[Expired / Archived] 2017 Anker Prime Day Deals

#35

I think what happened in general is the Nintendo Switch is causing products like the 26800 PD to become more in demand, outstripping the supply chain and keeping prices higher.

I further think that Anker has been caught somewhat surprised and the reason they keep talking about USB-C, is to to stall purchase decisions away non-Anker to give time for design and supply chain to deliver products. Anker has a quite bad history with USB-PD with released then withdrawn 30W and 60W and now re-release of 30W which is their current fastest. But I have not studied all of their peers to know how well Anker has done relatively, but your mention of Ravpower is a good example to show Anker is not leading.

The higher the cost of the product, the more I will look for quality and warranty. This is why I (like most here) are more inclined to wait for Anker. I have other non-Anker products which died and the response was i had to pay to post back vs Anker who in the few cases products failed I got a free replacement in a pleasantly fast and easy way.

Note: The Ravpower is 4-5 hours recharge, while the Anker is 3.45-4.00 hours (from reviews and other statements).

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#36

That may very well be the reason why.

But one would reasonably be justified in purchasing the ravpower for $63 (without the charger) whereas the Anker is $100-$110 with the charger, for a potential difference in 15 minutes - 1 hour in recharge time and the aluminum build. I feel like Anker could have been successful in trying to compete during this time; with the reputation, build quality, and the bundle, a solid $80-90 range could have snagged a lot of customers for sure

Im guessing they either couldnt keep up with the demand leading up to prime day or they got something in store for us on july 24th.

26800 PD is fresh out on amazon the last time i checked, this might also coincide with the demand theory (and maybe? the big announcement on the 24th).

#37

The USB-PD from Anker has suffered supply vs demand issues so I suggest that is why the price is tending to float higher, but you have your alternative choice right there, if you are not happy, go buy elsewhere. Venting cannot in the short term do that much to the fact if Anker just dropped their price, then their limited supply would sell out anyway, even faster, and indeed if they did drop the price to what you were wanting to pay, it could sell out before you have time to buy, we have seen sales from Anker sell out in <2 minutes so you could just end up with a different complaint, plus but Anker made less money along the way, which hasn’t helped Anker.

If you want to work with Anker then letting them know what you really need some months in advance which is one of the things we have in this community the last months.

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#38

It seems like you may be perceiving that I am venting or ranting, which I am not.

I am merely speculating on the business aspect of some sort. Now, this might be a fault of the suppliers or it could have been miscommunication between multiple parties involved, but if Anker truly believed in the future of power banks and USB-C and PD, would they have not ramped up their supply leading up to Prime Day? Indeed one can argue that Anker has a bigger customer base and products offered than the other competition, but if it wants to lead in a category, a possible sacrifice on old products is justifiable in order to make room for new products to be made. Inventory kills but having no sale on a big day on their premium-line power banks (while competition is doing so) kills also. It could very well be that Anker did not want to put an item on sale because the product was relatively new (less likely because UK had a sale on the same item), or it could be that they did not put it on sale because it was going to be sold out anyway, regardless of price, which I totally understand. And quite honestly, not everyone can get what they want, but if an item of my liking goes on sale and sells out in <2 minutes as you suggested, that is my loss. What right do I have to complain? Such a thing is trivial and anyone who complains about that is not a true fan of any company in question.

Again, nobody but Anker knows what is in store for the 24th. This could have very well been a way to clear as much of the inventory as possible for the new line of powercore to come out with speculated IQ2 or Q.C.4 or whatever the imagination takes us. The inability to fully understand the message through words is common on the internet and this might have created some misunderstanding and unnecessary conflict, sorry about that.

I mean no harm in questioning certain aspects of the business because I offer these statements as a way to help improve the company rather than harm it. What improvements can one make with only stated facts and praises? I recently joined and do not have extensive knowledge of Anker’s past actions. I am the type of person who looks and compares similar products (with some bias on Anker ;)) before purchase, and thus I was using RavPower in this case due to the item in question.

ULTIMATELY, to circle back to where we started, I am merely speculating that this could have been a way to rid some inventory for a brand new line of product that might be getting ready for production. or they simply lacked the supply to match the demand for this particular product.

