How are the stock levels at the Apple Stores?

[hoopsgal]

Hi everyone,

Thanks in advance for your info. I plan to buy a base 13 inch MBP and take advantage of the back to school promo and the free printer promo.

I definitely am one of those people who need to try out the MBP in person and listen to the Apple smarties explain things to me before buying. So I have set up a Personal Shopping appt at the Delaware store midweek.

My concern is making sure the store will have all 3 - the MBP, Ipod Touch, and the printer in stock when I get there. Seems like the base MBP in particular is very popular right now.

Has anyone encountered any shortages when they went to their store?

I work days and most nights as a server, and it was hard to coordinate a day off. So I want to make sure that after the 1.5 hour trip I don't go home disappointed. Ordering online is not a desirable option b/c of my weird hours; I don't trust it sitting outside my door so long and I can never make it in time to pick up a package from the Fedex or UPS offices.

My only plan is to call the store late the night before or the morning of and ask them if they have it in stock, but I've been burned by that approach before at other places, so I guess if I hear a lot of people have encountered shortages, I will put this off.

(But I REALLY want to get it now. I've put up w/ a lot of rude and bad tippers all summer and want to reward myself )

Thanks!

 

[iLog.Genius]

There shouldn't be any worries. At this point, their pretty much stocked up on anything and everything that is Apple so if you decide to purchase any product, they will have it.

 

[caonimadebi]

You can call the apple store ahead of time and ask them to put your items on hold for you. They'll be put aside in the back of the store, with a hold tag with your name on it. I've made multiple purchases that way, and have never been disappointed.

 

[Demosthenes X]

Why don't you call the store you're planning on visiting and ask them if they have it? Chances are they'll have a better idea of their stock levels than we will...

 

[hoopsgal]

Thanks for all your quick answers. caonimadebi, I'll try out your suggestion, it seems the best way to guarantee it.

Demosthenes X, yes, my plan was to call the store the day of, but I've had bad experiences (not at Apple, other chain stores), when I was told "yeah, sure, of course we have it, come on in..." then gotten there 20 minutes later to find out they never had any.

While I'm sure Apple is more professional than that, I was thinking that if a lot of people who purchased recently advised of shortages, I would just wait. The distance to the store is great enough that I wouldn't want to have to do it twice.

 

[marvel2]

The Apple Store has plenty of iPod touches and the 2.26 13" MBP. However, all the Apple Stores in the Oregon market are sold out of the 2.53ghz model. This is per an Apple Store employee. They have pretty much been sold out of that particualr model all weekend. I have visited the store and called around after I found out they were sold out. A few Apple Store employees have told me that the 2.53ghz model is selling better than the 2.26 model. Your state may be different.

 

[TsuaSai]

Drove 1.5 hours to a apple store yesterday. They had no printers or 8gig touches. I have to go back with in 14 days if I want them. Really sucks, I should have called but thought it would be in stock.

 

[marvel2]

Called the Apple Stores today and they are still sold out of the 2.53ghz model and have not received any in the past few days.

 

[squishydonut]

Be sure they have the h/d config that you want too. The 13" that I was looking at only came in the base configuration.