I ordered from Verizon and there were a bunch of different cases offered during checkout. In fact, the whole ordering process was smooth as silk.
Sounds like Apple.com had all kinds of issues. I'm glad I didn't even try it.
The apple.com experience was flawless for me...
I was disappointed that there's no first-party case/bumper options. I personally thought the bumper was very functional above and beyond fixing the antenna issues. The added "lip" that the bumper creates around the display helps prevent breakage if you drop the phone on a hard surface... Instead of the display smacking into the surface, the lip of the bumper takes the brunt of the impact.
Anyway, I guess with AppleCare+ I will just be carrying my ip5 nude unless I see a sexy case somewhere or Apple offers something first-party.