Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

Zeeb · Jul 11, 2008, 08:58 AM

I thought I'd pop over to the 14th street apple store in Manhattan to see if I might be able to get an iphone. I arrived at 7:45 and the line stretched as far as the eye could see. I didn't want to wait all day in line only to be told to come back tomorrow so I just left. I have to say I expected a long line--but not that long! I was willing to wait 2 hours considering but that line looked like a 5-6 hour line to me--assuming one was at the back.

How are the lines in your area? Please state the length of time waited, whether you bought it at an apple store or elsewhere, and where you are in the world.

imitchellg5 · Jul 11, 2008, 10:48 AM

Horrible, but not because of length. I waited in line for an hour thirty minutes, at an AT&T store at 6:30 this morning. I was 22nd in line, and they had all of twelve iPhones.

Mrjinglesusa · Jul 11, 2008, 11:03 AM

Went at about 9:45 am to a local AT&T store to find about 10-15 people standing in line. People were coming out of the store, but no one was carrying a bag. PREORDERS. F--- that. I left and will wait a week or two until the hoopla dies down. By then, I might even decide that 2.0 software on my 1st Gen. iPhone is enough of an upgrade.

MacosNerd · Jul 11, 2008, 11:05 AM

I didn't even bother looking, when I saw people camping out at the boston store grand opening, I knew things had gotten out of hand. The same goes here, I see no reason why I should wait in a line all day to buy a phone, when I can saunter into the store a week later and by one w/o much of a wait.

Angelo78 · Jul 11, 2008, 12:10 PM

It was about a three hour wait at the Providence, RI Apple store. The servers are overloaded and I was not able to activate in-store. They gave me the option of staying for as long as it takes to get things working or go home. I'm now home and still not able to a connect with an Apple server.

alligator · Jul 11, 2008, 01:00 PM

AT&T store in northern Minnesota (I'm on vacation) with no Apple store around for 200+ miles. My wait was 2 hours, and I was 25th or so in line. They only had 10 phones of each kind. The 8 GB phones sold out first, then the white 16 GB, then the back 16 GB.

Don Pickett · Jul 11, 2008, 01:01 PM

Just ran home to run some errands. The line for the 14th Street store stretches alomst to 10th Avenue.

SCHMEGGA · Jul 11, 2008, 01:11 PM

Lines??? There shouldn't be any lines, because everybody is sold out already. At least that's what I'm hearing all over the net.

subego · Jul 11, 2008, 01:21 PM

Just rolled past the Michigan Avenue store in Chicago and the line was as far down Huron as I could see.

MacosNerd · Jul 11, 2008, 01:22 PM

I just finished my lunch hour run and I opted to alter my route so that I'd run by the Boston Apple store. The lines there are fairly long, probably 150 to 200 (maybe more?) I just glanced over as I jogged by but the line was about a city block long.

funny thing is about 4 blocks before the apple store, there's an AT&T store and while that also had a line, it was significantly shorter. Like maybe 10 people waiting.

I still don't get why so many people camped out to be first in line, when you can wait one, two or even three weeks and then buy one without this craze.

I guess I'm just getting old

analogue SPRINKLES · Jul 11, 2008, 01:27 PM

My lord people just wait a week and walk in with no wait.

alligator · Jul 11, 2008, 01:42 PM

The AT&T store I was at were taking orders from people when they ran out. They claimed to be able to have the next shipment in 7-10 days. I think a lot of people will be waiting a week. I'm not sure there won't be a wait then either.

CorpITGuy · Jul 11, 2008, 02:11 PM

They were taking orders at my local AT&T store. They sold out within minutes... like others here are mentioning, they had just a handful this morning to sell. This whole thing ... 2.0 upgrade, 3G rollout has been one huge clusterf***. Apple is getting NAILED in the blogosphere.

ort888 · Jul 11, 2008, 02:24 PM

Yeah, I'm too old to be doing this crap. The thought of waiting in a giant line for a phone is pretty foreign to me.

