i pinged apple care online and asked if they would check stores around atlanta, ga. they said that no pencils or keyboards will be available today. so bummed since everyone seemed to think accessories were gonna hit stores today. i guess it shouldnt surprise me based on the long delays online. until we start to see the initial orders shipping i'm gonna guess it's going to be impossible to get one in store.
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How do they not have any pencils at launch? SMH
- Thread starter EdisEdward
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Let me know what you find. Hopefully other DMV people can check other area stores.
Be aware that these remote CS reps don't have access to in-store inventory, they're just looking at the online order pickup availability. Since pickup is disabled entirely for the accessories, they won't see it if units arrive in stores. They also have no knowledge of incoming shipments; as Apple themselves said in their statement, shipments will arrive every day.
The idea that there would be an in-store launch today was unlikely to begin with and clearly isn't true, but we saw from the preorders getting filled last night that units are arriving. Some stores said they would have units left to sell in the morning.
There is no doubt in my mind that the pencil should have been bundled with the iPad. I know not everyone wants a pencil....but it's an integral part of the iPad pro concept, and therefore to have an iPad without one is like having a Galaxy Note 4 without it's stylus even if you never use it. If you come to sell it, for sure it will likely sell better and easier with a bundled pencil. In my personal opinion the separation of pad from pencil is a way to get even more money out of us, but in doing so has damaged the relationship between Apple and consumer especially in view of the fact that not only is stock an issue, but also the fact nobody can give clear messages about reasons for delay and more accurate restock dates.
As a gesture of goodwill Apple should now discount the Pencil for all those with pending Pencil orders
As a gesture of goodwill Apple should now discount the Pencil for all those with pending Pencil orders
Apparently, and unconfirmed, no new pencils have entered any country since the first stock batch. The stock arriving in stores yesterday was just a logistical issue that meant it didn't arrive on Wednesday. It is not "new" stock according to an Apple staff member I spoke to.
Ugh I was hoping today was the day stores were going to have stock. Oh well back to refreshing my Pencil order status. I heard the more you refresh the quicker it gets here.
i pre-ordered the pencil as soon as the store offered them for sale (so like 3:05am) with a delivery date of 19 - 23 nov. my order still shows processing. fingers crossed it changes to preparing to ship or shipped later today if people are indeed seeing their status changing. i just want it before i leave to go out of town next saturday.
I'm still going in this morning to see if they got any, but I'm not expecting anything.
If this situation is intentional then it's a really unpleasant example of artificial scarcity as a marketing tool. Wow, the Pencil is so hard to find, it must be amazing! If it's an accident then I'm not sure I trust the people running this operation to build and sell a toaster.
If this situation is intentional then it's a really unpleasant example of artificial scarcity as a marketing tool. Wow, the Pencil is so hard to find, it must be amazing! If it's an accident then I'm not sure I trust the people running this operation to build and sell a toaster.
If refreshing your order status is cool, consider me Miles Davis.
I agree. I'm getting pretty frustrated with Apples "tactics" (or lack thereof) as of late. I'm sending my husband over to the Apple Store this morning with my fingers crossed, while I sit at work stalking BestBuy's inventory in hopes that the "Coming Soon" button will change to "Add to Cart".
Meanwhile, back at the Apple.com site -- F5, F5, F5 all the things so maybe my 20th-30th gets out of "Processing". :/
Meanwhile, back at the Apple.com site -- F5, F5, F5 all the things so maybe my 20th-30th gets out of "Processing". :/
Keep us updated if you get lucky and find one, I tried calling my local store but I seem to always get connected to someone that seems to be at a call center? How can I speak to someone physically in the store??
Apparently you can't anymore? The reps I've talked to seemed upset when I even brought it up, like i wasn't supposed to know they were at a remote call center and they weren't supposed to admit it. Instead of answering directly (are you at the local store I called, can I talk to someone there?) they would just repeat, "I can help you today."
Say "Speak to a store manager" at the first prompt after calling the local store's number.
The rep I called said they were going to check local stock, but then didn't even put me on hold and clearly just checked the online order pickup stock (which is disabled), reporting back that "Pencils were not available in stores in your area."
Edit: I want to add, don't give these people a difficult time if you can't get the info you want form them. They're on a script and it's not their fault that Apple doesn't give them information.
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When the automated system asks you for a prompt, say "manager" and you'll be transferred to the local store where a sales associate can check the actual in-store inventory...though I tried all of my local stores this AM and they've yet to receive any pencils or smart keyboards.
Well manager trick worked like a charm. Unfortunately I only have two stores in my area and both had no Pencils in stock. One said they received some smart keyboards and they were going to reserve one for me but when they checked they said they were all help for in store pickup.
Is anyone else worried that the quoted time on their Pencil pre-orders won't actually happen. Mine says 19 Nov - 23 Nov and has since I first ordered it, but hearing that stores aren't getting them and they are like gold dust, do you reckon they are going to arrive on time (well, if we class over a week late as on time lol)?
Ace
Ace
I'm sorry for all the folks who are stuck waiting weeks for their pencil (from the looks of it, seems like it's almost everyone). It's pretty clear to me that there was a supply chain screw up.
Still, it's mind boggling to me that they would release, say, a million iPad Pros without an equivalent number of pencils. It's the one thing that makes the iPP worth purchasing.
Still, it's mind boggling to me that they would release, say, a million iPad Pros without an equivalent number of pencils. It's the one thing that makes the iPP worth purchasing.
Interestingly one store near me has some stock in all three colors for the 128gb and LTE this morning.
The only chance we have of pencils early are from carriers, Amazon, eBay (at massive high price tags), or BestBuy…etc
Why do you say this? Seems unclear what's up in general at this point.
But your right, markup in situations like this is inevitable....unfortunately
Thanks, saved me wasting half my morning. No units have come in at all. Utah.
I still think you may see a few units randomly show up periodically. I'll be watching the BB page, but I imagine that when they do appear it'll be a very small number and probably a couple weeks of delay anyway.