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If BestBuy only has 15 iPads, 5 of each, what time would you have to get there?

M

melman101

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Sep 3, 2009
2,751
295
I'm not planning on going to BestBuy but I find it a joke that they only have 15. What time will you have to line up? 8pm the night before? Thats how long I was out there for Xbox 360. Technically if you are set on a specific model, they only have 5.

Good luck to all you BestBuyer's. This is a tough situation.
 
melman101 said:
I'm not planning on going to BestBuy but I find it a joke that they only have 15. What time will you have to line up? 8pm the night before? Thats how long I was out there for Xbox 360.
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You'd have to be insane to camp out at a Best Buy for a flippin' iPad. I don't see how anyone would have decided since Friday that they absolutely have to have an iPad on Saturday morning.

If someone were to have their heart set on one, it would make sense to show up before the store opens because they won't last long, but spending the night in a parking lot is just crazy.
Technically if you are set on a specific model, they only have 5.
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That's 5 more than some Apple stores will have in the morning.
 
matticus008 said:
You'd have to be insane to camp out at a Best Buy for a flippin' iPad. I don't see how anyone would have decided since Friday that they absolutely have to have an iPad on Saturday morning.

If someone were to have their heart set on one, it would make sense to show up before the store opens because they won't last long, but spending the night in a parking lot is just crazy.

That's 5 more than some Apple stores will have in the morning.
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Basically, for the 360, some kid was out there at 5pm the day before. We had him call us when the line started getting long and at 8pm, he called. We had to wait 12 hours in the pouring rain, and the line was very long. It was insane.

I'm curious to see how 15 iPads at BestBuy is going to play out.
 
For bigger cities, I would not be surprised at all if people camp out over night starting at 10pm or maybe even earlier. I won't do that. I'll get up at 5 or 6 in the morning and have a look at the situation, but I won't be waiting outside. I did it one year for Black Friday and will never do it again.
 
I read the entire BB iPad sales kit last night b/c I felt like reading a good horror novel. Instead it turned out to be high comedy. The idea BB published a multi-page sales guide to sell 15 units at some stores is pure Monty Python, except this is fo realz.

ATT had a similar limited number of iPhones at the original launch. At the mall I was at they sold out immediately and had to send over 9/10th of the line away. But there was good news for them b/c even as the Apple store had 3x bigger line before sale time, they never ran out of iPhones that night.

Lesson here: just go to Apple and avoid the heartbreak and camp trama out if you have an Apple Store w/i 75 miles. Plus you avoid the "douche effect" when the local media airs video of the idiots waiting in line hours b/f BB opening.
 
melman101 said:
Basically, for the 360, some kid was out there at 5pm the day before. We had him call us when the line started getting long and at 8pm, he called. We had to wait 12 hours in the pouring rain, and the line was very long. It was insane.

I'm curious to see how 15 iPads at BestBuy is going to play out.
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the difference is that microsoft didn't offer a pre-order for people to get one shipped on the day of release ;). best buy will sell out but i would be surprised if there is need to camp out. just show up before it opens.
 
Chupa Chupa said:
I read the entire BB iPad sales kit last night b/c I felt like reading a good horror novel. Instead it turned out to be high comedy. The idea BB published a multi-page sales guide to sell 15 units at some stores is pure Monty Python, except this is fo realz.
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I'm also wondering how many of those 15 will be pre-empted by store managers and such nabbing one for themselves.

This Best Buy thing has to be the most bizarre aspect of the whole launch. I would expect this from a game console or something, in this situation it just seems weird. I guess Occam's Razor says the Best Buy angle is more about marketing and visibility than actually getting iPads into people's hands on launch day.
 
Sleazy E said:
the difference is that microsoft didn't offer a pre-order for people to get one shipped on the day of release ;). best buy will sell out but i would be surprised if there is need to camp out. just show up before it opens.
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16 guys "shows up" when it opens.

15 guys "shows up", 6+ want the 16GB/32GB/64GB

FAIL.
 
Sleazy E said:
then grab a sleeping bag and spend the night, none of us are stopping ya :p
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i more than likely will, proudly.

oddly as it seems, i take more pride in my things i have to go a great deal of effort for rather than just easily, "arriving on my porch" although, no disrespect to those who did that.
 
puppyflightclub said:
i more than likely will, proudly.

oddly as it seems, i take more pride in my things i have to go a great deal of effort for rather than just easily, "arriving on my porch" although, no disrespect to those who did that.
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No Apple Store around you?
 
puppyflightclub said:
i more than likely will, proudly.

oddly as it seems, i take more pride in my things i have to go a great deal of effort for rather than just easily, "arriving on my porch" although, no disrespect to those who did that.
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which Best Buy are you camping at? Fortunately for me I live near a ghetto Best Buy where I do not believe anybody can afford an iPad let alone be willing to stay outside overnight in front of :p
 
melman101 said:
I'm not planning on going to BestBuy but I find it a joke that they only have 15. What time will you have to line up? 8pm the night before? Thats how long I was out there for Xbox 360. Technically if you are set on a specific model, they only have 5.

