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I went to the Bethesda, MD store this morning when it opened at 10am and they had 6 on display, but said they had none to sell. I was looking at the ones on display with this sales guy next to me and after chatting for a little while he said they actually have 1 in stock. It was the 512 gb model, even though i was first trying to buy the base model. I decided to just buy that one. It is really a beautiful computer. It is transferring data from my old mbp right now. I really am lucky I have an apple store 10 minutes away from me.

haha, for a second there i thought i was reading my own post.

same situation for me. i called yesterday to the 2 apple stores that are 30 mins away and 1hr away, both said they'd have them on display but couldn't tell me if they would have them for sale. so i drove to the one that was closer and got there at 9:30am. i walked in and they were setting up the display units. i asked one of the employees if they had any for sale and he said he didn't know but went to the back to check [he was very nice, same guy i talked to yesterday when i went in] and he came back about 5 mins later holding one. i went with my gf's sister who was also trying to buy one and he said they only had 1, I've been laptopless for the past year and a half so she let me get it thankfully. it was a 2.6ghz 512gb model. i was also just planning on getting the 256gb base model but whatever, i may end up needing the extra space and won't have to worry about ripping this thing open.
 
This is just a regular retail practice. Ever gone into a store and wanted a shirt you saw on a mannequin only to find out that's the only one they have, and no they won't sell it you? Basically a store like Apple, wants all of their stores to have a certain look, and with the exception of the larger standalone stores and the flagship stores, they want that look to be uniform. So they have them set up the displays. I doubt that the display units come from the same stock anyway. These were probably units that they couldn't sell in the first place, maybe they were test units or used in some way. Probably don't have packaging etc.
Either way I don't fault apple for this. I don't even fault them for the inventory issues, obviously they wanted to keep this product under wraps until it was announced at WWDC and didn't want some kid working at a retail store tweeting pictures of the shipment they received a few days before the big reveal. What does bother me is that they decided to start selling them too soon. They should have just set the launch date for the following week, and handled it like they would an iPad or iPhone launch. That way they would have been able to better stock their stores(obviously shortages could still be a problem) and people would all have a fair advantage to get one.

Also I have a feeling that the initial 5-7 day estimated ship time was a pretty good indicator as to when they will be readily available in stores. So I'm guessing by Friday of this week at the earliest or Money/Tuesday of next week, they should be a little more plentiful. Although I still do think shortages will be an ongoing issue for at least a few weeks, not that I think the demand is super high, but I think it is higher that the current supply.

yeah, Apple clearly should have given a clear launch date so they could get sufficient stock to their stores instead of just saying "shipping today" and having everyone scramble around trying to find one.
 
Called Southdale, Ridgedale, Uptown, and Mall of America, and no-one had any for sale. Uptown was the most helpful and told me they hadn't yet received their shipment for the morning and to call back around 1.

Now going to try the local Best Buy's. Any luck on your end?

Called Best Buy... Minnetonka, Eden Prairie and Richfield did not have any Retinas. The guy at Richfield clearly didn't understand what I was talking about. Asked for the Retina MBP, he said yes they have a 13" in stock. I tried to explain what it was and then he was like, "Oh, you mean like the 15" and 17" models?" Yeah, ok... Going to make the rounds at the Apple Stores again...
 
Called Best Buy... Minnetonka, Eden Prairie and Richfield did not have any Retinas. The guy at Richfield clearly didn't understand what I was talking about. Asked for the Retina MBP, he said yes they have a 13" in stock. I tried to explain what it was and then he was like, "Oh, you mean like the 15" and 17" models?" Yeah, ok... Going to make the rounds at the Apple Stores again...

Called Best Buy and they said they had the Retina ones in. I went there and the employee made a mistake and THOUGHT that they had it in, what they had were the new regular MBPs instead.

Honestly, why is it so hard to distinguish between the new MBPs and the new Retina MBPs? I mean it says it on the damn front of the box.
 
yeah, Apple clearly should have given a clear launch date so they could get sufficient stock to their stores instead of just saying "shipping today" and having everyone scramble around trying to find one.

No kidding, I'm having flashbacks to the Wii release.

Has anybody checked the Austin area stores today?
 
I just played with one at the Grand Central store for about 20 minutes!! OMG I want it!! The screen is unreal! The More Space option is hands-down the way to go! Makes the display seems many times bigger.

I wish I needed a new MBP/could justify buying, but I can't. Some day!! Everyone else at the store was loving it too.

Everyone getting one will absolutely love it! This is the future!
 
Just checked every best buy within about 100mi of Raleigh, NC and nobody has even received their first shipment. What a waste of time this is. Debating whether I want to even bother with checking apple stores again tomorrow morning.
 
Just FYI so people don't waste their time. I stopped by Best Buy in Springfield, VA to see if they had any. Of course the did not but the salesperson was kind enough to check if any other store had any in the DC metro area. I only had her check for the 2.6 512gb 8gb model since that was what I was looking to get and none of the stores have any. The inventory system said all stores have about 2-3 slated to be shipped to them but no hard dates. Sorry I forgot to check for any of the other two models best buy lists on their site.
 
Oklahoma City Penn Square mall has a nice display but no units in stock to sell (so they say). Frankly - the employees I spoke with barely knew what the components were to the new models, let alone what was in stock. They kept pushing people to the iPad displays beside the MacBooks to explain the updates. Rather than speculate as to when their store would get stock they encouraged people to order online.

