iPad EU News (Abandon all hope, ye who enter here..) ("Are you nuts?!" - Steve)

[Elise]

Well Grats those of you that have it already good luck to those of you that pre-ordered!

I'm gonna be poping down to Bluewater to pick up a 16gb 3G Ipad on launch day, its on the way to work and I'm normally around there about 5am and have told work not to expect me in before 11am (didn't quite tell them what i was doing, not sure it would go down to well on a building site!, Queuing up for an Ipad...)

Anyone had any experience with queing at bluewater apple ? where do you start I assume the shopping center is closed until 0800 so you would need to be outside, also is 5am early enough or will overnight campers gazump me to the last available IPAD in the universe!!!

The US seem to be waiting upto 10 day's currently for instore reserved ipad's cannot see there being that many available in the uk stores at launch and what there is will go very quick... Don't really want to wait another month for it.

By the way im new to the forums (posting at least) so hi all and good luck!

I'm not sure how the whole queuing up outside a shopping centre works. If there's a crowd I can only imagine there will be loads of people trying to leg it to get to the store first - won't it just be a case of who's fastest? Also most shopping centres don't open until 10am.

 

[randystand]

I ordered mine at 1.42am on the 10th. Wifi iPad 16gb and case- £459.

The money appeared to go out of the account balance and then popped back in with no problems few days later, which i believe is usual procedure.

Do you think the money will go out without any problems next week?

 

[OreAird]

I'm not sure how the whole queuing up outside a shopping centre works. If there's a crowd I can only imagine there will be loads of people trying to leg it to get to the store first - won't it just be a case of who's fastest? Also most shopping centres don't open until 10am.

well Bluewater doors open at 9am with the shops opening at 10 mainly, but on this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMJHFpstkp4&feature=related the guy says he has been there an hour and 10 mins and he arrived at 10 past 5 (making the time 6:20am) and also another guy earlier in the video says the store will open in 5 mins!!!

perhaps im just getting to into this... my first apple gadget...

 

[Boblister]

I'm not sure how the whole queuing up outside a shopping centre works. If there's a crowd I can only imagine there will be loads of people trying to leg it to get to the store first - won't it just be a case of who's fastest? Also most shopping centres don't open until 10am.

I suggest you wait till sometime next week and phone the customer services in Bluewater. I know the shops open at 10am same as Trafford Centre. But at the launch of the 3GS last year they opened one of the outer doors of the Trafford Centre around 6 or 7am so people could queue. I queued from 7am with around a dozen folk in front of me. Eerie silence in the centre just the queue and no one else hardly. Apple started showing signs of life around 7:45, opened it's doors at 8am and started serving people very orderly. Coffee and biscuits were provided. I did put a picture somewhere in this thread. I suspect they will do similar again as Bluewater probably will.
All I can suggest is phone the centre and the Apple shop next week and ask.

 

[sparkie1984]

just been watching a few of those vids, id love to go to a launch!!!!!

me and my friend have said, if the new iphone is available on payg then we'll book the day off and go there nice and early and take in the experiance!!

sadly i couldnt get a day off for the ipad

 

[CWT1965]

well Bluewater doors open at 9am with the shops opening at 10 mainly, but on this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMJHFpstkp4&feature=related the guy says he has been there an hour and 10 mins and he arrived at 10 past 5 (making the time 6:20am) and also another guy earlier in the video says the store will open in 5 mins!!!

perhaps im just getting to into this... my first apple gadget...

God that is scary lol, just for a little OS so imagine what it will be like with the hottest and most sought after gadget on the planet

That has made up my mind, am going to queue up all night outside Regent St Apple store

 

[sparkie1984]

God that is scary lol, just for a little OS so imagine what it will be like with the hottest and most sought after gadget on the planet

That has made up my mind, am going to queue up all night outside Regent St Apple store

personally id try and gee up some of my mates to come with me if i were you, keep you company on the bad streets of london all night!!!!!

i think id get there for 3am if it were me, i cant see that many people queueing up earlier than that

 

