iPhone stocks running low?

[Click on the image for a live map from the Blackfriars Web site]

Reader Dave Sheppard notes that iPhone stocks are running low here in Massachusetts, and a quick check of the Apple Store shows that 13 US stores are showing out of stock of iPhones today. We haven't seen that many stores out of stock since mid-July, and as you can see from the image above or the live map on our Web site, this is largely an east coast phenomenon. What could be causing this?

This note from GigaOM may help. Liz Gannes notes that shoppers are mobbing the New York 5th Avenue store after midnight, and some are buying up iPhones like there was no tomorrow. The reason: they're buying them to unlock and resell in Europe before they are officially launched in November. And given the strong Euro versus the dollar, these entrepreneurs/importers can buy them at $399, sell them unlocked at 499 euros or $705 in Europe (thereby undercutting the official prices), and pocket a tidy $300 per unit. Even paying a 20% VAT to import them (which I'm sure some don't bother doing), that can be a nice business.

The bottom line: The iPhone was already selling well when Steve Jobs cut the price by $200. Holiday shopping, European launches on the horizon, and entrepreneurs capitalizing on differences in currencies are throwing gasoline on that fire. Don't expect iPhone demand -- or demand for other Apple products -- to drop back to anything approaching normal until the beginning of next year.

Full disclosure: the author owns Apple stock.

Technorati Tags:
Apple, iPhone, iPhone availability, Consumer demand, Currency arbitrage, Liz Gannes