Research firm ITG recently reported that a whopping 16 percent of Galaxy Tabs are returned. Turns out, it’s more like 2 percent, according to Samsung. On its blog (based in Korea, so mind the translation), Samsung Tomorrow, the company writes: “The return rate of the Galaxy Tab in the US as claimed by an [sic] North American market research firm is incorrect. According to Samsung Electronics Mobile Communications Business the return rate is below 2 percent.”
The study compared the Galaxy Tab’s numbers with the iPad’s, saying the Apple product’s return rate was a measly 2 percent. However, the results were based on Verizon iPad sales, as well as Galaxy Tabs sold in the US (which is less than 18 percent of global sales). Frankly, those are some strange criteria for a survey.
This is the second time in the past week that Samsung has been misrepresented. Last week, during the company’s earnings call, Samsung exec Lee Young-hee announced its sell-through rate to real customers was “quite smooth,” which was printed as “quite small” by various media outlets.
Still, the clarification hasn’t eased all our curiosity into the tablet’s market performance. We’ve yet to discover how many have actually made it off shelves, since Samsung has only revealed it has shipped over 2 million Galaxy Tabs.
