Exactly. Anyone not in the Upgrade program had the full (albeit limited) stock of Apple's own iPhone inventory to purchase from; online and local stores. Upgrade program folks were further limited to only a portion of the launch day stock at local store locations. This was a much, much smaller pool of stock. And with no way to reserve beyond launch day, we're now kind of stuck in limbo. Meaning, we have no idea when we can reserve one at this point.
Everyone else can still go now online and buy one with a guaranteed ship date, even if that's in November. Upgrade people can't even do that. Can't even get a date when we will have one, unless we stand in line at a local store each morning beginning on the 16th or check online beginning on the 17th.
What should have happened was anyone looking to upgrade should have had equal access to purchase from the same pool of inventory as everyone else and then have that phone shipped to a local store on the 16th (or thereafter). Then we'd have a confirmed date that we can actually get one. I'd be fine if I missed out on 9/16. But at least let me reserve one for a future date based on the availability that everyone else sees. (Also, why the requirement to go to a store? But that's not the main point.)
Right now everyone who didn't get one for the 16th is truly in limbo.