Saturday Apple Store line reports

[forrest368]

My experiences have been much better at Towson than Columbia. I went to Columbia this morning as well since the inventory checker said everything was in stock. I asked one of the employees there and was told the same thing about no 16GB blacks and only a handful of 16GB whites. I was about 20-30 people back in line, but then found out that last night they had to get the cops to kick about 70 people out of the store when AT&T shut off the activation servers at midnight (this is what one of the guys who was there last night told me). The store gave all of those people tickets to jump to the front of the line before 10 or 11am, which bumped me back 70 more people. When the store finally opened, a rep told me there wouldn't be any more phones by the time I got to the front.

I called Towson and was told they had plenty of white 16GBs but none of the black 16GB. I decided I'd prefer black, but white was fine too and went up to Towson. The line was long and it took about 3.5 hours to get through, but while I was in line a shipment of black 16GBs came in and I got one of the last ones. I only wish I had skipped the drive to Columbia. I would have been to Towson earlier and been in a presumably shorter line.

The Towson people were very honest (although the same inventory checker glitches seem to be there as it said they had black 16GBs but didn't at first). When the shipment came in, an employee walked around the line and told everyone that they had a limited number of the black 16GBs come in and he wasn't sure if there were enough, but they did have plenty of phones so if you like the white 16GB you'd be ok.

Just my opinion, but I'd try Towson first tomorrow. It sounds like you had bad timing for your trip there because of the Columbia store. Be sure to ask an employee about stock before you get to the front of the line, as well. They don't seem to be allowed to disclose numbers, but at least they will tell you if anything is out of stock before you wait for hours.

What time did you make it to Towson? What time did you finally make it into the store? When you left, how many people were in line?

Thanks for the advice but...
1. I called Towson before I went... and it did me no good.
2. I guess I left out the key part of my experience at the Columbia Mall Apple store. The reason I waited till I was first in line was because I was told by one of the employees that if the people who had to leave early last night did not show by 12 and did not pick up their 16GB black's that there was a chance I would get one. SO taking that chance I stayed in line. BUT when I got to the front I asked those people who had the tickets if there was a time limit and whether any of them planned to get a 16GB black and they said "no there's no time limit, and there are no 16GB Blacks". So THAT is when I got mad... the guy lied to me! He told me there was a chance and encouraged me to stay in line, when all along there was NO WAY I was going to get one. My mom had even joined me in line to keep me company when he told me that there was a chance and she heard it too... I'm just disappointed in the way they are handling this. It doesn't mean I am angry and will refuse to buy the phone. I love it enough that I will keep trying anyway. Sorry if it sounds like I'm complaining, I just wanted to clear that up.

SO... how do you like your new BLACK 16GB iPhone 3G?!!?!?!? Is it worth all the stress of trying to get it?

 

[AirmanPika]

I'm over at Pentagon City now. Been in line about 4 hours and probably have at least another half hour to hour now that I'm in the store it looks like. They are out of 16gb black.

 

[friedgold]

What time did you make it to Towson? What time did you finally make it into the store? When you left, how many people were in line?

Thanks for the advice but...
1. I called Towson before I went... and it did me no good.
2. I guess I left out the key part of my experience at the Columbia Mall Apple store. The reason I waited till I was first in line was because I was told by one of the employees that if the people who had to leave early last night did not show by 12 and did not pick up their 16GB black's that there was a chance I would get one. SO taking that chance I stayed in line. BUT when I got to the front I asked those people who had the tickets if there was a time limit and whether any of them planned to get a 16GB black and they said "no there's no time limit, and there are no 16GB Blacks". So THAT is when I got mad... the guy lied to me! He told me there was a chance and encouraged me to stay in line, when all along there was NO WAY I was going to get one. My mom had even joined me in line to keep me company when he told me that there was a chance and she heard it too... I'm just disappointed in the way they are handling this. It doesn't mean I am angry and will refuse to buy the phone. I love it enough that I will keep trying anyway. Sorry if it sounds like I'm complaining, I just wanted to clear that up.