BoingoBongo · Jul 11, 2008, 04:55 PM

Yeah it's ridiculous. I didn't expect there to be hardly any lines at my local AT&T store since I don't live in a big city or anything, but There were at least a hundred people in line at 8am. It was too much, so I just left. The iPhone is awesome, and I really want one, but I've lived my whole life without one, so I can probably hang on for another couple of days.

No phone is worth spending hours and hours of your life waiting in line for. Especially when it's not long before the commotion dies down and they become readily available.

msuper69 · Jul 11, 2008, 05:10 PM

Originally Posted by subego

Just rolled past the Michigan Avenue store in Chicago and the line was as far down Huron as I could see.

I just came home from Chicago and I was wondering how long the line was. I tried calling the store and nobody answered. I would hate to work at an Apple Store today.

msuper69 · Jul 11, 2008, 05:13 PM

The Easton store in Columbus is staying open till 11:00pm tonight. They told me they would probably have enough iPhones if I head over after dinner. I'm going to give it a try. They did say the wait was about 3 hours. ugh. Damn Steve and Jonathan.

Foxdog175 · Jul 11, 2008, 05:38 PM

I checked Oakbrook in IL today - about 40 min away from chicago. The line was around 150 people with each person taking about 15-20 minutes per activation..yeah, do that math. I called another store close-by and they had 100 people waiting in a line. I'll wait until next week.

imitchellg5 · Jul 11, 2008, 05:40 PM

My dad went to the AT&T store in Aspen, CO, and there was four people in line (not really in line, just waiting) and they still had phones. He got one after an hour and half in line and about 20 minutes in the store. Not bad. Sort of surprising, but Aspen is pretty dead right now. He basically just walked up, saw the short line, and picked one up.

Rumor · Jul 11, 2008, 05:41 PM

6 1/2 hours is what I waited in Emeryville.

giggs11 · Jul 11, 2008, 11:40 PM

Stopped by both Oak Brook and Woodfield (Chicago suburbs) and they had three-hour waits. Part of me wants to go tomorrow, part of me prefers to wait until next week.

ort888 · Jul 11, 2008, 11:49 PM

So did Apple stores sell out???

giggs11 · Jul 11, 2008, 11:51 PM

Originally Posted by ort888

So did Apple stores sell out???

http://www.apple.com/retail/iphone/availability.html

Buckaroo · Jul 12, 2008, 10:14 PM

My experience was sort of disappointing, yet it worked out in the end.

I checked iPhone availablility last night, and my local store had them in stock.

I figured they saved some for each day of the weekend, so I figured I’d stop by early in the morning and see how many people were in line. I arrived at 3:45 and there was no one in line. I got my lawn chair out and setup first in line. I was thrilled, that I would get one.

Anyhow about an hour later a couple more show up and finally around 7 am there are about 30 people in line. A few minutes before 8am someone opened up the mall door and let us into the mall. We all pour in and line up at the Apple store main entrance. We then find out that the store will not open till 9am. We are all lined up along the wall, when a few minutes later, some people started showing up with these cards with numbers telling us they get to cut into the line.

I was like, WTF?? A manager came over and started sorting out people with cards into different lines. Security finally came over and told the manager, you can’t do this, you can only have one line only. The manager told us that the people with cards were here last night and would have priority. Eventually I got a chance to explain to him that I came in at 3:45 and was here for over 5 hours myself. They may have been here for a couple hours the night before, but there was no sign out front explaining that 200 people would be cutting in line.

Anyhow they pushed EVERYONE outside except for about 6 of us that were standing in front of the line. We were lucky, we didn’t get to go first, we had to wait for about 25 cardholders to cut in front, but the 6 of us eventually got in. As I left, I noticed several other early 6:30 – 8:00am arrivers still outside waiting with many cardholders in front of them.

