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dilbaggins

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 13, 2009
65
0
Is it possible to order online the iPhone 5S at 12:01 PST then pick it up at a store??? Or is strictly shipped?
 

madsci954

macrumors 68030
Oct 14, 2011
2,725
658
Ohio
I saw some posts here saying the 5C wasn't giving this option, just ship. I would imagine it will be the same for the 5S. If you want it on launch, you'll probably have to stand in line.
 

deeddawg

macrumors G5
Jun 14, 2010
12,245
6,393
US
So first, remember that cust svc reps are at the bottom of the food chain and support a wide variety of stuff. I wouldn't trust what one CSR says one way or the other.

Just go look at store.apple.com and do a mock order for a 5c. Observe the greyed out pick up in store option with the text of "avail Sept 20th"

Answer to OP: nobody here knows for sure, we can only speculate. apple changes it up every year, so what happened before isn't always a good guide. You will find out for sure at about 12:02am PST on Friday.
 

javaGuru

macrumors 6502a
Jul 15, 2007
922
343
A friend of mine called Apple twice and both times they informed him that he could order the iPhone 5S at 12:01 and in-store pick up would be an option. Pre-orders for the 5C are not showing in-store pickup since it's NOT available in stores yet. The 5S WILL be available in the store the same day orders for it begin.
 

Dwalls90

macrumors 603
Feb 5, 2009
5,427
4,413
Logically it should, as this is policy for all Apple products. Unless they make an exception to forbid it, it should work this way.
 

wlow3

macrumors regular
Sep 9, 2008
236
45
Question: Generally, after one places an online order for a product for store pickup and after one is notified that the product is available for pickup, how long does one have to pick it up, i.e., how long will the Apple store hold it?
 

hisboyelroy

macrumors member
Jun 17, 2009
98
17
Austin, Texas
Just go look at store.apple.com and do a mock order for a 5c. Observe the greyed out pick up in store option with the text of "avail Sept 20th"

One thing of interest, however, when you do this is that the greyed out in store pick up option does say "Coming Soon." However, it is not at all clear what "soon" means.

Another thing to consider, while the in-store pick up option may be available, there is no real reason to believe that we would be able to pick it up that day. They may instead just ship the phone purchased online to the store, in which case it would simply be available in the store for you to pick up within the same time frame that it would have been shipped to you, had you chose that option. I question whether or not they would let us purchase through the online store the phones that have already been delivered to the physical store. If anyone has any experience with a similar situation, please share.

I am imagining how angry people would be if they were in line at the Apple Store, anxiously waiting for the doors to open like good little Apple consumers, only to find that, by the time it is their turn to meet with a sales person to buy their new 5s, all the phones were sold to online customers a few hours earlier.
 

rockyroad55

macrumors 601
Jul 14, 2010
4,152
59
Phila, PA
One thing of interest, however, when you do this is that the greyed out in store pick up option does say "Coming Soon." However, it is not at all clear what "soon" means.

Another thing to consider, while the in-store pick up option may be available, there is no real reason to believe that we would be able to pick it up that day. They may instead just ship the phone purchased online to the store, in which case it would simply be available in the store for you to pick up within the same time frame that it would have been shipped to you, had you chose that option. I question whether or not they would let us purchase through the online store the phones that have already been delivered to the physical store. If anyone has any experience with a similar situation, please share.

I am imagining how angry people would be if they were in line at the Apple Store, anxiously waiting for the doors to open like good little Apple consumers, only to find that, by the time it is their turn to meet with a sales person to buy their new 5s, all the phones were sold to online customers a few hours earlier.

Definitely nailed it. No way will Apple allow for same day pickup UNLESS each store has a pre allotted amount for just pick up in store. That's different but they will definitely not use the in store stock for that.
 

Tammster

macrumors 6502a
Jun 23, 2010
512
256
S Florida USA
This is the answer I keep getting. Would love for someone to post a screenshot of Apple saying it WILL be available on release day.
 

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swish2351

macrumors 6502
Feb 28, 2010
354
2
Michigan
Just got off the phone with an apple customer service person. They said we won't be able to do In Store Pickup for the first few weeks, she made it clear if I wanted it on the 20th I have to go in store, it pisses me off Apple is doing this just to get bigger lines for publicity.
 

steveza

macrumors 68000
Feb 20, 2008
1,521
27
UK
After getting a iPhone 5 on launch day last year that had serious wifi problems I will never get a launch day anything again - I had to wait a couple of weeks to get the replacement which was much better. Sometimes it's better not to get the ones that were rushed out of the factory.
 

Dave245

macrumors G3
Sep 15, 2013
9,763
8,007
Just got off the phone with an apple customer service person. They said we won't be able to do In Store Pickup for the first few weeks, she made it clear if I wanted it on the 20th I have to go in store, it pisses me off Apple is doing this just to get bigger lines for publicity.

From what i've read it could be due to supply constraints rather than publicity reasons. If this is true then getting the 5S will be harder. I'm just hoping that there will be enough here in the UK. :eek:
 

deeddawg

macrumors G5
Jun 14, 2010
12,245
6,393
US
After getting a iPhone 5 on launch day last year that had serious wifi problems I will never get a launch day anything again - I had to wait a couple of weeks to get the replacement which was much better. Sometimes it's better not to get the ones that were rushed out of the factory.

This. Especially if supplies are constrained. Even more so if/when there's something that bothers the OCD customers and they attempt multiple returns to get just the right screen color or better battery life or something that isn't a real problem (like what steveza mentioned) to most folks.
 

CarolG

macrumors 6502a
Sep 14, 2013
893
1,319
Northern California
When the iPhone 4S came out, I was out of the country. When I got back, about a week later, I ordered it from the Apple Store app for in-store pickup. The one I wanted was sold out everywhere, but they sent me an email that my iPhone was ready for pickup at the Apple Store at 1PM the next day. When I arrived, I was told to get in line with everyone who was there trying to get an iPhone from the store's inventory as well as many who had "reservations" for in-store pickup. After waiting in line for two hours, I did get my iPhone at 3PM. I was shocked that I had to wait that long, but I was also grateful that I had one in my hand!

This year, I will be out of town AGAIN on the 20th. I am going to order my gold 64gb iPhone 5s online at 2 AM where I will be on Friday. I am HOPING I can choose in-store pickup again. I won't be back in CA until the 26th. The Apple Store said they would hold an order to be picked up for 5 or so days and send you emails for reminders. They said if you call the store, they will put a date on it when you will pick it up. I hope it doesn't have to be delivered to my house since I will not be home!
 

GadgetGav

macrumors member
Oct 18, 2010
75
1
The Apple Store app on iOS says "The Apple Store app is the easiest way to get your new iPhone. We'll even deliver it to your door free."
Which suggests to me that online orders will be shipped only. Makes sense as everything they send to the stores will be snapped up by the crowd outside the glass doors.

----------

When the iPhone 4S came out, I was out of the country. When I got back, about a week later, I ordered it from the Apple Store app for in-store pickup. The one I wanted was sold out everywhere, but they sent me an email that my iPhone was ready for pickup at the Apple Store at 1PM the next day. When I arrived, I was told to get in line with everyone who was there trying to get an iPhone from the store's inventory as well as many who had "reservations" for in-store pickup. After waiting in line for two hours, I did get my iPhone at 3PM. I was shocked that I had to wait that long, but I was also grateful that I had one in my hand!

One launch I went to (don't remember if it was a phone or an iPad) where they'd done pre-orders, the line for people picking them up was about 3x longer than the on-spec line. Although they had more staff serving the pre-order line, they were also serving the first come first served line and it was quicker to go there.
 
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