....product that had a 33% price decrease after having been on sale for TWO MONTHS. Name one. I dare you. Come on. Just one product that, TWO MONTHS after it is released, had its price drop by 33%.

That's right - it's NEVER happened before. Even the PS3 was out for over a year before they dropped the price. And that drop wasn't by $200.

Sorry, as much as I love Apple, this is a real slap in the face.

Name one product that had this much hype in the history of all hyped products. Just one. I dare you. One single product that for six months had been hyped by everyone into stratosphere. People were ready to pay anything (some paid $1,000 for a spot in the line).

That's right - it NEVER happened before. Even PS3 was much less hyped than the iPhone. In the end, $600 seamed like a great deal, once buyers got the device, activated it and begun to use it.

Just enjoy your devices, folks! I'm sure they are still as good as they were yesterday, when the price was still $600.

Who cares if it was 33% or after two months? What does it matter to you? You paid $600 for an iPhone and you knew what you were getting for that $600 - and you are still getting it. If you didn't think it was worth $600, you shouldn't have bought it.

But to answer your question, I've seen several audio products drop in price by more than $200 - even after a couple of months. Also if you look at the cell phone industry lots of phones are $600 at first, and then drop by more than $200 after a couple of months. The Motorola RAZR was over $400 with contract when it came out and then it could be had for $200 with contract after just a couple of months.

Should Apple keep selling it at $600 just to keep you happy? How long should they keep it selling it at $600? Why do you feel Apple owes this to you?

If you (like me) bought an 8GB within the last 14 days, you can get the difference refunded to you by showing your original receipt. (Given that the 4GB model got discontinued, I don't know how that would play out.)

From http://www.apple.com/legal/sales_policies/retail_us.html

"Pricing

Should Apple reduce its price on any Apple-branded product within fourteen (14) calendar days of the date of purchase, you may request a refund of the difference between the price paid and the current selling price. An original purchase receipt is required, and you must request your refund within fourteen (14) calendar days of the price reduction."

Give me a break. Was the phone worth the $600 when you paid for it? If not, then why in the h*** did you buy it?

Apple didn't "cheat" anyone out of their money nor do they owe any of you any refunds. You should be glad you were able to afford the iPhone, while the rest of us had to sit by and wait for this price drop.

Freaken whiners!

There's a 2-week return policy, just take the receipt in and see if they'll refund the difference. Most manufacturers will.

Bought my iPhone June 29 and have been extremely pleased with. One of the best phones and high-tech toys I've ever bought. Soooooooooo, my son's 40th is Sep 6 (tomorrow) and wife and me bought an 8GB iPhone for son last Sunday just to be sure we had it ready for him. Well, today I see we can trim that $599 down some $200 + tax as we're within the 14 day grace period that Apple provides on their pricing. Maybe I use the savings to get the iPod Touch or whatever.

I certainly do not feel cheated by Apple even though June 29 is but 68 days ago.

My guess is that GPS iPhone models will surface within 12 months and sell initially for $499-$599.

Hey, Whiners. Apple does address this. It has a return policy in which you can return an item you bought from Apple within 14 days. There is a restocking fee if the item is opened, which of course, is common practice.

So when you buy an Apple product, you should know everything after 14 days is fair game. Moreover, people who pay attention to Apple regularly know they introduce products at certain times.

...what i paid, and felt good about the purchase. so what has changed for me? nothing.

stop whining, you babies. either the phone was worth what you paid for it, in your original assessment, or it wasn't. it doesn't matter what other people paid. us early adopters got ours months ago, when it was at its shiniest. simple as that.

get over it.

there was no hint of such a drastic price drop

hey what the h***, you read macnn and expect us to believe that? Everyone knew that new iPods were coming and it didn't take no Einstein or SJobs to figure out they would have some elements of the iPhone UI on them, which would immediately take away some of the premium that Apple could charge for the iPhone.

