For Everyone who Preordered the iPad with Store Pickup, Read This Important Info!

Photography · Mar 9, 2012

I just got off the phone with a very helpful Apple representative who was able to answer all my questions regarding preordering the iPad with store pickup.

Q: How can I be sure that you won't give away the iPad that I already preordered to someone else just waiting in the normal line?
A: Apple will place the preordered iPads in a separate locked cage and mark them as preorders so they may not be sold to the general public who are just walking in and buying iPads. Your preordered iPad will be guaranteed available for you when you arrive at the store to pick it up.

Q: Upon arrival to the Apple Store, what do I do? Will there be a line for preorders?
A: No, there will NOT be a line for preorders. What you do when you arrive at the Apple Store is you find any available Apple specialist on the floor and tell them you preordered the new iPad for store pickup. They will be able to retrieve your preordered iPad for you, and you will be on your way.

Q: What do I need to bring with me to the Apple Store?
A: Be sure to bring a valid photo ID of some sort to prove that it's you, and the credit card you used for payment. Also, be sure to bring a printout of your order, or at least have your order number and Apple ID handy.

Q: When should I arrive at the Apple Store to pickup my preordered iPad?
A: Be sure to wait until you receive the pickup notification email from Apple indicating that your order is ready for pickup. Do not arrive to the store beforehand, or you may just find yourself waiting around until they are able to process your order. Once again, it's best to wait until you get the email from Apple stating that your iPad is ready for pickup.

Q: How long will they hold my preordered iPad for store pickup?
A: They will hold it for one week. You can call the Apple customer support number to have this hold time extended up to 60 days.

wshyno1 · Mar 9, 2012

It will be nice if I can actually find someone in the store that is not busy. is that possible? since the whole apple store will be a mad house on friday. I didn't choose delivery because I had some bad experience with UPS. They lost my package once and iPad is just too expensive for them to lose the thing again. Plus most the time, they don't deliver it to me until later night. I rather just go to the store which is only half an hour away. Hopefully it will be that easy. just find someone and get my iPad right away

Silken · Mar 9, 2012

Thanks for the information. I have a friend who shall be braving the Apple store on release day so shall pass on the information

SunnyDay24 · Mar 9, 2012

Thank you for this! Hopefully it holds true. I too worry about being unable to find someone who isn't busy -- I expect most of them will have their hands full Friday! I also sincerely hope they don't say it's ready for pick-up late at night, just for my personal convenience... I have a plane flight to catch.

maclook · Mar 9, 2012

I wish the guy told you what time the Apple Stores will start selling them.

Do preorders come from a different stock or are you reserving the store's current stock. This would essentially prevent any line at all.

Night Spring · Mar 9, 2012

wshyno1 said:
It will be nice if I can actually find someone in the store that is not busy. is that possible? since the whole apple store will be a mad house on friday.

I'm sure they will have some storepeople dedicated to helping people with preorders. Apple stores are very well organized that way, and they are used to handling big product launches. That said, there could be a line to get served if many people are picking up their iPads at once. In which case they'll have two lines, one for preorders and one for walk-ins.

miamialley · Mar 10, 2012

I want to place an order for in store pick up, but the option is not available on the Apple site. It only allows you to select delivery. Why can't I get in store pickup?

Night Spring · Mar 10, 2012

miamialley said:
I want to place an order for in store pick up, but the option is not available on the Apple site. It only allows you to select delivery. Why can't I get in store pickup?

Ha, I just tried and you are right! My guess is they've run out of units allocated for in-store pickup.

Iffy22 · Mar 10, 2012

Did they mention anything about the length of the pickup window? I have ordered mine for pickup on the 16th but will not arrive in the US until April 7. Will they hold it for three weeks?

Night Spring · Mar 10, 2012

Iffy22 said:
Did they mention anything about the length of the pickup window? I have ordered mine for pickup on the 16th but will not arrive in the US until April 7. Will they hold it for three weeks?

Uh... I doubt it. I think in-store pickups are mostly same day, at most two days. By April, the iPad availability situation will be totally different, and it's hard to say what your chances are of buying one then.

Chupa Chupa · Mar 10, 2012

I think the rep was reading of the instructions for normal store p/u. Obviously, there are vastly more people that preordered to p/u in-store than "Apple Specialists" so by that alone there will be a line of waiting pre-order people.

Every launch I've been to where there was pre-order p/u there has been a separate line. I don't see how the Apple Store will function if all the p/u people just crowd around the door as the bouncer checks their name off. That would be chaotic. There has to be some order, i.e., a line.