[CWT1965]

personally id try and gee up some of my mates to come with me if i were you, keep you company on the bad streets of london all night!!!!!

i think id get there for 3am if it were me, i cant see that many people queueing up earlier than that

Yeah thing is though that I live in Surrey so my last train into London is 10.35 and my first one on the 28th is 5.50 so I have choice really of getting into London at half 11 on the 27th or 7ish on the 28th and I think there would be hundreds in the queue by 7ish so my only option really is to get the previous night train and kill time

 

[Elise]

I suggest you wait till sometime next week and phone the customer services in Bluewater. I know the shops open at 10am same as Trafford Centre. But at the launch of the 3GS last year they opened one of the outer doors of the Trafford Centre around 6 or 7am so people could queue. I queued from 7am with around a dozen folk in front of me. Eerie silence in the centre just the queue and no one else hardly. Apple started showing signs of life around 7:45, opened it's doors at 8am and started serving people very orderly. Coffee and biscuits were provided. I did put a picture somewhere in this thread. I suspect they will do similar again as Bluewater probably will.
All I can suggest is phone the centre and the Apple shop next week and ask.

I think you meant to quote the other poster, I'm going nowhere near Bluwater at launch!

 

[sparkie1984]

Yeah thing is though that I live in Surrey so my last train into London is 10.35 and my first one on the 28th is 5.50 so I have choice really of getting into London at half 11 on the 27th or 7ish on the 28th and I think there would be hundreds in the queue by 7ish so my only option really is to get the previous night train and kill time

oh sorry, thought youd be driving!!

could you not drive to a car park like the one under hyde park i think it is (where the winter wonderland is)

then the apple store is a 20 minute walk away....

thats all assuming that you can drive of course if not perhaps take a mate who can

 

[CWT1965]

oh sorry, thought youd be driving!!

could you not drive to a car park like the one under hyde park i think it is (where the winter wonderland is)

then the apple store is a 20 minute walk away....

thats all assuming that you can drive of course if not perhaps take a mate who can

Me and the missus share a car and she works nights as she is a nurse so she needs the car so I couldn't do that lol, plus mates of mine are all married and none of them would be allowed by their partners so am stuck on my own but I think I will have company tbh, remembering the launch of iPad at New York I think there were people who said they were camped out etc for the launch

 

[zen]

... plus mates of mine are all married and none of them would be allowed by their partners...

Er, what? Say that again?

 

[nwlondonlad]

Wasn't really anticipating that many queues for Regent Street on the 28th May.

With a starting price at £430 the ipad doesn't come cheap for the average user.

This isn't the iphone 3gs where there were loads of queues mainly cos a lot of people were getting them free on 24 months contracts or upgrades.

I suspect there will be a queue but not that long like those bluewater videos. That was for an OS upgrade which im sure was under a £100.

I was thinking of getting there for 8-9am and picking up a 32 gig 3G.

 

[sparkie1984]

Me and the missus share a car and she works nights as she is a nurse so she needs the car so I couldn't do that lol, plus mates of mine are all married and none of them would be allowed by their partners so am stuck on my own but I think I will have company tbh, remembering the launch of iPad at New York I think there were people who said they were camped out etc for the launch

hmmm, i suppose being a nurse is a better reason than an ipad.......... just

just go for it then mate,

put a post up in the meetup section and see if some other nutters will join you!

or if your rich, stay in a premier inn nearby

 

[sparkie1984]

Er, what? Say that again?

i have mine well trained

it goes, me, apple, her

 

[CWT1965]

Er, what? Say that again?

I have what I would describe as 3 good friends

1 of them is a house husband who has to take the kids to school in the morning while the wife works, 1 of them is looking after his wife after she broke an ankle horse riding so would not be allowed to traipse into London and the other one is very much under the thumb

 

[sparkie1984]

I have what I would describe as 3 good friends

1 of them is a house husband who has to take the kids to school in the morning while the wife works, 1 of them is looking after his wife after she broke an ankle horse riding so would not be allowed to traipse into London and the other one is very much under the thumb

well, i have no friends......... actually i have one:

 

[CWT1965]

hmmm, i suppose being a nurse is a better reason than an ipad.......... just

just go for it then mate,

put a post up in the meetup section and see if some other nutters will join you!

or if your rich, stay in a premier inn nearby

Thanks yeah will keep an eye on that thread don't want to encourage too many people or they might get the last 32GB 3G before me

 

[owen-b]

Still haven't decided what to do with the second 32GB 3G I ordered in a panic when my first order was in limbo for a couple of hours. I either cancel it or keep it and sell it for £75 extra or so on eBay while Apple gets their shipments sorted out.

