It's an interesting point that some personalized gifts are less resellable. Books with the owners name stamped in it have to be sold used with a note there is a marking and it is not "like new". But the same book as a first edition with a dedication signed by the long dead author and dedicated to a US president is worth a lot. So it depends.
This said, I object greatly to the article's outlandish posturing that he knows WHY Apple offers free engraving and it is for the cynical reason he stated - to subvert the customer's future gift giving activities. He knows no such thing and to claim he does know goes is simple BS. Article pointing out interesting effect of personalization, that's a great article. Article pulling out one of many effects of a business decision and claiming that was the primary, or even a considered reason for making the decision, that's totally bogus.
As many others have pointed out here and in that article's comments, there are many business reasons and advantages to offering free engraving. One good one is increasing its perception as a luxury good. Many high end jewelers offer free engraving with a Rolex purchase.
Or how about to help the customer protect his property from thieves? I could note that products that are engraved are probably less likely to be stolen, and then claim that that's the reason WHY Apple offers the service with the purchase - they want to help customers.
Or how about so many people buy iPods that its now a common occurrence for people to mix up their iPods with those of their friends. Engraving helps the customer avoid such mixups. I often get out the dremel tool and put my name on things so they don't get mixed up. Dremel scratches look terrible though and mars the finish. It would ruin the appearance of an iPod. Perhaps Apple noticed customers doing this, and to maintain artistic standards of appearance even after the sale, started throwing it in.
These reasons, as examples only, are not any less likely a sole explanation than the more cynical one, especially with Apple's history of focusing on customer total experience and reducing trouble and increasing happiness for the customers, with even details such as styrofoam packaging being carefully designed by specialized artists.
On the issue of engraving being free or no cost, that is not correct. Apple is not offering engraving service on things you have NOT bought from them, such as Zunes or watches. The cost of engraving is included with the purchase price, which is premium priced. Not everyone uses it though.
Now there's a thought. When you buy your iPod at WalMart or Target you don't get engraving do you, yet you pay the exact same price or maybe $5 less as you would from store.apple.com. WalMart and Target though take around 33% of the selling price as profit. So there's where the engraving can be paid from - every order from the Apple Store means more profit for Apple. Engraving is an incentive to buy direct from Apple at full list price rather than from a reseller.
On the theft topic - engraving makes it less likely to be resold, but not less likely to be stolen. Opportunistic theft with such a small time window doesn't lend itself to reviewing the item.
Are you sure about the supposition that retailers make 1/3 profit? I'm not so sure. Game consoles, for instance, are usually sold for only a few dollars of markup and the retailers depend on things like sales of games, controllers, and other accessories to make selling the actual console worthwhile.
I assume that an iPod is less this way, but still a 33% margin sounds a bit high for a consumer electronic device ... maybe it's different with Apple's philosophy, but in general I doubt there's that much profit to be found in MP3 players -- they may depend on the sales of headphones, cases, iTunes/Amazon gift cards or tracks, CDs to rip onto the device, etc. more than on the actual sale of the device.
It could also mean that, knowing that engraved products are harder to sell, and knowing that an iPod is likely to be engraved a criminal will be less likely to steal any iPod, as opposed to say a GPS that could be more easily sold.
> This said, I object greatly to the article's outlandish posturing that he knows WHY Apple offers free engraving and it is for the cynical reason he stated
Well, they obviously plan to make money off of it somehow, right? Do you object to that, or are you upset because you think that he thinks that?
This said, I object greatly to the article's outlandish posturing that he knows WHY Apple offers free engraving and it is for the cynical reason he stated - to subvert the customer's future gift giving activities. He knows no such thing and to claim he does know goes is simple BS. Article pointing out interesting effect of personalization, that's a great article. Article pulling out one of many effects of a business decision and claiming that was the primary, or even a considered reason for making the decision, that's totally bogus.
As many others have pointed out here and in that article's comments, there are many business reasons and advantages to offering free engraving. One good one is increasing its perception as a luxury good. Many high end jewelers offer free engraving with a Rolex purchase.
Or how about to help the customer protect his property from thieves? I could note that products that are engraved are probably less likely to be stolen, and then claim that that's the reason WHY Apple offers the service with the purchase - they want to help customers.
Or how about so many people buy iPods that its now a common occurrence for people to mix up their iPods with those of their friends. Engraving helps the customer avoid such mixups. I often get out the dremel tool and put my name on things so they don't get mixed up. Dremel scratches look terrible though and mars the finish. It would ruin the appearance of an iPod. Perhaps Apple noticed customers doing this, and to maintain artistic standards of appearance even after the sale, started throwing it in.
These reasons, as examples only, are not any less likely a sole explanation than the more cynical one, especially with Apple's history of focusing on customer total experience and reducing trouble and increasing happiness for the customers, with even details such as styrofoam packaging being carefully designed by specialized artists.
On the issue of engraving being free or no cost, that is not correct. Apple is not offering engraving service on things you have NOT bought from them, such as Zunes or watches. The cost of engraving is included with the purchase price, which is premium priced. Not everyone uses it though.
Now there's a thought. When you buy your iPod at WalMart or Target you don't get engraving do you, yet you pay the exact same price or maybe $5 less as you would from store.apple.com. WalMart and Target though take around 33% of the selling price as profit. So there's where the engraving can be paid from - every order from the Apple Store means more profit for Apple. Engraving is an incentive to buy direct from Apple at full list price rather than from a reseller.