Also in the past Apple only held the product until launch day closing time. After that it went back into the general pool.

trido · Mar 10, 2012

Only one question the apple store sales is that normal store opening time or like last year 5 PM?
Wal Mart at midnite?
Target at 8 AM?

Trido

coolosxapps said:
I just got off the phone with a very helpful Apple representative who was able to answer all my questions regarding preordering the iPad with store pickup.

Q: How can I be sure that you won't give away the iPad that I already preordered to someone else just waiting in the normal line?
A: Apple will place the preordered iPads in a separate locked cage and mark them as preorders so they may not be sold to the general public who are just walking in and buying iPads. Your preordered iPad will be guaranteed available for you when you arrive at the store to pick it up.

Q: Upon arrival to the Apple Store, what do I do? Will there be a line for preorders?
A: No, there will NOT be a line for preorders. What you do when you arrive at the Apple Store is you find any available Apple specialist on the floor and tell them you preordered the new iPad for store pickup. They will be able to retrieve your preordered iPad for you, and you will be on your way.

Q: What do I need to bring with me to the Apple Store?
A: Be sure to bring a valid photo ID of some sort to prove that it's you, and the credit card you used for payment. Also, be sure to bring a printout of your order, or at least have your order number and Apple ID handy.

Q: When should I arrive at the Apple Store to pickup my preordered iPad?
A: Be sure to wait until you receive the pickup notification email from Apple indicating that your order is ready for pickup. Do not arrive to the store beforehand, or you may just find yourself waiting around until they are able to process your order. Once again, it's best to wait until you get the email from Apple stating that your iPad is ready for pickup.

iSingandiDance · Mar 10, 2012

So is it safe to say that Apple will shaft those who pre-ordered and not send notifications to pickup until after launch. It will definitely be a madhouse and I guarantee there will be a few pre-orders that go away Friday with hurt feeling because they waited in line just to find out there order isn't ready to pickup.

slippery-pete · Mar 10, 2012

Apple stores will be crazy on 3/16. If you think you'll just walk in, find an available Apple Specialist, and walk out 5 minutes later you will be upset come Friday.

I reserved my iPhone 4 a couple of years ago, waited 2+ hours in the "people who reserved" line.

rollingstart · Mar 10, 2012

slippery-pete said:
Apple stores will be crazy on 3/16. If you think you'll just walk in, find an available Apple Specialist, and walk out 5 minutes later you will be upset come Friday.

I reserved my iPhone 4 a couple of years ago, waited 2+ hours in the "people who reserved" line.

Agreed. At least walking away with one guaranteed is a given with a preorder. I just hope my Apple store got their ducks all lined up and there are no pick-up delays beyond the 16th. I wanna see like 50 geniuses manning the store that day

wshyno1 · Mar 10, 2012

can i just wait until 830pm to pick it up? the store is closed at 9pm anyways. doubt it will still have many people lining outside. please tell me this will work!!!

DreamPod · Mar 10, 2012

wshyno1 said:
can i just wait until 830pm to pick it up? the store is closed at 9pm anyways. doubt it will still have many people lining outside. please tell me this will work!!!

If you preordered online for store pickup, then yes, you can do that. In the past they always held preorders all day (the first day), you could pick it up anytime that day.

And I think there will be three times that there will be big lines, assuming they put the iPads for sale first thing in the morning: first thing in the morning the line will be longest, then around lunchtime lines will get long again, and once more in the afternoon/early evening when people are getting off of work. I'd bet if you go in between those times there won't be much of a wait at all, and yeah, especially after 8pm.

trek360 · Mar 10, 2012

The apple store where I preordered said they would hold it for seven days. I didn't ask what happened after that. They also said they hadn't decided yet how to handle the preorders vs. in store purchases. Every store will probably be a bit different. The guy I talked to said to check back before the launch.

I wouldn't expect to walk out with a preorder in 5 minutes if you go first thing.

Photography · Mar 10, 2012

Chupa Chupa said:
I think the rep was reading of the instructions for normal store p/u. Obviously, there are vastly more people that preordered to p/u in-store than "Apple Specialists" so by that alone there will be a line of waiting pre-order people.

Every launch I've been to where there was pre-order p/u there has been a separate line. I don't see how the Apple Store will function if all the p/u people just crowd around the door as the bouncer checks their name off. That would be chaotic. There has to be some order, i.e., a line.

Also in the past Apple only held the product until launch day closing time. After that it went back into the general pool.

You have to remember that Apple sells more than just iPads, and there won't be people waiting in line just to enter the store if they want to buy a Mac or an iPhone. Not everyone entering the store on March 16th will want to buy an iPad.