Now Sherlock, if you didn;t figure that out for yourself, then crawl back in your hole and stop parading your ignorance

I expected Apple to raise the price. Reward all of those who bought early and s**** everyone who waited to see just how cool it would be.

I'm getting my lawsuit on!

Sales of iPhone are clearly not going as expected.

...apple's stock (and the market) goes all over the place almost every day, but mostly up for last several years. much to the benefit of its shareholders.

do you even follow the market, and understand how volatile it is right now? not to mention the historic drop in AAPL after nearly every one of these events, because nothing they announce can ever justify the pre-hype?

in the brilliant words of "chucker": stop parading your ignorance.

I stood in line 4 hours on 6/29 in oppressive heat, then rain, then activation problems, then a dead power adaptor. All A-O-K since... I could have played the waiting game but did not. It was a really fun afternoon, all in all. *Still, it's a bit "douchey" to drop the price in just over 2 months. Hey Steve, how about a $50 ITS credit? - Ha.

Just noted that the 4GB is now available from the clearance section of the Apple Store for $299.

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/6084001/w***/1h59227HIj7U3MA7OwHhU7wVWRx/4.0.0.28.7.5.7.1.3.1.1

Apple sold the iPhone at a price that 99.9% thought was overpriced. The number of people who bought the same notwithstanding the overprice showed that they had a product that people would buy REGARDLESS of the price.

By selling it at a price that (based on surveys) more people will be willing to buy, Apple had been sensitive to public opinion. More importantly, with the iPhone's price now within easier reach, one can now expect a deluge of orders for it.

Brilliant. Thank you, Steve Jobs. Thank you, Apple.

with your whine?

shut up all you whiners. Who cares if Apple dropped the price. You still got exactly what you payed for.

If you thought it was too expensive at first, you shouldn't have bought it.

now go but a new Nano...

Gee, if I had known Apple stock was going to go up, I could have bought a lot of it. This is a huge slap in the face for me. How dare they be successful and have the stock go up? I'll never buy another share of their stock!

Whiners!

Sad in two ways. One is being forced to drop the 4GB within 90 days, second is being forced to slash the price of the 8gb and for that matter trying to get rid of all those 4gb iphones selling in the basement. Sad again that the touch ipod has only 16gb tops of storage, not much video and music to store. Showing to the world that the iPhone is not selling as well as Apple claimed.

However the iPhone is cool, just slow and clearly that's impeding sales. The Euro iphone is slated to have a version of g3.

Apple ripping off its American customers again?

Sillies Making room to the super iphone with all the features you guys say were left out.

...is the introduction of the iPod Touch. The iPod Touch will sell ridiculously well, and the volume of sales will make the multi-touch (and other technology it shares with the iPhone) cheaper to implement. Thus, Apple won't have to wait for the iPhone alone to reach that same critical mass before reducing the price. This is a good thing, so why all the whining?

And to whoever keeps saying that the iPhone isn't selling well; look around. Numbers that were just released indicate that the iPhone is the best selling smart phone on the market since it's release, and that Apple is likely to exceed their projected sales goals.

...if you bought it within the past 2 weeks, Apple will essentially credit the price difference to you, as part of their price protection program.

The same applies to the refurbished iPhones, which dropped as well today ($349), and the difference in prices will also be refunded.

The 4gb iPhones are now gone from that price list. Not quite sure what they will be doing about those, in case you purchased them within that time period.

Ditto with AT&T stores, albeit until about an hour ago, several of them insisted on no price protection, and would have charged a restocking fee. You need to talk to a manager (all managers were briefed this morning), and you will get the full price difference refunded from the store you bought your phone from.

The price drop seems to me a method to encourage those of us who are Apple fans but not yet iPhone users to consider applying the difference (in price) to terminate early our current provider contracts!

I purchased the iPhone a month ago, and they said they could give me back the difference of price, minus a restocking fee.

