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iPhone 3G Remains Hard to Find

dhclarke said:
I checked the direct fulfillment order status again and my phone is still back ordered! I was the first person to order one when our store opened on Sunday, I can't imagine how long people are going to have to wait if they ordered on Monday or Tuesday!
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I still get:

"We're sorry, but the information you entered was not recognized by our systems. Your order may not yet be available or the information may have been entered incorrectly. Please try again."

Does this mean it's on backorder? I'm 100% sure that the information I'm entering is correct. Ordered mine Sunday at lunchtime.
 
I don't know if this has been said yet, but the Applestore stock pages aren't completely accurate according to an Apple store employee I talked to today. My applestore has been showing no iPhones in stock since release, but when I called them they had all the models available, but short supply. The applestore employee said the website won't show any in stock if that store doesn't have at least 10 models of each phone available. He says they do that to prevent long lines from forming before opening when they won't have enough.

I purchased my 16GB White iPhone today from the same store!!!
 
NYCMacFan said:
Okay, I just called all three Manhattan NYC stores and they said they have iphones in stock.

But limited quantities (probably only have the white 16g) and all 3 said the wait was 4 hours.
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4 hours.... Ugh. I don't have the time at the moment to wait 4 hours on a line. Maybe later at night the line will get shorter?
 
InTheWoodlands said:
I still get:

"We're sorry, but the information you entered was not recognized by our systems. Your order may not yet be available or the information may have been entered incorrectly. Please try again."

Does this mean it's on backorder? I'm 100% sure that the information I'm entering is correct. Ordered mine Sunday at lunchtime.
Click to expand...

I had the same problem yesterday, it kept saying that, to actually find out that my 16gig white was backordered I had to call 1-800-331-0500, to get the status.

After a long ordeal with waiting in line for 8 hours on Friday, and being denied by apple store, because they said I was a business customer. I had some other problems when Apple called ATT, and got the phone added to my account, but then their little scanner wouldn't complete the transaction. So they wouldn't sell me the phone that was already tied to my accout. The store manager told me it was a dead phone, and to go to ATT. I went to ATT, and they said that they weren't allowed to cancel off any iPhone purchases on accounts, but they could customer fulfill it for me. I didn't think about it until I left ATT, but they turned off my old iPhone. So I ended up going to a close by ATT store to get a new sim card yesterday, to get my old iPhone going, while I waited on the customer fulfillment from ATT. It just so happens while I'm telling my sob story to the ATT rep, a lady comes in and sits down next to me, and asks the ATT people questions about the phone. Stuff like turn by turn directions, and stereo bluetooth. The ATT people had no idea, so I told the lady it didn't currently have those functions. So she decided returned the unopened phone. Luckily the manager let me buy that one and cancell the fulfillment. Finally there was a great ending to a long weekend trying to get a phone.
 
just stopped by :apple: and they had actual signage that said no iPhone 3G available at this store. So I didn't even get to go in and bother employees about their lack of mac knowledge. :rolleyes:
 
Fastshutter said:
I don't know if this has been said yet, but the Applestore stock pages aren't completely accurate according to an Apple store employee I talked to today. My applestore has been showing no iPhones in stock since release, but when I called them they had all the models available, but short supply. The applestore employee said the website won't show any in stock if that store doesn't have at least 10 models of each phone available. He says they do that to prevent long lines from forming before opening when they won't have enough.

I purchased my 16GB White iPhone today from the same store!!!
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It was determined last year that the online iPhone availability checker won't show stock available for stores if they have a limited quantity. They don't want lines forming if say they have 20 iPhones of each kind. They still have iPhones but the online checker won't indicate that.
 
InTheWoodlands said:
I still get:

"We're sorry, but the information you entered was not recognized by our systems. Your order may not yet be available or the information may have been entered incorrectly. Please try again."

Does this mean it's on backorder? I'm 100% sure that the information I'm entering is correct. Ordered mine Sunday at lunchtime.
Click to expand...

Did you try using the zip code of the At&T store that you ordered it from? It took me a few tries to figure this out. I ordered mine at roughly 10:00 AM Hawaii Time on Sunday, which is most likely after your lunch time, so I would assume that your order should show up before mine (mine was available from at least Monday morning, maybe sooner)
 
I'm glad to know that the green dots mean they have more than a few. At least two of the Apple Stores near where I'm going had them in stock today. I'll be really upset if they're all out tomorrow.
 
