In a letter posted to HTC's website, Mackenzie wrote:

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to personally apologize for the frustration some of you experienced with our first "flash" sale yesterday. The sale was intended to introduce a weekly promotion that HTC will run weekly through the holidays. In celebration of the launch of our Nexus 9 tablet, we decided to kick off "HTC Hot Deals" in a BIG way with a screaming hot deal on a limited quantity of these tablets. Simply put, the offer was very well received and the several hundred units that were allocated to this promotion sold out quickly.

I understand that our site did not function properly and caused frustration – and for that I apologize. With such a hot deal and short time to take advantage, the experience needs to be seamless. Our team is rectifying the systems issues that some experienced and we remain committed to bring you an exciting cadence of offers throughout holidays. We hope you were one of the many who got to enjoy the savings this time, but if not please do check back weekly.

All the best,

Jason Mackenzie

President, HTC America