yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] BarryH_GEG:
They don't sell tablets in all their stores, only bigger stores in major cities. The nearest GameStop tablet store to me is four hours away in Seattle. If they have 1K stores selling tablets and each gets 10 that's only an inventory of 10K. If BB and Amazon get the same quantity that would explain what appears to be shortages as either could blow through 10K in just pre-orders in days.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] skeptikal:
Adorama did the same to my account as well. It only lasted a day or two for me.

As for Gamestop only stocking tablets in "major cities" I live in a town of about 100,000 people and there are 3 Gamestop stores. Of those one has a demo and sells tablets. No one has preordered a Prime here yet. I may go ahead and get on the list here and drop my Adorama order.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Balthazar B:
I live in Phoenix, the 4th or 5th largest city in the US, and there are no Gamestop stores here at all that sell tablets. Go figure.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] cotr:
I don't like gamestop. They sell your info and rip off on game trade ins. I trade in to Amazon.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] adiliyo:
there is a gamestop that is about 4 miles from my house that showed it as being in stock before they removed that check from the website...i just don't know if i want the gold or grey/purple tablet.

DECISIONS! ;)
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] bendispo:
Since my preorder at Amazon was canceled, I just went ahead and did a preorder at the local Gamestop.

I know there's been quite a bit of speculation as to why Amazon canceled the preorders on the Gray 32GB version only... and why they've blamed Asus for telling them that it was no longer available... but just to add a little more fuel to the fire.

The Gamestop employee I spoke to told me that their Transformer Prime was going to come exclusively preloaded with 7 games. I don't know how much credence to put into the employee's statement, but if this is true, perhaps things make a lot more sense now. For example, I've been extremely surprised that Gamestop has even received such a major allotment, since they're primarily a gaming store. However, considering that so much is being made about the Tegra 3's quad core gaming capabilities... and its exclusive games... I'm conjecturing that Gamespot and Asus may have reached an agreement in order to push the device into a larger target market. I find it interesting that Gamestop is only selling the 32GB Gray version, while that's exactly the model that got pulled from Amazon. Perhaps a large part of Asus's marketing strategy is to promote the gaming potential of the device, and they just recently decided to send as many models as possible of the 32GB directly to Gamestop.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] wynand32:
If true, that's a bummer. I don't buy from outlets with no return policy.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] hauj0bb:
Yeah, I called two Gamestop locations in Raleigh, NC today and both employees I spoke to had no idea what I was talking about.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] BarryH_GEG:
The initial frenzy of people wanting to be first to get it will abate soon enough. By Q1 there will be three additional quad-core tablets with more RAM, higher-res displays, and ICS pre-installed. Asus would be literaly insane to screw Amazon and BB, the two largest electronics resellers in the U.S., in deference to GameStop. Come March, Asus will need Amazon and BB much more then they'll need Asus. There's what, 500 people on this forum who are all early adopters? That certainly doesn't pay the bills. I was just at Costco and saw about a half-dozen G-Tab's in people's carts. The average consumer is brand-name driven and not nearly as tech-savvy as people on this forum. Unfortunately, they are the one's that pay the bills and they don't shop at GameStop.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Smyc151:
Curses! Raleigh was my bet too! Did you try Fayetteville or Greenville?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] surkins:
Did anyone's keyboard dock get canceled?

My grey model was cancelled, but I still have my grey dock. Wondering what's going on lol . At least I'll have a shiny new keyboard to play with while waiting for the tablet LMAO:p
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] adiliyo:
I ended up ordering one at my local gamestop, they said I can pick it up on the 20th, but I hope I can get it on the 19th... :)
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] HelenOster:
The $50 is only a cc authorization fee; a temporary hold is put on a card to check that it's functioning but it drops off after a couple of days; Adorama never charges until an order actually ships.

If you'd like me to check your order status - or you need help with any other order from Adorama now or in the future, you are most welcome to email me directly: Helen@adorama.com

Helen Oster

Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] skeeter123:
sent email and thanks!

Email sent.

Thanks very much, Helen!

...sk
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Bimboy:
MAJOR Kudos to Helen and Adorama. Amazon could learn a bunch of customer service tricks from you guys. You'll be getting more business from me. :)
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] bdneuman:
Just preordered from Adorama myself...
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] GizDrak:
So Amazon canceled my order so I ordered a Kindle Fire! Because they gave me $30 for them canceling my order and I also got the $40 for signing up for there credit card not to long a go. I got the Kindle Fire for $129 so they are lossing even more on that sale! I plan to root the fire and remove all there services.

