I will most likely set my alarm to wake up 15-30 minutes before pre-orders go live and order online using either the Apple store app, Apple website, or Verizon website, whichever lets the order go thru first.
I learned a couple years ago not to bother lining up in front of a store. My local stores usually don't have too big of a line so I used to be able to line up an hour or two before they opened, but starting with the iPhone 6 it seems like they have started getting very limited quantities of the devices so I don't bother anymore. I lined up early and was the 5th person in line when the 6/6+ was released and my store didn't get a single black 6+ in stock so I walked away empty handed. Luckily I had already ordered online and got mine in the mail a few days later, but I was hoping to get one on release day and cancel the online order.
I buy outright, no more contracts or payment plans for me. They have jacked up their prices way too much on the new plans for me to mess with them. I'm only paying $15 per line for 7 phones and $10 for an iPad on my old More Everything plan, switching to the new plans makes that go up to $20 per line, which increases my bill by $45 alone. Moving from 10GB to unlimited makes my bill go up by about $100.
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