I'm fine with that! That's $161.00 back — all you do is "exchange" an 8 gig phone for your own phone.

Yeah, well I felt robbed when a month after I bought a G3 iBook they came out with a G4 iBook with Airport extreme, a slot load DVD drive AND dropped the price by $200 or $300 bucks!

[This will also give those "I"ll wait till the second revision" types something to think about. ]

That's where I'm at-- features first, bling second: GPS, unlockability, upgradeability (firmware, RAM swap, etc).

I do think early adopters ought to be given some sort of sales perk they can leverage in the future, and it ought to be part of the retail program. I mean, Day 15 after a purchase, you suddenly notice the chunk of gas money you could have saved. You are out in the cold.

I'll take the bad news first:

I paid $200 to have already had an iPhone for two months.

The good news:

I've already had an iPhone for two months.

You know, I was just starting to get stoked on Apple. I bought my phone less than a month ago. Taking the two week price reduction into account, I paid a $200 premium for less than two weeks. BTW, Apple absolutely will not take it back, even with a restocking fee, if its past 14 days. I know Apple doesn't owe us anything, but it is a HUGE slap in the face. Guess I wont be gettin that new Mac; I'd rather stay with crappy Microsoft cause at least I don't feel cheated with them. With them I KNOW I'm buying inferior products for the price I pay. Ooops Apple, I'm sure I'm not the only one that was almost won over.

Okay, so I was in line on iDay. Ticket #46 guaranteed me an 8Gb model. $599 + tax later I'm a happy, happy iPhone owner. Bragging rights firmly installed. Then nothing. No major update. No decent application addition or new functionality. Not even enough bug fixes to cure the Safari continuous crash problems I have. But I kept it to myself, and kept showing it off as if it were the best thing ever. Talking up Apple in the process. Then the square kick in the nads today. Youch. Apple: fix the phone. Add stuff to it to make it at least some value (other than fluffy touch stuff) versus a new Blackberry. And open the damn device up so others can do what you so clearly don't want to. I bought an iPhone when my company forces the Blackberry. I endured no end of IT abuse to even let me join the work wifi network. It was worth it, I was convinced. The honeymoon's over Apple. Welcome back my work-tool Blackberry (the phone for grown ups). Apple - you've made a lot of people feel pretty dumb today. Me included.

I never thought I'd see the day when I hated Apple. :(

Moz

www.iphonecon.com

could have bought the iPhone last week...

I have changed my stance on apple from very positive to very negative, all in one day.

Early adopter customers suffer, and apple will too in time. This could be my last apple product I purchase, including computers. What's next, my new iMac 24 released less than 30 days ago getting slashed 40%? At this point I think anything like this is possible.

Apple, please give us early adopters a rebate!!!!!

...And stop deleting our posts!!! The people need to be heard!!!!

Okay, so I was in line on iDay. Ticket #46 guaranteed me an 8Gb model. $599 + tax later I'm a happy, happy iPhone owner. Bragging rights firmly installed.

And that's why you paid $200 more.

Then nothing. No major update. No decent application addition or new functionality. Not even enough bug fixes to cure the Safari continuous crash problems I have. But I kept it to myself, and kept showing it off as if it were the best thing ever.

And exactly WHY were you expecting any of that? I don't recall Apple saying "And we'll be adding more apps in the next 6 weeks!", nor a "and get it now, and you'll be even more impressed when that major update comes out in 2 months!"

In case you didn't hear, Apple took people off of Leopard to get the iPhone OS done. What makes you think they can then, after doing that, come out with some magical major update in a month?

And maybe you've not used Mac products, like their computers or OS. But Apple is NOT known for fixing all those small irritating problems people have.

Youch. Apple: fix the phone. Add stuff to it to make it at least some value (other than fluffy touch stuff) versus a new Blackberry.

What, its been out for just 2 months, and now you're already claiming its gone from 'greatest device ever' to needing added value to just compare to blackberry?

