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From: Your Name <YourName@YourISP.com>
Newsgroups: misc.phone.mobile.iphone,comp.mobile.android
Subject: Re: What's the actual *advantage* of not having an sd slot?
Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2025 09:34:50 +1200
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On 2025-06-23 07:20:15 +0000, R.Wieser said:

> Your Name,
> 
>>> Are they ?   What do you think it costs to manufacture small batches of 
>>> a certain product ?
> ...
>> Depend on the shop's agreement with the manufacturer.
> 
> No, what doe it cost the *manufacturer* to create a small batch.

I was replying to you sentence:
   "And its not only the manufacturer who runs that risk, but also
    all the resell points, upto-and-including the store"

If the store has a "sell or return" agreement, then the store has 
little to no risk.



> You know, changing the machines to work with the differing device, 
> printing and adding different documentation, putting them into 
> different boxes and all that. in other words: the set-up costs.  The 
> smaller the resulting batch, the higher the devided setup-cost will be
> 
> The line after the above ("And than there is the risk involved in not 
> getting all of them sold.") deals with the stuff you where thinking of.

To some degree Apple and many other device makers already run "small 
batch" manufacturing because users can order devices with their own 
options (although admittedly the iPhone's options are a lot less than 
the Mac options).

This 'build to order' manufacturing is slowly becoming more widespread 
so that makers have less stock just sitting around.




>>> As for gouging, that only works when a single manufacturer is involved 
>>> - or you must believe that all the manufacturers all over the world
>> are colluding.
>> 
>> Not colluding as such, but once Apple does something, all the others 
>> quickly follow.
> 
> True.   But its than also an argument againsts the OPs "they just do 
> that to make you pay more".

There are always multiple "reasons" and "excuses" as to why a company 
does something. Many of them are silly and superfluous when the reality 
is that the changes usually simply mean more money for the company.



>> Samsung even has a habit of making fun of Apple for do it, only then 
>> for Samsung to do exactly the same thing a few months later.
> 
> That is what seems to happen, but why does it happen ?    Perhaps 
> because (most of) the buyers only want the newest-of-the-newest bling, 
> and the sales numbers of the older model drops ?   IOW, the 
> manufacturing companies follow the customers wishes (opposing the OPs 
> claims) ?

The manufacturer's usually create what they *think* the customer wants, 
without actually bothering to ask the customer (or when they do, it's 
via a survey of a tiny proportion of the customers). Car companies for 
example, plan their standard car colours due to what they *think* will 
be in fashion once the car is on sale.

Once the manufacturer has made that choice, the customer usually has no 
option, other than buy or not buy. Build to order options can make it 
easier for customers to get 9to some degree) the features they actually 
do want.

Those who insist on buying the latest toy on the block when there 
current device still works perfectly well are simply idiots with more 
money than sense ... and it's these fools that big business relies on 
to keep going.



>> Yes, there are various reasons and excuses for doing something (these 
>> days it is often the "green" environmental excuse), but it doesn't 
>> change the fact that the customer is getting less for the same price.
> 
> I already mentioned in this thread that (big) companies are not 
> altruistic. Worse, they are there to make as much money for their 
> investors as they can. And yes, that means if a company can shorten an 
> data cable by a decimeter or two and save a *lot* of money that way 
> than it will do so.

Which proves the point. The company *is* trying to make more money at 
the customer's expense ... i.e. they *are* goughing the customer (to 
some degree).   :-p