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iPhone 5 Reservation at Apple Store

walked in. got one.

So, I can't partake in the pre-order or reservation system as I don't have the big 3 carriers (I have T-Mobile). So that means trying to walk in to Apple and calling them for stock availability. I wasn't going to bother with the mayhem at carrier stores or Radio Shack, etc.

2 weeks ago I popped into a Chicago area Apple Store and they had some in stock but there was a big line and I had to go to work. For the past 2 weeks I have been calling but someone said to try when they open.

I went right down to my closest Apple Store when they opened and it was not very busy so I thought they had none. I asked a guy who came up to me when I was playing with the iPod nanos if they had any IPhone 5's today. He said they did not and when quizzed about shipments he said those are only for pre-orders from the website.

A few minutes later he comes back over, " what carrier or color did you have in mind?" They had black for Verizon, and both AT&T colors but only 32GB models which is what I wanted. I asked about the white 32gb for AT&T (can unlock on itunes) and he said I can't buy it if I don't have an account as the person has to be here. Then reluctantly he said, you can buy it without a contract but it's expensive! I already planned on that so I asked if I could ...so I did. Just walked home with a white 32GB iPhone 5!!!!!

For everyone messing with the pre orders try a walk in. I had the luxury of being off of work today....so try when your Apple store opens if you can play hooky. The supplies are very limited so I guess i got lucky.

Thanks for everyone's tips on this thread/forum....I had been lurking a long time!
 
Not sure if this matters but I never saw inventory when I had AppleCare in my basket but did when I removed it.
 
lsh1991 said:
This is a new line on existing account.
Click to expand...

Something similar happened to me - it was on sprint's end Oct 1st. They couldn't activate any sprint phones for over 3 hours. Of course I had driven 2.5 hours to get there.. so I waiting and luckily before I had to be back on the road - the ability to activate came back. But it was across the board though - all apple stores.. sounds like this is just your particular phone. They really should try another one. I would call them back, especially since you already paid for the phone... and they should ship it to you for free. I ended up with a $50 apple store gift card for my trouble.
 
i had my first horrible experience at an apple store when i came in this morning to pick up my pre order to make a long story short the lady specialist entered my info wrong which flagged the credit review which then i had to leave and get a second form of i.d. then when i got back he told me it had become so messed up that we just had to cancel it out and start over and just sell me the phone so once this idiot did that and corrected the address on my info which is what they did wrong in the first place he says ok your all set that will be 320$ so im like i paid last night and he's like yeah but we had to cancel it to sell the phone meaning now id have to wait 2-3 days for the refund to go thru...... so I've raised the money i need and im at the apple store now to see whats what ill keep ya updated
 
I went to 3 apple stores this morning and called 2 (total of 5 around Denver).
The Cherry Creek Mall had a guy up front for walk ins and had 4 sprints and one verizon but No att that I need.

Will try again 10pm tonight.
 
Apparently the one here got 32GB AT&Ts last night, but they sold out immediately, at least according to the salesperson I talked to in the store. All they had were Sprint models. I checked at 10 though and saw nothing... so either they got it ahead of time or she was wrong.
 
RADIOSHACK

Got a 16gb AT&T black iPhone 5 at Radioshack today in San Francisco.
They got a shipment just as I walked in this afternoon!
 
mmgg said:
RADIOSHACK

Got a 16gb AT&T black iPhone 5 at Radioshack today in San Francisco.
They got a shipment just as I walked in this afternoon!
Click to expand...

I check every morning online there and Best Buy and haven't found anything. I did find Walmart had a few in last week but they were 16GB versions and mostly Verizon models.
 
Ok, I am going to give it a 2nd shot tonight.

the last time I tried to reserve one, I took too long and it was scooped up quickly.
Should I enable Express Checkout? Haven't done this before so I am trying to make it as easy as possible LOL
 
mmgg said:
RADIOSHACK

Got a 16gb AT&T black iPhone 5 at Radioshack today in San Francisco.
They got a shipment just as I walked in this afternoon!
Click to expand...