And open the damn device up so others can do what you so clearly don't want to. I bought an iPhone when my company forces the Blackberry. I endured no end of IT abuse to even let me join the work wifi network. It was worth it, I was convinced.

YOU bought the iPhone, not the company. And you bought it despite the fact that (a) it can't be used with a corporate plan, and (b) you were already told that your IT dept didn't want it. But YOU knew you were right. So, basically, you're blaming Apple for your poor decision making process.

The honeymoon's over Apple. Welcome back my work-tool Blackberry (the phone for grown ups). Apple - you've made a lot of people feel pretty dumb today. Me included.

So what are you doing with your iPhone? Just tossing it? You buy an iPhone without knowing anything about it, under some stupid-a** assumption that it was going to be great, and what wasn't great would quickly be changed (and since when has Apple done that?), and now, all of a sudden, this great device is c*** compared to your blackberry?

Man, and people say I'm a troll. You're either a troll or a complete fool (OK, you could be both).

...of the Simpsons where Moe uses Homer's drink recepie and becomes a big hit, and homer tries to scream "YOU LOST YOURSELF A CUSTOMER" over all the people practically throwing money at Moe?

Yeah, that's the scenario with a lot of people stomping feet that prices drop on hot electronics.

Listen, it's simple: Apple offered two versions of the iPhone. A less expensive one, and a more expensive one. The more expensive one was vastly more popular. Now they cut out the low one, and thus decreased their overhead, and they lowered the price further to get it in more hands for more subscription fees.

In the end, it's for money. You can't blame 'em for wanting to make money. We're going into the holiday season. This is the biggest time of year for consumer Electronics companies and Apple should have a killer line up, and iPhone is the gem.

Apple's going to make a ton of money off of this. I feel bad for the people who got burned, my brother was one of 'em. But you know what he says? "I paid to be an early adapter. I had a gorgeous phone for 2 months more then many people would. It stings, but it'll go away."

I think he's got the best attitude you can have. If Apple offends you that much by moving on, (rather then, say, Palm which has kept the T|X at practically the same price point for years, despite still only have 128 lousy megs of memory, and an awful browser) then move on to someone else to be screwed by.

I'm old enough to remember what high end calculators, like an HP-45, cost in the 70s, and those were 70s dollars. Adjusted for inflation, you're well into iMac territory, at least.

As an early adopter, I am not "delighted" with the price drop, but I'm not altogether surprised, and I am still ultimately pleased with my purchase.

BTW, howdy, Testudo. Was waiting for you to chime in. As trolls go, you have certainly been a shining voice of reason of late :-)

Let's assume that Apple could profitably sell this phone, from Day 1, for the lower price. We know they're not into "dumping," a la Zune.

Can you imagine the inventory issues, and shipping delays, from the demand? The negative press, from being "unable" to deliver the product, would have been daunting. There has been enough of that already (witness the early stories about the activation issues.)

I can actually see how a higher earlier price could be used as a governor on demand, to ensure a successful launch.

Also, as a simple matter of the free market, if you're selling a product for $599 as fast as you can make them, why should you be expected not to do so? It's not like we're talking about "necessities" like food, or something.

We know they're not into "dumping," a la Zune.

What?!, they lowered the price of the Zune, the B******s. that's it I'm never gonna buy another M$ product ever again, and I sure as h*** as throwing all my Apple stuff away too.

I guess that leaves me patiently waiting for the Google Phone )-:

I "was" a Apple early adopter until this news. I have always bought the newest gadget from Apple. Yes they always lower prices and yes it's the price you pay... but a $200 drop in two months! That's plain crazy. Way to disappoint your future customers... you just killed your early adopters and any future ones at that... now people will be more hesitant to buy the latest and greatest... knowing the price could drop 33% in two months!

