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How far are you willing to drive for iPhone 5s

M

MysticAngel

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 14, 2013
11
0
There was a iPhone 5s in the model and color I wanted in stock at an Apple Store a little over 2 hours away from me. (The 3 stores in my area are out of stock.) I thought about for a few minute plus it also complicate things since I live in a state with no sale tax and the phone was in a state that does have sale tax. Anyway when I finally decide to get it, it was gone of corse because I waited to long.
So my question is how far are you willing to drive to get a iPhone?
 
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i have like 5 apples stores within 45 minutes of me, closest two being 10 minutes and 25 minutes from me. i wouldnt go beyond those two.
 
I have mine delivered to my door before 10 AM FedEx. Doesn't get any easier or efficient than that.
 
I almost did the same thing. I ended up being a little more patient and one popped up closer. I don't see anything wrong with a couple of hour drive to pick up one if you want it bad enough .People stand in line longer than that on the release date . I was in line for a little over 4 hours for them to tell me no gold for att and I was number 10 in line. A 2 hour drive and being guaranteed sounds a lot better to me...
 
There are 10 Apple stores near me and they are all within 20-30 minutes from the house. I never realized how many were around me until when I thought about it just now. Which one I go to depends on my schedule for the day.
 
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2 hours equals 120 miles each way. 240 miles on gasoline wasted. That's at least a minumum of $30 dollars of gasoline (assuming low end $3.20-3.50/gallon and you car gets near 25 miles per gallon.

Plus roughly 4 hours of your time.

Time is money. Gasoline is money.

For me its not worth it to drive more than 20 miles to get anything including an iPhone. And I'd call ahead to make sure the phone was there before I even attempted to do so.
 
I travelled via mass transit for almost 2 hours, (a little over 2 hours returning). It is one of the more crazier things I have done, and while I'd like to say it wasn't worth it, it was more fun exploring a part of the city I've never been to.

If I had to do it again though, I wouldn't. Coming from an iPhone 5 to get this Gray 5S, its not worth the crazy trip. Maybe if it was a gold (then maybe)… So if you are contemplating a 2 hour trip, don't do it unless you absolutely need a phone (but if you really needed one, you would've already found an alternative, right?).
 
aneftp said:
2 hours equals 120 miles each way. 240 miles on gasoline wasted. That's at least a minumum of $30 dollars of gasoline (assuming low end $3.20-3.50/gallon and you car gets near 25 miles per gallon.

Plus roughly 4 hours of your time.

Time is money. Gasoline is money.

For me its not worth it to drive more than 20 miles to get anything including an iPhone. And I'd call ahead to make sure the phone was there before I even attempted to do so.
Click to expand...

I drove 80 miles each way for my iPhone 5s in Silver. Maybe it isn't worth it in absolute values but I've been using my phone daily since Sept 22 while the people who ordered online are still waiting for the ship date.
 
I was willing to drive to a store 50 minutes away from me, but I found one on eBay that actually cost me LESS than a gold one at a physical store because I got it tax free, and didn't have an upgrade anyway.
 
I went from North Carolina to Texas for one. To be fair, I was in Texas for a wedding, but scoring a 5S was a happy coincidence. :cool:
 
Almost drove 1.5 hours to get the 5s I wanted, but decided against it. Found one at my local Apple store about 15 minutes away yesterday. :)
 
I wouldn't go more than 5 miles away. Almost major town outside of farms have a radioshack, best buy, target, at&t, or other retailer. The last place I would want to buy a phone from is an apple store.
 
To my parents' house, since that's where it's getting delivered Thursday. So like 30 miles.

I'm rather glad I went with the ordering online deal because it will get to me a day before I can activate it without an ETF, meaning I can get it going ASAP on Friday. Plus nothing is more frustrating than having to go through all the activation motions in the store.
 
MysticAngel said:
There was a iPhone 5s in the model and color I wanted in stock at an Apple Store a little over 2 hours away from me. (The 3 stores in my area are out of stock.) I thought about for a few minute plus it also complicate things since I live in a state with no sale tax and the phone was in a state that does have sale tax. Anyway when I finally decide to get it, it was gone of corse because I waited to long.
So my question is how far are you willing to drive to get a iPhone?
Click to expand...


Based on the details you gave, I'm guessing you are in the Portland OR area and found that the Tacoma Mall Apple store up in Washington had stock. So, to directly answer your question, that's exactly how far I would drive :)

While waiting in line at the Bridgeport store on Monday following release weekend near fights were breaking out. You could feel the tension in the air as people were blatantly cutting in line, yelling at each other, and even pushing/shoving. On top of that the on-site security refused to do anything about it stating that they "can't be responsible for the line" and suggested we figure it out amongst ourselves. Worst experience I've ever had at a retail store. It was utter insanity.

So I checked apple.com and saw that the Tacoma Mall store had stock ready for purchase. While walking back to our car I bought the model we were looking for and got a 'ready for pickup' email before even hitting the freeway.

I'm sure some people would say we are crazy for making a ~2 hour drive to pick up a phone. And sure, I would have preferred to not make the drive just to pick up an iPhone but A) we enjoy road trips B) we own a hybrid so that really helps out with fuel economy.

We made the drive up to Tacoma and the experience in store was truly amazing. The employees were all smiling and seemed genuinely happy. We heard a number of them even say "Oh! You got a 5S. Congratulations!!" as they noticed the transaction being done. Additionally, when the associate realized we had driven up from Portland he went out of his way to get us setup with a tax exemption so we wouldn't have to pay that despite being out of state. All in all I wish that store were closer because it would become my go-to Apple store.

Once we were done in store, we decided to take a walk along the waterfront, did a little shopping, and followed it all up with a nice dinner. So while the trip was originally purpose driven, we got some extra enjoyment out of it by enjoying the local area for a bit.
 
It all depends on you... If you have the time , money and energy , go for it...some don't have either... So of course they won't drive 2 hours
 
First of all, I am envious of you people with multiple Apple stores near you. For me there is only one and it's an hour away... So yes, I'd drive that far without even thinking about it.
 
The closest Apple store to me is two hours and two states away. I try not to go unless it's an absolute emergency. Picking up a new phone? Nah...I can wait and have the postman bring it to my front door.
 
I wouldn't drive past my 2 nearby apple stores, a 5S isn't going to make or break anyone and my 5 is perfectly fine
 
I went pretty far considering I live in The Bronx and have a ton of Apple stores around me.

I paid ~$12 toll and wasted about 2 gallons of gas @ $4/gallon to go about 30 miles to an Apple store in Jersey.

I didn't mind though; I have an RX-8 and it's not often I get to take it out for a spin outside the boroughs. I like when I get to open it up a bit on Jersey highways. :)
 
I wouldn't go that far out. It would be better to order online and wait for it to show up on your door :D
 
I have 4 apple stores and probably a dozen AT&T stores within an hour of my house, but for this release, I probably could have talked myself into driving to the other side of the state for my gold 5S.
 
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