Best Buy warns of low iPhone supply; issues note to staff

Best Buy over the weekend became the latest Apple partner to warn staffers of dwindling iPhone supply that could leave some of its stores without product to sell for a few weeks later this month.



In a memo from its corporate division, the Richfield, Minnesota-based specialty electronics retailer told mobile sales employees that the iPhone 3G is now in constraint, noting that inventory of the touch-screen handsets will be light over the coming weeks and that some locations are likely to run out all together.

The advisory is similar to one issued roughly a week ago by Brightpoint, an Australian distributor supplying Vodafone Australia and others in the region with iPhone 3Gs.

“We have just been notified that the following devices are End Of Life and that there is only a few weeks stock available from Brightpoint,” the carrier said in reference to the 16GB iPhone 3G. “This is an opportunity to take advantage of these devices whilst they’re still available.”

None of this should be shocking, as the current iPhone is seen as an end of life product, and companies aren’t actively restocking them.