For those of you with RESERVATIONS...

Wanna make a bet? You think in all of the chaos that's gonna go on, that they are gonna seriously hold a reserved phone for a customer who isn't at the store verses a pissed off customer who is in line and demanding a phone when they say "Sorry, we're sold out" but have all the reserved ones in the back?

Ha. It's happened to me, even though they give you 'all day' to pick it up. They'll sell it if they need to, or maybe by mistake, but it happens...

 

In Japan the Softbank policy is you have 10 days after they call you to say it is in stock before they will cancel your order.

They probably have a similar policy there. Why not ask?

 

BUT will they have White?

 

at the apple store I was at, the reservation was only good till noon, after that it was free to buy for anyone walking in.

 

Actually, they will. It happens every day with the iPad here.

 

If they do that, then you could sue them. From Apple's reservation confirmation eMail:

Pickup Date and Time
June 24 starting at 7:00 a.m.
Please note that your reservation will be held until close of business on June 24.

 

For what it's worth, my apple store told me the same exact thing. The only caveat is he said to get there as early as possible because they may have to cap off the line if they think they won't have enough time to get to everyone by closing.

 

Good luck with that. Better get your lawyer ready...

 

Yes, and in that scenario I also expect them to call security.

 

It also says this, Pre-authorization does not guarantee iPhone availability at an Apple Retail Store. iPhone is sold on a first-come, first-served basis.

At the store I was at, after the line for the reserved ppl died down, they started selling the phone to who ever walked in, this included phones that were set aside that were "reserved"

 

I'd rather be there early so I can get my phone and activate it rather than go later in the day and not be able to activate it because 600k+ people are trying to activate their phone through att

 

I just called the Manhattan Beach Apple Store to verify I had a reservation. The guy on the phone was pretty evasive about whether I could just stroll in after work and get a phone. "It's First come First serve among those with Reservations". So I said "so you are not holding phones for individual reservations until the end of the day?" to which he replied "Like I said, you have a reservation". I take that to mean you better get your butt in here when we open. Guess I will be taking a half day vacation from work on the 24th

 

I pre-ordered through Apple's website at 4:30AM EST and it took about 1/2 hour. I did receive the response email and was also told don't worry. This will be my first launch, so you bet I'll be there early!

I got rid of my 3GS, so I have to use a cheapo pre-pay phone for 7 days! Yikes!

 

Has any body else heard if reserved means they hold one till the end of the day like the email says. Also is pre-authorization = reserve?

 

man you should've picked the grove! haha that's where I'll be at 4am

 

This.

It's HAPPENED to me. Actually happened.

I worked all day during launch day, couldn't get there to stand in line for 5 hours (lol) and I got there before the close of the business day and there were NO PHONES available. Had a slip, had a reservation, everything. No phone.

They will sell phones, money is money. Either by holding your reservation and not allowing someone else a phone, or selling your reservation and not allowing you a phone, a customer will be angry. It's a lose/lose and they know it. They'll sell it.

People put way too much faith in Apple and especially AT&T. It's a business. Business is money. Money is sales. They don't care about your little piece of paper because they know you'll probably be loyal anyway and be just as naive for the next iPhone release. Sorry to be blunt but it's true.

 

Question: Will they hold it for the following day as well? Or is the "hold" just for the 24th?

My girlfriend has one for a local Apple store but we may not be able to get there to pick it up on the 24th. Will they hold it until the 25th?

 

Pre-authorization ≠ Pre-order

 

I love how the email says "Please note that your reservation will be held until close of business on June 24."

Then at the bottom says "Pre-authorization does not guarantee iPhone availability at an Apple Retail Store. iPhone is sold on a first-come, first-served basis."

I guess technically you could say that they're holding your "reservation" but not a phone.

And, "pre-authorization" is used. It doesn't say "Your reservation does not guarantee iPhone..."

Hmmm...tricky language there.

 

So, basically you're saying the employees at the Apple store will be intimidated and sell the reserved stock to an irate customer that is apparently demanding that they do so? I don't think so. This is not some third world country. I'm pretty sure the Apple store employees will follow their rules.

 

I don't know which apple store you were at, but the reservation clearly states that the phone will be held all day, not until noon.

 

I'm coming in the morning for my reserved phone. NOT 7AM early, though. Lol

 

This.

 

And Pre-order ≠ reservation either.

But you are right. I really wish people would quite quoting this line which has NOTHING to do with reservations. Pre-authorization is the process by which you pre-authorize yourself with the AT&T system to be able to come into the Apple store and buy the iPhone. OF course this does not guarantee you will have a phone in the store. But reservation is different.

As to the other poster who stated that the Apple store sold their phone that they reserved, that sucks. I would have raised hell about that and I hope you did and got the manager to give you one from their next shipment they got in or something. Honestly, they are not allowed to sell your phone before the end of the business day stated. It may have actually been the case that for whatever reason the store that you reserved at had not gotten in enough phones to fulfill all of the reservations though. That could be a possibility, although also should not occur. Apple uses the reservations to know how much of an allotment they need to send to certain stores. It is a great way for them to determine the best points of distribution so they can generate the most sales the fastest. It does not benefit them to allocate a ton of phones to an apple store that only has say 20 reservations, when another store may have 1,000. You can bet they will send 1,000 plus to the store with all the reservations because they know they will get the most sales there.