$200 off - wow - I do feel a bit for the phat wallet fan boys that made the iPhone launch a big one for Apple but now, after 2 months of bragging by some of these folks I'm not ashamed to say na na, na na, na I told you so :-)

Yet this IS a very steep drop so very quickly in a VERY watched product. Apple has obviously created some bad blood in a group that has always been dependable in helping hype their new stuff. I bet many of those who feel "suckered" by this will not forget this in the future... and that's not so good for Apple in the long run.

...was worth it to you when you bought it, or it wasn't. Simple as that. Why should I care that someone else benefits from a better price now, 2 months after I've been enjoying my purchase with no regrets (unless you count AT&T as a regret ;-)

If you bought it recently, you are protected under Apple's return policy. If future price drops were a huge concern to you, you should have purchased it with a CC that has a pricing pricing protection program.

People who buy leading technology (is, plasmas, computers, cutting edge phones, etc) should be informed and prepared for this.

As I've posted above (as someone who has also paid what some have called the "stupid tax"), it is hard to make an argument for predatory pricing in what is purely a discretionary purchase. Apple had a product that was being snapped up at $599. More power to them.

And as I posted earlier, I still think that the price could have been set high at first, in an effort to set a demand that would not swamp production and distribution. That could have been a PR nightmare. I am sure that much market research went into setting the price.

Still, I agree that it may give pause to future early adopters.

...who felt compelled to email me and bomb a company comment form: way to go with the bogus dotMac reply-to address. shows some remarkable courage on your part. or you typo'd your address multiple times.

either way, you'll go far.

$100 back! I'm one happy 8gb iPhone owner! Thank you Steve Jobs ;)

http://www.apple.com/hotnews/openiphoneletter/

Now read it and stop complaining!

J.Riv

An "Open Letter" to Steve Jobs:

Dear Steve, As an apple stockholder, and a long time user of apple products for many years, I am very disappointed by some recent actions taken by Apple. 

On June 29th, less than three months ago, I purchased an iPhone. I paid $499 for the 4GB model. Just yesterday, I discovered that now, not even 90 days later, Apple has decided to discontinue the 4 GB model, lower the price to $299 for the remaining stock, and lower the price of the 8 GB model to $399, less than I paid for a 4 GB model.  I feel wronged and misled by Apple. Such a quick price reduction indicates that Apple pre-meditated this reduction before the initial release. Many of the customers who purchased the iPhone on it’s release weekend were long time, loyal, Apple customers. I know that I am not the only customer who feels angry about this issue.

The loyal Apple customers who purchased the iPhone at its initial release, waited in lines for hours and paid a premium price, feel taken advantage of. I feel that I should be reimbursed for the $200 more that I paid for my iPhone, or be given a free upgrade to an 8 GB model.  

I read your public response on apple.com to this issue, but I still feel that the solution you are offering is not adequate. As I mentioned, I would like to receive a free replacement or some kind of upgrade to the 8 GB model. I work in the technology field, and I am very aware that new products are release very quickly, but I also feel that Apple has not done anything like this in the past, and that this marketing strategy was, as I said before, planned from the beginning. I expect, and would greatly appreciate, a response to this letter.

Thanks, Jake Kushner President, JK Media

iphonecomments@jkmedia.net

...that this marketing strategy....implicitly, reaming the early adopters, was "planned from the beginning?" I think that's an extreme assumption.

Having said that, I am pleased with Steve's response, both as a customer and a stockholder. As the former, I am grateful for getting something that I do not vehemently believe I am owed. As the latter, I am happy that Steve is offering $100 of retail value that I know, with my background in retail, does not cost the company $100 to deliver.

Also, if you're a stockholder, you may realize that the stock performance has made at least some of your Apple purchases effectively "free."

This is bulls***!!!They phone just barley came out, not even been out for 90 days less then 3 months and it is not fair to those of us that bought the phone. Im cancelling my contract Teen Mobile was always way better then g** Cingular or now AT&T!!! Yall suck Thanks for losing me and many others as a customer!!!