Argh, I am unsure whether to drive one hour to the Apple store which seems to have 3G iphones available
I would really go crazy if they sold out before I got there
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- Thread starter mrat93
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Argh, I am unsure whether to drive one hour to the Apple store which seems to have 3G iphones available
I would really go crazy if they sold out before I got there
Does anyone know if this site is still accurate? http://www.topmuffin.com/3g-iphone-availability
If I'm going to go wait in line, i need to leave soon.
If I'm going to go wait in line, i need to leave soon.
Do all of the stores on the apple availability go red in the morning...or doe that mean folks are in line all over the country and the tickets have been given out... i mean the store doesn even open until 11 today....it is red now but was green last nite
The main problem with the apple.com availability tool is that it's updated at 9pm, which is before a store closes. So it is possible that they had phones at 9pm, but sold them during the course off the night. Alternatively, if they had sold out, but received a shipment in the morning, that would not be reflected in the count.
When the raw data was available it, was possible to have a more accurate picture of whether it was worth your time to wait, but that's no longer an option. So that's why i wondered if this other link was still accurate. http://www.topmuffin.com/3g-iphone-availability
When the raw data was available it, was possible to have a more accurate picture of whether it was worth your time to wait, but that's no longer an option. So that's why i wondered if this other link was still accurate. http://www.topmuffin.com/3g-iphone-availability
nevermind
i reread and understand
hmmm i wonder if its worth getting in line for
im so mad i have to deal with this mess
i lost my original iphone the other day...i had no plans on upgrading
i reread and understand
hmmm i wonder if its worth getting in line for
im so mad i have to deal with this mess
i lost my original iphone the other day...i had no plans on upgrading
Do all of the stores on the apple availability go red in the morning...or doe that mean folks are in line all over the country and the tickets have been given out... i mean the store doesn even open until 11 today....it is red now but was green last nite
I noticed this last night also and was going to head over to the Apple store this morning unless theres some type of system issue that most stores showed availability last night i dont know how they all could be sold before the Apple stores even open.
Well there are about 5 stores within 50 miles of me, so I am going to just pick one and stand in line. I dont have a phone right now and Im sort of it in a bind as well.
Well, I think the theory that if a store is open past 9pm or people are still being served at 9pm and inventory is done exactly at 9pm would explain why some stores would appear to have availability at night but actually be sold out in the morning. But that doesn't not completely make sense unless the availability status is updated to reflect those stock changes.
Ugh, this is so frustrating. I tried to ask yesterday if they were holding any afternoon deliveries for Sunday sales, but the rep didn't have or wouldn't give an answer.
Apple's site is updated throughout the day, not just at 9pm. I know because I was obsessed with it (LOL!) before getting my iPhone.
Well technically, the apple site available for public use is not available from 8am-9pm. Obviously if you do the clock time change trick you can see the availability. The question with that information is it the fact that they have iphone's in stock that will be sold to people already in line or do they have iphones available for more than the people in mind.
And at least for me, the availability checker on apple.com has been inconsistent. When I checked after 9pm last night there were iphones available. When I checked this morning right before 8am, they were listed as sold out out. However, the "topmuffin" availability checker said they were available, so trekked down to the store. I was able to get one today, along with about 40-50 other people.
Party is over, Apple is now using server side scripting to deliver inventory info when your web browser requests it. The file that used to hold all inventory info for the US is now no longer available on apple.com: http://www.apple.com/retail/iphone/feeds/3g_us_inv.json
From checking out the source on the inventory page it appears that changing your system clock time so that it's between 9PM and 9AM will still let you check the stock throughout the day, but not from anywhere else than apple.com now.
From checking out the source on the inventory page it appears that changing your system clock time so that it's between 9PM and 9AM will still let you check the stock throughout the day, but not from anywhere else than apple.com now.
