macnn
07/11/2008, 4:50pm, EDT
Friday, July 11th
AT&T sells out, takes iPhone 3G pre-orders
With some locations already sold out, AT&T is beginning to sell customers on units from the second wave of iPhone 3G shipments, MacNN has confirmed. With sources noting that "many stores across the country" have already sold out of their launch stock, the company is now offering pre-orders through a "direct fulfillment process." Should a person pick this option, they will be required to pay for the phone and will be notified when an iPhone 3G arrives at the store for pickup. AT&T is telling customers that they can expect their new iPhone 3Gs within 3-5 days.
"Customers who were in line but did not get a phone could pre-purchase a device through an in-store direct fulfillment process," AT&T told MacNN. "Customers who choose direct fulfillment will be notified when their iPhone 3G arrives at the store."
The move could also help alleviate activation problems. Both Apple and AT&T have taken sharp criticism from customers, as the former's iTunes servers are said to have collapsed under today's extreme demand, while the latter has sent customers home halfway through the activation process. As a result of the this, many AT&T customers technically have their phones, but have encountered serious errors synching with their computers.
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Serious Errors????
Ok, Yep, Uh huh, ok, yeah yeah yeah...... Serious errors?? Just restart the process and if it doesnt allow you, just contact ATT and problem fixed... also... are those having issues porting?? if so, you try to port 2-3k numbers in that short of a time span...add in a phone update for the older phones at the same time and issues will occur.. And umm wow.... Did ATT just call you to tell you they were out.. or did you stop by macrumors at 10:30 this morning and see thier headline?? your reporting has really gone down hill guys.....
AT&T preorders
You should also mention that according to store personnel, those pre-orders are non-cancelable.
Re: serious errors
The people left with dead phones are past the AT&T stage. They're all stuck trying to activate it in itunes, and it isn't letting them. This is in apple's court.
And maybe you should spend some time reading around the internet. There have been huge problems with the activation process all over.
AT&T as always BAD
ATT&T are jerks. Have four iphones on family plan. I went in to buy two of the new ones as I am the contract holder. They would only order one unless I brought another family member to the store. I have decided to not buy until AT&T is out of my picture. Maybe I will be near an Apple store or they will sell at Apple Online soon. It was so simple last year. There must be a better way to stop the cheaters other than by making the good guys jump through hoops.
bleep ATT....
Visited the local ATT store Thurs in the PM... Was told by 2 reps that in no certain terms that they would have plenty of stock, that in-fact, come in after work, no problem... Funny, they were sold out of all iPhones before 11 am...(despite torrential rains) No, not funny.. Liars really aren't funny...
Watch out
After being the guy who saw the person in front of me get the last iphone at an att store- I ordered one black 16gb for "Direct fulfillment"- (although you still have to go to the store when it comes in) Not only that- they still may get phones in, but those are to a first come, first served.
Going home empty handed- I called the Apple Store in Cincy. They had plenty- and a huge line. 2 hours later- I'm in line for yet another 3.5 hours. While in line, I call ATT and ask if I'll have a problem activating an Apple bought iPhone after the "DF" transaction- they say no- but I will have to pay a 10% RESTOCKING FEE- on a phone I don't have, and haven't opened. I asked for a supervisor- and after 30 minutes on the phone- was assured that I won't be charged a restocking fee.
Lesson learned: DON'T GO NEAR AN ATT store- go to Apple, Go directly to Apple, do not pass go-
Apple also decided to warranty replace my old iphone after the horrible day- even though it may not have been eligible for replacement. Way to go Apple.
Worst Rollout Ever
Why was it necessary to rollout MobleMe and iPhone 3G simultaneously?
I'm not an iPhone customer but my .mac account and files appear totally hosed, after ~1 day outage.
More like Redmond than Cupertino.
BS they have more
I was told secretly that there ARE more units in stock but they cannot sell them until Saturday morning. They guy says he has seen them, that's the sales assoc (gets paid on commission, see). Took my name and said he'd call. But the floor host/manager said they sold out in 2 hours (probably not paid on commission so she just follows company orders).
I'll be there first thing tomorrow.
The iPhone sells out???
What amount of iPhones did they have at each store, like maybe 100? And they said most people wanted the 16GB model. That much I figured. I'll bet the stores had greater quantities of the 8GB model. What a first day mess.
Did anyone ever find out what was in all those cargo containers that were being stored? Just curious if those containers really held thousands of iPhones.
I was told 7 - 10 days
My local AT&T sold out of their 15 phones by 8:05. I was immediately offered the "direct fulfillment' option, and took it. The 3-5 days mentioned here sounds much better.
The point is that AT&T has been offering this option all day, not just late this evening.