SO... how do you like your new BLACK 16GB iPhone 3G?!!?!?!? Is it worth all the stress of trying to get it?

what time are you planning on getting there tomorrow? i'm close to the columbia apple store and was going to try and head over this afternoon, but thankfully i called before i left and they told me they were already sold out. i'm hoping they get more in stock by tomorrow, but probably won't be able to get there till around 11.

maybe i should just wait till next weekend and avoid all this insanity.

 

[teerexx52]

I got to International Plaza in Tampa about 9:30 this morning. I have no real idea how many people were in front of me but I'd say maybe 100. Took about 5 hours for my wife and I to get our phones. They said this Apple Store was the only one anywhere around that had any. They showed no signs of running out but it is a long long wait in line. All in all had interesting people in line to talk to and the time passed quite quickly

 

[ziggo]

If only you guys the see the line at the apple store here in perimeter mall in Atlanta. The line literally extends the ENTIRE second floor! It's absurd, they won't even let people in who want to but MacBooks and cases. EVERYBODY has to wait in line because the guy told me that management decided it wouldn't be fair to people who had been lime since yesterday morning and STILL hadn't been as toevem get in the store.

I Sked the guy of they had plenty of stock and he said they had "more then enough" bit that the servers were going slow. He did say that it wasn't a bad as yesterday....

 

[southerndoc]

If only you guys the see the line at the apple store here in perimeter mall in Atlanta. The line literally extends the ENTIRE second floor! It's absurd, they won't even let people in who want to but MacBooks and cases. EVERYBODY has to wait in line because the guy told me that management decided it wouldn't be fair to people who had been lime since yesterday morning and STILL hadn't been as toevem get in the store.

I Sked the guy of they had plenty of stock and he said they had "more then enough" bit that the servers were going slow. He did say that it wasn't a bad as yesterday....

That's odd. Somebody was in line since yesterday morning? When I got there at 9:45 am, there were only about 25 people in front of me. I left after being told there was no 16 GB black iPhones left.

This was my last shot at getting one at a retail store. I had to drive a long way to get there, and I'm not doing it again.

If Apple offers them via its online store, then I'll order one. If not, then it's no 3G for me. I'm sure as the fanfare dies down and lines shorten, my desire to get one will also die down and I won't even buy one. Oh well, not my loss as much as it is loss of revenue for AT&T and Apple.

 

[MDSkiBum]

What time did you make it to Towson? What time did you finally make it into the store? When you left, how many people were in line?

Thanks for the advice but...
1. I called Towson before I went... and it did me no good.
2. I guess I left out the key part of my experience at the Columbia Mall Apple store. The reason I waited till I was first in line was because I was told by one of the employees that if the people who had to leave early last night did not show by 12 and did not pick up their 16GB black's that there was a chance I would get one. SO taking that chance I stayed in line. BUT when I got to the front I asked those people who had the tickets if there was a time limit and whether any of them planned to get a 16GB black and they said "no there's no time limit, and there are no 16GB Blacks". So THAT is when I got mad... the guy lied to me! He told me there was a chance and encouraged me to stay in line, when all along there was NO WAY I was going to get one. My mom had even joined me in line to keep me company when he told me that there was a chance and she heard it too... I'm just disappointed in the way they are handling this. It doesn't mean I am angry and will refuse to buy the phone. I love it enough that I will keep trying anyway. Sorry if it sounds like I'm complaining, I just wanted to clear that up.

I gave up on Columbia at a little after 9 when they opened. They had been processing people with the tickets before then, and shortly after they opened an employee started coming through the line to ask which phone people were getting. That's when he told me they'd be out of white 16GBs by the time they got to me. Sorry to hear you got bad info from the Apple employee. They are usually pretty good, but I guess with all the craziness they had some miscommunication among themselves. The guy I talked to before the store opened said no 16GB blacks unless some came in a shipment. That covered even the people who were kicked out from last night. I was told the only thing they got was a place at the front of the line if they got there early enough and did not have any phones reserved for them.

I got to Towson a little before 10 with maybe 80-100 people in line, got up to the front of the line (the second line inside the store, that is) a little after 1 and was all done by about 20 after 1. So, it sounds like that's just when you were getting there. I didn't notice how many people were in line when I left as I was looking at my new iPhone 3G.

SO... how do you like your new BLACK 16GB iPhone 3G?!!?!?!? Is it worth all the stress of trying to get it?

