Marc --
I stopped posting my Ingram totals, since there didn't seem much interest. But yes: they have been moving a LOT of the bundles, and a number of the Mac x2's and K56flex externals. The x2's generally sell out the same day they get a shipment. For example: this morning at 9am, they had 58 in stock of the x2 externals for mac. At 10:30 am it was down to 8, and by noon they were out of stock again. Meanwhile, the K56flex externals went from 875 to 858 by noon, and then up to 1205 by the end of the day, as it looks like they got a new shipment. The OS8 Bundles I have seen go through two cycles of inventory since I started posting these, and they K56flexs had been out of stock for a while...getting just 15-16 in at a time, and then quickly selling out. Then today, I noticed they got in 258. At the end of the day, they only sold about 5. The x2's opened the day with 855, sold about 20 by noon, and then got in a new shipment, sending the instock total to 1205. The K56flexs sold well over the past week -- at one point near x-mas they had 448...and a few days later where "out of stock." The cards are selling as well, but not as quickly. Inventories were over 1,000 each leading into x-mas, and now are around the 500-700 ranges. The windows cards selling the slowest on their site, but I think the Computer Shopper review should help some.
Interestingly enough, the x2 windows internal with the newscatcher bundle is still available at mixed prices -- $59 at CompUSA, insight shows it as "discontinued," and PCZONE and others are still showing the $119 price. GVIL's web site has it for $119 as well.
insight.com also carries inventory numbers real-time, but I have just started monitoring them so I don't have a "feel" for the trends.
I got my backorder on the GVIL x2 Win modem two days before x-mas. It had the ITU sticker, but nothing else on it. It was shrink wrapped with the Newscatcher box, so it came in this huge cardboard box from CompUSA. My brother ordered one a few days before xmas as well and already has his. So they are churning them out.
Check out Orgady's power page for the WallStreet specs. A definate K56flex modem on three of the models, with prices from $3,600 to $6,300 -- so there are "entry level" machines with the modems. If it is GVIL (and I think it will be; most of my sources are saying that...but they were the same ones on Kanga...), there are GREAT sales possibilities there. Check it out ogrady.com
Also -- did you see? GVIL has two booths at MacWorld, and by the booth numbers, they seem pretty far apart. Will they be showing something new??? or have they done this before? Interesting...
Anyway -- I think the return to buying at the end was very good today, and the move up was very nice given the tight band we were in. The high today was also encouraging. I have a feeling January is going to be a very good month. ANd I, too, will be shocked if sales do not go past $20 mil. This would double sales for the quarter YOY, as Q3 '96 was only $10 mil. Back then, admin and sales costs were about $14 mil for the quarter. Last quarter of this year, admin and sales costs were down to about $4 mil. Lost of room to make some money...
Cheers,
Richard |