Oh no worries I am still getting a Prime the Kindle Fire is for my wife!
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] ModestMuse23:
The conspiracy has come true!! :eek:
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] rsjyns:
I called Adorama this morning to see when possibly the Grey 32G may be shipping. I was told Jan 1 :/ I'll hold my preorder there for the time being but I'm still on the hunt...
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] wynand32:
I'm really beginning to believe that my choice of a Champagne Prime was a good one...
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] neonjcv:
Same here, I was having some doubts after watching a couple of reviews, but after the cancellations I felt a little relieved. Now I check my Amazon order about every 6hr or so to make sure it is still there ;)

I'm still worried because Amazon was removed from the official preorder links from Asus, and there is no "official" statement about what happened from either side, and nobody knows if they will still honor the rest of the preorders, but I guess we'll see what happens in a few days.

My Nov 22nd Amazon order still shows Delivery Estimate: January 9, 2012
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Pouhiou:
Is there an official list of sites with pre-orders ? Is it international ? Do you have a link ?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] neonjcv:
This is the list I was talking about: http://promos.asus.com/US/EeePadTransformerPrime/WTB.html

Unfortunately is for US and Canada only.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] adiliyo:
i also commend your customer service skills, while i ended up ordering my tablet from gamestop in the end, my experience with adorama has been nothing but pleseant, and i'll probably end up getting the keyboard dock from them when i decide to buy it.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] bendispo:
Just checked in with Tiger Direct about my preorder. Agent told me that they're expecting their first shipment on December 22.

If true, it looks like this whole preorder thing... and Asus's supply is turning into a huge fiasco. Forget the promised early December release, but it very well looks like these things are going to be almost impossible to pick up for the holiday season.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Pouhiou:
Thanks anyway.

It's a hell to have any kind of official information about european release. We have to trust what store write on their websites (and some might be bluffing to get the pre orders...)
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] RoC1909:
I just pre-ordered mine through Adorama. They state that they should be shipping out on or about the 15th of December. Hopefully, when I pre-ordered this morning, it won't become another Amazon fiasco where ASUS cannot get Adorama the amount that they need.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] wynand32:
Adorama seems on top of things. I'm hopeful I'll get my pre-ordered Champagne unit by the 17th via 2nd day air (which would mean it actually goes out the door on the 14th, since the 17th is a Saturday).

Yes, I'm an optimist.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] hauj0bb:
Do you guys suggest preordering at Adorama over Bestbuy or any other dealer? I'm leaving the country on the 24th, so timing is a bit critical for me.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] surkins:
How about J&R?

Anyone ordering or already ordered from J&R?
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] fraeone:
I already ordered from J&R, but I've gotta say I'm not feeling confident that they'll come through in a reasonable time frame.

Not sure Adorama is any better though honestly, they're both NY-centric retailers, probably planning on getting their TPrimes from the same distributor.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] smashingblue:
I ordered a tablet and dock from jr.com, after being rejected at Gamestop.

So I have a set preordered at jr.com and bestbuy.com.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] g4sho:
Food for thought, isn't this like dejavu? Isn't this the same way the original TF101 was launched, delays and shortages? Did this eventually lead to greater sales of this device by Asus? And just reading thru the threads, it seems like the more expensive $599.00 tablet pre-orders are not getting cancelled. So it may be a profitable business decision to have alot of 64gig models available first, to get those sold and then introduce more 32bit ones in the pipeline. Shrewd, but shady to say the least. Just a thought. And if history repeats itself, Asus was forgiven the last time as shown by the eagerness of us all, to give them our money. By the way, I bought my TF-101 4 weeks ago.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] RoC1909:
That's a good point and is typical behavior. Look at how so many companies these days screw the consumer, and how many of those same consumers ask for a "big, fat second helping." The only things I have bought that were Asus were motherboards, and that was years ago. But the more I read about this, the more it seems that Asus dropped the ball.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] wynand32:
ASUS placed the orders for these things months ago. It's not like they called up the factory last week and asked for X units of each model. And, they'd be idiots to assume that any significant number of people would be willing the spend an extra $100 (which is an extra 20%) on the tablet just to get it a month earlier. In fact, other than us crazies here on XDA, there probably aren't that many other people in such a hurry to get it.

More likely, and bothersome, is that they might have run into some kind of hardware issue in the units that have actually been manufactured, and so supply is more limited than they expected. Who knows, they might be opening and testing each and every unit to see which ones have the error (maybe the wifi problem noted in some of the reviews?), and so they might have notified the retailers that stock will be severely limited.

We might have no word from ASUS, and hence the vendors, yet because they simply might not know the impact. I think it HAS to be something like this, because surely they didn't just underestimate demand AGAIN, like they did with the TF101. And even with the TF101 there were rumors that supply issues limited supply then as well.

I think we're in for a rough ride, and may not know when we're going to get one of these things until it shows up at our doorsteps. It all goes to show how freaking brilliant Apple is with their tactic of simply not announcing an actual shipping date until they have enough inventory actually on-hand to fulfill orders.