For those asking about the pickup window, the Apple representative suggested that you arrive the same day to pickup your iPad, but they certainly are obligated to hold it since you already paid for it. He didn't provide specifics regarding how long they would keep it after the first day. He also didn't say what time they would "release" the iPad, but did say to check back on Thursday for a more definitive time window. I did mention that I wouldn't be able to pick it up until late in the evening on Friday, and he said that would not be a problem at all.

You should check with your individual store regarding pickup specifics. I checked with the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue in NYC, which is open 24 hours a day.

DreamPod · Mar 10, 2012

coolosxapps said:
You have to remember that Apple sells more than just iPads, and there won't be people waiting in line just to enter the store if they want to buy a Mac or an iPhone. Not everyone entering the store on March 16th will want to buy an iPad.

Yeah, how they've handled it in the past at my store (in a mall), there were two lines in the morning: people who had preordered the new device, and people who were walking in to buy the new device. But those lines didn't go right into the store, they stopped in front of the store, but like 30 feet back, so people who weren't there for the new devices could just walk in (if someone walked in and wanted a new device, they would be sent out to the line). Then they would have an Apple rep come out of the store, greet the person in the front of the line, and take them in to get their purchase done (there were a number of Apple reps dedicated to just the new devices). And they didn't start the line of walk-ins until the preorders line was empty.

Then after the morning, once they were letting walk-ins purchase one, there was only one line, the new-device line, whether you were a walk-in or a preorder.

Iffy22 · Mar 10, 2012

Night Spring said:
Uh... I doubt it. I think in-store pickups are mostly same day, at most two days. By April, the iPad availability situation will be totally different, and it's hard to say what your chances are of buying one then.

But I would have paid for it already....why would they not keep it waiting if I tell them I'll pick it up on April 7?

Chupa Chupa · Mar 10, 2012

coolosxapps said:
You have to remember that Apple sells more than just iPads, and there won't be people waiting in line just to enter the store if they want to buy a Mac or an iPhone. Not everyone entering the store on March 16th will want to buy an iPad.

For those asking about the pickup window, the Apple representative suggested that you arrive the same day to pickup your iPad, but they certainly are obligated to hold it since you already paid for it. He didn't provide specifics regarding how long they would keep it after the first day. He also didn't say what time they would "release" the iPad, but did say to check back on Thursday for a more definitive time window. I did mention that I wouldn't be able to pick it up until late in the evening on Friday, and he said that would not be a problem at all.

You should check with your individual store regarding pickup specifics. I checked with the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue in NYC, which is open 24 hours a day.

You must be new to the World of Apple Launch Day. Go ahead and believe the phone rep but I'm going to guarantee you right now there will be a special line for people who reserved their iPad. Again, it comes down to simple math: there will be more people who reserved than available specialists to help all reservists at any given time.

Night Spring · Mar 10, 2012

Iffy22 said:
But I would have paid for it already....why would they not keep it waiting if I tell them I'll pick it up on April 7?

Your card doesn't get charged until you actually pick up the iPad, so no, you haven't yet paid for the iPad. Plus, merchants have the right to dictate how long they will hold an item for pickup. If they say a day, or seven days, or whatever, that is what it is.

phpmaven · Mar 10, 2012

Night Spring said:
Your card doesn't get charged until you actually pick up the iPad, so no, you haven't yet paid for the iPad. Plus, merchants have the right to dictate how long they will hold an item for pickup. If they say a day, or seven days, or whatever, that is what it is.

I would personally be a little leery of doing an in store pickup. I seem to remember a few horror stories from some previous pre-orders where they ran out of stock. I seem to recall more than one instance when a poor guy strolled into the store later in the day thinking what suckers people were for standing in line only to find out that the pre-order stock was gone.

I know they say they "guarantee" it will be there for you, but you know how crazy things can get on launch day when you have hundreds of rabid customers waving money in their faces and they have this nice stack of pre-ordered iPads sitting there.

I do have a tendancy to be a bit paranoid about these things though.

Of course anything can happen, my pre-order could get shipped to Alaska, so who knows. It's all fun.

Iffy22 · Mar 10, 2012

Night Spring said:
Your card doesn't get charged until you actually pick up the iPad, so no, you haven't yet paid for the iPad. Plus, merchants have the right to dictate how long they will hold an item for pickup. If they say a day, or seven days, or whatever, that is what it is.

I will have paid for it, I copied this text from the online Apple Store:
"For pickup items, you will be billed before your item is ready for pick up. "

For Everyone who Preordered the iPad with Store Pickup, Read This Important Info!

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