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iPhone 5 Reservation at Apple Store

Applejuiced said:
So 8PM Eastern time?:D
Man, I give up. I will never find any local. I keep spending hours clicking away every night and nothing:D
Click to expand...

Yup and 11 PST.. weird haha. This was my first night trying, actually. Lucked out. Which model are you looking for? I swore you already had one haha!
 
He originally said 10 pm CST which is 11 pm EST. So they supposedly showed stock around an hour after stock is supposed to go live.
 
Just wanted to post my experiences:

I wanted to get my friend an iPhone 5 for his birthday and it seemed like the only way to get one in a timely manner was through the online reservation system. I looked through the forums here and saw some members had some luck reserving an iPhone 5 online by creating an AT&T account and walking in the store the next day. I wanted the device only so I could gift it to him. I asked one of the guys in the Apple store if I could get the device and return it and buy it as device only. In the Boca Raton store a week ago, i asked an employee if I could do this and he said it wouldn't be a problem, so when I went to the Palm Beach Gardens store to pick up my iPhone 5, I thought it wouldn't be a problem there either. But to my surprise, they said their policy was that the phone needed to be activated before I left the store and that it was a new policy they implemented to reduce fraudulent resellers. They would not let me buy it as device only.

Long story short, those trying to get the device-only through the reservation system by receiving the phone, returning it right after and purchasing it again as device only aren't going to have any luck as of late.
 
remedy20 said:
Just wanted to post my experiences:

I wanted to get my friend an iPhone 5 for his birthday and it seemed like the only way to get one in a timely manner was through the online reservation system. I looked through the forums here and saw some members had some luck reserving an iPhone 5 online by creating an AT&T account and walking in the store the next day. I wanted the device only so I could gift it to him. I asked one of the guys in the Apple store if I could get the device and return it and buy it as device only. In the Boca Raton store a week ago, i asked an employee if I could do this and he said it wouldn't be a problem, so when I went to the Palm Beach Gardens store to pick up my iPhone 5, I thought it wouldn't be a problem there either. But to my surprise, they said their policy was that the phone needed to be activated before I left the store and that it was a new policy they implemented to reduce fraudulent resellers. They would not let me buy it as device only.

Long story short, those trying to get the device-only through the reservation system by receiving the phone, returning it right after and purchasing it again as device only aren't going to have any luck as of late.
Click to expand...

That might vary by store though.
The Palm Beach Gardens Apple store did have this policy but maybe every other Apple store in the US doesnt.
I hope they dont:)
 
Applejuiced said:
That might vary by store though.
The Palm Beach Gardens Apple store did have this policy but maybe every other Apple store in the US doesnt.
I hope they dont:)
Click to expand...

I was there 45 minutes because they were talking to their advisors and managers to see what they could do about my situation, but their only suggestion was to go into another Apple store to see if I could return it as device only there. I initially accepted but waiting another 30 minutes just for them to activate the phone really tried my patience. So I told them to just cancel my reservation. :rolleyes:
 
remedy20 said:
I was there 45 minutes because they were talking to their advisors and managers to see what they could do about my situation, but their only suggestion was to go into another Apple store to see if I could return it as device only there. I initially accepted but waiting another 30 minutes just for them to activate the phone really tried my patience. So I told them to just cancel my reservation. :rolleyes:
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That sucks.
I plan on just adding a line to my family plan for $10 a month.
Then either keep the line open and use it just to get upgrades every 18-20 months or just cancel it and pay the $325 ETF.
 
This is the most f'd up ridiculous system ever. Two nights I had my phone and in the literally 5 seconds it took to push all the buttons to check out I didn't. You have it in your cart and they don't hold it for 2 minutes? What kind of morons run the store? Last night they could even keep their f'd up Apple Servers running.
 
Been trying 10 nights in a row for a 32 gb Verizon in LA area and I've never seen any location turn green with availability. This is so effing ridiculous.
 
no luck in san diego for the past 4 days (VZW 16gb black). Otay, UTC, & North County had them last thursday but wasn't quick enough. anyone have any luck in san diego?
 