I played around with the display units for half an hour or so - when the display is set to "Default" (best for Retina) there is no lagging at all. I did not try scaling. The Apple apps look very nice and crisp. Obviously using the store display model there wasn't much intensive work done - but everything worked as smoothly as I expected. I was surprised when I opened iPhoto and it said it needed to convert all the iPhoto thumbnails to high resolution. That took a few minutes but the results were certainly gorgeous.

I had forgotten just how big the 15" MacBooks are. I have been using an 11" MacBook Air for the past year or so as my laptop. Even with the slimmed down size of the Retina model - these things are big. However - the difference in screen real estate is impressive on the new Retina MacBook Pro.
 
Has anybody checked the Austin area stores today?

yep - my story

Called my local store @ 9:45am today, asking if they were in. Sales Rep said they were in! I specifically asked for the maxed out model - 768gb ssd, 16gb ram. He confirmed that they had it. Awesome!

Drove to the apple store - was there at 10:01. Asked to buy the Retina pro. I was told that they did not have them. I specified that xxxxx (he gave me his name) told me on the phone that the store had them. She went in the back - definitely not in stock.

Waste of a trip. Mad.
 
Called local best buy. They said they sold out of the retina models but getting some next week. Went down there n paid and reserved one comin on the next shipment. I'm not a fan of best buy but their customer service >>>>>> apple customer service in my opinion. When I call apple store I get the usual crap I don't know when we r getting any blah blah, when it's available on the store pick up, blah blah. Called best buy the associate looked it up, fact that I was able to reserve one and they matched the student discount = me always going to best buy from now on to buy anything apple. I'm over going to the apple stores where it is always over crowded and wasting 30 mins to get someone's attention.
 
Called Southdale, Ridgedale, Uptown, and Mall of America, and no-one had any for sale. Uptown was the most helpful and told me they hadn't yet received their shipment for the morning and to call back around 1.

Now going to try the local Best Buy's. Any luck on your end?

I just tried Roseville and they said they don't have any and didn't get any in their shipments today. I tried all of the stores this morning at 9ish and all said to check back around 1 or so when they receive their shipments.

I also tried a few Best Buys and the ones I tried didn't have any. The MOA one had no clue about them and the Roseville one said they had some yesterday but sold out. I haven't tried any more yet but if none of the Apple stores have any in their shipments then I'll try the Best Buys.
 
Just FYI so people don't waste their time. I stopped by Best Buy in Springfield, VA to see if they had any. Of course the did not but the salesperson was kind enough to check if any other store had any in the DC metro area. I only had her check for the 2.6 512gb 8gb model since that was what I was looking to get and none of the stores have any. The inventory system said all stores have about 2-3 slated to be shipped to them but no hard dates. Sorry I forgot to check for any of the other two models best buy lists on their site.
Thanks for the info. I've called a bunch of Best Buys in the Loudoun/Fairfax area. None have them, but a few said they'd have them later in the week. Who knows if that's true. I might go to my closest BB and reserve one, just to be safe.
 
No go at Pacific Centre in Vancouver (after being told yesterday that they'd have them today). No display models, either. Was told that they should have them in the next 24 hours, as they were supposedly told 24-48 yesterday. Also, they insisted that when they were available for sale I could reserve one through the iOS app (which I'm not sure I believe). Will call back later today and maybe call other Vancouver-area stores.
 
Just stopped by my closest Apple store. They had them in stock but of course sold the last one just as I was walking in. All of the other Apple stores have them on display but none ready to sell.

I used it for a few minutes. It's thinner and lighter than I thought, but not sure if I'd want to be lugging around a 15 inch laptop around college every day.
 
Thanks for the info. I've called a bunch of Best Buys in the Loudoun/Fairfax area. None have them, but a few said they'd have them later in the week. Who knows if that's true. I might go to my closest BB and reserve one, just to be safe.

Don't bother. They tried that for me too but the system won't let them.
 
Stopped by the Apple Store in Rockaway when they opened this morning. They only had one: the 2.6/512GB model. I snagged it right away. Now to get through work so I can go home and stare at its beauty!
 
I just played with one at the Grand Central store for about 20 minutes!! OMG I want it!! The screen is unreal! The More Space option is hands-down the way to go! Makes the display seems many times bigger.

I wish I needed a new MBP/could justify buying, but I can't. Some day!! Everyone else at the store was loving it too.

Everyone getting one will absolutely love it! This is the future!

Did they have any in stock? I've tried Upper West Side, and the Fifth Avenue store, with no luck. :(
 
Stopped by the Apple Store in Rockaway when they opened this morning. They only had one: the 2.6/512GB model. I snagged it right away. Now to get through work so I can go home and stare at its beauty!

I called them after my horrible experience at Garden State Plaza and they told me they just sold their last one. It was YOU!!! Lol not that I would've bought the high-end anyway...
 
I never thought itd. Be this hard to spend 2g's

take-my-money.jpg
 
Stopped by the Apple Store in Rockaway when they opened this morning. They only had one: the 2.6/512GB model. I snagged it right away. Now to get through work so I can go home and stare at its beauty!

I'm not going to try to find one locally because I know I couldn't resist buying one if I found one.:D

That wouldn't be a problem if I didn't want the 16GB option. I figure I better get the 16GB now, instead of regretting it in a couple of years.
 
Was heading West around 9:00, the two stores there didn't have them. Turned around and headed East, one store said they had it. Got there at 10:00, no dice. So I called the 2nd closed store, they had them. Called a family member that was in the area, they got there within 5 minutes, GONE!

I want my RMBP!! I think Best Buy is going to give me the best luck when ever they get in.

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Not too long ago, I counted how many Apple stores are within a 40 mile radius and I think we have 12 total. It is pretty insane.

You're very lucky indeed. The closest one to me is like 40 miles either east or west.
 
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