The Nike Fuelband Quick Rant...

Yeah I'm gonna sit here and rant for a minute...

If you plan to release a high demand item then make sure your site can handle the traffic!!! I was on paypal confirmation at 5:01pm and what do I see after final confirmation? "SOLD OUT!" How many of these things did you make? Fifty?! Fabricated shortages went out of style with Nintendo Wii's and Apple products. I hope you realize that people are not buying Fuelbands for their unique innovation. It's for the name! In no way do i think that's a bad thing.

But it really goes on to say a bit more about a company that really doesn't care about the individual consumer. In my opinion they really made no effort to do anything aside from make money.

Lets use the Nintendo Wii as a example:
It was ridiculously overhyped and  made in limited quantities, which in the long run, probably helped sell more than originally expected. Yes, people were vary upset at availability but Nintendo gave the impression that they did what they could. They released production numbers, something Nike didn't do. They also released the Wii from as many online and retail locations as they could, (or so they say.) In the end, if you missed out on a preorder or a restock you could end up feeling as though you just didn't try hard enough, not that the odds were unfairly stacked against you. Nike, on the other hand, relied on twitter links, use of the term "short supply", and a website infrastructure that can't handle more than 5 people at a time. Everyone that was able to get one of these fuel bands today should also go out and buy a lotto scratch off because your on fire.

Why am I wasting time with this angry rant? Because this is exactly what Nike wanted. They wanted people mad and angry. Angry people are vocal, vocal people stir interest, interest creates buyers, buyers make them more $$$$$. After they get their fill of ego inflation for creating another product that "sold out" in seconds, then they will open that warehouse door, start filling orders, and all of a sudden, people won't be so angry anymore.

So I say let's just get the ball rolling...

CONGRATULATIONS NIKE FOR MAKING ANOTHER SELL OUT PRODUCT!
OMG! CAN YOU BELIEVE THEY SOLD OUT IN SECONDS!!!
YOU KNOW WHAT? I THINK THATS A NEW RECORD!!!

Now restock so the rest of us can #MakeItCount...

But you know what would be real funny? If Apple decided to make a similar device, (yeah I know it wouldn't happen because Nike and Apple are already sleeping in the same bed,) but the thought of an even more overhyped company blowing them out the water for dragging their feet on restocking would probably make a few of us smile right now...


Update - 7:00pm
Just received this twitter response:

"We appreciate you reaching out to us. Just to let you know, we encourage you to follow @NikeStore for updates and assure you that we will be the Nike+ FuelBand inventory regularly."

Whether this is a auto reply to anyone who tweets about their frustration or a direct reply to my blog is currently unknown, (my money goes to auto reply.) Lets see what their definition of "regularly" is...