anyone remember what happen in last year when iPad2 release?

[GNMac]

Hi, I'm new in here, so greetings to all of you

as we all know iPad 3 is going to be on the shelf in a month, i was hoping to get some answers from iPad2 veteran:

if I wait in line for the first batch, how many hours do I need to wait (say 5 hours or even more)?
how long did it take for iPad2 to clear out and how long is the restock cycle?
(my friend told me that it was release on Friday but it ran out completely on saturday, the very next day. And took Apple 2 months to restock for the second batch, false info?)
did Apple offer Pre-order? how long will it take to have it in front of my door?
(if they ship it 1 month after the release day I would rather stay in line for a day)



thank you and hello to everyone

 

[Mac.World]

Hi, I'm new in here, so greetings to all of you

as we all know iPad 3 is going to be on the shelf in a month, i was hoping to get some answers from iPad2 veteran:

if I wait in line for the first batch, how many hours do I need to wait (say 5 hours or even more)?
how long did it take for iPad2 to clear out and how long is the restock cycle?
(my friend told me that it was release on Friday but it ran out completely on saturday, the very next day. And took Apple 2 months to restock for the second batch, false info?)
did Apple offer Pre-order? how long will it take to have it in front of my door?
(if they ship it 1 month after the release day I would rather stay in line for a day)



thank you and hello to everyone

Pre-order online. If you are one of the first pre-orders, you are likely to have it within 2 days of it going on sale. As I recall, some people even got their ipad2 the day of or the day before it went on sale last year. But my memory isn't great, so I could be wrong.

 

[MyiBill]

I don't think Apple did a preorder for the iPad 2. They offered it online at a set time on its release date. Last year I was in line at 1pm for the 5pm release and was about 50th in line and I had every choice but the 64gb AT&T model in black (which is the one I wanted) but I got the 32gb instead.

 

[porcupine8]

There were no preorders.

How early you need to line up depends on where you live - some places, people got there a couple hours early & got one easily, others you had to wait all day. They also released it at Best Buy & Target at the same time, and the Target release was a MESS. I went there. There were about 20-25 people in line (I was about #10). I'd asked beforehand and they thought they'd be getting at least one of each model. Instead, the shipment didn't arrive at all til a bit after 5:00, and they got five white 32Gb wifis. That's it. And because they didn't know that til after 5, it was too late for the rest of us to go anywhere else. From reports here, it sounds like many Targets were just as big a mess.

Best Buy was the only place to take reservations for the next shipment they got - I placed a reservation a day or two after release and got it a week later. Many people didn't get one for a month or more.

There were component shortages due to the Japan earthquake last year, though, so hopefully it won't be quite as hard to get one this year.

 

[Mlrollin91]

Last year I got in line 10 hours before launch, wanting to score a black 64GB AT&T model. I was successful but not by much. I was 10th in line and got the last one. Apparently they only got 5 in stock. If you want to have your choice of models you need to be there very early. My store is also considered a busy store, so I figured they would have received more stock of each model than they actually did.

Apple will continue to receive stock on most weekdays. If you miss launch day, you will need to get there bright and early on the following weekday to try to grab one.

 

[deeddawg]

Y'all do know that there are thousands of posts sitting here from last March waiting for you to look them up via search. See one of my recent posts in the last couple days for a link to the epic ipad2 ordering/shipping thread last year.

 

[ixodes]

I ordered mine online on March 11, the release date. It arrived at 9:40AM March 13th.

There's nothing that could lure me into waiting in line for hours.

I plan on repeating the process when the next iPad & iPhone are released this year.

I'm glad I planned on keeping my iPad 2. I've been watching resale prices slide downwards noticeably in the last few weeks.

 

[GNMac]

thank you all for answering

Y'all do know that there are thousands of posts sitting here from last March waiting for you to look them up via search. See one of my recent posts in the last couple days for a link to the epic ipad2 ordering/shipping thread last year.

interesting, if I want to order it online and receive it in 3-5 days, I have to stay up all night to wait for the button. People who order it after the sun rise will have 2-3week estimated shipment. :S

 

[Agent-P]

Basically, the point I think being made here is if you want it as soon as possible, either get to a store early and get in line, or refresh the Apple page until the preorder (or if they don't do preorders, then regular order) screen becomes available. I made the mistake of waiting until April for my iPad 2 thinking it would be easier to find one then after the initial rush died down and I did not get my order until May. So I'd advise trying to get it as early as possible.

 

[Caliber26]

Y'all do know that there are thousands of posts sitting here from last March waiting for you to look them up via search. See one of my recent posts in the last couple days for a link to the epic ipad2 ordering/shipping thread last year.

