IMPORTANT SHIPPING NOTICE
To ensure delivery before Christmas, we will cease offering guaranteed delivery by the 24th with the cheap post office counter-to-counter delivery option. From 15th December to Wednesday 23rd December we will only guarantee delivery by the 24th for in-stock items through the courier-to-your-door and the Speedservices to-counter options. From 23rd December our web site will remain open for orders and item reservations but we will only resume operations and shipping on working days.
LESSONS LEARNT FROM LAST 5 CHRISTMAS PERIODS
Over the last four years we learnt a lot of lessons over Christmas. Remember that December constitutes over 35% of our annual business due to the desirability of iPods and accessories as gifts. First, people leave things to the last minute for Christmas shopping and invariably underestimate demand and supply shortages for Apples' new iPod product ranges and the associated accesories that have been launched in the October timeframe. Second, international shipping and the local postal and courier services grind to a halt under the shipping burden round about 15 December. Third, demand around Christmas is insatiable for iPods on a global scale and all the retailers always underestimate demand and by 15 December panic sets in.
We are ordering in our Christmas stocks early this year to avoid international shipping delays and stock shortages due to a surge in global demand for iPods. However we still predict that by the 15 December, as in previous years, our stocks will start to run dry in the rush that will ensue.
Our advice is clear from past experience - order early to avoid dissapointment. For five years running, iPod and accessories is still the hottest selling and most desirable electronics product on the planet. Not only do the online retailers run out of stocks but so do the shops! And the shops will invariably be R400-R500 dearer than the online retailers if you leave it too late.
On a final note, the special Christmas prices you see on our site will probably be the last time you see prices like this. We secured our stocks at favourbale exchange rates and the exchange rate is going to take a knock from mid December onwards into 2010.
We wish you a very merry Christmas!
The iGear Team : Nicole, Candy, Kerri, Brenda. Marc and Dave