The problem I have with radio shack is that from the moment you walk into the door the employees act like they have never seen a customer in their lives and then they start pestering you to buy things you have no intention of buying. You say no and they keep pushing the issue. I mean I know they probably get paid on commission but seriously if I don't want an Otter-box I'm not going to buy it no matter how many times you ask me to.
 
poloboogie said:
i had my first horrible experience at an apple store when i came in this morning to pick up my pre order to make a long story short the lady specialist entered my info wrong which flagged the credit review which then i had to leave and get a second form of i.d. then when i got back he told me it had become so messed up that we just had to cancel it out and start over and just sell me the phone so once this idiot did that and corrected the address on my info which is what they did wrong in the first place he says ok your all set that will be 320$ so im like i paid last night and he's like yeah but we had to cancel it to sell the phone meaning now id have to wait 2-3 days for the refund to go thru...... so I've raised the money i need and im at the apple store now to see whats what ill keep ya updated
Click to expand...

That sucks, they should have issued the refund with the gift card and use the gift card to pay for it.
 
southpaw773 said:
So, I can't partake in the pre-order or reservation system as I don't have the big 3 carriers (I have T-Mobile). So that means trying to walk in to Apple and calling them for stock availability. I wasn't going to bother with the mayhem at carrier stores or Radio Shack, etc.

2 weeks ago I popped into a Chicago area Apple Store and they had some in stock but there was a big line and I had to go to work. For the past 2 weeks I have been calling but someone said to try when they open.

I went right down to my closest Apple Store when they opened and it was not very busy so I thought they had none. I asked a guy who came up to me when I was playing with the iPod nanos if they had any IPhone 5's today. He said they did not and when quizzed about shipments he said those are only for pre-orders from the website.

A few minutes later he comes back over, " what carrier or color did you have in mind?" They had black for Verizon, and both AT&T colors but only 32GB models which is what I wanted. I asked about the white 32gb for AT&T (can unlock on itunes) and he said I can't buy it if I don't have an account as the person has to be here. Then reluctantly he said, you can buy it without a contract but it's expensive! I already planned on that so I asked if I could ...so I did. Just walked home with a white 32GB iPhone 5!!!!!

For everyone messing with the pre orders try a walk in. I had the luxury of being off of work today....so try when your Apple store opens if you can play hooky. The supplies are very limited so I guess i got lucky.

Thanks for everyone's tips on this thread/forum....I had been lurking a long time!
Click to expand...

I bought 8 on launch day... And I was not an AT&T customer either lol... Didn't ask for an account or ask if I was an AT&T customer
 
I can see the stores but no stock yet.

I'm sure I'll just be banging my head into the wall again tonight looking for a 32GB white Verizon phone.
 
Woohoooo!

Night #4 for me trying in the Boston area, and I got a black 16GB AT&T model in Providence. Thanks for all the tips! Good luck everyone!
 
Nothing in Indy area yet

Still checking but no Love yet tonight.
Indy had some last week but I was short on cash, now have money but no phones.
:-(

----------

Looks like Colombus OH has AT&T 32gb white, too far for me though.
 
Just got one, here are some tips:

1. Make sure you're signed in, have the phone in your cart, and have pre-filled out your credit card info, well before 10pm.

2. A few minutes before 10pm, keep hitting the "locate" button on the "pick up from an Apple Store" option.

3. If you are willing to drive further than your local area, be sure to hit the Next button every once in a while after refreshing.

This is my third day trying in a row, and I grabbed a 16GB Black AT&T iPhone 5. I cannot stress how important it is to be quick, when I was finished checking out, I hit the locate button again on my phone just to see...and they were ALL sold out. There were at least a few "In Stock" when I first checked.

Good luck!
 
Looks like I got mine. Black 16GB AT&T. I even delayed a bit (last minute hesitation) as I watched them disappear from other stores. Finally pulled the trigger and now have one in my order history with an "in stock" status. All I need is that email now...
 
Has anyone seen a 32GB white VZW phone in the wild? I'm just about convinced they don't exist... :mad:
 
Didn't get home till 10:30 and they are all gone obviously, if they had any. I guess I will just wait for my order from AT&T. It will get here eventually.
 
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