The phone is awesome, and I like it a lot. Was it worth all of the stress and waiting? Well, that's all relative. A sane person would probably say no way. But, what can I say, I'm an early adopter and all of the headaches seem to go with the territory. It hasn't stopped me yet.

Good luck with the line lottery. Hopefully they'll have more stock for tomorrow.

 

[Aiphanes]

That's odd. Somebody was in line since yesterday morning? When I got there at 9:45 am, there were only about 25 people in front of me. I left after being told there was no 16 GB black iPhones left.

This was my last shot at getting one at a retail store. I had to drive a long way to get there, and I'm not doing it again.

If Apple offers them via its online store, then I'll order one. If not, then it's no 3G for me. I'm sure as the fanfare dies down and lines shorten, my desire to get one will also die down and I won't even buy one. Oh well, not my loss as much as it is loss of revenue for AT&T and Apple.

Ahhh...you will get one...there will always be ATT stores in a few weeks...shipments will come every day next week to both ATT and Apple Stores..

But I agree it is not worth it standing in line for over 5 hours for a a chance to get a Iphone 3G!!!

Is there any other phone in the world not sold over the internet?

Nope...only the Iphone 3G! The Second Comming of Jesusphone!

 

[LoganT]

Went to the Keystone Fashion Mall in Indianapolis, IN Apple Store around noon. There must of been at least 50 people in line and I was too tired to deal with it. So I did some other things for about maybe an hour or two, came back and still huge line. I'm actually really pissed off, last year it was fine. I'm coming back Wednesday.

 

[ziggo]

That's odd. Somebody was in line since yesterday morning? When I got there at 9:45 am, there were only about 25 people in front of me. I left after being told there was no 16 GB black iPhones left.

This was my last shot at getting one at a retail store. I had to drive a long way to get there, and I'm not doing it again.

If Apple offers them via its online store, then I'll order one. If not, then it's no 3G for me. I'm sure as the fanfare dies down and lines shorten, my desire to get one will also die down and I won't even buy one. Oh well, not my loss as much as it is loss of revenue for AT&T and Apple.

I'm not assuming early morning. Those were his words, I'm guessing be at LEAST mean afternoon. And as far as inventory all I asked him was if he had enough for evrybody and he said they had plenty so maybe they got stock in but don't take my word for it...

 

[metman787]

I called Apple in the morning to see how the line was. The rep said it's about a three hour wait.

And I can't even just buy it at the Apple store since I have a FAN account. I'd have to call in cancel and put it in again. Don't know why AT&T didn't make it easier for FAN account users.

When do you think the lines will die down?

Yea they have great stock but what they aren't is speedy. I doubt the line will die down because they stop selling phones at 12am.
I am also in the same boat as you with having a FAN account. I have no problem canceling it and then going to Apple. I'm just not feeling these ridiculous wait times.

 

[zigmund555]

Ahh, we should have hung out in the line at Columbia.

I was about 6 people back from the cutoff point when the manager came out and declared the cutoff.

After he announced there was no additional units in their shipment I waited for maybe another 10 mins to see if anyone ahead of me would leave then gave up. I called Towson from the parking lot but the girl I spoke to thought they probably had more people in line than iPhones.

Oh well. I'll check the inventory thing tonight but I doubt they're getting a shipment tonight.

 

[UWSpindoctor]

Took me 2:45 from getting in line to walking out of the store with my phone at Palo Alto. Nice day, got ice cream and water, cool people in line.

Should have just done this instead of ****ing with the AT&T store yesterday.

 

[EricBrian]

Doesn't apple have that feature anymore that states the availability of iPhones like they did for the 1st Gen iPhone?

 

[EgbertAttrick]

3 1/2 hours at International Mall in Tampa. Bullspit, so I left. Ordering from AT$T tomorrow...

 

[SteveMc]

the Sacramento Store currently has a line that extends half way through the mall.

I'm amazed it's this bad on the 2nd day.

Glad I got mine early on Friday.

I got there at ~7:30 and was #47 in line. The store opened at 9, and things were moving pretty smoothly until around 10:30-11, which is when a lot of the folks from last night who had vouchers started showing up, so they got to go to the front of the line and slowed it down. I got in the store about 11:15 or so, and from there it was pretty speedy - 15-20 min at most. They said they had enough stock to cover everyone in line in the morning, but anticipated starting to run out in the afternoon.