There has to be a better way. I finally got out with my iPhone at 12:00, and I came home and went to bed. The poor guys that got pushed out that were there before 8am were screwed.

The worst part, was the approx. 50 people that weren’t shopping for iPhones, that were shopping for accessories and Macs. They got in almost immediately. It seemed, they were taking up a lot of the store clerks recourses. I asked the clerk how did they keep these accessory shoppers from cutting in line, and buying an iPhone, and she explained that once we got into the store, we had to get into another line and she would only take IPhone customers from that line. If anyone else asked to buy an iPhone, they would ask to see a stamp that they stamped onto the back of our hands.

What a day.

ort888 · Jul 12, 2008, 11:47 PM

Dude, most Apple stores still have stock today.

In fact, my friend was at the AT&T store and he said that they had stock as well.

Don Pickett · Jul 13, 2008, 03:00 AM

When I came back from a bike ride yesterday at 9pm, there was a line at the 14th Street store. When I was doing my laundry this afternoon there was a line. When I came back from dinner at 10:15ish, there was a line. . .

maxx9photo · Jul 13, 2008, 05:17 PM

Not too bad on my part of town (Houston), I went to local AT&T at 730am and got in to the store at around 11am. Got out with my 8GB around 1130am so total wait was 4 hours (activated at home without any problems on iTunes). The 16GB were sold out first than the 8GB and I didn't want to get the 16 anyway.

Ozz_man · Jul 13, 2008, 05:34 PM

This whole ordeal reminds me of the Cabbage Patch Doll craze back in the 80's. I am surprised no one has gotten shot or mugged yet for one of these.

giggs11 · Jul 13, 2008, 06:15 PM

Originally Posted by maxx9photo

Not too bad on my part of town (Houston) ... total wait was 4 hours

Geez, I wonder what you'd consider "bad" then.

Still holding out... I just don't have the time quite frankly to wait 3+ hours. Hopefully things will be less crazy by midweek, and hopefully they will have them in stock as well.

mindwaves · Jul 13, 2008, 07:31 PM

Went to Rancho Cucamonga store in CA on Saturday about 5pm. Waited outside for about 1 hr (line was divided into 2 lines, 1 for iPhone, 1 for "other"). Went inside and waited for another 2.5 hours. Finally got my 16GB white iPhone (they were out of stock, but then they got some more from somewhere).

BoingoBongo · Jul 13, 2008, 10:50 PM

Originally Posted by mindwaves

Went to Rancho Cucamonga store in CA on Saturday about 5pm. Waited outside for about 1 hr (line was divided into 2 lines, 1 for iPhone, 1 for "other"). Went inside and waited for another 2.5 hours. Finally got my 16GB white iPhone (they were out of stock, but then they got some more from somewhere).

Is that the store at Victoria Gardens?

If so, it's the closest one to me (although it's still 1 1/2 hours away). I have class tomorrow near there and I was thinking of trying to get an iPhone in the morning. I've only been there once before. Do you have an idea of what would be a good time to get there? Thanks!

mindwaves · Jul 14, 2008, 12:25 AM

Yes, it is there. I don't know a good time, but they were very low on stock on Saturday night. I think they probably received another shipment by Monday. Good luck!

BoingoBongo · Jul 14, 2008, 12:34 AM

Thanks. I'll probably wait until next week to go there (I need to get my cracked MacBook fixed anyway). If I haven't found an iPhone by then, I'll get one.

In the meantime, I'll just hope the nearest AT&T store has a fresh stock in the morning.

giggs11 · Jul 14, 2008, 01:12 AM

Hmm, seems like they're already running a bit low on stock locally. Maybe just because it's Sunday and they won't get shipments until Monday?

Eug · Jul 14, 2008, 01:15 AM

Basically all the main stores in Toronto are sold out completely. So, no lines.

I just ordered over the phone directly from my carrier, because it's free shipping to me anyway.

Randman · Jul 14, 2008, 02:26 AM

2-day shipments mean you're likely to have better luck on Tuesday.

