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But what if they don't cancel it right away?

Would we be having to pay DOUBLE for a short time until it gets canceled?
 
Most likely they'll place a hold on the account and you may have to pay double.

Oh no. I can't have double the money coming out of my account. So I guess I'll be having it delivered. 100's of people waiting outside of an Apple store, there's a problem.
 
I have thought this through a bunch of ways to figure out how to guarantee that I wont have to wait 2+ weeks that also gives me the option to buy in the store the same day if available.

My last thought was to purchase the full price version online (no upgrade) and then try the Apple or AT&T store for the upgraded phone to pick up on Friday. If one is available I can cancel the order (or return the phone if it already shipped; fortunately it's not a big deal for me to wait a few days for a refund).

If one is NOT available then I would have to wait a few days for the shipped phone (but won't be in danger of a sell out and having to wait for weeks). This is where my plan is a little unknown.

If I activate the NOT UPGRADED phone, I was told by Apple & AT&T that I can't get a refund (difference between full price & upgrade price) but I think I can then go to Apple/AT&T when phones are available again and buy a new phone, sign a contract and return the old phone (do I have 2 weeks or a month to return?).

Does anyone think this would work or is it just stupid? (people who think it's stupid to care about getting the phone asap... please just ignore this post)
 
Here's an idea that might work. Call the store and tell them to hold one for you. And then day of just go and pick it up from the person you spoke to.
 
Yes,mine was painless.But I am in the vast minority,according to reports here last year.They called,I went,done deal.! am #2 on the list at the same store as last year.They don't know what they will receive yet.Possibly by late Thursday like last year.I was # 1 last year.I kept in touch with the manager at the store for a few weeks after release and she did not know what was coming until it arrived.That changed about 2 weeks after arrival when they were told what to expect prior to delivery.Lood luck.

Was your experience with Radio Shack good? I am on a list to reserve one once they come in, but have no clue how long it will take to get a 64 gig.

Thanks!
Cori
 
Here's an idea that might work. Call the store and tell them to hold one for you. And then day of just go and pick it up from the person you spoke to.

Only one problem with that suggestion they are not going to agree to hold any phones. Its always first come first served unless they offer an option to order online and pick up in store or provide an online reservation system everyday for people to reserve in store pickups the next day. Other then that the only way to have one held is if you happen to know someone who works that the store who is willing to do that.
 
I have thought this through a bunch of ways to figure out how to guarantee that I wont have to wait 2+ weeks that also gives me the option to buy in the store the same day if available.

My last thought was to purchase the full price version online (no upgrade) and then try the Apple or AT&T store for the upgraded phone to pick up on Friday. If one is available I can cancel the order (or return the phone if it already shipped; fortunately it's not a big deal for me to wait a few days for a refund).

If one is NOT available then I would have to wait a few days for the shipped phone (but won't be in danger of a sell out and having to wait for weeks). This is where my plan is a little unknown.

If I activate the NOT UPGRADED phone, I was told by Apple & AT&T that I can't get a refund (difference between full price & upgrade price) but I think I can then go to Apple/AT&T when phones are available again and buy a new phone, sign a contract and return the old phone (do I have 2 weeks or a month to return?).

Does anyone think this would work or is it just stupid? (people who think it's stupid to care about getting the phone asap... please just ignore this post)

The bolded - what does happen in this case (say that you haven't activated it)? Will you have to return the not upgraded phone, and order a new one that is upgraded? Or can you call customer service for the carrier, and ask them to activate your upgrade and refund the difference? Anyone know?
 
I might do this order online with Verizon using my bill to and then line up at an Apple store if they are available since I want a 64gb gold I am thinking that will sell out quickly
 
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The bolded - what does happen in this case (say that you haven't activated it)? Will you have to return the not upgraded phone, and order a new one that is upgraded? Or can you call customer service for the carrier, and ask them to activate your upgrade and refund the difference? Anyone know?

I spoke to both ATT and Apple and was told that if I bought a phone at full price I could not return in and re-purchase it with the subsidized price. I would have to return in and then get another phone (using my upgrade) when available.
 
I spoke to both ATT and Apple and was told that if I bought a phone at full price I could not return in and re-purchase it with the subsidized price. I would have to return in and then get another phone (using my upgrade) when available.

But what if you purchase at full price and don't tie it to an account at all? How would they know it's the same customer returning that one and later buying one on contract?
 
They cant. But you might be stuck not getting a phone for a while if they are out of stock.
 
Saw this image in the 5c order thread..

