We knew it was coming, but OnePlus has started a blog to talk about exactly why they are migrating to a pre-order system from their much-maligned invite system. In what may come as a shock to everyone who opposed the invite system, press and consumers alike, OnePlus has said that “the invite system has been a blessing”. The reason for this is that OnePlus chose to “forego hardware margins” for the OnePlus One, which necessitated careful inventory control to prevent build-up of unsold units and was achieved with the invite system. As a progression of their controls and in the hopes of selling more units, OnePlus is migrating to the pre-order system. While this all seems like good business sense, something isn’t quite adding up here.
How can such a small company abandon all hardware margins? How would they make any money at all? Unless there is a backer behind all of this – this is said to be Oppo – OnePlus is operating presumably at a loss. Another point I found unusual is the fact that their marketing and sales team misjudged the market so much that they actually lost all of their goodwill due to their invite system. Why didn’t they launch with the pre-order system? If it is just as good at controlling your inventory but you are able to sell more through it, why wasn’t this the original option? While OnePlus’ motto is “Never Settle”, there is very little I would say the company hasn’t settled on, and their continued defence of their strategies seems to suggest that they are happy to continue doing so. /rant
If you want to know more about OnePlus’ plans for the pre-order system, hit the source link below to visit their blog.
Source: OnePlus via Droid-life
