Apple’s bad week sends stock sliding: iPhone 5 shipping delays, iOS 6 maps, #scuffgate

Let’s just say this won’t go down as the greatest week in the history of Apple. Let’s start with the great big silver lining: They sold 5 million iPhone 5s in the blink of an eye. As one analyst told me, this baby will likely become the best-selling consumer product of all time (until the next Apple product).

So, they’ve got that going for them. Which is nice.

But…and there are several buts…It seems even Apple was caught off guard by demand, and has had to delay some shipments. Then, there is the release of iOS 6 with its new Apple maps. Which, ahem, some folks have been finding less than satisfactory.

And on top of that, there is #scuffgate, the complaint from a number of recipients of new iPhones that there are nicks and cuts on the cases.

The upshot? Apple’s stock fell $17.25 or 2.5 percent on Tuesday to $673.54. That’s down from the close of $700.09 last Friday. On the other hand, that simply puts the stock back where it was right after Labor Day when it clocked in at $674.97. And of course, it’s well above the 52-week low of $354.24.

The question the rest of the week: Will investors continue to panic?