Return rate: Android vs. iOS

[mgmueller]

I've been in Saturn Market again.
Another sales guy told me, Android tablets outsell iPads ca. 3:1 to 5:1.
So, if the relative return rate of both would be about the same, of course the absolute figures of returns for Android tablets are way more obvious.
I guess, people tend to just grasp the absolute figure, not the relative ones.
But again: Another surprise. I would have expected, Android tablets and iPads would have about the same sales figures.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by Barty

Is the original poster comparing apples and apples? I think the equivalent iPad and brand name 10" android tablets cost about the same here in the US.

I don't think it's the fanatic Mac fans that are buying the bulk of iPads, else they would sell about as many iPads as Macs, i.e., not a whole lot.

For iPad 2s that's the same in Germany.
iPad 2s range from € 399 to € 519. I guess, the other models are sold out already.
Android tablets typically range from € 400 to € 600. You can find low end tablets below € 300, though.

iPad 3s on the other hand range from € 500 to € 800.

Not a huge difference. But obviously, for some customers a difference of € 100 or € 200 is significant enough.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by VaporPunk

...But looking at the Saturn Markt site, they only sell three Android tablets and all of them are brand names...

That's only what they sell on the Saturn Market website.
In their stores they have way more Android tablets, usually about 8 different brands:
Acer, Asus, Sony, Toshiba, ...
For whatever reason (legal?), I haven't seen Samsung tablets for some time now.

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

I've been in Saturn Market again.
Another sales guy told me, Android tablets outsell iPads ca. 3:1 to 5:1.
So, if the relative return rate of both would be about the same, of course the absolute figures of returns for Android tablets are way more obvious.
I guess, people tend to just grasp the absolute figure, not the relative ones.
But again: Another surprise. I would have expected, Android tablets and iPads would have about the same sales figures.

Are people buying 3-4 different Android tablets, playing with them, then returning all but their favourite? There are many different options with Android, while iPads (in the same generation) all behave the same.

[Rylon]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

I've been in Saturn Market again.
Another sales guy told me, Android tablets outsell iPads ca. 3:1 to 5:1.
So, if the relative return rate of both would be about the same, of course the absolute figures of returns for Android tablets are way more obvious.

Seems like the mystery has been solved. Unless, as murraypaul suggests, people are buying multiple Android tablets and returning all but the one they like.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by Rylon

Seems like the mystery has been solved. Unless, as murraypaul suggests, people are buying multiple Android tablets and returning all but the one they like.

In the Saturn Market, it's up to their (sales staff) goodwill. The 2 sales guys told me, usually they accept it.
In my case, exchanging the 16GB to the 32GB Sony Tablet S, they did so without additional costs. But usually they ask for ca. € 50: "After all, it's 2nd hand then and we have difficulties to resell it".
From what they described and how they focused on the reselling value, I can't imagine they would accept, someone buying 3 tablets and giving 2 of them back. And in Germany it's really not common yet, testing stuff and giving it back.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

Are people buying 3-4 different Android tablets, playing with them, then returning all but their favourite? There are many different options with Android, while iPads (in the same generation) all behave the same.

My understanding was, it's 3 to 5 times as many buyers, not 3 to 5 per customer.
And see my answer on the question before:
They focused that much on reselling value and expressed, accepting returns is goodwill anyway, so I can't imagine they would allow a single buyer returning 4 out of 5 tablets. Of course there certainly are backdoors to that system. You could buy 5 tablets in different markets. Usually, there are about 3 Saturn Markets in each bigger city in Germany. But if it's different markets, the sales guys wouldn't see those. They said, it's 3 to 5 times as many Android tablets in their department, not over all markets in Germany.