ipodnn: general
08/02/2007, 5:55pm, EDT
Thursday, August 2nd
iPod shuffle sales stagnant in Taiwan
Sales of iPod Shuffles are finally hitting a wall in Taiwan, according to a report from DigiTimes. Competition has come in the form of cannibalizing gray-market iPod Shuffles built in Hong Kong and cheap MP3 players from non-traditional brands. Pricing is a major factor: Apple Taiwan charges about NT$3,000 (US$91) for the 1GB iPod Shuffle, but prices of gray-market models are about 10% lower and 1GB MP3 players offered by questionable brands sell for as low as NT$800. Though Apple does not break down individual model sales in its quarterly reports, overall the company moved 9.8 million iPod units in its fiscal third quarter, representing $1.570 billion in revenue -- a year-over-year unit increase of 20 percent, but a sequential decrease of 7 percent in unit shipments.
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According to [url=http://www.apple.com.tw/store/ipodshuffle.html]Apple Taiwan web site[/url], The price is NT$2,900, not $3,000. Also, the $2,900 price tag includes sales tax (In Taiwan, all advertised prices customarily include sales tax), which makes it similar to the price in the U.S. ($87.nn after tax vs. NYC's US$85.72).