iPod nano shortage sends users to eBay

The online bidding battle rages on amidst reports that Apple has told some of its partners and authorized resellers that it cannot guarantee that new or recently filed orders for the 4GB Nano will ship in time for Christmas. The company also raised lead times on its own online store up one to two weeks for the 4GB model. The 2GB iPod nano remains available for shipment in one to two business days, however.

Apple retail stores seem to be a better bet for consumers seeking the players before Christmas, as shipments of the thin devices arrive throughout the week in various locations. All but one of twelve Apple retail stores contacted on Tuesday afternoon said they had stock of both the black and white 2GB Nanos, according to a report from AppleInsider. Roughly 60 percent of the stores revealed inventory of the 4GB Nano in black, which was recently shown to be the hottest selling model. None of the stores contacted were able to find a white 4GB Nano, however.

Major online retailers Amazon.com, Best Buy, Circuit City, and CDW have been sold out of the players for weeks. Individual Apple Authorized Resellers, not designated as "Specialists," are in the same boat, with Apple's largest US-based channel distributor recently showing unprocessed orders of almost 200,000 iPods, including nearly 100,000 Nanos.

Apple had hoped to ship between 10 an 12 million iPod nanos this quarter, but recently lowered its internal forecast due to component supply issues. One problem reportedly involved a shortage of the Cypress chip used in the Nano and video iPod's Apple-designed clickwheel.

As a result, Apple has apparently made amends with its old clickwheel supplier Synaptics, requesting that the company act as a second clickwheel component supplier for Nano production beginning December 15th and into the future. While Synaptic would not confirm that it is producing parts for iPods again, Synaptic's recent ramp-up of orders to manufacturing facilities in Asia are "too large to be from any client other than Apple," according to the report.

Apple representatives have begun telling iPod resellers not to worry, that there will be plenty of iPod nanos to go around by January. Unfortunately for those resellers, the largest profits come before Christmas.

Analysts now expect Apple to sell between 9-11.4 million iPods during the three-month period ending December 31st, which also includes sales of video iPods and iPod shuffles.

Filed under: iPod