As reported by Nikkei, ITmedia, and other sites, Apple Japan has halted online sales of its hardware via retailers like Yodobashi and Bic Camera. In Yodobashi’s case, as detailed on the company’s info page on the situation, customers can still shop and place orders online, but must go to a retail outlet to pick up the goods. Other retailers’ sites tell a similar story or else list all Apple products as “sold out.”
I’m not sure what this is supposed to accomplish, really. There’s still at least one online retailer that can deliver you an Apple gadget: Amazon.co.jp marks itself as an authorized reseller and offers the full hardware lineup. (The articles say that Jōshin still sells iPods for delivery, but a quick search makes me think that store is now restricted to accessories as well.)
Perhaps this was meant to strike a blow of some kind against discounters—while the prices at places like Yodobashi and Yamada Denki tend to be the same as Apple’s, you can at least earn points when shopping there to save the 5% consumption tax at the least—but since the brick-and-mortar outlets still sell the machines this hasn’t been stopped.
Apple offers no comment on the situation as of this posting.
None of this affects me much, since I always order my stuff direct from the mother ship (which is the only way to get a US keyboard installed at no extra cost). It’s odd, though, and may be worth keeping tabs on.
(Hat tip @_jm.)
