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Buying an iPad 2 on Launch Day
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Just stopped by Walmart @ 9:00am...they had a sign saying that sales would not start till 5pm and that no rain-checks will be taken...fair enough. BUT, the mustache wearing creep behind the counter said it was first come first serve...Im like: dude Im the only one here, can I have a ticket or something to hold my place in line? He managed to grunt "naaa" or something. So now i gotta bust some hillbilly skulls at the Walkersville MD Walmart. (Come by at 4:00 to see the show)
Just stopped by Walmart @ 9:00am...they had a sign saying that sales would not start till 5pm and that no rain-checks will be taken...fair enough. BUT, the mustache wearing creep behind the counter said it was first come first serve...Im like: dude Im the only one here, can I have a ticket or something to hold my place in line? He managed to grunt "naaa" or something. So now i gotta bust some hillbilly skulls at the Walkersville MD Walmart. (Come by at 4:00 to see the show)
WTF would anyone wait overnight in line for a consumer product that:
A. will be made in the millions?
B. will be available on-line tomorrow to be received in a couple of days?
C. whose hype is being manipulated by Apple's extraordinary sales/marketing team?
I didn't get this with the iphone 3/4 and ipad 1.
Really laughable.
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MBP 17" and jailbrokend IP4
Agreed. I dont see why people panic and subject themselves to 10 hour lines for a mass produced product. You can always walk in a week later or order online and get the exact same thing. I guess I just value my time more.
I was able to get one in SoHo shortly after release too. No hassle No lines. I dont think the week of not having it negatively impacted my life.
I disagree. Pretty much everyone knew what it was then. It was a giant iPod Touch and it's fun and convenient. I would imagine that this will not be a huge launch because everyone is now selling it. Apple is artificially trying to make this seem more dramatic because they starting the sale at 5pm and only opened up for online orders unlike other devices.
The lack of pre-order options + 5pm sales = total retail cluster FRAK. IMO, Apple really slapped us in the face...waiting hours in lines or waking up at 1AM is madness. Wait a week folks...enjoy life.
The "huge demand" hype is a simple sales trick. If you've ever bought a car, you probably heard the salesman say there's another interested buyer, and if you don't buy now, you'll miss out. How so many people fall for these tricks amazes me. It's like Apple products emit heroin-addiction signals into users' brains or something.
I can't see that many people wanting iPads in my area let alone the new one. They will see the cheaper price on the old one and go for that.
Any thoughts on the pros/cons of buying it from one place or the other?
I wasn't originally planning on getting one immediately, but I'm reconsidering now and thinking about giving it primarily to my wife (with the caveat that I might like to play around with it, too). I'm leaning towards a black 16GB WiFi-only model, for cost reasons, and the black because it would make a better frame when watching movies, though since this may end up being my wife's I'm also tempted to go with the white one.
The Apple store near me is about 35 mins away and I'm sure that will be mobbed. There's a Target about 25 mins away. Walmart is the closest at 10 mins. It sounds like Walmart may not be getting any white ones, based on most of the comments in this thread.
Walmart's standard return policy is 90 days, but based on some Googling, it sounds like they may consider this to be a computer, which would cause it to fall under the 15 day return policy. Not that I'd be planning on returning it anyway, though I suppose it might be useful if I decided I wanted to upgrade to a better model.
I believe that Target gives you the full 90 days, but has a 15% restocking fee.
Best Buy gives you 14 days, but I believe they dropped the restocking fee they used to charge on many returns.
I believe the Apple store is same as Best Buy (14 days, no longer a restocking fee).
Any other coupons, etc. that should be taken into consideration? My understanding is that any coupons, rebates from Discover, etc. have specific exclusions for the iPad (or perhaps even all Apple products).
I wasn't originally planning on getting one immediately, but I'm reconsidering now and thinking about giving it primarily to my wife (with the caveat that I might like to play around with it, too). I'm leaning towards a black 16GB WiFi-only model, for cost reasons, and the black because it would make a better frame when watching movies, though since this may end up being my wife's I'm also tempted to go with the white one.
