For my 7+ I was not able to pre-order and had to obtain one from a store. The wait time for a new order was weeks. I used the Apple website "check availability" to check every store in my region to see if they had the model I wanted. As I recollect they update the inventory status around 9 am. Took me 10 days of checking the 11 stores near me every day but I finally was able to score one at a store 50 miles away. It would have been weeks if I had just placed an order.
It obviously will be much harder with the X, but since they phones are going to be in stores it might be possible to locate one. Just takes time, perseverance, and the ability to travel to a store than has one.
