Stocks of the iPhone 5s at US Apple Stores have declined substantially in the past two weeks, says Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.
The data was compiled using Apple’s Personal Pickup availability tracker. “Supply of the iPhone 5S has declined in the US from 27% of total SKU’s available two weeks ago to 6% over the past week, based on our checks of 60 Apple stores.
Separately, the percent of stores that had at least one SKU declined from 90% two weeks ago to 40% over the past week,” Munster writes.
Although the shortages are seen as a sign of high demand, Munster also suggests that Apple may be holding back supplies for the round of international launches beginning October 25th. The 5s is reaching over 28 more countries on that day alone, and another dozen-plus on November 1st.
Looking at resale prices on eBay and Taobao, Munster notes that the 5s has been selling at about a 32 percent markuip over US retail pricing. The iPhone 5c and Samsung Galaxy S4, by contrast, are about 12 percent cheaper than retail. The analyst argues that the figures are consistent with supplies and demand
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