Apple Limits iPhone Sales to 2 Per Customer

Oct 29, 12:34 PM

Current Headlines: Apple said Sunday that it would restrict iPhone sales to two per customer and require payment by credit or debit card rather than cash to discourage unauthorized resellers and maintain enough stock for the holidays.

"Customer response has been off the charts," Apple said in a statement. "Limiting iPhone sales helps us ensure that there are enough iPhones for people who are shopping for themselves or buying a gift."

More than 1.4 million iPhones were sold in the three months ended Sept. 29, topping a forecast from Steve Jobs, the chief executive, of 730,000, Apple said this week. About 270,000 were sold in the first two days after the product's introduction on June 29.

To spur sales, Jobs cut the price of the multimedia iPhone by $200 last month to $399. Next year, Apple aims to sell 10 million of the cellphones, which also play music and videos.

Apple rose $1.92, or 1 percent, to $184.70 yesterday in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares more than doubled this year and set a new all-time closing high of $186.16 on Oct. 23.

The iPhone is expected to be a popular gift for the holidays. Apple thinks some people already have purchased multiple iPhones to resell, including those looking to modify, or "unlock," the phones so they work on any network.

The company said it was not changing its policy forbidding users from unlocking the iPhone to use it with carriers other than AT&T in the United States. But in France, Apple agreed for the first time to sell a version of the device that consumers can use on any network.

Apple plans to start selling iPhones in Britain next month. People could buy as many as five iPhones a person and pay in cash before the policy was implemented.

The limit and payment requirements, implemented last Thursday, will help discourage resales, the company statement said.

Jobs has said that he wanted to keep some control over the iPhone's systems, consistent with Apple's customary practices, to preserve the user experience. But critics have said that with the iPhone, Apple has done so to a fault.

Originally published by Bloomberg, AP, IHT.

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