Apple Continues To “Stall” Apple TV Reseller Stock

If you have tried running down to your local Best Buy,Radio Shack, or other similar electronic stores in the past 3 weeks, you may have noticed that the Apple TV is no longer in stock. Apple has promised the resellers week after week that they’d replenish stock within one week, but obviously Apple has delayed that replenish numerous times. AppleInsider even wrote an interesting piece about the situation:

For three consecutive weeks, the Cupertino-based company has failed to make good on its promissory to restock indirect channel partners with fresh inventory of the existing $99 Apple TV product, say people familiar with matter. 

Instead, partners and channel members have seen Apple push back deliveries each consecutive week by one additional week — a practice that almost always foreshadows a formal discontinuation of a product ahead of new models.

At the beginning, the shortages only appeared to be with resellers, but now Apple retail stores are experiencing shortages. Many popular retail locations in California are out of stock, according to the online availability check.  Although, if you really wanted to pick yourself up an Apple TV, the online store has plenty of stock.

As stated above, shortages like this usually lead to a product refresh. We’ve seen shortages with Macbooks and even the first generation iPad weeks prior to a product refresh. So if you are interested in purchasing a new Apple TV, wait till March 8th, because they are likely to announce the Apple TV at the media event on March 7th. If Apple continues their product refresh pattern, the price will stand still at $99.

Make sure to come back for more coverage on all Apple Products. We will be sure to have a review out after the release.