12.12 is one of the biggest online sales of the year and two Apple resellers, Machines and Switch, have joined in with great discounts on last generation products. You could get an Apple Watch from RM700, an iPhone SE from as low as RM999 and the first generation 9.7″ iPad Pro with WiFi and Cellular for only RM1,599.
Since both have an online store and had experience handling iPhone pre-orders online, it is easy to assume that it would be hassle-free. Just add to cart, check out and wait for deliveries. With over thousands of ringgit in savings on offer, you can expect a mad rush from customers that are looking for a great deal. Unfortunately, it appears that both Apple resellers had failed to handle the virtual crowd.
Switch
At the stroke of midnight, many had rushed to Switch’s website and it appears that the sheer amount of traffic had brought the site to a grinding halt. Before it was suspended, many had reported serious issues with their e-commerce engine.
Some had alleged that they we’re logged in on a different profile and as a result, some were looking at other people’s shopping account and personal details. Obviously, many are worried if their order had went through or if they are paying for their actual orders and not for someone else. You can read the comments posted on their 12.12 sale announcement post.
Eventually, Switch was forced to suspend their sale in order to sort out their technical nightmare. The 12.12 sale was resumed later at 12PM on the same day. When the store went back online, many were dissatisfied that most of the hot items were sold out. Some had successfully completed their transactions but complained that their login credentials were invalid when they try to login on the online store.
Machines
Over at Machines, their online store seems to be more robust with most people being able to complete their purchase after checking out. Unfortunately, Machines had a bigger problem on their hands.
The hottest item on offer is definitely the iPad Pro. At RM1,599 for the 32GB version with WiFi and Cellular, it packs flagship specs with 4G LTE support at the price of a base model iPad. Even the larger iPad Pro 12.9 is going for less than RM2,000.
After completing their purchase at midnight, several users were contacted by Machines later in the afternoon that their purchase has been cancelled. They were informed that there was a glitch in the system and the item they had paid for was out of stock. This was despite most of them receiving confirmation that their transaction was successful.
Several readers had reached out to us on this issue and one had already purchased RM675 worth of accessories for the iPad Pro from another website in anticipation of his iPad Pro from Machines. The only solution from Machines was to cancel the order and to offer a full refund. There were no additional compensation from Machines for the error.
It is understandable if a website slows down due to excessive traffic. But, for a big Apple authorised reseller to mess up on inventory is a huge problem which affects customer trust. Since it took Machines more than 12 hours to inform affected customers, in a way, it denied them from enjoying alternative deals from other resellers.
Did you get any bad experience during 12.12 sales? Let us know in the comments below.