The lack of availability of this thing is crazy. I live in North Carolina and have my white 64GB saved in my shopping cart. I go in every night at 10 and look for availability in Knoxville, TN, Greenville, SC, Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro, even Atlanta area stores and nothing! Not sure if I would drive 4 hours to get it but I keep looking anyway. LOL!
 
Called my store today and the rep said no worries and that they'd hold it up to a month if they had to. Finally getting the damn phone tomorrow. Soo excited!!

more excited for tmobiles stupid slow refarm though.. -.-
 
I have a question ! If I go on the apple store website and try to subscribe for a verizon contract (so I enter my information) and use the reserve and pick up system but then when I go to the store I ask to take it "device only" would it work ?

I'm from France and i'm going to New york ! So I can't take a contract and have to take a verizon iPhone !


Thanking you in advance
 
accounti said:
I have a question ! If I go on the apple store website and try to subscribe for a verizon contract (so I enter my information) and use the reserve and pick up system but then when I go to the store I ask to take it "device only" would it work ?

I'm from France and i'm going to New york ! So I can't take a contract and have to take a verizon iPhone !


Thanking you in advance
Click to expand...

From my understanding, the only way to buy an iPhone from Apple is to either:
1) sign a 2 year contract, or
2) be an existing customer with Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint.

If you're an existing customer, the Apple site still defaults you into signing up for the 2 year contract. Only after they verify your account information, and see that you aren't eligible for an upgrade, do you get an option to pay full price. That's what happened to me.

In your circumstance, I don't see how you'd be able to get a contract free Verizon iPhone right now. Things might be different in a month or two, when supplies are plentiful.

You could also go the Early Termination Fee route. Sign up for a Verizon two year contract, and pay the subsidized price for the phone ($199, $299, $399). Then cancel your contract and pay the ETF, which is something like $375. You might actually save money doing that instead of buying the phone outright... although I think the phone would no longer be activate-able on Verizon because it might get blacklisted. Still, should work in France!
 
Called my apple store just now and they said they had a handful of 16s.
I'm hopeful tonight will be my night to finally get a new AT&T 64 and be done with this!
 
Thanks for the answer uber ! So my only solution would be to see when I'll be in new York ... Are there some people who tried to walk-in an apple store and get Verizon iPhones ?
 
accounti said:
Thanks for the answer uber ! So my only solution would be to see when I'll be in new York ... Are there some people who tried to walk-in an apple store and get Verizon iPhones ?
Click to expand...

Your best bet would be to go to the store right when it opens or even like 30 minutes before it opens, if it's a popular store. They get shipments overnight so they are most likely to have iPhones in the morning.
 
Thanks ! Do you think that I should go to the store on the 5th avenue which is open 24/24 or a smaller one ? I don't really know NYC so maybe you could give me the name o the store pls !
 
I've tried to do it for a few nights now and each time at exactly 10pm the reservation system becomes completely unresponsive until about 10:04, and by that time if there were any in stock, they've all been reserved. Plus I'm getting the sinking suspicion that everyone is trying to reserve black 32GB version like I am.
Man, I'm never going to get this damn phone am I? :/
 
accounti said:
Thanks ! Do you think that I should go to the store on the 5th avenue which is open 24/24 or a smaller one ? I don't really know NYC so maybe you could give me the name o the store pls !
Click to expand...

I don't know, I've never been to NYC, but I have heard that bigger and busier stores get more iPhones, while less popular stores get fewer, so it requires a bit of luck to find one with iPhones in stock.
 
macuserx86 said:
I've tried to do it for a few nights now and each time at exactly 10pm the reservation system becomes completely unresponsive until about 10:04, and by that time if there were any in stock, they've all been reserved. Plus I'm getting the sinking suspicion that everyone is trying to reserve black 32GB version like I am.
Man, I'm never going to get this damn phone am I? :/
Click to expand...
I'm trying for a black GSM 64. But yeah, I know how you feel...:(
 
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