Sometimes people like to post a new thread and sound it out with others, regardless of how many other times it's been discussed here, or anywhere else, for that matter. If we all sat here and did searches on previously discussed topics, these forums would be very bland. Having a discussion of your own isn't the same as reading someone's else's transcripts.

 

[rcp27]

Online orders supposedly went live at midnight local time. In Europe that translated to about 00.45 on the morning in CET land and 23.45 in GMT land (all went live together in spite of the hour's time difference). I tried to put in an order ASAP, and ended up with a 1-2 week delivery forecast. On the day of launch, the iPad went on sale at 17.00 local time. I arrived at my local authroised reseller at about 16.40 and joined the queue. When I got to the front, all GSM models had gone and all 64 GB models were gone, but I got a 32 GB white WiFi, so I went home and cancelled my online order (there were about 15 left in a mix of 16 and 32 WiFi, more black than white).

 

[deeddawg]

If we all sat here and did searches on previously discussed topics, these forums would be very bland. Having a discussion of your own isn't the same as reading someone's else's transcripts.

Good grief, I never suggested anything of the kind.

There's a difference between (a) posting a new thread to discuss what happened previously and speculate about how it will go this time around and (b) a thread full of posts containing "I think they..." and "As I recall..." followed by a mixture of correct and incorrect recollections.

(a) is useful and enjoyable, (b) not so much. I posted to suggest the info was available, which would then allow for a discussion based on factual data rather than recollections; since I was posting from my ipad at the time I didn't feel like digging up my other post to retrieve the link.

It's also pretty ironic that your only contribution to the OP's questions is to chastise another poster. Maybe you should practice what you preach.

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if I wait in line for the first batch, how many hours do I need to wait (say 5 hours or even more)?
how long did it take for iPad2 to clear out and how long is the restock cycle?
(my friend told me that it was release on Friday but it ran out completely on saturday, the very next day. And took Apple 2 months to restock for the second batch, false info?)
did Apple offer Pre-order? how long will it take to have it in front of my door?
(if they ship it 1 month after the release day I would rather stay in line for a day)

1. Tough to say, that is likely to vary by where you are and where you go wait.
2. Restocks were fairly frequent but not consistent in what models/colors and quantity was limited. Your friend is wrong about it taking two months to restock. BestBuy and Target both received regular shipments in March 2011; they'd usually be gone in hours, but they got them. People had tracking websites allowing you to check stock at your nearby stores and go pounce when what you wanted came in.
3. No pre-orders on the ipad2; online orders opened on the day of in-store availability, but if you waited until the end of the day the estimated time to ship was getting pretty long and you'd have been better to buy in-store.

 

[kevink2]

I want to wait until there are some hand on reviews to see if some of my questions are answered before I order. Then I'll just wait.

 

[ineel]

my story

Hi, I'm new in here, so greetings to all of you

as we all know iPad 3 is going to be on the shelf in a month, i was hoping to get some answers from iPad2 veteran:

if I wait in line for the first batch, how many hours do I need to wait (say 5 hours or even more)?
how long did it take for iPad2 to clear out and how long is the restock cycle?
(my friend told me that it was release on Friday but it ran out completely on saturday, the very next day. And took Apple 2 months to restock for the second batch, false info?)
did Apple offer Pre-order? how long will it take to have it in front of my door?
(if they ship it 1 month after the release day I would rather stay in line for a day)



thank you and hello to everyone

IF you wish to wait in line, coming super early is a waste of time and I think coming too late is also a waste of time. Last year I came around 1:30PM for the 5PM launch. I'd say i was #100 in line and it took approximately 20 mins to get into the store so my purchase could be made. I didn't feel rushed and they offered to set up the iPad for me in the store. They tried to push the smart cover on me so i tried it on my ipad and didn't like it much (bought it 4 months later haha). Waiting in line can be extremely boring or extremely fun. Either you get stuck with stuck up apple fanboys that bring their whole collection of macbooks, ipads, ipods, iphones and listen to music the whole time. Or you get some really friendly people you can make conversation with. In my experience, the lady in front of me was buying the ipad for the first time just like me while the guy behind me brought his 3G ipad 1 with him and he taught both of us some features and how to easy to navigate it was. He said 3G was a necessity, but i stuck with wifi since he used 3G with his business stuff. I also ran into at least 5 friends just browsing around the mall. All in all it was a pretty interesting experience. I think the experience is good for a one time thing. If the iPad 3 has pre-order i shall preorder for home delivery. If not, I'll debate on standing in line if my schedule permits otherwise i will simply order online.

 

[Macman45]

I have a dedicated Apple sales guy, so order directly from Apple...I don't bother with pre-ordering...I'm patient, will order on release day. Then ship my ipad2 to the States (A gift for a buddy)