---------- Post added at 03:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:19 PM ----------

You know, as a businessperson, I really hate this "companies are out to screw the consumer" bit. It's patently absurd. Sure, there are dishonest companies, just like there are dishonest consumers (how many instances of insurance fraud have we read about on this forum alone?).

However, the vast majority of businesspeople, and hence companies, understand that we're in competition with other companies and so our best bet is to provide the best products and services that we can. And since I'm carrying around a freaking supercomputer from a few years ago in my freaking POCKET right now (Galaxy S II), and given that this thread is about the availability of a device with a brilliant 10.1" screen and a quad-core freaking processor, I hardly think it's fair to say that a company like ASUS is deliberately "screwing the consumer." I think it's more like they're delivering incredible products to us that a few years ago we probably couldn't have imagined.

I'm guessing that, yes, ASUS screwed something up, but I'm more than sure it wasn't on purpose. I'm sure they'd MUCH rather have shipped hundreds of thousands of units and put a Prime in the hands of every single person who wants one. Delighting us as customers would make them much more money in both the short and long run than any kind of games they might play.

Seriously, ASUS has been great in supporting the Transformer. Why not give them a little benefit of the doubt here? Doesn't cost us anything...
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] curreyr:
X2 ...

I'm going with this ... as sad as I am not to have one in my hands this very instant, it would also suk to have one I have to RMA.

IDK if I think Apple is "brilliant" (they also have sanfu'd many times) ... ASUS tho does need a big ol' slap-stick upside the head!
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] RoC1909:
I can understand your point, and I really didn't mean for my comment to sound like Asus, in this particular instance, was "screwing anyone." I was pretty much making a statement about companies in general.

In this instance and in my opinion, someone at Asus had a SERIOUS brain fart with the concept of "supply and demand," and Amazon had a SERIOUS brain fart with customer service by cancelling people's orders without first informing the customer of their options.

With me, I am just recently jumping on the "Transformer" bandwagon and just placed my order today. If I am lucky enough to receive one before Christmas....that would be great. If I don't get one by then, it's not that big of a deal either.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] g4sho:
You make some good points, and I have been buying Asus products, motherboards, computer components, for aloooong time. So it's not like I am out to bash the company are anything. In fact I really like my TF-101, and I bought it, because to me, it is the best value in tablets available and unique. And I could have bought any tablet I wanted, including the Ipad. And I own several Apple products, and generally like them. I also like my Galaxy S phone. But I have been around awhile, and the thing is why would a company announce something that has not be vetted yet, in other words thoroughly tested? Asus, according to all tech sites, themselves gave the December 19th date, as being in stores. They did the demo at a tech show on Oct.15, so would it take almost 2 months after they had been showing this off, to find a major showstopper to prevent this from being on time? They first said they would delay it till ICS was available. They then said no they would ship it with android honeycomb,and update later. Like I said, I will be watching to see if the 64gig is more readily available than the 32gig, because as far as I can tell there should be no difference in them except size of memory. Yes, only we xda transformer geeks would pay the premium to get the tablet early, but the truth is, we geek types are who this tablet is marketed to in the first place. Not the ipad crowd. So they decided to make one, so there must be a lot of our type around. (lol) So don't underestimate our numbers.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] wynand32:
This is all just speculation, of course, but while we're speculating: it could be that having two reviewers get units with bad wifi connections pointed out a manufacturing defect that hadn't yet shown itself. It's not terribly uncommon for a manufacturing defect to reveal itself only when a device actually gets into other peoples' hands.

It could also be that there's some other supply snafu going on. Who knows.

---------- Post added at 04:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:59 PM ----------

I don't know if I agree that Amazon did anything wrong here. If ASUS did inform them that they wouldn't be getting significant stock, say because of some kind of defect that has to be fixed before ASUS can ship in quantity, then Amazon is probably doing the right thing. The other vendors who are holding onto pre-orders without letting people know the date is slipping (into January?) are probably not doing the right thing.

And really, if the shipment of stock that was to go to this round of pre-orders isn't actually happening, then doesn't it make more sense to reset the whole thing and do another round of pre-orders (or none at all) for when ASUS comes back with better information? Maybe not, but at least Amazon has let everyone know in no uncertain terms that they're not getting a Prime anytime soon.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] g4sho:
[/QUOTE]

I don't know if I agree that Amazon did anything wrong here. If ASUS did inform them that they wouldn't be getting significant stock, say because of some kind of defect that has to be fixed before ASUS can ship in quantity, then Amazon is probably doing the right thing. The other vendors who are holding onto pre-orders without letting people know the date is slipping (into January?) are probably not doing the right thing.

