iPhones 6 available ANYWHERE except store.apple.com?
<p>I'm VERY curious about actual availability of the new iPhones: in the past, it was the practice for phone shipments to trickle in to the Apple Stores on a daily basis following release, and some number of folks waiting outside, could be sure they'd get phones. (I know this was in fact the case w/ 4 and 5)<br />
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This is no longer the case, it seems. On 9/29, an Apple Store specialist recounted the above procedure to me by phone; today, 10/2, that same store told me they have RECEIVED NO PHONES SINCE THEIR ORIGINAL SHIPMENT, they have NO LINES (though they did by eyewitness on 9/29), and the ONLY WAY to get a phone is to order it from the online store and wait three or four weeks. Unfortunately, my ATT trade-in rain-check ($200) is only good for another 18 days. Attempts to speak with ATT about this scenario have been fruitless.</p>
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<p>DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON??? ANY light to shed? Despite having worked Apple retail, I have no sources inside, and have not upgraded my own iPhone ever.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<br />
This is no longer the case, it seems. On 9/29, an Apple Store specialist recounted the above procedure to me by phone; today, 10/2, that same store told me they have RECEIVED NO PHONES SINCE THEIR ORIGINAL SHIPMENT, they have NO LINES (though they did by eyewitness on 9/29), and the ONLY WAY to get a phone is to order it from the online store and wait three or four weeks. Unfortunately, my ATT trade-in rain-check ($200) is only good for another 18 days. Attempts to speak with ATT about this scenario have been fruitless.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON??? ANY light to shed? Despite having worked Apple retail, I have no sources inside, and have not upgraded my own iPhone ever.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
Comments
Try that link, entering your zipcode of course. You might find some nearby. Goes without saying to call and confirm the in-stock status.
Thanks for that link, but it's no different from checking store.apple for local pickup availability. No actual information about what's happening re: restocking, no way to plan or prepare or strategize...oh well, I hope others will arrive with more info.
I DO appreciate your input.
FWIW I find iPhone 6 in space gray or silver, and in 64 and 128GB in stock at an ATT "nearby" using the search tool I linked.
Too bad I don't live near you - none in my state at all (ATT says frankly, "November, maybe before Thanksgiving". So I'll keep my eye on the turtle, and see how things turn out.
http://idevicechecker.com
It looks like there are quite a few available but sometimes they only have 128GB models.
Now THAT"S a cool site. Love the map!
I wonder why Google doesn't get in on that sort of thing with Google Maps. Especially for big product launches, retailers can even feed XML stock updates directly to them like for the Shopping section. That's one thing I think is lacking with retail shopping. If I'm in a shopping center, I often know the product I want and there might be 20 potential stores that have the item but I have no way of checking what options are in surrounding stores.
Say that I want to buy a pair of jeans and there are 10 clothing stores, it should be possible to enter sizes and preferred style and price and then have the search tell me if the stores nearby have what I want to save me wandering through them all. This also tells retailers what buyers are looking for and can stock more appropriately. Retail shopping still has the advantages of being able to see things and try them on but there's no need for it to be so inefficient. They can tie it into discounts too.
I DO like it!
Sadly, it shows no 64 or 128GB Plus' at ALL in my state
(and YES, we have SIX Apple Stores)
Apparently lots of 16s, but I won't "replace" a 32 with a 16....
Looking like the answer to the broader question is, no-one knows what Apple's doing, beyond bypassing their own retail network....
The Apple Store links in your state show 64GB/128GB 6 Plus in stock. You don't have to use the zip code box, just choose the 6 plus in the dropdown, size, carrier and it removes stores that don't have them and there's contact info for each store to verify.
So far, neither seaturtle nor DeviceChecker have turned up a SINGLE verifiable 6 or Plus of any color or configuration in one of the largest metro areas in the US (mine). In fact, nothing confirmable within a 6-hour round trip...and still no word whether Apple plans to actually deliver iPhone stock to their stores - or their vendors' - before Thanksgiving.
That, plus the complete lack of info here and elsewhere about what Apple's actually doing to get the phones out to where people can buy them, leads me to conclude that Apple is bypassing their retail chain entirely, and only processing online orders. The problem isn't with them picking this as a course of action: it's that Apple puts their customers in the position of becoming empty-handed psychic detectives rather than iPhone 6/+ owners by with-holding information users need to plan their purchases.
To everyone who finds the current situation copacetic, mazel tov! Enjoy!
The rest of us, though, still want phones...so if anyone gets ANY, y'know, "insider" information about how to find/buy/reserve a phone LOCALLY, or about what Apple's settled into as their roll-out plan, please post it here!
As expected, the Apple stores around here won't say a thing about when they expect to get stock, only that "we don't have any now".
Every ATT store and BestBuy in the area (that I've talked to) tells me they don't expect any 6+ in stock before November... and stress that they're also just guessing... Apple doesn't seem to be telling THEM anything either.
Exactly, KoSH: THAT's the thing that's so unlike them: they get ONE STORY, and they stick with it thru thick and thin. I remember when the 4 came out, we were all carefully told what the deal was, in-store: some every day, no idea how many or what (all true, btw), no reservations, if there are people in line we sell to them first. No improve, no prose, here's the deal. This year, NOTHING. No, I no longer work there, but there simply is. no. story available as to how Apple planned this roll-out - even inside Apple, it seems.
This would just be another fumble in a oops-filled product roll-out, but "trade-in deals" like ATTs add actual injury to the otherwise tolerable insult of Apple's stonewalling on availability and customer expectations. ATT for me and others, have made this a matter of getting that $200 bucks being waved at them for their ancient iPhones. At this point, I consider all of these "limited-window trade-in" deals to be straight-up scams. They know there're millions of 4s that are still in service, and everybody wants 'a deal', so offer them one you won't have to deliver on (it's why rebates are so popular w/ companies: chances are great you'll disqualify yourself, or just forget).
In other words, it seems VERY clear they planned this. (No, I don't know if 'they' are ATT & AAPL, or just ATT, and I've haven't heard anything similar about incentives from other carriers).
Here's my basis for saying these things: on the release of 6, ATT announced a pretty sweet trade-in for the 4 and 4s among others; this program was to end on the 30th last. I was constrained for reasons until the 30th, and pulled the online trade-in rain-check on the last day. The process assured me of (up to) $200 - and expired on the 20th. On that very day, Apple was citing 21-28 days before shipping any Plus.
No chance therefore of receiving my target phone within my trade-in 'eligibility' window UNLESS I can get one in-store SOMEWHERE on or before the 20th: I believe ATT knew this and simply wanted to bum-rush as many customers in to staying with them as possible with as little loss of profit as possible. Sounds just like ATT...and more and more like the Verizon I left years ago.
I'll continue to check for something local on the finders, but I have yet to receive an email alert on anything from any of them.