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What time should I get to the Apple Store?

O

ObsidianBlade

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 12, 2011
225
0
Hi there,

I plan on roughing it out (in probable rain) at my local Apple Store tomorrow night/two days. I was wondering if anyone had any estimates for the timeframe that one should get to a store? I called Apple to ask their opinions and the guy told me he'd get there no later than 6, which would be pretty sweet, but he could also be wrong.

If it helps anyone who might live in the area, I'll be going to the Ardmore store in Pennsylvania.

Thanks :D
 
To hopefully guarantee yourself the specific color / capacity you want, I'd recommend arriving at the store at least 3 hours before they open the doors.
 
I have an iPhone coming Friday morning but I am adding two more iPhones to my account and to do this i must purchase in store Friday morning.

AT&T is opening its doors at 8AM, I will be arriving about an hour earlier.

I for one do not think we are going to see the CRAZY big lines of the past.

Tim Cook even said himself this will be the FASTEST role out of any product of theirs yet. They have been cranking 150,000 of these out a day for the past month, they are available at Best Buy, AT&T, APPLE (who has way more locations open after each previous product launch, especially last years iPhone 4 launch) SPRINT, and VERIZON.

Last year you could only buy it at two places, now its 5 with each carrying more product.

The manager at my AT&T store did say they expect to get far more iPhone 4S' than iPhone 4's they got last year...he did say he was given no amount from apple...but its a word around the company type guesstimate, which is as good as ours.
 
I'm going at 3 in the morning and will prob get there around 3:30, the doors to my mall are opening at 6. Also they are starting to sell at 8 so I'll be out hopefully by 9:30, 10. I'm probably delusional but what the hell.
 
Kflik said:
I have an iPhone coming Friday morning but I am adding two more iPhones to my account and to do this i must purchase in store Friday morning.

AT&T is opening its doors at 8AM, I will be arriving about an hour earlier.

I for one do not think we are going to see the CRAZY big lines of the past.

Tim Cook even said himself this will be the FASTEST role out of any product of theirs yet. They have been cranking 150,000 of these out a day for the past month, they are available at Best Buy, AT&T, APPLE (who has way more locations open after each previous product launch, especially last years iPhone 4 launch) SPRINT, and VERIZON.

Last year you could only buy it at two places, now its 5 with each carrying more product.

The manager at my AT&T store did say they expect to get far more iPhone 4S' than iPhone 4's they got last year...he did say he was given no amount from apple...but its a word around the company type guesstimate, which is as good as ours.
Click to expand...

Yeah my biggest fear is arriving too early or too late. So I'm torn between 3:30 and 5. I'm thinking about maybe showing up at 4, and if nobody is around, nap for an hour in my car.

This is a freestanding structure, not in a mall so I get to deal with the elements. Besides clothing protection, what kind of stuff do people bring with them to these kinds of things? I know very little about it.

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jkozlow3 said:
I'd recommend a time machine and placing your order online on October 7 like the rest of the sane world. :D
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, Walmart is fresh outta time machines. And besides, it's fun to be insane sometimes. If everything goes well it'll feel like I overcame something and deserved it or something....idk lol. Remember, I'm insane :p

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PoitNarf said:
To hopefully guarantee yourself the specific color / capacity you want, I'd recommend arriving at the store at least 3 hours before they open the doors.
Click to expand...

Certainly reasonable.

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iTouchIt said:
I think you should go there now.
Click to expand...

lol my friend told me the same thing. I told him he was nuts. Guess what I'd say to you? ;)
 
I've done this for every launch so far... and honestly, it always shocks me to see how many people are in line. iPad 2 had the longest lines, for the most days in a row, of any launch to date. I got to my :apple: Store at 4:45AM and it was already 20+ people deep.

Here's the thing about iPhone launches: The SYSTEM is the biggest bottleneck. So the first group let into the store gets activated in about 15 seconds, while the second group has to wait while the carriers' systems crash. For the 3G, 3GS, and the 4, this has occurred EVERY launch day. Just something to think about...
 
I plan to go to the AT&T store probably get there by 7am on Friday. I just can't stay there all night like I did trying to get an iPad 2 after release. That was just horrible. Hopefully there are no chinese scalpers like last time, me and my friends bought all the iPads we could just so the scalpers couldn't get them and then returned them and Apple sold them to the people who genuinely wanted them who were behind the scalpers.
 
notjustgc said:
I've done this for every launch so far... and honestly, it always shocks me to see how many people are in line. iPad 2 had the longest lines, for the most days in a row, of any launch to date. I got to my :apple: Store at 4:45AM and it was already 20+ people deep.

Here's the thing about iPhone launches: The SYSTEM is the biggest bottleneck. So the first group let into the store gets activated in about 15 seconds, while the second group has to wait while the carriers' systems crash. For the 3G, 3GS, and the 4, this has occurred EVERY launch day. Just something to think about...
Click to expand...

Good input. Any idea how many units they had on those occasions?
 
MallCop said:
I plan to go to the AT&T store probably get there by 7am on Friday. I just can't stay there all night like I did trying to get an iPad 2 after release. That was just horrible. Hopefully there are no chinese scalpers like last time, me and my friends bought all the iPads we could just so the scalpers couldn't get them and then returned them and Apple sold them to the people who genuinely wanted them who were behind the scalpers.
Click to expand...

