[slavrenz]

I just got off the phone with a rep from AT&T regarding a lost order fiasco with the wireless charging plate I was supposed to receive from AT&T. I thought it interesting, however, that he mentioned to me that they received an email from corporate this morning saying that Nokia is no longer allowing them to even order certain colors of the Lumia 920 because they're so far backordered.

How messed up is that? The rep made it sound like only certain colors were affected (he couldn't remember exactly which ones), but this has to be something of a worst-case scenario for Nokia. I suppose it would be worse if their phones just didn't sell, but to tell someone coming into the store that they can't even get on a wait list for a shiny new phone that you have on display seems to me to be the ultimate failure of marketing and production. I'd shudder to think as a Nokia executive how many potential customer they're missing out on because of this - again, not because those people are impatient (to an extent), but because they have no other choice!

Glad I snagged my Lumia before people realized how awesome they are

[philpeeps]

Better for Nokia than having more stock than they can move. They gambled with supply levels and took the better option as a struggling company. Having moderate inventory and selling out because people love the product is WAY better than having huge inventory and selling little of it because people don't want your product. This will be temporary and likely never happen again.

[Pete C]

How messed up is that? The rep made it sound like only certain colors were affected (he couldn't remember exactly which ones), but this has to be something of a worst-case scenario for Nokia. I suppose it would be worse if their phones just didn't sell, but to tell someone coming into the store that they can't even get on a wait list for a shiny new phone that you have on display seems to me to be the ultimate failure of marketing and production.

White and black would probably be the only phones on display anyway. Red was so rare I doubt they'd use it as a demo, and yellow and cyan were online only to begin with.

[slashd0t]

I'm sure this is a result of all of the major cuts in the last year.. I'm pretty sure Nokia doesn't have anywhere near the same production capabilities that it once had,

[gsquared]

Are you purposely distorting the subject of this posting? Your making it sound like they cannot order any 920's at all. With having so many colors they have no choice but to manage their inventory levels very closely. Every device they do not sell directly affects their bottom line.

****, if you think you can do a better job than the executives you are bad-mouthing then submit a resume...

[WPenvy]

White and black would probably be the only phones on display anyway. Red was so rare I doubt they'd use it as a demo, and yellow and cyan were online only to begin with.

Nah, my local store had a red 920 on display as demo

[Coreldan]

Makes me double sad that they discontinued the local factory this fall. I lost both a job and now I'm made to wait for my new phone for weeks for that sole reason.

Meh :P

EDIT: To further explain, the factory where Nokia's mobile phone business started back in the day is located a few hundred meters from my home. It was discontinued like a few months back, and this is probably the biggest reason for lack of supply at the moment. The factory here used to supply just about all flagships to Europe (which still is a bigger market than the USA). Now the factory in Beijing that used to supply Asia and USA also has to supply for Europe.

[bigkevbosky]

When I bought my white 920 (which was the only 920 left at the store I went to) the rep who helped me said they can't keep the 920 in stock, and they get frequently restocked. There is ACTUAL demand for the 920, not just bullsh*t hype, but actual demand. The rep told me she'd actually been selling more 920s than iPhone 5s in the past couple of weeks and people are coming into the AT&T store SPECIFICALLY to look at and use the 920 and 8X.

[aubreyq]

Prime time television in the US shows nothing but Lumia 920 commercials. This is somewhat of a nightmare especially at the beginning of the product's life cycle.

[mlm1950]

Are you purposely distorting the subject of this posting? Your making it sound like they cannot order any 920's at all. With having so many colors they have no choice but to manage their inventory levels very closely. Every device they do not sell directly affects their bottom line.

****, if you think you can do a better job than the executives you are bad-mouthing then submit a resume...

What is this in response to?

[aubreyq]

What is this in response to?

GSquares is saying that the OP put "AT&T no longer able to order Lumia 920s from Nokia" as the subject but in the post he writes only certain colors were affected. Big difference between the two.

[Tempest790]

I cannot even order the Cyan, Yellow, or Black on AT&T's Premier side of the website. :(

I have my black 920, but my wife is eligible for an upgrade, and I'm trying to order the cyan 920. I wouldn't even mind if a takes a few weeks to ship, but at least let me order the phone!

[mlm1950]

Are you purposely distorting the subject of this posting? Your making it sound like they cannot order any 920's at all. With having so many colors they have no choice but to manage their inventory levels very closely. Every device they do not sell directly affects their bottom line.

