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Where do you buy your iPhones?

nanogirl21

nanogirl21

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 20, 2011
758
92
Midwest United States
Just curious where do you guys buy your iPhones. I am a Sprint customer and every time I purchase from the Sprint store I always have problems. When I got my 4s I had soo many problems that I got tired of going to the Sprint store to exchange it. I finally went to the Apple Store and have not had any problems since then.

There is always a massive line at the Apple Store when new releases come out. Why are there not massive (or semi-long) lines at the actual phone companies store?

I am in a new state (FL) and am trying to plan for my upcoming upgrade that is around the time the new phone is predicted to come out. Do you guys recommend going to the apple store, pre-ordering the phone, or going to the actual Sprint store?
 
Does Apple ship shoddy phones to the carriers? Unlikely that Apple would shoot itself in the foot. So am going guess either bad luck or bad karma at Sprint store.

There is always a line at Apple Store because it's an event. You can appear on TV, and the Apples employees, like give you a red carpet entrance or something and give you a big cheer when you walk out with the phone.

Pre-ordering does not guarantee you are going to get phone first. But if that gets you a phone right to your doors wo the hassle of dealing with the stores then yes go ahead.

U already want the next phone for sure? U don't want to know if it has scuff-gate, antenna-gate, bent-gate etc. Let the bleeding edge people deal with it first, work out the bugs, THEN... oh who am I kidding.
 
I usually purchase all my mobile devices from my carrier (VZW). It's mostly a convenience thing. When I feel like it, I can just charge the device to my bill and pay for it 30 days later, interest free.
 
Usually an Apple store, but for the iPhone 5 I got it at Best Buy because they were running a rare sale on new model iPhones (new, not refurbs) for $50 off. The experience was less smooth than at an Apple store that's for sure but they got the job done.
 
I usually purchase from Apple, but this year it was AT&T because they had what I wanted at the time. I don't typically stray from either Apple or my carrier store though.
 
If im buying anything related to Apple, I like making my purchases from the Apple Store. Who can resist those white bags?!
 
barkomatic said:
Usually an Apple store, but for the iPhone 5 I got it at Best Buy because they were running a rare sale on new model iPhones (new, not refurbs) for $50 off. The experience was less smooth than at an Apple store that's for sure but they got the job done.
Click to expand...

I did the exact same thing! Ended up getting my iPhone, case, and screen protector for under $200 (without the lame activation fee)
 
apple.com

Dealing with sales reps in the carrier stores is usually not worth my time.
 
Got our 3G, and 4 at the AT&T store. Got the 5 at the Apple store. The latter was bought during the first week of the 5 rollout, and had it delivered to the store. Who knows next time?
 
I usually get them direct from apple or apple.com but I got my 5 from Best Buy since they had the $50 off.

Nothing wrong with getting them from the carrier either though. I ordered my 4s from AT&T online and had it at my door on release day with no problems.
 
Yeah I think apple store might be the right option, though I'm still looking whether to go for carrier or apple store. My wife actually wants to get a new iPhone 5 (as an upgrade from 4S). She was asking me from where she should buy it.

I will do some research whether to go for apple store or carrier, and good that I've found this thread here.
 
Online from Apple.

Hate dealing with the goons in any retail store.

Plus, I usually get my iPhone delivered faster than you can get one on launch day, so it's a win-win.
 
I always go to the Apple Store for any apple devices. It's the experience and that's why. It's different buying products there rather than other retailers.
 
I preordered my (Sprint) iPhone from the website and received it 9am the day it released (sent to a business address). Although, I see no reason why one should expect the quality to differ based on method or location of purchase. I say do what is most convenient for you at the time.
 
I bought mine online from Telecom (so that I could get a subsidy). It wasn't the smoothest experience; they activated the new phone before sending it to me, so my old phone stopped working! Then when it arrived, there was a card in the box saying "call *333 (or whatever the number was) to activate" :rolleyes:

The phone itself (4S) has been flawless though.
 
iPhone 3Gs - Purchased at local AT&T Store (Dec 2009) :) Passed on to Son when I upgraded to iPhone 4; he used this one until Nov 2012.

iPad 1 - Purchased at local Apple Store (April 2010) :) Launch Day. Passed on to Son when I upgraded to iPad 4; he is using this one since Nov 2012.

iPhone 4 - Purchased at local AT&T Store (Dec 2010) :) Son is using this one currently.

iPhone 5 - Pre-ordered from Apple Store app on iPhone 4 (Sept 14, 2012) :) Launch Day delivery.

iPad 4 - Purchased at local Apple Store (Nov 2012) :)

Never any problem with these devices. All in perfect condition at purchase & no hardware or software issues. Happy camper. :D

As you can see from my variety, it's possible to find success via various methods. Maybe that will help your confidence level for whichever purchase location you choose. :)
 
My carrier, Orange Romania.
I pay 42$ per month / 2 year contact
The iPhone 5 16GB was 371$ - I got a discount with some fidelity points. The price of the phone without discount is 500$
With my contract (Panther 31 - yeah, I know, sounds really awkward) I get 2,000 carrier minutes, 2,000 carrier text messages, 250 national + international minutes, 250 national + international text messages and unlimited data.
www.orange.ro/iphone (the site is in Romanian but there is an English option somewhere if anyone is curios)
 
Last edited:
For my past few devices, I have pre-ordered from apple.com and received them on launch day via FedEx/UPS (with the exception of the iPhone 5 - missed the initial stock by 15 minutes). I have no interest in waiting in line, camping out, dealing with carrier staff/limited availability, etc. so I will likely continue doing this.
 
Apple Store. Walk in said iPhone 5 16GB white and I don't need anything else. 5 minutes transaction and I'm out.
 
nanogirl21 said:
Just curious where do you guys buy your iPhones. I am a Sprint customer and every time I purchase from the Sprint store I always have problems. When I got my 4s I had soo many problems that I got tired of going to the Sprint store to exchange it. I finally went to the Apple Store and have not had any problems since then.

There is always a massive line at the Apple Store when new releases come out. Why are there not massive (or semi-long) lines at the actual phone companies store?

I am in a new state (FL) and am trying to plan for my upcoming upgrade that is around the time the new phone is predicted to come out. Do you guys recommend going to the apple store, pre-ordering the phone, or going to the actual Sprint store?
Click to expand...

The first iPhone I bought in store, like 6 months after introduction. Then I stood in line for the 3GS. Then the 4S came out and I preordered it from AT&T because I couldn't get into the online Apple Store.

For the sake of convenience I recommend pre-ordering online.
 
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