Got My iPhone

So last night i checked availability of the iPhone, and it showed sold out for the stores near me. This morning I called, and they informed me that they received a shipment in the morning. So I headed out and picked up a white iPhone :)

I told one of the apple employees that the web stated they had none, they told me that the tool only shows if they have stock remaining from that day, it does not reflect new shipments. :cool:
 
dhclarke said:
Did you try using the zip code of the At&T store that you ordered it from? It took me a few tries to figure this out. I ordered mine at roughly 10:00 AM Hawaii Time on Sunday, which is most likely after your lunch time, so I would assume that your order should show up before mine (mine was available from at least Monday morning, maybe sooner)
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Ahh, thank you. Looks like it's backordered.
 
jamrob98 said:
If AT&T is selling phones using direct fulfillment, why didn't they just take pre-orders in the first place? At least then they would have had a better idea of demand.

I still contend that this product roll-out is a joke.
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Well said. Hit the nail right on the head. Agree 100%.

Why not a pre-order on-line, get an e-mail back, print a bar code at home, and pick up new phone at your local AT&T store. Activate, sync, enjoy.

A better idea of demand, Hmm .... gee maybe no one at Apple or AT&T thought that the iPhone 3G launch would be so.... ENORMOUS !!!!
 
Tara Davis said:
I've been trying to buy a 16GB phone since Saturday.

According to the "availability tracker", not only were they sold out, but none of Minnesota's FOUR Apple stores has had a single 16GB model available since then. None.

One store had a few 8GB phones for a few minutes on Monday. That's it.

Apple, why do you hate small midwestern states?
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any luck yet? IM taking a trip down to Minneapolis this weekend and was going to pick one up if any of the apple stores had a 16gb black. I have a v1 iPhone now and I'll be back down in Minneapolis in august for school so I can wait if I can't find one this weekend. Just want to see if you've found one yet
 
My experience tells me that you might as well wait in line and pick one up at the Apple store instead of trying to get one through AT&T.

I ordered one from an VA AT&T Store last Sunday. On Monday I took a OneonOne class at one of the Virginia Apple Stores. The Trainer said that they are sold out but they are getting them in almost every day and if you’re willing to wait in line for a couple of hours you’ll probably will get one. Ironically he said that they still had some models in stock at the very time that I placed my order at AT&T on Sunday.

I happen to walk by two other DC AT&T stores on the way home from work today so I thought I would check their stories. Both said the same thing. They haven’t received any iPhones since the launch on Friday, if you order one now your looking at around 15 business days before it’s shipped, and they don’t “expect” to have open stock for 3 weeks. Of course my VA AT&T Store told me on Sunday that they “Guarantee” that I will get mine in 10 business days or less.

I’m not a big fan of AT&T but it looks like Apple is really pulling one over on them. I’m sure Apple will wait until the lines decrease at any of their stores before they supply any, preordered or not, to the AT&T Stores. It only makes business sense from Apple’s end because you’re more likely to by another “Apple” product if you’re in their store instead of an AT&T Store.

Bottom line is if you want one with in the next few weeks you might as well get up early and wait in line at the Apple Store.
 
Your Best Chance....

Your best chance to get an iPhone is to go to the Apple store and be there at 10am opening. They are getting shipments daily, but not in large quantities. Selection of what you want is most likely right after opening if they received a shipment overnight......AT&T Stores are a joke.
 
InTheWoodlands said:
I would think/hope that that would be a breach of their contract with AT&T.
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Unfortunately that's only if the contract stipulates how many Apple is going to supply to AT&T and when. I don't think Apple would be stupid enough to put those conditions in the contract considering the size and magnitude of the 3g launch. I think this is what is happening considering what the AT&T stores are telling me about not receiving any open stock since Friday's launch and the Apples Stores seem to be receiving stock almost everyday.

I'm really not in that big of a hurry to get one so I figure, if I don't receive the one I ordered in a couple of weeks and I can pick one up at an Apple Store, I'll just cancel my AT&T order. I know some AT&T stores are letting people cancel orders and some are saying you can't. Bottom line is, if they haven't fulfilled your order then you can. That's one reason to buy one with a VISA Card. Of course I'll make sure that the AT&T Service Contract is signed on the one that I buy from Apple before I cancel the AT&T order.
 