They were letting other folks in the store without waiting in that line, doing a pretty good job of keeping things going.

 

[scaredpoet]

Doesn't apple have that feature anymore that states the availability of iPhones like they did for the 1st Gen iPhone?

Yes they do, but then people weren't battling lines past the initial launch last year. If the store checker said iPhones were in stock, you had a good chance of getting one last time. This time? The phones may be in stock at opening, but you still have to hope people haven't already beaten you to the line.

The folks duking it out in line: I salute you. I wouldn't have the perseverance, and would have just waited a week or two. At the same time, I now fully realize how lucky I was to be #7 in line that first morning and pick up my 16GB black.

 

[extraextra]

Went to the Costa Mesa, CA Apple store, the line was quite long (100+) and they cut it off at 4pm, saying no one else could join and that they would definitely service everyone and everyone would get an iPhone. People in the middle of the line said they had been waiting for 4+ hours. However some Apple employee standing out in the middle of the line said she had "no idea" about stock, she was handing out AT&T pricing plans for the iPhone. They were giving out free Starbucks to people in line.

There was also a separate line (maybe 10 people long) of people waiting to get into the Apple store for other reasons.

 

[MacGeekDC]

Nova

Just went to tysons in northern virginia the a guy in the front said he had been there for 4 hours.

 

[Vanarak19]

Well folks, I ended up skipping out on the lines today. I was planning a trip to Towson, but just didnt wanna wait in any line.

I have the day off Monday, that may be the day. Id assume less people will be there then, and they should get a fresh shipment early AM id assume.

Heres to hoping. My 8gb g1 just ate the dirt. It wont charge, or sync, and the battery is now 0%. Itll get replaced im sure, just not right now for me.


Ill head on to Towson on monday, and if this thread is still active, give you guys the scoop! But im farely confident ill walk in/out in less than 1hr.

All you people waiting in lines are nuts. Id rather be at home, laughing

 

[Aiphanes]

Well folks, I ended up skipping out on the lines today. I was planning a trip to Towson, but just didnt wanna wait in any line.

I have the day off Monday, that may be the day. Id assume less people will be there then, and they should get a fresh shipment early AM id assume.

Heres to hoping. My 8gb g1 just ate the dirt. It wont charge, or sync, and the battery is now 0%. Itll get replaced im sure, just not right now for me.


Ill head on to Towson on monday, and if this thread is still active, give you guys the scoop! But im farely confident ill walk in/out in less than 1hr.

All you people waiting in lines are nuts. Id rather be at home, laughing

Dude I hate to bust your bubble, but Towson and most of the DC area and Maryland in general is out of the Iphone 3G according to the Iphone stock checker. Yeah we know the stock checker is not accurate...but if it shows not in stock it aint in stock probably.

But Monday is a different day..

 

[Aiphanes]

Went to the Costa Mesa, CA Apple store, the line was quite long (100+) and they cut it off at 4pm, saying no one else could join and that they would definitely service everyone and everyone would get an iPhone. People in the middle of the line said they had been waiting for 4+ hours. However some Apple employee standing out in the middle of the line said she had "no idea" about stock, she was handing out AT&T pricing plans for the iPhone. They were giving out free Starbucks to people in line.

There was also a separate line (maybe 10 people long) of people waiting to get into the Apple store for other reasons.

Now I would be pissed if I had to wait in line to get into an apple store to by like a mac air or something...or my ipod died and I was trying to get it replaced...

 

[zigmund555]

A short line would be nice. I wouldn't think so, because everyone will be lined back up by Monday afternoon.

If its any help, when I had my iMac in for service at Towson I had to wait a while for a part to come in and they were getting their deliveries usually by 1 p.m.

 

[Vanarak19]

Dude I hate to bust your bubble, but Towson and most of the DC area and Maryland in general is out of the Iphone 3G according to the Iphone stock checker. Yeah we know the stock checker is not accurate...but if it shows not in stock it aint in stock probably.

But Monday is a different day..

so if i said i was going back monday, how does your post even matter?

the genius bar @ towson is well, less than stellar IMO. Ive had to wait and wait and wait. And I usually get the same jerk off.