The Apple store near me is about 35 mins away and I'm sure that will be mobbed. There's a Target about 25 mins away. Walmart is the closest at 10 mins. It sounds like Walmart may not be getting any white ones, based on most of the comments in this thread.
Walmart's standard return policy is 90 days, but based on some Googling, it sounds like they may consider this to be a computer, which would cause it to fall under the 15 day return policy. Not that I'd be planning on returning it anyway, though I suppose it might be useful if I decided I wanted to upgrade to a better model.
I believe that Target gives you the full 90 days, but has a 15% restocking fee.
Best Buy gives you 14 days, but I believe they dropped the restocking fee they used to charge on many returns.
I believe the Apple store is same as Best Buy (14 days, no longer a restocking fee).
Any other coupons, etc. that should be taken into consideration? My understanding is that any coupons, rebates from Discover, etc. have specific exclusions for the iPad (or perhaps even all Apple products).
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The line here at the Tampa Apple store has about 60 people already.
Also Apple is buying everyone chick fil a that's in line!
The line here at the Tampa Apple store has about 60 people already.
Also Apple is buying everyone chick fil a that's in line!
Wow. Can anyone say "elitist"?
Hilarious. Apple should only serve sushi on an ipad2...oh wait - others already have: http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/07/20/idish-the-ipad-as-a-plate-for-sushi-steaks-and-dessert/ipad4
And if (most likely) iPads will be in stock tomorrow in all sores, what do you think will these people feel? That they helped Apple to create the hype?
Ok, i've read the entire thread, my girlfriend decided she wants one, so i'm gonna head out of work a little early to go pick one up with her. My 3 options are Best buy, Target, And Apple, i'd rather not go to apple since it'll be a cluster *****. Do you guys think more people will be at bby or target? if we strike out, you think an apple store will be sold out by 7?
might be a cluster duck , but you'll probably get one. The other stores are getting limited inventory from what I am gathering from threads and sources.
FYI,
I live in Long Island, NY. I just called 2 of my local targets in Commack, NY. Both only have limited number of models, wifi only. I wanted a black 32g wifi, and neither had them. They also told me they are handing out vouchers now which people can use after 5 pm.
Looks like its time to brave the line at the Apple Store.
I live in Long Island, NY. I just called 2 of my local targets in Commack, NY. Both only have limited number of models, wifi only. I wanted a black 32g wifi, and neither had them. They also told me they are handing out vouchers now which people can use after 5 pm.
Looks like its time to brave the line at the Apple Store.
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I'm in line at the Apple store in Manhasset, NY. There are a few hundred people in line here, I'm thinking like 250 or 300. I figure I'm number 200.
I'm in line at the Apple store in Manhasset, NY. There are a few hundred people in line here, I'm thinking like 250 or 300. I figure I'm number 200.
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8F190 Safari/6533.18.5)
I'm in line at the Apple store in Manhasset, NY. There are a few hundred people in line here, I'm thinking like 250 or 300. I figure I'm number 200.
Be prepared to buy the most expensive iPad model they have then. And the puke-colored cover.
A little piece of your soul dies regardless of which location you choose. Might as well just pick one randomly.
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Dude, you are so right. Almost regret standing on this line when the chance of me getting the model I want is slim. Ughhh.
fxtech said:
Dude, you are so right. Almost regret standing on this line when the chance of me getting the model I want is slim. Ughhh.
Best Buy & Walmart update
So I visited 2 Walmarts and neither of them got the iPad 2 in. Called my local Best Buy and they said they were going to give tickets away at 4. Went to Best Buy at 3 to get in line only to find out they have been giving tickets away all day because the store manager didn't want to deal with a line. Moral of the sorry? Call the store first, then call back again and see if you get a consistent answer.
So I visited 2 Walmarts and neither of them got the iPad 2 in. Called my local Best Buy and they said they were going to give tickets away at 4. Went to Best Buy at 3 to get in line only to find out they have been giving tickets away all day because the store manager didn't want to deal with a line. Moral of the sorry? Call the store first, then call back again and see if you get a consistent answer.
Moral of the story? Don't be in such a rush to get it RIGHT AWAY. Order from the comfort of your home and have it show up later, and avoid getting all stressed out rushing around town.
Seriously, life is too short to be doing that stuff.