Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Avoiding the lines on launch day...

D

DJinTX

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 15, 2010
524
30
No pre-order for me because I can't be home during the day on launch day. So, I'll have to take my chances at the store. To avoid long lines at the store, here is my plan...

I'll show up at an Apple store around 3pm on Friday. This should allow most of the overnight campers to be done with their purchases and be out of the way, and there are no pre-order lines to contend with this year. Obviously this all depends on how many phones the stores will get for launch day and how much demand there is. I read a rumor that Apple has 4 times as many phones for launch this year, which may or may not be true.

Did anyone use a similar strategy either of the last two years, and did it pay off? Any advice for me? Based on how fast or slow the lines move, could I get there earlier in the day and not wait more than an hour or so?
 
Last year's line where I was lasted the whole day
They eventually cut off people who would not get in before closing
And the next day had a 2-3 hour line all day as well
 
Bought my iPhone 4 at about 5pm on launch day. Had no reservation. Waited on line for maybe 30 minutes. Apple served mango ices to those waiting.
 
I'm thinking of getting to the store at 4am, think i'll be too far back in the line to get one that morning?
 
You can ask as many questions about lines as you want, and people can offer as many anecdotes as they want, but none of it means a thing unless you ask about a SPECIFIC store(s). Why do people fail to understand this again and again? It's like asking "What will the temperature be in the United States when I visit next year?"
 
DJinTX said:
No pre-order for me because I can't be home during the day on launch day. So, I'll have to take my chances at the store. To avoid long lines at the store, here is my plan...

I'll show up at an Apple store around 3pm on Friday. This should allow most of the overnight campers to be done with their purchases and be out of the way, and there are no pre-order lines to contend with this year. Obviously this all depends on how many phones the stores will get for launch day and how much demand there is. I read a rumor that Apple has 4 times as many phones for launch this year, which may or may not be true.

Did anyone use a similar strategy either of the last two years, and did it pay off? Any advice for me? Based on how fast or slow the lines move, could I get there earlier in the day and not wait more than an hour or so?
Click to expand...
The only strategy I'm using is walking in like 1-2 months later and leisurely get it when they definitely have stock...I don't really understand people + product launches. :confused:
 
Hmmm, that's a big difference. So a couple of questions...which stores did you guys go to? And was it large or small?

@MacDawg...so are you saying that they didn't run out of launch stock on day 1, and had some left for day 2? Any info on when they did eventually run out?
 
if you guys are getting att iphones... i would seriously try to find an out of the way att corp store and get there ~6am-ish. i did that for the 3g, or 3gs (cant remember) but there were 5 or so people in front of me, and i was in and out pretty quick.
 
I'm going to an AT&T store...if you live in a large city, then there are PLENTY of AT&T stores. Our Apple Stores in the city will be PACKED with long lines...i'm definitely not standing in line 8 hours this year like I did last year...most of the fanboys are going to the Apple Store...not in the mood for geek talk all day in line...again. lol
 
applefan289 said:
The only strategy I'm using is walking in like 1-2 months later and leisurely get it when they definitely have stock...I don't really understand people + product launches. :confused:
Click to expand...

I totally hear you and agree to a point, but my 3Gs battery is not lasting very long and it needs to be retired asap. So that's why I'm in a hurry. I definitely can't wait a month or more. Or more accurately, I don't want to wait.
 
Depends on store allocation & demand, activation speed, and most importantly whether the activation severs stay up.

In sum I think there are too many variables to have a cogent plan. It's all luck at this point. If you need it on Day One camp out and hope for the best. If Apple goes back to home activation then lines should go very quick.
 
Going be lines at most Apple stores. Store I got my iPhone 4 from last year had a sizable line until 9 at night. Consistent 2-230 wait
 
DJinTX said:
I totally hear you and agree to a point, but my 3Gs battery is not lasting very long and it needs to be retired asap. So that's why I'm in a hurry. I definitely can't wait a month or more. Or more accurately, I don't want to wait.
Click to expand...

But if you have the time, and you're willing to do it, it could be a fun day to remember.

I'm not into waiting in line though.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_5 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8L1 Safari/6533.18.5)

Total crap shoot. The whole reason there is a line is because no one knows how many units the store will have. If everyone knew they were going to have plenty, the line would be a lot shorter and people would just show up later in the day or even the next day and just grab one. BUT it's a real risk if u def. want one on launch day. If they sell out before u get there, it could be a couple weeks before u get it. My buddy is doing the same thing at VZW store. He's going to leave work during the afternoon and try to walk in and get one. I told him the same thing Im gonna tell u. Get there early and stand in line. The eariler u get there, the better ur spot in line. Other then camping overnight, I wouldn't get there any later then 6am. And even then, there will be a lot of people in front of u. Last year I got to apple store at 5am and I was about 150th in line. I got one no problem and had a great time in line. I had one preordered for in store pickup which was not an option this year. If it was, I would be in line doing it all over again. It was that much fun.
 
for vIphone release, there were about 10 ppl outside. :D

I was the second person lol.
 
Pretend you know the person in the front :D if you are lucky they will go with it....
 
mcdj said:
You can ask as many questions about lines as you want, and people can offer as many anecdotes as they want, but none of it means a thing unless you ask about a SPECIFIC store(s). Why do people fail to understand this again and again? It's like asking "What will the temperature be in the United States when I visit next year?"
Click to expand...

THANK YOU!! I can't stand seeing posts like this.. makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Not every Apple store is going to have the same traffic. Depends upon the state, city, customer base, etc... geez.
 
rockyroad55 said:
That's not true. My local store is pretty big and my buddy waited in line at 4AM and still got his 4 by 9AM.
Click to expand...

It's all going to depend on how many the store gets in and which one you want. I would say the 16gb white will sell out quickly, followed by the 64gb white. It's all a crapshoot. Going in at 3pm and expecting an iPhone 4S is absurd. Might want to think about the iPhone 4 in that case!
 
This thread is the exact reason I pre-paid my iPhone 4! I remember people were hanging out for several days at the (4) local Apple Stores and there seemed to be a line every day. Some were getting turned away, while some were saying "I'm buying a Mac" and they would get in and "just happen to buy an iPhone!" You might consider Best Buy, and Radio Shack. I haven't stood in line since the 3GS and I've been able to function on launch day by GOING TO WORK which is where I should have been on "Original iPhone Launch Day, LD 3G and LD 3GS!!!" :p:p:p
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back