Actually I just realized that it wouldn't be too hard for topmuffin.com to alter their parser slightly. All they would have to do now is request each state separately like so:
http://www.apple.com/retail/iphone/availability.php?state=NJ
Then they just need to parse the returned html:
A little bit more of a pain than before, but definitely still doable.
http://www.apple.com/retail/iphone/availability.php?state=NJ
Then they just need to parse the returned html:
Code:
<tbody><tr><td>Atlantic City, <a href="/retail/thepier/">The Pier</a></td>
<td class="availability available">Available</td>
<td class="availability available">Available</td>
<td class="availability available">Available</td>
</tr><tr><td>Bridgewater, <a href="/retail/bridgewater/">Bridgewater</a></td>
<td class="availability">Unavailable</td>
<td class="availability available">Available</td>
<td class="availability">Unavailable</td>
</tr><tr><td>Cherry Hill, <a href="/retail/cherryhill/">Cherry Hill</a></td>
<td class="availability">Unavailable</td>
<td class="availability">Unavailable</td>
<td class="availability">Unavailable</td>
</tr><tr><td>Edison, <a href="/retail/menlopark/">Menlo Park</a></td>
<td class="availability available">Available</td>
<td class="availability available">Available</td>
<td class="availability available">Available</td>
</tr><tr><td>Freehold, <a href="/retail/freeholdracewaymall/">Freehold Raceway Mall</a></td>
<td class="availability available">Available</td>
<td class="availability available">Available</td>
<td class="availability available">Available</td>
</tr><tr><td>Marlton, <a href="/retail/sagemore/">Sagemore</a></td>
<td class="availability">Unavailable</td>
<td class="availability available">Available</td>
<td class="availability available">Available</td>
</tr><tr><td>Paramus, <a href="/retail/gardenstateplaza/">Garden State Plaza</a></td>
<td class="availability available">Available</td>
<td class="availability available">Available</td>
<td class="availability available">Available</td>
</tr><tr><td>Rockaway, <a href="/retail/rockaway/">Rockaway</a></td>
<td class="availability available">Available</td>
<td class="availability">Unavailable</td>
<td class="availability">Unavailable</td>
</tr><tr><td>Short Hills, <a href="/retail/shorthills/">Short Hills</a></td>
<td class="availability available">Available</td>
<td class="availability available">Available</td>
<td class="availability available">Available</td>
</tr><tr><td>Woodcliff Lake, <a href="/retail/tices/">Tice's Corner</a></td>
<td class="availability available">Available</td>
<td class="availability available">Available</td>
<td class="availability available">Available</td>A little bit more of a pain than before, but definitely still doable.
Argh, Baton Rouge store says they will have them tomorrow
Damn things are selling out every day within 1 freakin hour though and I live an hour away
I just can't wake up that early and drive there
Maybe I could pass it off as a work expense?
Damn things are selling out every day within 1 freakin hour though and I live an hour away
I just can't wake up that early and drive there
Maybe I could pass it off as a work expense?
My guess is that they changed the API they are using for showing availability, because the availability checking thing on their site is still working (selecting a retail store). So as soon as someone with too much time on their hands figures out what that is, the sites that use the JSON file will update to use whatever is new, and off it goes again.
BL.
But if it didn't work (provided inaccurate information) in the first place why bother?
I've already figured out how to circumvent it, but when I checked it this morning (even with changing the system time on my computer) the availability page will only return results to you for states that the time is still between 9PM and 9AM. In other words, right now if you change your system time to 10PM and check the inventory for NJ it doesn't return anything to you. But if you look at the CA stores it will show you inventory info since it isn't 9AM in CA yet.
So now Apple has effectively completely shut the door on daytime inventory checking.
It's pretty damn pointless that they would do that. Instead of just showing inventory on their website, they rather customers call the stores and waste everyone's time?
Just make it fair for everyone, have a real-time stock ticker that everyone can access.
Actually it makes perfect sense. Since the website was inaccurate during the day anyway they close it cause they got sick of idiots who DIDN'T call the store before driving an hour, 30 minutes, whatever to the store based on the website's availability and then get pissed when the find that there aren't any. The availability is NOT accurate during the day at all...its even questionable at night. Circumvention created problems and pissed people off. Now at least its more controlled. People will call the store either way (those that are smart at least).