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What, exactly, is the point of pre-ordering at Apple?

D

ds111

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 27, 2009
75
0
It's just a question, not trying to offend anyone so pardon my ignorance.

What is the point of pre-ordering at Apple?
I understand that through AT&T, you are actually buying the iPhone and it will be delivered to you. (You pay, and everything.)

For Apple, you "reserve" the iPhone...but then have to come as early as humanly possible in order to be able to get it? What's the difference without a reservation?
At the bottom of my email, it said the same thing everyone has--that this does not guarantee me an iPhone...

Questions:
1) What's the difference with and w/o a reservation at Apple?
2) Can I come at a comfortable time (say, 10am) and still have my iPhone reserved? Is there ACTUALLY a physical iPhone reserved?

Thanks so much!
 
You can pre-order an iPhone from Apple and have it shipped to your home or business on launch day at no extra charge.

Plus, most people prefer Apple's service than AT&T's.
 
ds111 said:
1) What's the difference with and w/o a reservation at Apple?
2) Can I come at a comfortable time (say, 10am) and still have my iPhone reserved? Is there ACTUALLY a physical iPhone reserved?
Click to expand...

If you have a reservation, you have an actual iPhone reserved until the store closes on June 24. You can come at any time to pick it up, but you may have to wait in line as many other people have reserved iPhones. If you walk in to the Apple Store on June 24 without a reservation, you are not guaranteed to walk out with a new iPhone.

This applies to in-store pick up. You can have it shipped to your home address from the Apple online store.
 
ds111 said:
1) What's the difference with and w/o a reservation at Apple?
Click to expand...

If it's anything like the iPad launch, there will be two lines: one for those with reservations, one for those without. People with reservations will be served first and have a guaranteed iPhone. Those without will get free stuff from Chick-Fil-A and wait for hours hoping that there are some iPhones left over.

2) Can I come at a comfortable time (say, 10am) and still have my iPhone reserved? Is there ACTUALLY a physical iPhone reserved?
Click to expand...

Yes, you can pick up your reserved iPhone any time on June 24th before they close. For the iPad launch they were releasing them at 3pm, but they're being more lenient about pickup times for the iPhone (presumably because the iPad launched on a weekend and this is a weekday). There is a physical iPhone set aside for you.
 
Thanks guys!

One last question....
If I've already pre-ordered, is it possible to make them ship it to me? How can I change that?
 
Because Apple will ALSO have it delivered to you. Or you can pick it up in the store, almost guaranteed to have one too. Since they are the beginning of the supply chain, they have enough to go around. Unlike ATT which ran out of their allocation. Plus, Apple seems more reliable about actually getting it on the 24th.
 
ds111 said:
It's just a question, not trying to offend anyone so pardon my ignorance.

What is the point of pre-ordering at Apple?
I understand that through AT&T, you are actually buying the iPhone and it will be delivered to you. (You pay, and everything.)

For Apple, you "reserve" the iPhone...but then have to come as early as humanly possible in order to be able to get it? What's the difference without a reservation?
At the bottom of my email, it said the same thing everyone has--that this does not guarantee me an iPhone...

Questions:
1) What's the difference with and w/o a reservation at Apple?
2) Can I come at a comfortable time (say, 10am) and still have my iPhone reserved? Is there ACTUALLY a physical iPhone reserved?

Thanks so much!
Click to expand...

You are confusing pre-ordering with reserving. In your title you say what is the difference for pre-ordering from Apple, then you go onto say you reserve it. Apple has two choices online. One is for reserving where you go pick it up at the store without putting any money down (it says they will hold your phone but who knows really), and pre-ordering you can have it shipped to your home or shipped to the store, and you pay right away.
 
apple is just better then att.. and don't say att is better for pre-ordering :p. but in al seriousness i trust apple more to get it to me on the 24 because the products come from apple. then are sent to att who then sends out to people. So i would rather the iphone come right from apple then thru say a third party.. dunno if that makes sense but that is my reason
 
preordering from apple because (1) i don't have to go to an apple store and stand in line (closest one is over 2.5 hours away) (2) don't have to go to at$t; (3) if succesful in changing the delivery addy i can go to work on the 24th and have it delivered there.... otherwise i wait in the comfort of my home.... (4) apple did a great job getting the 3GS out on release/launch day....
 
Olivia23 said:
You are confusing pre-ordering with reserving. In your title you say what is the difference for pre-ordering from Apple, then you go onto say you reserve it. Apple has two choices online. One is for reserving where you go pick it up at the store without putting any money down (it says they will hold your phone but who knows really), and pre-ordering you can have it shipped to your home or shipped to the store, and you pay right away.
Click to expand...

Hmm...I didn't realize there was a difference in terms of guaranteeing the availability. I just thought one of them ships it to the store, and the other ships it to your home.

I didn't pay or anything and the confirmation email says I "reserved" one.
Do I still have an iPhone with my name on it (for the 24th, I understand that they release it if you don't claim it)?
 
ds111 said:
Hmm...I didn't realize there was a difference. I just thought one of them ships it to the store, and the other ships it to your home.

I didn't pay or anything and the confirmation email says I "reserved" one.
Do I still have an iPhone with my name on it (for the 24th, I understand that they release it if you don't claim it)?
Click to expand...

Yes you do, but only until the end of the day (24th), at the store you chose during the reservation process. I would advise you to print your email confirmation (making sure that your email address is visible). If you don't pick it up by the end of Thursday, you phone will be made available to walk-ins the following day...
 
Reasons I pre-order through Apple:

1. I don't like playing "name that smell" in line with a bunch of nerds.

2. I have better things to do on June 24th, like earning money so I can buy more shiny electronics.

3. If an issue comes up with my phone I like bringing it straight to my local Apple store instead of possibly being redirected to AT&T.

4. The last time I ordered a phone from AT&T they shipped me a phone that, in a 4 digit model number, had only 1 digit in common with the phone I actually ordered.

5. While Apple is nearly pure evil, it's the lesser of the two demons when compared to AT&T.
 
If you reserved for apple store pick up, will it show up in your "order status" on Apple.com? I reserved mine and got my email, but my buddy has not got his email. He's trying to check the order status page but it won't load at all. Does he even need to bother checking order status? Will there be anything once it loads?
 
more on "reservations"

I also reserved my iPhone too, when the pre-ordering/AT&T wasn't working for me. Here is where I'm confused:

The top of the e-mail says "Thanks for reserving your iPhone. It will be here June 24." However, the bottom, in fine print, it says "Pre-authorization does not guarantee iPhone availability at an Apple Retail Store. iPhone is sold on a first-come, first-served basis."

So how do you interpret this? Does it mean it could still run out, even if you "reserve" it?
 
andrewj said:
I also reserved my iPhone too, when the pre-ordering/AT&T wasn't working for me. Here is where I'm confused:

The top of the e-mail says "Thanks for reserving your iPhone. It will be here June 24." However, the bottom, in fine print, it says "Pre-authorization does not guarantee iPhone availability at an Apple Retail Store. iPhone is sold on a first-come, first-served basis."

So how do you interpret this? Does it mean it could still run out, even if you "reserve" it?
Click to expand...


Exactly what I was thinking. Hopefully (around 8am or so, when I am planning to go), I don't have to wait in a huge line and I will be able to get the iPhone.

Does anyone have any more info on the process? The only iPhone I've ever had was the 3G which I bought like a month after launch, so I have no experience with the Apple "iLaunch Day"
 
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