Tablets & eReaders

[Sirrrus]

I got more information from a friend I used to work with at the store. The pre-order system most stores are using (buy the gift card and write down what you want) is OPTIONAL within the company. Meaning that it will vary from store to store depending on what the manager wants to do.

I know you guys who keep asking are frustrated that they keep telling you they don't know, but I assure you, they DON'T. And it's totally NOT their fault. Apple does not disclose to the company or individual stores how many they are shipping. A truck will arrive and a mystery number will be aboard. When they're gone, they're gone. That's how Apple rolls. But by using the gift card system, they can eliminate the long lines because if you aren't in the book, then you aren't getting one on launch day.

So the system they're using is more of a ticket/reservation system. The managers are required to wait for some sort of "playbook" that offers procedures and it has not been released according to my source. The gift card pre-order is NO GUARENTEE you'll get one on launch day because they don't know how many will arrive.

I encourage you to keep calling and keep asking. Stop though if you're in the area of the store and have time. Someone is bound to be told something sooner or later. Good luck folks!

[PhillyWonka]

Im from Orlando FL too and getting the same stuff. Been calling since the 7th. I also live next to a best buy and have stopped over a few times. Finally I was told that Sunday we were going to be able to pre order. Waiting in a line with a few others only to find out that he was wrong. Weird thing is I read that PC mag put an article about how bestbuy would start the preorder Sunday, thats coming from Bestbuy corp. I guess Ive gotta wait, but its really annoying that Im at bestbuy's mercy due to my large amount of instore credit. Keep posting info please as will I!!!!!

[irmaris2]

@PhillyWonka I have been calling the best buy store at waterford lakes because is close of where I live and they keep telling me that they don't know or that they will not do pre orders etc... I found this article from March 10, 2012 that says Best Buy is taking pre orders... 

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/312307/20120310/new-apple-ipad-buy-300-samsung-galaxy.htm

[purpledragon77]

From what I just heard a lot of Best Buys are stil up in the air on exactly how to handle the launch and are waiting on the playbook (a list of game plans from corporate, among other things) before making the final decision.  That book arrives Monday morning so the best time to call and possibly get a more concrete concrete would be this afternoon.  Sounds similiar to when I worked at Gamestop, only our "Playbook" was in the form of an e-mail that uploaded into our POS system when the store open.

[xl]

PC World just released a survival guide....

  http://www.pcworld.com/printable/article/id,251673/printable.html

• Apple is no longer taking pre-orders
• Fans are already sleeping outside Apple stores
  http://www.slashgear.com/new-ipad-lines-form-outside-apple-stores-10217846/
• Best Buy needs to decide soon a release day strategy.... live-auction outside stores, lottery or draw at noon (minimizes people sleeping overnight), an orderly pre-order/waitlist solution, or crowd chaos Friday morning.  With Beijing times zones ahead, you might want to watch what happens there to see if history repeats itself.

[Sirrrus]

xl, you need to understand that Best Buy does't know how many will be shipped to their locations. Even if they do a lottery or whatever, not everyone will get one. They bank on the crowd anyway because people might just shop for other items, possibly another tablet, if they couldn't get one on launch day. Offically, the company is not sanctioning any pre-orders. Someone posted a website that said they were but Best Buy said the website was not associated with Best Buy and were misinformed Offical comapny policy is to sell what arrives at each location on a first-come-first-serve basis. Some stores have "gone rogue" and are offering a false pre-order. You purchase a Best Buy gift card and they save your name in a book for the color and model you want. Problem is again, Best Buy doesn't know how many will ship to the store. So even if you purchased the gift card and you're number 3 or 4 for a 64GB 4G, you might not get one on launch day if they're sent 2 of every model.

Apple. Does. Not. Tell. Best. Buy. How. Many. They. Are. Sending.

[Jcvallecillo]

I just called again and they told me make sure I here on friday one hour before we open we going to giving tickets , we don't know how many we r going to revive and we don't know at what time we going to start selling it .

Si sounds like the only way to have one on friday is if u r line up and be there all day long waiting till they recived mmmmm .

I am stock with bb couse I have a $ 530 gift card

[purpledragon77]

One hour before? Yeah right I'll be heading there the night before. I do agree though, Best Buy better have a plan for crowd control in place, regardless of number of units they receive. But here's a question that maybe someone whose worked at a Best Buy during an apple launch could answer... Does proximity to an apple store have an effect on shipping quantities?

[Sirrrus]

One hour before might be enough if the Best Buy is located in the swamps of Florida where the only customers are crocodiles. But if you're in a city...with people...arrive EARLY. "One hour before" might be when they're handing the tickets out!

I would imagine proximity to the Apple store might have an effect, but when we rean both the iPad 1 and 2 in my area it wasn't a big deal. We asked everyone if they were there for iPad one when it came out and the reaction was "What's an iPad?" for the iPad 2, we had a small line. Only 8 units arrived which wasn't enough even for the small line, 12 more arrived later and we were set.

Ticket systems are common for limited quantity items, but aside from Black Friday specials or an iPhone, nothing has ever had this much hype at my location. We're in Erie, PA...equal distance from Cleveland, Buffalo and Pittsburgh. I think the nearest true Apple store is somewhere in mid-Ohio. So I cannot say if it affected us or not. We never knew how many were arriving.

But here's a hypothetical for you: If you were Apple, and you had this AMAZING amount of pre-orders, your personal supply was short, but the retail supply you had set aside is right there...wouldn't you tap into that supply to fill your own needs and let the stores fend for themselves? I don't know if it would happen that way and it makes me worried I won't get one on launch day or even within a week of that.

=(

[Jimmienomam]

Sirrrus, those were my thoughts exactly. Apple made no exact commitment to ship a specific number, so if I was Apple I definately would re-appropriate some of the stock.