Maybe not, but at least Amazon has let everyone know in no uncertain terms that they're not getting a Prime anytime soon.[/QUOTE]

I would tend to agree, my experience with Amazon over the last 5-6 years, is their customer service is by far the best of all retailers, bar none.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Balthazar B:
Of course it could be a case of NVidia (or another supplier) screwing Asus (in effect) for some essential part. Don't forget that this is a brand new SOC and perhaps NVidia's yields are nowhere near what they thought they'd be (and promised to their customers).
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] adiliyo:
a last minute bug or even a manufacturing issue makes more sense than a part sourcing issue simply because the time frame wouldn't make sense.

If NVIDIA had yield issues Asus would have known about them a while back before they started their initial run of product.

While I love amazon and have never had issue with them until now, the main problem with how they handled this is that they didn't give us a choice to wait out our orders, while I would have don't the same thing and cancelled my order, if I wasn't able to source a tablet, I would have liked to have been given the option to keep my place in line until Amazon got their supply issues sorted.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Ectoplasmic:
A couple of points:

1) Amazon has literally millions of customers and orders. You can be sure everything they do is probably automatic procedure.

2) Isn't there some law (in the US) about holding orders for too long and not shipping? To prevent sellers from just collecting orders and filling them when they feel like it.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] adiliyo:
then their automated process needs to be adjusted.

when they learned that shipments couldn't be guaranteed, a simple notification of that could have been send out with an apology and the option of cancelling the order.

again, choice is the issue i (and many other people) have. that it was taken away is the only frustrating thing of this mess.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] HelenOster:
Thank you! I always do my best to help wherever I can.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Ectoplasmic:
Amazon does not take orders for a lot of things they don't have in stock. For those things they let you order in advance, they must have some electronic way to know the items are in the pipeline. If Asus took their stock out of the pipeline electronically, then Amazon would cancel the orders, the same as they would anything else. You and I both assume that the Transformer Prime will eventually come into stock, but if there is no entry in the delivery queue, I think they are right to cancel the orders.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] Lock-N-Load:
FWIW, I PO a Champagne 32gb from Amazon on day 1 and my order has not been cancelled at this time. Still in the system, just shows I will receive it "after December 25th".
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] JackG058:
I too purchased a 32GB Champagne from Amazon on Nov 22, and I have an estimated ship date of Jan 5 for the tablet, and a "they will notify me" message when the dock is available.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] jmt230:
Here's another conspiracy theory - let's see how this one runs. What if amazon and asus are working together (with maybe best buy in on the game too). The cancellations and misinformation about delivery dates creates confusion and panic, causing all of us to make multiple pre-orders. This artificially drives up their sales numbers making them look more successful/profitable... what do you think?

I've decided to relax about it. I'll get one way or another it before the next semester starts which is all I really care about. I've never been an early adopter, so why start now. I wouldn't get another tablet unless it came with the same dock option, so none of this really matters.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] wynand32:
Here's an even more plausible theory: the alien lizard shapeshifters who really wield power on Earth are THIS close to revealing themselves as our overlords. They're afraid that the ASUS Transformer Prime is too powerful a device to place in our hands at this late juncture, and so they've instructed their minions to hold back the inventory that otherwise would have already shipped.

In fact, their nefarious plot goes even further. In truth, their hope is that by building up such a frenzy over the most powerful handheld device ever to be placed in human hands, and then pulling it back at the last minute, they'll succeed in driving even more people into the hands of the most visible arm of their psychological warfare operations: Apple. We'll all run out and by iPad 2's instead, thus putting millions more people under their sway.

Will they succeed? Who knows. But don't be surprised if you're answering to a lizard and carrying a brand new iPad 2 sometime over the next few weeks.

You've been warned.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] BarryH_GEG:
Or... Asus is in such a rush to be first to market with a quad-core tablet that they've lost control of the manufacturing process and can't produce the quantity of devices they pledged to deliver to their resellers. That would certainly explain why some colors/sizes seem to be effected and others not. They could also be having QC issues with a larger than expected number of devices failing leaving fewer devices to ship. And because of QC issues, they may be making changes to the assembly process further slowing down production. I'd buy any of the above as more legitimate than Amazon and BB who have teriffic supply chain management singling out the launch of the Prime just to play with people's heads.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] wynand32:
I'm telling you: it's the lizards, man.

Nobody ever listens to me...
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] adiliyo:
i have a feeling the molemen are the ones who are really behind this.

they are often confused with lizards.
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] wynand32:
Yes, our frustration is definitely showing, isn't it?

Grrrr. :mad:
[Asus  Eee Pad Transformer Prime] adiliyo:
so far i'm pretty confident in my gamestop order, but if by the 20th i don't have one in my clammy hands, i'm going to wage war on the molemen and their underground world that lies within our hollow one is not going to survive.