Zeeb · Jul 14, 2008, 10:33 AM

It seems the lines are still substantial. It might be a month before I can walk in and out with one in 20 minutes--at least in NYC. I hate waiting in lines. Even if you dutifully show up and patiently wait there is always the chance you will be turned away--or you'll find out you are in the wrong line after 3 hours.

SeSawaya · Jul 14, 2008, 10:57 AM

Originally Posted by giggs11

Hmm, seems like they're already running a bit low on stock locally. Maybe just because it's Sunday and they won't get shipments until Monday?

I was in Oak Brook yesterday around 1 pm and there where about 100 people in line. Schaumburg on opening day had 150 outside the store at 3 pm. I still don't have a new one cause I can't invest 3/4 of a day waiting. I also called Michigan Ave and they cut off the line so they could close.

Bummer you can't just buy them online. Welcome to 2 years ago.

Eug · Jul 14, 2008, 11:36 AM

Mine (from Fido in Canada) arrived today via UPS.

Time in line: 0 minutes, 0 seconds.

Mrjinglesusa · Jul 14, 2008, 12:23 PM

What's the link to the page at Apple to check local availability?

BoingoBongo · Jul 14, 2008, 12:47 PM

I went to AT&T this morning. There was one other person in line at 8:30, then the manager came out and said that they aren't selling anymore iPhones until tomorrow, haha. I guess they're not getting a shipment until later today, and they're not going to sell it until morning. I'll try again tomorrow!

It's really funny to step back and look at the ridiculousness of this situation. It's just a phone, but I want it so badly!

giggs11 · Jul 14, 2008, 01:11 PM

Originally Posted by BoingoBongo

It's really funny to step back and look at the ridiculousness of this situation. It's just a phone, but I want it so badly!

I'm really amazed at the lines considering a) the economy, and b) the fact that I'd be very surprised if there was any kind of shortage. I mean, this isn't like PS3 or Wii where if you didn't wait in line, you weren't getting any. Apple is talking about selling, what, 10 million iPhones by the end of the year? I think they're planning to make enough for everyone who wants one.

Mrjinglesusa · Jul 14, 2008, 04:26 PM

Originally Posted by giggs11

Originally Posted by Mrjinglesusa

What's the link to the page at Apple to check local availability?

Anyone?

giggs11 · Jul 14, 2008, 05:31 PM

Originally Posted by Mrjinglesusa

Anyone?

http://www.apple.com/retail/

Then choose your store and go to "iPhone 3G Availability" on the right side. They update it each night around 9ish.

ThisGuy · Jul 15, 2008, 01:48 AM

http://www.apple.com/retail/iphone/availability.html

Rumor · Jul 15, 2008, 02:41 AM

Went by the store in Emeryville today and the line is still about three hours long.

Ozz_man · Jul 15, 2008, 02:53 AM

Just like the Wii, a month ago we could not find one and they were selling on Craigslist for $400 and up. Now every store I go to has 4 on the shelf.

I will maintain patience and pretend they didn't make a new iPhone yet

BoingoBongo · Jul 15, 2008, 09:19 PM

I waited for an hour and a half in front of AT&T today, and was the first one in line, only to be told they didn't have any iPhones and they had "no idea" when they'd get more. Oh well. I ended up just going to the AT&T store by my house and putting in an order for one. The guy told me they had just gotten an email saying that fulfillment orders wouldn't arrive for 7-21 days. Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later, but either way, at least it's done and I just have to wait until it gets here. Woo!

I have way too few days off to waste precious sleeping-in time lined up in front of a phone store.

CorpITGuy · Jul 15, 2008, 09:35 PM

My premier site shows 10-14 days shipping time.

BoingoBongo · Jul 15, 2008, 11:30 PM

Hey, the shorter the better!

Because I placed my order today, I'm probably on the bottom of the list, so my time could be a little longer. I'd be happy with 10 days though!