But that feels very bad of me.

 

[spinstorm]

Apple being unsure when it is shipping doesn't help. And it dissent surprise me they aren't sure.

It is being shipped direct from China so there is NO way to know for sure for some woman In Ireland!

I guess it's simple really.

If those who only ordered the iPad get delivery notifications on Monday/Tuesday and no one else does that ordered SIMs or accessories then we will all have to phone Apple and cancel the accessories and hope thatvour ipads get shipped ASAP.

I still find it odd to think that Apple would ship an iPad 3G without a SIM and they knew if there was a delay getting the SIM cards!

 

[Boblister]

I think you meant to quote the other poster, I'm going nowhere near Bluwater at launch!

I probably did

I quite like Bluewater.

 

[G.O.B]

If I pre-order one now, can I cancel it within a few days? I ask only because a friend of mine is in NYC now shopping for one, but if they can't get one it would be nice to have one pre-ordered and waiting. If, of course, then can get one, it would be good to be able to cancel.

 

[iJock]

It is being shipped direct from China so there is NO way to know for sure for some woman In Ireland!

It is actually going to be shipped from Holland. For tax purposes, it is shipped from China to Holland where the final shipped product is completed, i.e. the iPad is put in a box, the cables are added, etc. By importing it this way as parts rather than the finished good Apple pays less tax.

All electronic companies do this and use Holland as the base because of good tax conditions.

This should mean that all iPads will arrive at the same time providing the delivery companies are competent. It also means that Apple can pick and choose who they are sent to, i.e. which country has priority for the best public relations.

have heard from some friends and they have all beeen given the same information, that delivery are expected to be sometime between 2nd and 4th of June.

One Friend in the UK was told they would be definitely delivered on the 28th but the then the Apple employee let it slip that it could be a few days later than that. When further pressed the employee said that the screen stated 2nd to 4th June and that it would be sent out on the 28th or after. This guy cancelled his order and will go to the store.

 

[spinstorm]

I respect your belief that they are coming from Holland (in one whole package) But I disagree totally.

If you look at current US deliverys they are all shipped direct from China - just look at those threads!

However If am wrong that could be good news as it is a lot easier to send a UK microsim to Holland to package up than China!

At the end of the day however the proof will be when those who ordered the ipad on its own get shipping notifications and if they match up with those that ordered sim and other accessories.

 

[iJock]

I respect your belief that they are coming from Holland (in one whole package) But I disagree totally.

If you look at current US deliverys they are all shipped direct from China - just look at those threads!

They are definitely coming from Holland. have had confirmation from Apple in telephone conversations. Shipping directly from China to 7 different European countries will cause huge problems for taxation for apple. Holland has the best taxation for importation of unfinished goods in Europe.

It is well known that most electronics companies use companies such as TNT or DHL to make up the final packages and then ship them to the end users. making up the final packages include such things as attaching screens, inserting the correct plug, add sim, putting the final product into box, adding the software etc. And before you say anything, TNT and DHL do do this, they are not just delivery companies.

They do this because taxation on importing parts or part finished goods from China is significantly less than for finished goods.

If you look at an Apple product shipped from China, it usually goes to Holland where it spends a bit of time before shipping onto the end purchaser. During that period in Holland the product is "finished" and then shipped to its final destination. For a macbook pro, all China needs to send is the bottom part of the computer. TNT or DHL in their warehouse/factory add the screen from their stock and then continue shipping it. less tax is paid overall.

It is probably a different tax system in the states allowing the product to be directly sent from China.