Solana was forced to cancel orders for Saga to sell more than its smartphones shipped out

Solana Labs apologized for selling a device it didn’t have, blaming the problem on an “inventory failure.”

It’s been a crazy week for Solana’s smartphone, Saga.

It won the Worst Phone of the Year award from a famous YouTuber. However, the device began to be snapped up as investors discovered that the device they purchased came with the right to claim tokens that were more valuable than the phone’s list price. Now, according to Solana Labs, some of the smartphones sold last week simply don’t exist.

Due to an “inventory management issue,” Solana Labs unexpectedly sold more equipment than it actually had, resulting in an (undisclosed) out-of-stock quantity. The company claims that the error was caused by an unnamed third-party distributor.

The company said all affected customers have been informed of the issue and will receive a refund in the coming days.

Solana’s mobile phone

After months of moderate sales, the Saga smartphone began to snap up last week, with intrepid consumers realizing that the smartphone could earn 30 million BONKAirdrop, a Solana-based meme coin.

While just a few months ago, the amount of BONK was equivalent to around $11, last week, thanks to BONK’s phenomenal rise, its value reached $865: well above Saga’s $599 sticker. In total, Token earned by Saga users who claim every Airdrop or free perk associated with that phone currently totals around $3,000.

The phone’s 20,000 units were all sold out in a matter of days, which was a “bitter win” for Solana Labs: the phone was a success, but thanks in large part to the incentives that came with it. A few days later, the phone won the 2023 “Best of the Year” smartphone award from YouTuber Marques “MKBHD” Brownlee.

“No amount of BONK or Claynosaurz can save this phone,” Brownlee wrote in a letter to his millions of Twitter followers.

Trying to turn a potential embarrassment into a half-joking moment of virality, Solana Labs accepted the moniker and referred to itself as an “award-winning” phone in subsequent marketing materials.

The company even asked Brownlee to send the “Bust of the Year” trophy to his office, and the Solana project 3.land used the award as inspiration for the “Saga: Bust of the Year” Non-fungible Token collection. After the free minting on Wednesday, nearly $3 million worth of Solana Non-fungible Tokens were traded.

However, some Saga buyers who haven’t received their phones yet haven’t been very happy this week. Others also took the opportunity to joke about it.