Last night I checked the Apple availability chart. It showed all red for both the West Nyack, NY Palisades Mall location and the Westchester, NY location. This morning I called Palisades mall at 11:30. They said they had all 3 in stock this morning but now only had 16GB white and a 1 hour line. Called Westchester store and they had all 3 in stock at 11:30 am and approx waiting time of 1 1/2 hours. By the time I got to the Westchester store (30 minutes later), they only had 16G white left.

Unfortunately for Apple Store employees, the only way to know what the store has in stock is to call through out the day. Just because you call at 10 am and there is no stock doesn't mean that 15 minutes later a shipment could come in and they will have all three.
 
KaiMac said:
Your best chance to get an iPhone is to go to the Apple store and be there at 10am opening. They are getting shipments daily, but not in large quantities. Selection of what you want is most likely right after opening if they received a shipment overnight......AT&T Stores are a joke.
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I agree with you except I really think AT&T are at the mercy of Apple on this one. Case in point: I ordered mine on Sunday and it's still listed as backordered (Not Shipped). The stock that the VA stores are getting today was probably "Shipped" at the latest Monday or Tuesday for Wednesday delivery. If that's the case then Apple is suppling their own stores instead of fulfilling the AT&T orders.

AT&T Stores may be a Joke but I really think Apple is giving them the big one in this situation.
 
Got One in Columbus

Just to echo what others have posted - the availability indicator is not accurate especially for later in the day. Columbus store showing all red last night at 9 pm. I just went in blind this afternoon and was told only phone left (implying others had been available earlier) was the 8 GB black. I had planned on 16 GB black but 8 GB is fine, and only a 45 minute wait. The employee who sold it to me told me that she was called in to work extra since more phones came in. It was a real zoo in the store - I don't think Apple realized what a huge rollout this would be. Anyway, process for me with transfer from Verizon (yea!) was very quick and easy.

Good luck to all who are waiting - from my take the 'pipeline' is full of phones and I suspect you will all be happily visiting the app store on your new phones in the next few days. Peace!
 
Just ordered a new phone from at&t for my girl and was told it would take 21 days... Crazy. Hopefully they are overstating it.
 
**** I bought the last 16 GB Black this evening at the San Francisco Store ****

Late Sunday afternoon I had a mix up with my AT&T account and the transaction would not go through. The (really cute) sales guy said he would hold the phone until Monday and gave me a card that let me in the store ahead of everyone in line.

Today AT&T resolved the issue. I stopped by the store knowing that my phone was more than likely no longer being held. I walked up to the security guy, showed my card, and without a word he let me in.

As soon as I got in the inside line, the rep working the line said they had just sold out of the 16 GB in black. I asked if mine was still being held. He said they are generally held 24 hours and to ask the rep who helps me when it's my turn.

When it was my turn, I told the guy what happened Sunday and asked, if by a long shot, the phone being held. He said he doubted it, but would check. He came back out, verified my name and the model I wanted. Went back to the guy working the storage room.

A few minutes later he came back to me. He said the bad news was that my phone was no longer being held. The good news is that he was given the last 16 GB in black to sell to me.

15 minutes later I walked out the door the proud owner of the new iPhone 3G.
 
InTheWoodlands said:
I still get:

"We're sorry, but the information you entered was not recognized by our systems. Your order may not yet be available or the information may have been entered incorrectly. Please try again."

Does this mean it's on backorder? I'm 100% sure that the information I'm entering is correct. Ordered mine Sunday at lunchtime.
Click to expand...

Mine actually said that on tuesday.. I ordered mine on friday and so I checked it online on tuesday.. I tried my zip code and the zip code of the store and both didn't work and showed that quote... lo and behold 3 hours later they called me and said that my phone came into the store. I guess it would be better to call the number because I think the web interface isn't really accurate.. (then again my receipt did still use cingular address and not att.. lol.
 
Canada Tip

Tip for people in Canada. I was told that Rogers ships phones based on the average sales of the stores, but there is a bit of an anomaly in that places that do corporate plans sell huge amounts of phones (300-400 day) while retail outlets do maybe 50... So the corp places get large stock of iPhones, but can't sell them to corporate plans yet, and as a result have stock.

Here in Ottawa I went to the rogers on Carling (which has sit down offices!) and they said they have been shipped over 160 phones so far and are promised nealy 600 by months end. They had TONS of them.
 
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