First of all, not all the scalpers were Chinese. :cool:

Second of all, there were a lot of psychos in HK absolutely DYING to get their hands on those things. Psychos. Man, what they would pay! It was because of them that I could finance my own iPad 2 with no money out of my own pocket. No regrets. Don't try to shame me. That thread has already been done to death.

Third... as a mall cop, isn't it your job to stay in the mall all night anyway? :p

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ObsidianBlade said:
Good input. Any idea how many units they had on those occasions?
Click to expand...

It would be irrelevant for this launch. Suffice it to say they always have plenty for those who get there when it's still dark outside... but once the sun starts coming up, you're rolling the dice.
 
Dr Kevorkian94 said:
I'm going at 3 in the morning and will prob get there around 3:30, the doors to my mall are opening at 6. Also they are starting to sell at 8 so I'll be out hopefully by 9:30, 10. I'm probably delusional but what the hell.
Click to expand...

Hah, I did the exact same thing last year, thinking I would be out by 9-10am.. instead I was out by 1:30pm because of this:

notjustgc said:
I've done this for every launch so far... and honestly, it always shocks me to see how many people are in line. iPad 2 had the longest lines, for the most days in a row, of any launch to date. I got to my :apple: Store at 4:45AM and it was already 20+ people deep.

Here's the thing about iPhone launches: The SYSTEM is the biggest bottleneck. So the first group let into the store gets activated in about 15 seconds, while the second group has to wait while the carriers' systems crash. For the 3G, 3GS, and the 4, this has occurred EVERY launch day. Just something to think about...
Click to expand...

And I was buying an unlocked iPhone that time. People waiting to do upgrades through the carrier were there all day...
 
profets said:
Hah, I did the exact same thing last year, thinking I would be out by 9-10am.. instead I was out by 1:30pm
(...)
People waiting to do upgrades through the carrier were there all day...
Click to expand...

Yeah man. I'd rather sit there, chill, listen to some music and play games for a few hours overnight than have to stand in the :apple: store getting angry all day.
 
profets said:
Hah, I did the exact same thing last year, thinking I would be out by 9-10am.. instead I was out by 1:30pm because of this:



And I was buying an unlocked iPhone that time. People waiting to do upgrades through the carrier were there all day...
Click to expand...

Hopefully I'm first in line, the only problem is I'm not bringing anyone with me so I can't get off line. So I can't run around and taunt people like some guy did last time. I'll be at the Staten Island apple store by the way.
 
Blah, I'm so torn as to whether to get up early and try to get one Friday morning. I know once I'm there a couple hours I'll feel invested but I'll off myself if I'm there all day. And I work at 9 am...
 
notjustgc said:
First of all, not all the scalpers were Chinese. :cool:

Second of all, there were a lot of psychos in HK absolutely DYING to get their hands on those things. Psychos. Man, what they would pay! It was because of them that I could finance my own iPad 2 with no money out of my own pocket. No regrets. Don't try to shame me. That thread has already been done to death.

Third... as a mall cop, isn't it your job to stay in the mall all night anyway? :p

----------



It would be irrelevant for this launch. Suffice it to say they always have plenty for those who get there when it's still dark outside... but once the sun starts coming up, you're rolling the dice.
Click to expand...


Hmm....I'm afraid to push it any later than 5AM.

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Dr Kevorkian94 said:
Hopefully I'm first in line, the only problem is I'm not bringing anyone with me so I can't get off line. So I can't run around and taunt people like some guy did last time. I'll be at the Staten Island apple store by the way.
Click to expand...

lol nice. I used to live in Brooklyn.

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MXChristian11 said:
5PM PST at my local Apple Store. Line forms quick, and many "campers" show up.

If I see anyone in line before 5PM, I'll get in line earlier.
Click to expand...

That's insane. 15 hours early?

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rosemary1 said:
Probably around 8am. Small town perks. :D
Click to expand...

I don't know what kind of area you live in, but the town this store is located in has roughly 12.5k ppl (Census Bureau) and the next store is over 8 miles away, which I'm hoping people go to. And that's with a direct line drawn in Google Earth lol.
 
I saw someone else recommend this:

Wait until there's at least 1 person in line. Give a person near the front 10 bucks to call you when the line hits 20 people.

Then you'll know exactly when to show up.
 
Should go there 6pm Friday, shouldn't be a long line. It's not the iphone 5 so you should be good.
 
mikethebigo said:
I saw someone else recommend this:

Wait until there's at least 1 person in line. Give a person near the front 10 bucks to call you when the line hits 20 people.

Then you'll know exactly when to show up.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but you always run the risk of the dude/chick just taking the money and not calling you.

How many people in a line would you consider "eff this, I'm going home"?

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drenline said:
Should go there 6pm Friday, shouldn't be a long line. It's not the iphone 5 so you should be good.
Click to expand...

daviddth said:
Go now... Simple :)
Click to expand...

You're both nuts lol :D
 
By experience, i arrived around 3:00 am at the Upper west Side NYC apple store and the line was already more than a block long. I sat and waited and by the time the store opened the line didn't move, at least for me on the back, i walked around and noticed three times the number of people that were originally in the line. by the time i was able to get my phone it was already 1:00pm in the afternoon. Although apple gave us some doughnuts and coffee i will never camp again for any product. Maybe i wanted to have that feeling of "been there and done that" lol
 
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