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PreOrder from ATT out of town?

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macrumors 603
Original poster
Feb 22, 2009
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I am going to be out of town when the new iPhone comes out. So I was thinking of pre ordering but having it sent to an ATT store that is in the town I will be at. The first part of my question is, has anyone ever done that that can tell me if it's allowed or causes any problem? The reason I ask is that in reading on the ATT web site, is clearing states that you can pre order online and have it shipped to your *Local* ATT store. But I don't want it shipped to my local store. I want it shipped to an ATT store that is 200 miles from my home town. So I don't know if that will be "IFFY!"

The second part of my question is if I can indeed do that, it also says on the ATT web site that you can pick it up anytime after June 25th which is the day after release. I am OK with that. But it also says, First come first served so the fact that I would be preordering and picking up the next day what does that mean for me? Does pre ordering guarantee that they will hold it for me no matter what time I come in? It's my understanding that you don't actually pay for it until you pick it up so could my phone be sold to someone else?
 
I'm in the same boat as you i'll be in Orlando then was thinking about preordering on apple.com then having it sent to the orlando store close to the hotel! :D
 
I'm in the same boat as well but I'll be in Virginia and I'm probably going to make the trek to a local apple store, I found one that is about 50 min from my location.
 
I too am in the same boat....

I will be 450 miles away from my local AT&T store, their is an AT&T store .4 miles away from my hotel though.

I remember from pre ordering my 3gs for a local AT&T store delivery, it asked me which store I wanted it delivered to.

I like that its the 25th, because I will be on a road trip on the 24th.
 
I was in the same situation last year with the 3GS. I was traveling from Minneapolis to Seattle on release day and was planning on picking it up from one of the stores in Seattle.

However, after dealing with questions similar to those you are bringing up, I just decided to have the phone shipped to the hotel I was arriving at that morning. It worked perfect; I arrived in Seattle at about 9:00am and by the time I got to my hotel at 9:30, it was waiting for me at the front desk. I gave it a quick charge while settling in and by 10:45 I was using it to give me directions to Pikes Place Market. By about 11:15 I was enjoying a fresh halibut sandwich.

Probably more info than what you're looking for, but if you can have it shipped to a reliable address, I would highly recommend it. It is so much better to just have the phone sent to you rather than dealing with long lines/the in store activation process.

Keep in mind in order for the phone to be delivered to a hotel or similar location, you need give Fedex/UPS permission to leave the package with the hotel staff that signs for incoming packages. I was staying at a high end hotel so I had confidence it would get to me safely, but if you have any doubts you may want to think twice.

Edit: I ordered mine directly from Apple rather than ATT. Not sure if this changes anything
 
Same here. But it's all for the best, I won't have to pay tax on the unsubsidized price in CA!

I would preorder it for pickup at the Phoenix Apple store, but since I will be traveling on the 24th the ATT store it is. They'll keep your preorder till you pick up, but the Apple store only keeps it for 1 day, I believe.
 
I will be traveling as well on the 24th and will be preodering my iphone 4 at an AT&T store far away from my house. It will be much easier since they will hold it for a longer period of time. I assume that you will be able to just select the store you want them to pre-order it to.
 
I'm planning on having mine delivered to the hotel I will be staying at. Hopefully should make the day very simple!
 
shoebobs said:
I was in the same situation last year with the 3GS. I was traveling from Minneapolis to Seattle on release day and was planning on picking it up from one of the stores in Seattle.

However, after dealing with questions similar to those you are bringing up, I just decided to have the phone shipped to the hotel I was arriving at that morning. It worked perfect; I arrived in Seattle at about 9:00am and by the time I got to my hotel at 9:30, it was waiting for me at the front desk. I gave it a quick charge while settling in and by 10:45 I was using it to give me directions to Pikes Place Market. By about 11:15 I was enjoying a fresh halibut sandwich.

Probably more info than what you're looking for, but if you can have it shipped to a reliable address, I would highly recommend it. It is so much better to just have the phone sent to you rather than dealing with long lines/the in store activation process.

Keep in mind in order for the phone to be delivered to a hotel or similar location, you need give Fedex/UPS permission to leave the package with the hotel staff that signs for incoming packages. I was staying at a high end hotel so I had confidence it would get to me safely, but if you have any doubts you may want to think twice.

Edit: I ordered mine directly from Apple rather than ATT. Not sure if this changes anything
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I figured it would need to be sent to your billing address.
 
shoebobs said:
Keep in mind in order for the phone to be delivered to a hotel or similar location, you need give Fedex/UPS permission to leave the package with the hotel staff that signs for incoming packages.
Click to expand...


Now that I think of it, I may have gotten this part wrong. I think there was a form that you could print out/sign and leave at your door if you planned on being away and wanted to give them permission to leave the package at your doorstep. This form was only needed if you wanted to leave the package unattended

I ended up not having to do that form because when I filled out the mailing address, I put c/o the hotel I was staying at. Therefore the delivery person knew they could leave the package with the hotel staff.

See this example to address it properly - http://www.wikihow.com/Address-an-Envelope-in-Care-of-Someone-Else

Cougarcat said:
Maybe it's just me, but I'd be nervous as hell doing that. Unless it was a very, very nice hotel.
Click to expand...

I agree. When doing this you are basically eliminating any responsibility of the shipping company in terms of getting the package safely to you from the hotel staff. Once they drop it off, if it gets lost/stolen you would have to deal with the hotel for any claims.

I was staying at a really nice hotel traveling with an MLB team, so I assumed the staff would take care of us appropriately. I think the return address of the package was rather vague though, and didn't specifically say "Apple" or anything. Most people would probably think it's just any other package.

TW!SM said:
Thanks for the info. I figured it would need to be sent to your billing address.
Click to expand...

The package wasn't even addressed to me, I had it addressed to my brother, c/o the Grand Hyatt because it was his hotel room I was staying at. So the name on the credit card and billing address were completely different from the shipping info.

I called Apple ahead of pre-ordering it to verify this would work and I suggest you do the same. The rules could very well have changed over the past year, especially with ATT/Apple's focus on combating fraudulent purchases that are shipped overseas.
 
Cougarcat said:
Maybe it's just me, but I'd be nervous as hell doing that. Unless it was a very, very nice hotel.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'll be at a super nice hotel and resort in San Diego. Business travelers have items delivered to hotels all the time. If it got out that an employee sniped a package, the property would have a real problem with it's business travelers.

As long as you are courteous to the staff, there is no reason for concern. I'm not worried at all.
 
Meh. I am staying at a nice hotel and resort too, but I dunno...thinking of just playing it safe and picking it up at an ATT store nearby instead.
 
jaustindds said:
Yeah, I'll be at a super nice hotel and resort in San Diego. Business travelers have items delivered to hotels all the time. If it got out that an employee sniped a package, the property would have a real problem with it's business travelers.

As long as you are courteous to the staff, there is no reason for concern. I'm not worried at all.
Click to expand...

I'll be in SD also.. :p

But Holiday inn express, not quite exactly a nice resort...

I considered having it deliverd to the hotel, still kinda want to do it, but there is an AT&T store .4 miles away, I really want to just have it sent there, but then I have to wait untill the next morning. I will be arriving in SD at 5pm ish on launch day... :(
 
I'll be outta town too. I come back home the 25th though. I'm thinking about having it sent to a Apple Store in Vegas.... or I can wait 1 more day and it will be at my house when I get home.
 
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