Good luck to all you BestBuyer's. This is a tough situation.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I think people (when they find out each store only has 15) will camp out many days (if allowed) before Saturday.
 
i figure the people who actually know about the ipad and want one, have preordered it. Plus best buy isn't advertising saturday's launch. I do not expect long lines, going to get there around 6:30 or 7.
 
If you want to get an ipad on April 3, and you didn't pre-order or reserve one, your best bet is to go to an Apple store at around 1:00pm. There are probably TONS of people who reserved one just in case they decided to get it, but prob won't pick it up. Once 3 oclock hits, any ipads left in the store are first come first serve, and I'm sure there will be a decent amount. It's one thing to pre-order one since you had to pay up front, but anyone could have reserved it without putting any money down. I know of many people who pre-ordered AND reserved, just in case there was a problem with their shipment. Those people won't be picking up their reserves as long as everything goes smoothly with their shipment. Forget Bestbuy, just go to the Apple store.
 
obey908 said:
i figure the people who actually know about the ipad and want one, have preordered it. Plus best buy isn't advertising saturday's launch. I do not expect long lines, going to get there around 6:30 or 7.
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I was thinking the same. While I am keeping my preorder, I was thinking that people may not know about the Best Buy launch. I live in a relativly small town, where I don't think the iPad would be very popular among the people here.
 
firteen888 said:
If you want to get an ipad on April 3, and you didn't pre-order or reserve one, your best bet is to go to an Apple store at around 1:00pm. There are probably TONS of people who reserved one just in case they decided to get it, but prob won't pick it up. Once 3 oclock hits, any ipads left in the store are first come first serve, and I'm sure there will be a decent amount. It's one thing to pre-order one since you had to pay up front, but anyone could have reserved it without putting any money down. Forget Bestbuy, just go to the Apple store.
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that is what i am thinking as well. in fact if there are lines at the best buys by my house I will just drive over to the apple store where there will be a better chance at getting one. I also think that the general public won't even know to get them at Best Buy anyhow since they are not advertising it.
 
Keep in mind not all Best Buy stores will have them. Only the ones with the ASC setup. Check before you spend the night camped outside a store that isn't receiving any.

I had read that Best Buy intends to feature the iPad on the cover of their April 11th advertisement and may hold back their launch day inventory to be available on that date.

15 iPads is crazy. Why bother advertising? If they could direct orders to bestbuy.com and fulfill them later, maybe. But if it's an in-store only thing?
 
This is like the story problem from hell:
If Best Buy has X=15 iPads per store and X+50 bazillion people each want one and if BB opens at 10am, what time would Y person have to get there to guarantee getting one? What, if any small arms, other weapons and/or protective gear should Y bring? How many MREs can Y eat while waiting in line before becoming ill? If Y requires coffee during the wait, at what point should Y curtail coffee consumption in consideration of bathroom breaks? Discuss the philosophical implications of Z holding Y's place in line, comparing and contrasting it with cooperative behaviors observed amongst hunter-gatherer populations. Please remember to show your work on the attached scratch paper. Formula and essay answers required. Additional Blue Books are available.
 
Sleazy E said:
which Best Buy are you camping at? Fortunately for me I live near a ghetto Best Buy where I do not believe anybody can afford an iPad let alone be willing to stay outside overnight in front of :p
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LOL! This is actually a good strategy. I do this, but when I got my 52" LCD last year it was a littler nerve wracking. I kept getting calls like "need me to take that off of your hands?" or "You'll never fit that in your van, let me watch it while you get a bigger vehicle." hehe...
 
I plan on going to BestBuy about an hour before opening. If there is a line, so be it, I'll get one later then.

I cancelled my Apple online pre order and pick up reservation. I'd rather use my best buy card to get the 18 months no interest financing (which I will pay off in 12 months). Also, I'd get $20 back in rewards certificates. That's a "free" blu-ray movie.
 
The part that worries me is the playbook section that reads April 3 inventory may need to be held until April 11 if Apple gives them the word.
 
Sleazy E said:
which Best Buy are you camping at? Fortunately for me I live near a ghetto Best Buy where I do not believe anybody can afford an iPad let alone be willing to stay outside overnight in front of :p
Click to expand...

Yeah, thats fine and all, but I thought they said that only certain Best Buys would be getting iPads? If it doesn't seem like there is a market for it at that location, then it probably won't be on the list for launch day.

If they do have it, then other people might have the same idea as you and will drive out there for it. 15 iPads isn't a lot.
 
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