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Maybe cancellation won't be an option on the 5s?
 
Are people afraid of not being able to get a quick ship date if they go to the store without ordering it online?
 
The bolded - what does happen in this case (say that you haven't activated it)? Will you have to return the not upgraded phone, and order a new one that is upgraded? Or can you call customer service for the carrier, and ask them to activate your upgrade and refund the difference? Anyone know?

This is a goofy question. I tried asking AT&T on the phone but she didn't seem to understand my question. However, they were pretty sure that I could NOT get a refund for the difference between the upgraded phone and the full price.

With all of the stories just today of really low stock, I'm wondering if it goes on back order if two weeks would even be possible. The good news is I really like all of the colors so as long as there is a 64 gig one available I'm ok with it.

My AT&T store finally confirmed today that they are opening at 8. Not sure when the line will form.
 
1) Nobody really knows. Depends on many things...shipping method, where you live, when you get order in. I would guess 5 days minimum. Remember the phone wont ship until Monday the 23rd at the earliest.

2) Once again, nobody knows. Apple stores usually have the most for obvious reasons

3) Nobody knows. Depends on how many phones sell between 12:01 and when you order. Could be a week, could be four

As for Taget, I wouldn't trust them. Plenty of horror stories last year about stores not getting phones to people on the waitlist for weeks....after telling those same people that they would get on launch day
Why Monday earliest? You are ordering at 12:01am on Friday. It should be really easy for them to ship it that day and you receive it Monday/Tuesday. Maybe even Saturday w FedEx.
 
Does anyone have any experience from previous years how quickly they got their unlocked phone ordered online the night before? That's likely the route I'm taking and trying to decide if I line up in the store (which I won't be able to get to until after daybreak) or just stay up and order online.
 
Does anyone have any experience from previous years how quickly they got their unlocked phone ordered online the night before? That's likely the route I'm taking and trying to decide if I line up in the store (which I won't be able to get to until after daybreak) or just stay up and order online.

depends

iphone 4 people waited for weeks because apple gave retail stores priority. same with the 5. i did the reservation at 10pm deal and bought it in the store
 
Why Monday earliest? You are ordering at 12:01am on Friday. It should be really easy for them to ship it that day and you receive it Monday/Tuesday. Maybe even Saturday w FedEx.

Why Monday? There are going to be TONS of orders placed on that day. I doubt, I could, be wrong, that Apple will be accepting orders and start packing them on the same day just because of the sheer number of orders. Could it happen? Sure it could, but my money is on orders shipping on Monday. That gives Apple all day Friday and the weekend to box and prepare items for shipment. Or some orders will ship Friday and others wont.

We will know soon enough. If orders don't ship on Friday, this board will blow up with "I can't beleive my order hasn't shipped yet"
 
Hmm okay makes sense. There's no way someone at an actual AT&T store or something could reset the date, if I show I cancelled my order?

All comes down to three questions I think:
1) How long, if you buy at 12:01am, until you get your phone?
2) How many phones will stores have?
3) If you wait to see the store's stock at 8am, how much longer will you have to wait if they're sold out and you buy online?

Target pre-order is looking the best right now...

At the AT&T store they CAN cancel your order and reset your upgrade. At least, they did at the store I went to when I bought my 4S two years ago. I preordered in-store on the preorder date but later in the day. The afternoon of the release day (around 3 pm) I went to the AT&T store and since they had the model I wanted in stock, I asked them to cancel the previous order so I could buy one. They did this just fine, and said that if the phone did ship anyway to just return it unopened to the AT&T store.
 
At the AT&T store they CAN cancel your order and reset your upgrade. At least, they did at the store I went to when I bought my 4S two years ago. I preordered in-store on the preorder date but later in the day. The afternoon of the release day (around 3 pm) I went to the AT&T store and since they had the model I wanted in stock, I asked them to cancel the previous order so I could buy one. They did this just fine, and said that if the phone did ship anyway to just return it unopened to the AT&T store.

They told me that I could not do that because they cannot cancel the upgrade.
 
At the AT&T store they CAN cancel your order and reset your upgrade. At least, they did at the store I went to when I bought my 4S two years ago. I preordered in-store on the preorder date but later in the day. The afternoon of the release day (around 3 pm) I went to the AT&T store and since they had the model I wanted in stock, I asked them to cancel the previous order so I could buy one. They did this just fine, and said that if the phone did ship anyway to just return it unopened to the AT&T store.
nice, thanks I will try that if there is no lines at the AT&T corporate store that is close to my apt on friday.
 
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