What should I do?

Are you serious? You just answered your own question and know all your options.

It comes down to when you want your phone and how important that is to you and choose.

Am I missing something?

 

Are you ready to deal with the crowds and being at the store very early? If so, do that on the 19th. Otherwise order now from Apple...

 

Well, if you got time on your hands and you want more immediate gratification, then checking the retail channels is the way to go at this point. Even if you miss out during the opening day maelstrom, Apple's stores restock every day. In years past, Apple stores would have a daily lineup when the store opens where employees would let people in line know what they have in stock, and issue reservation cards to anyone who wants to make a purchase. They might not receive every color, carrier, or capacity every day. So, you might have to keep checking. But, it might still be a shorter wait than the current online ship times.

I remember last year, the lines got really short within a couple of weeks, although certain models like the gold color and T-Mobile models remained hard to find for a while longer.

 

Apple gives you an estimated date they know they will hit. They have a proven track record of delivering on or before their estimates. Rarely after.

 

Depends on where you live and which model you want. If I had an upgrade, I'd expect I could walk into my local Best Buy or Verizon store on launch day and walk right out with a 16gb silver 6. But I'm 45-60 minutes from the KC Apple Stores which won't have horribly long lines. So if you can drive an hour out from your nearest Apple Store, you might get lucky. Might not work so well on the coasts though. Nice thing about the Midwest