IN THE END, WHO KNOWS RIGHT? :slight_smile:

#39

What I know:

  • something is happening with Anker and USB-C and USB-PD. They keep hinting at it so something is coming.
  • Anker would do itself harm to reveal in much detail their future plans, it allows competitors to steal their thunder, so I expect if any new products there may be a few under NDA reviewing them who’s lips are sealed.
  • There is a IQ2 coming at some point.
  • The higher USB-PD will cause more heat, so it will tend to need IQ2.
  • The more cells you cram (more mAh per portable charger) the more the heat as a function of surface area increases (heat is to cube but dissipation is to the square), so you create an overheating problem, which with Lithium can impact warranty at a minimum. So USB-PD which needs more cells and heat is ultimately the problem, some have solved this with active cooling (fans) but these products are larger and more expensive as a result. Inside laptops and tablets the Lithium are wide shallow slabs (to maximize surface area per volume), protected by the casing of the laptop/tablet. In a portable charger you have to add that protection at a cost and a weight, as seen by the Powercore II 20000.

What I guess:

  • it is probably still a few months til Anker get IQ2 to be capable of into the 60W region, but given the sensitivity I could be guessing wrong.
  • I doubt 7/24 is going to be IQ2 and higher profile USB-PD, so I think its more other things.

The bigger batteries and newer chipsets are literally more raw hardware cost, so e.g. 26800 has 3x the amount of Lithium cells to a 10000 so you’re talking a floor of a minimum of ~$60, higher to recoup design costs initially then falling. You’re probably seeing this as the floor of Ravpower’s 26800.

What I am doing:

  • I have learned to buy my devices in full view of the chargers. The chargers with their cables can become as large as the device, so what I do not do is buy the device then seek to solve the charging problems, that method can lead to long frustrating wait or expense (leading edge = unreliable and expensive).
  • I currently use at home a non-USB charging Chromebook and when I travel a USB-C 3A 5V 15W tablet for which the 2.4A 5V current Anker products are adequate, it actually works extremely well given I paid $30 for my Powercore 26800 which lasts me 2 days.
  • to keep cost down I proactively keep my devices charged, I plug in portable chargers early, so slow the discharge of the device, this works out substantially lower cost (half) and lighter and smaller (about 20% better) to the alternative of try to get a faster portable charger.
  • at some point my tablet will fail, or degrade, then I will look to next purchase. It will be USB-PD for the charger and cable density reasons. So I’m giving Anker months (probably 6 months, depends when my tablet dies / deterioriates).

If I were however either painted into a corner with an urgent need, I’d probably be forced to other non-Anker. The advantage of this community is to not become painted into a corner.

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#40

I got one of the things I wanted today. And only $26 instead of the the $39!

IMG_3926.PNG750×1334 185 KB

Would have loved an xl but sport will do.

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#41

Several months, possibly a year or two.

I think the next move in terms of new Anker products will be to phase out PowerCore I series on all and replace them with PowerCore II.

#42

Taking Powercore II which is really about a higher Wattage input and output, from QC into USB-PD would be more of interest to some in this community.

#43

Not sure how much information the social media managers are given, but just weeks ago Anker said they have no plans for QC 4 or 4+ in the near future as there are very few devices that support it…
Who knows… as @nigelhealy has mentioned several times in the past, Anker has and appears to still be too bias to QC tech. Perhaps upcoming smartphone flagships will have a different technology for faster charging (PD). If that’s the case, then Anker wouldn’t have the need to make QC 4 accessories. It would be a waste if there ended up being very little demand.

On the other hand, if they were one of the only major tech accessories manufacturers, they would sell the most due to few options.

My guess is they’re thinking solution 1 is more likely.

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Amazon Prime Day
#44

The Flare will also be on sale.
Starts for Prime members at 4:05pm NY Time. Price: ???

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#45

My guess is $44.99

#47

Isn’t Prime Day supposed to be about awesome deals? 25% off seems like the usual discount I see from Anker’s newsletters :smiley:

#48

I guess we’ll see…

#49

Irritated I ordered two of the same products 16 Days ago and now you have it for $12 cheaper because of prime day so that’s $24 cheaper for both orders. Not to happy with Anker at all.

#50

These are all last year’s deals. This year’s deals can be found here.

#51

It’s times like these where archiving would be good :slight_smile:

#52
#53

I think you pinned the wrong post…

#54

Had two tabs open at the same time, system got confused on which I was pinning. Corrected :slight_smile:

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#55