****, if you think you can do a better job than the executives you are bad-mouthing then submit a resume...

How are the executives at Nokia supposed to gauge how many phones of a particular color to manufacture, if they are not allowing AT&T to request from them manufactured phones? From what I have read, an overabundance of inventory is not something that Nokia has to worry about at this stage of the game.

[robertre]

My local stores have been out of stock on all of the 920's for a week or more, and today the black, white, and red show in stock at most of my local stores (the red having the lowest availability). So some phones are finally making it to my stores. My closest store showed limited stock late last night and in stock today, meaning they must have gotten more than one shipment recently.

[narv]

Yeah I am still waiting to get mine.. I know my local stores have been out of all the phones for the past week and a half.. I did go in to play with the 920s.. they had a black and white one on display in the windows section.. and oddly enough a red one on display in the android section..

I have been wanting a red one and im just waiting for the supply to come in!

[robertre]

Yeah I am still waiting to get mine.. I know my local stores have been out of all the phones for the past week and a half.. I did go in to play with the 920s.. they had a black and white one on display in the windows section.. and oddly enough a red one on display in the android section..

I have been wanting a red one and im just waiting for the supply to come in!

They can show up in a store any time during the day, so you may want to check online regularly to see if your store show stock. I did that when I had to pick up a replacement. They showed up in stock after they closed on a Saturday. The fact that my local store changed from limited stock to in stock between late last night to early this am means the stocking can change any time.

[Winning Guy]

I think this has more behind it than just being backordered. I bet that customers can't order some of these phones, but AT&T is still able to order.

Nokia has been receiving a lot of feedback regarding how poorly AT&T is handling the backorder process. This ends up reflecting badly on Nokia.

I wouldn't be surprised if Nokia said, "Get your backorder system together. Until then, don't promise people the phones. You can let them buy it when you have supply."

[sjhippie]

When I bought my white 920 (which was the only 920 left at the store I went to) the rep who helped me said they can't keep the 920 in stock, and they get frequently restocked. There is ACTUAL demand for the 920, not just bullsh*t hype, but actual demand. The rep told me she'd actually been selling more 920s than iPhone 5s in the past couple of weeks and people are coming into the AT&T store SPECIFICALLY to look at and use the 920 and 8X.

This is what I was told too by the sales rep at my local store. He said it was pretty crazy how many they were selling. I was one of many who had come in specifically to get a hands on with those two phones. I placed my order late Sat. and mine shipped this morning.

[iamtim]

Every time a new iPhone comes out, the same thing happens. Most of the time (especially during their exclusivity period) AT&T is blamed for it. If what's happened with Apple comes true in even a fraction of a percent with Nokia, I can't see how this is anything but a good thing for Nokia and Windows Phone.

[Nataku4ca]

people still believe what customer service says...? i'm willing to bet that guy probably decided to pull something out of the air just so that you don't call back and have the blame on Nokia instead...

[AZBrowncoat]

I thought it interesting, however, that he mentioned to me that they received an email from corporate this morning saying that Nokia is no longer allowing them to even order certain colors of the Lumia 920 because they're so far backordered.

Yellow and Cyan for sure...I returned my Yellow Lumia today due to a freezing issue and was in-store for quite a while while they tried to figure out how to order me a replacement in Yellow.

Eventually I was told that they were not even being allowed to order Yellow or Cyan.

Eventually ended up driving across town to get one of only two Red Lumia's in stock.

[willied]

Prime time television in the US shows nothing but Lumia 920 commercials. This is somewhat of a nightmare especially at the beginning of the product's life cycle.

How is this a nightmare? I thought exposure was a good thing?

[mlm1950]

How is this a nightmare? I thought exposure was a good thing?

Probably meant that it is a nightmare that people may not be able to get the phone after seeing an ad for it and having it strike their fancy and having to go out and get it right then, only to be told that the phone is backordered, thus causing the potential customer to get discouraged, causing him/her to buy an android or apple phone because they are at the point of needing instant gratification.

[razorguy]

people still believe what customer service says...? i'm willing to bet that guy probably decided to pull something out of the air just so that you don't call back and have the blame on Nokia instead...

I'd venture to say this is accurate. I was in the customer service business for years and lies like that come out of your mouth naturally when you get angry customers in front of you or on the phone just so they will shut up about something you have no control over. I don't see Nokia pulling something like this as a struggling company who obviously needs the sales.

[Tempest790]

I hope they start get either the cyan or yellow ordering again. I don't mind waiting, but there must be some reason why this launch was so chaotic.